Chapter 513: A Surprise of Timing — and a Surprise from [Time]! |
"Whooo—"
The wind howled, bitter and bone-piercing.
The snow it whipped up wasn't soft at all. Ice shards swirled and scoured everything, like invisible harrows raking the earth — carving a thousand furrows into the blanket of white.
Cheng Shi shivered.
'Why did this scene... feel familiar?'
He froze. A chill shot from his tailbone to his crown, sending his entire scalp tingling.
Not from the cold. From shock.
"!!!!!"
The moment he realized he was staring not at the pitch-black Dolgod Assembly Hall but at the snow-white Rosna Recruitment Square — he was rooted to the spot. Pupils shrank to pinpoints. Goosebumps erupted across his entire body!
'How? How had time been reset?'
'Had someone secretly opened a Time Battlefield at the very start of the trial, without anyone knowing?'
'Who could have done this?'
'Who else could it be!?'
Cheng Shi stared in shock at the mild-mannered teammate currently climbing a roof beam to his right. His heart held no fear — only admiration and awe.
'The peak truly had no ordinary moves.'
'This Jiang Chi... what a magnificent Time Walker!'
'Everything clicked. Every piece fell into place.'
Cheng Shi pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. Not a second more, not a second less — just past noon.
He'd noticed this detail before the reset. But he'd overlooked one thing: Jiang Chi, who'd already climbed to the rooftop, must have awakened earlier than him — meaning the man had had the opportunity to open the Time Battlefield exactly on the hour!
'No wonder this Pointer Knight could freeze entire zones of time. No wonder he was a warrior who lacked raw power. No wonder he fought with endless tricks yet never displayed a warrior's brute ferocity. No wonder what he'd drawn from Poison was wisdom and erudition!'
'Because he was never a Pointer Knight. He was a [Time] mage — a Time Walker capable of opening a Time Battlefield!'
'Incredible. He'd passed off a broken sundial needle as a sword and successfully disguised his identity for an entire trial — never uttering a word about it. More than that, this "Pointer Knight" had probably invested considerable effort into his cover, perhaps even acquiring combat-oriented talents that no mage would normally choose!'
'He'd thrown everything into impersonating a warrior — and perhaps his ultimate goal had always been this very moment!'
'A sleight-of-hand reversal. A chance to start over!'
'Brilliant!'
'This caliber of deception rivaled even peak [Deceit] followers!'
'Truly brilliant!'
But Cheng Shi wasn't the Time Battlefield's caster, nor was he a bearer of any special [Time] talent. He was a [Void] walker. How had he noticed the reset?
This time, it wasn't about the dice.
As a prudent player, Cheng Shi had indeed been maintaining a specific number on his [Fate] die as a time marker ever since he'd noticed a [Time] teammate. But that method could only alert him that time had been reset — it couldn't preserve his pre-reset memories.
Yet this time, [Time] hadn't dissolved anything. He'd even retained his memories!
Why!?
Cheng Shi was honestly bewildered. Only a fraction of his shock was directed at Jiang Chi's identity — he'd already harbored suspicions, so while the revelation exceeded expectations, it wasn't unacceptable. The vast majority of his shock was aimed at [Time] itself!
Yes — [Time]!
[Time]'s power was what had spared his memories and let him see through the reset. But before this moment, Cheng Shi had no idea he'd been carrying [Time]'s power!
Where had it come from?
The answer was simple. Since it was [Time]'s power, it naturally came from [Time].
And as it happened, Cheng Shi had held audience with [Time] inside Aph Ros's Evil Infant Inquisition!
It was then that this unchanging since antiquity [Existence] had radiated a soul-shaking radiance. That light had merely grazed Cheng Shi, yet it had pulled him free from the mortal dimension, letting him perceive the true form of the temporal cage imprisoning Aph Ros.
Remember what that cage looked like?
"Time curled into circles, twisted into knots, drifting indifferently through [Void] as countless temporal trajectories across the cosmos slid past — the isolated knot of time floating silent and alone."
Within that grand temporal loop, Cheng Shi had glimpsed the fundamental truth of time's interconnected nature. And so, in this comparatively trivial "loop"... Cheng Shi was completely unaffected.
Or rather — he would never be affected again.
Because the instant time reset and the loop began anew, an ancient ring streaming the weathered radiance of time materialized on Cheng Shi's finger.
That position had previously held [Existence]'s other ring — Floating Dream of the Memory Sea.
But with all three [Memory] charges expended, Cheng Shi had already removed it. And now, that spot was filled by a [Time] ring!
It was a ring formed from a single long, intact time-pointer twisted and wound into a double band. Two loops clasped snugly around his finger, and floating between them was a knot resembling both an infinity symbol and a Möbius strip.
