The Strings of Time

Kang De moved into the new house.

Owning a detached small building was a privilege reserved for the mountain lord and a few leaders. Kang De, a newcomer, occupied one without anyone objecting. After today's events, Hong San's prestige had risen to another level, and with this momentum, when he issued orders, naturally no one dared to question them.

Moreover, Kang De brought so many supplies to everyone, which is a great achievement.

Hong San personally led Kang De to the small building next door. In front of Kang De, he remained respectful and meticulous, while Kang De chatted and laughed freely, just as always.

But both of them knew that Hong San's blunder had already created a rift between them.

The matter itself is trivial, but the attitude is important. Today, Hong San acted arbitrarily out of selfishness, pushing Kang De to the forefront. Tomorrow, he might do something even more outrageous for another reason—this is Kang De's way of looking at problems and his logic.

Because of his previous experiences, he had very low tolerance for these things, because he had almost regarded Hong San as a friend, since Hong San could have been straightforward... but he didn't.

The door closed; Hong San had already left.

Kang De stood on the second floor, looking out the window. The building was also guarded. Hong San was giving them serious instructions, presumably reminding them of some taboos and etiquette.

He shook his head, sat down in a chair in the room, and took out the Crimson Scroll.

The golden flames shone brightly, rising as before. This light and flame, which appeared out of nowhere, was incredibly magical. It was generated on its own, without any consumption, and only had a little heat... but nothing else.

Kang De took a deep breath and slowly placed his hand on the scroll.

The spiritual energy slowly extends through the fingers.

Just a tiny bit.

He couldn't decipher the text on the scroll, nor could he absorb the golden flames, nor could he learn any earth-shattering or awe-inspiring skills from it... So, there was basically only one method left.

Extraction.

Analysis, tracing back to the source.

They came into contact with that golden fire.

Kang De was very careful, only touching upon it a little bit.

After all, the Crimson Scroll was no ordinary object, and he felt that such an anomaly was not to be taken lightly. To be on the safe side, it would be better to proceed gradually. However, when he actually began the Extraction, he realized that he had underestimated the situation.

In an instant, Kang De's breath hitched, as if his soul had been plunged into the endless and vast universe. The boundless expanse of the universe, from top to bottom and from ancient times to the present, was revealed to him. The source of power contained in the golden fire was completely beyond his imagination, and an indescribable mysterious power surged into his body through his fingertips.

"Fuck!"

"--Here we go again!"

Kang De was very familiar with this kind of experience.

Because it happened just a month or two ago on the Holy Seal Archipelago, he had just awakened the ability to Extraction Element and excitedly ran back to the White Mist World. At that time, he still thought that was Earth, because this ability could decompose objects, and he wondered if he could decompose the White Mist into nothingness.

... Then he was engulfed by a violent surge of energy, the powerful force pouring directly into his body, leaving no pore untouched—I mean, his pores.

As a result, Kang De accumulated a mysterious power originating from the White Mist within his body. This thing was like Element, or like energy, and its only use was to enchant objects, using the imagination of Earthlings to create mysterious items that exist in fantasy works.

Commonly known as the "Great Construction Enchantment".

Now, as Extraction that golden fire, the same feeling arises again.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Kang De shouted, "Could you be gentle... mmm mmm mmm..."

It was the same experience again.

Unable to voice his protest, and unable to struggle, Kang De lay there utterly despondent, letting himself be washed over by the most primal force.

It seemed that Master Kang's cooperative attitude satisfied the golden Flame, or perhaps this power was much more refined than the White Mist, or perhaps Kang De's body had become much stronger during this time—in any case, the accident that happened when absorbing the White Mist did not occur, he did not feel bloated, so he did not need to release excess power, and the power flowing into his body was just right.

When the energy transfer ended, Kang De's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

As his fingers left the scroll, the dazzling golden flames vanished instantly, returning it to its ordinary state. Kang De lay on the ground, looking up at the sky, his eyes vacant, drool escaping from the corner of his mouth.

Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean he's been ruined.

It's not that he was having an absolute blast.

In fact, he was lost in thought, or rather, he was caught in the purest shock.

Because the process just now was different from drawing out the White Mist.

Absorbing the White Mist merely added a chaotic mix of Element to his body that he could utilize; essentially, it was still the same old process of Extraction items and absorbing Element.

What he just obtained was not the Element.

It is... ability.

It was as if, after Extraction Knight Glenn, he gained the opponent's most prized skill, Earth's Roar.

Just as after Extraction Richard the mage's essence, he also gained the mage's most prized Flame control.

This process, accompanied by the reading of memories, is not a complete absorption, but rather seeing a fragment. When absorbing Glen, he saw the other's affair and agreement with Hannah; when absorbing Richard, he saw things related to the First Prince Alex.

When he absorbed the energy from the scroll, he only saw one frame of the image.

There was only one frame, and it was a fleeting, brief image. With his current mental strength, he was only capable of seeing this extremely brief image. This image, this memory, came from the owner of this golden Flame... from the depths of the other's memory.

He saw the universe.

A desolate, lifeless, and chaotic world.

He also gained power.

Just feeling that tiny bit of power made him feel small and powerless—this feeling didn't come from fear, but from awe.

Like that video you see online, it tells you how big the Earth is, how big the Sun is, how big the solar system is... Through the most intuitive comparison, it tells you just how incredibly huge the universe that humans can detect right now is—a diameter of 93 billion light-years.

Has the universe ever scared you with supernova explosions or asteroids?

No.

But when humans directly perceive the vastness and immensity of the universe, they cannot help but marvel at their own insignificance... just like Kang De's feelings at this moment.

Without a doubt, the power on the scroll... must have come from the gods of this world.

This power, primordial and simple, is the true and supreme power of the world.

It's like Extraction White Mist, but there's a difference. White Mist can be analyzed to reveal countless complex Element, while the Element in this golden fire seem to be only two.

Kang De slowly got up.

Looking at the Crimson Scroll on the table, he subconsciously reached out and grabbed it. As the scroll touched his hand, brilliant golden flames rose up. Kang De took a closer look and was taken aback.

Because the Flame on the scroll... hardly dimmed at all.

It seems that the power that Kang De absorbed was only a negligible amount.

Kang De tried to release his spiritual energy to contact the golden fire, and then received the feedback that he was "full." His body could no longer bear too much energy, so the golden fire did not react at all.

Wow, that's really smart!

He put the scroll away, stretched his body, and felt the changes within him. His gaze swept around the room, then landed on something, and he stared in surprise.

Kang De strode over.

There was a mirror on the low cabinet. He picked it up, and his face was reflected in the mirror.

He still has that handsome face, and looks very dashing today, without any change.

But the eyes... the eyes have changed.

His eyes burned with golden flames, dazzling and blazing, like the golden fire of a scroll.

"This..."

Kang De blinked and muttered, "That's kind of cool..."

Clearly, the golden flames in his eyes originated from the scroll's mutation. Kang De seemed to be deep in thought, pondering the changes he had experienced when absorbing the golden fire earlier, and mobilizing the power from the scroll.

The next moment, the golden flame in his left eye suddenly transformed, its radiance flowing and its rays intertwining, instantly turning into a golden watch face.

--It plucked the strings of time.

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PS1: First update, damn it, I'm completely stuck with writer's block. Second update will be a little later...