At first glance, the ring looked ancient and corroded. But a closer look revealed the unmistakable flow of [Time]'s radiance within.
Time of Eternal Imprisonment (SSS): Servant God Relic. A ring born from [Time]'s own contemplation, created upon witnessing time close into a loop.
Special Effect — Prisoner's Awakening: All time resets, reversals, and loops caused by [Time]'s power will not dissolve your concept of time, nor affect your consciousness or memories.
Special Effect — Awakened Shout: All positive effects generated upon you by time resets, reversals, and loops receive a minor enhancement.
"..."
'A Servant God Relic. Another Servant God Relic!'
Reading the description, the fury Cheng Shi had been nursing nearly extinguished itself.
"What is this — compensation?
"Beat me with a stick and offer me a date?"
'Had He foreseen that His follower would infuriate me and pre-prepared the apology gift?'
'Was [Time] really that generous?'
Cheng Shi was baffled. By any metric, this ring could be called a divine artifact — especially for a [Fate] follower.
[Time] and [Fate] were eternal rivals. Their followers didn't get along. So what did it mean for a rival deity's follower to receive a ring that could negate most of [Time]'s mysteries?
'If Jiang Chi ever found out, he'd probably point at the sky and scream: "My lord — your soldiers still wish to fight! Why do you arm the enemy!?"'
Cheng Shi couldn't figure it out and didn't want to keep trying. Compared to these bewildering riddles, he knew exactly what needed doing right now.
Whether this ring was [Time]'s pre-arranged "compensation" or some kind of warning to stop here — nothing could make him abandon his plan.
After being "toyed with" again and again and again, Cheng Shi had snapped. He needed an outlet for his frustration. And right now — with everything reset — was the perfect opportunity.
At this moment, Gongyang Jiao hadn't betrayed. Poison wasn't dead. Jiang Chi had just found the sundial needle for his disguise and was walking back. The man presumably didn't know Cheng Shi had retained his memories. Judging by his demeanor, this Time Walker was probably planning to replay the entire scenario.
Only this time, he figured he could avoid every landmine and make it to the end.
'So this was the "Knight's" secret to climbing the rankings.'
'Little did he know — the moment Cheng Shi laid eyes on him, his ending was already rewritten.'
Jiang Chi trudged back through the wind and snow, leaning on his sundial needle. When he looked at Cheng Shi, a strange glint flickered through his eyes — but he quickly smiled and greeted him:
"Slippery after the snow... a walking stick helps... ah, ptoo ptoo, sorry, this wind is too strong...
"I hate the north of the Land of Hope. Even though I'm a northerner myself.
"What should I call my friend?"
He extended his hand toward Cheng Shi again, face split in a warm smile. Everything looked perfectly friendly — as though that five-on-one hunt had never happened.
This time, Cheng Shi didn't produce a fur coat to block the wind. He looked at the outstretched hand, broke into a brilliant grin of his own, and strode forward enthusiastically. He clasped Jiang Chi's hand with both of his and shook it vigorously:
"Cheng Shi. A pleasure."
Jiang Chi blinked. A trace of suspicion flickered in his eyes. The man's personality seemed different from their first meeting — that Cheng Shi had been reluctant to get close. But now... why was he so warm?
'When things were abnormal, there was always a hidden reason.' But in Jiang Chi's view, nobody here should know what had happened inside the previous loop. Because no one had seen through his identity as a Time Walker.
That Pointer Knight disguise had carried him all the way to the peak. Never once had it failed. It had also earned him a modest reputation for wisdom and reliability. But who could have guessed that beneath the knight's skin was a mage who'd been imitating a warrior all along?
Suspicious though he was, Jiang Chi didn't reject Cheng Shi's warmth. He knew this person's identity was complicated. Rather than making an enemy from the start, it was better to stand firmly at his side from the very beginning.
Survival never depended on hatred — only on wisdom. Jiang Chi's intelligence might not be exceptional, but at least he had the chance to learn from his mistakes.
So he stepped closer, smiled, and gripped Cheng Shi's hand tighter, teasing:
"Your name happens to match a friend of mine. What a coincidence. I wonder if you know him — he's a Fate Weaver. Quite famous."
Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow and smiled back: "Oh? Famous how?"
"Looks like you don't know. Hmm, where should I begin..."
The same familiar conversation. But this time Cheng Shi cut him off quickly. He fixed Jiang Chi with an amused look and couldn't suppress a snort:
"How about...
"We start from the moment you reset the Time Battlefield. Sound good, Sir Knight?"
"!!!!!!!"