False Sense of Time

"—But how did you know about this ritual? This is a ritual developed by the old man... Did he leave behind some kind of legacy after all? Oh well, whatever. Since you say you don't recognize it..."

"—Then I suppose you wouldn't care that your grandfather was killed by my curse, would you?"

The voice of the Giant Prince Wolfram echoed in Iver's mind.

Now, Iver put aside his anger and impulse, carefully dissecting the sentence and chewing on it word by word.

He soon realized that Wolfram, in his subconscious, held his grandfather in high esteem—and that he believed Jacob had left behind some kind of "legacy."

He was certain that Jacob was dead, but didn't know where Jacob had died. That's why he pretended to have cursed Jacob to death.

If Iver reacts strongly, it means that Iver has not been in contact with Jacob and has not received his teachings; conversely, if Iver has been in contact with Jacob, he would know that it was not Jacob who did it.

As a control group, another giant also said the following:

"—Could it be that you were harmed by the curse flowing in your blood? By the way, do you know how your biological parents died?"

Iver was extremely dismissive of his words at the time.

He thought they knew nothing... but after Iver mocked them, the two of them were attacked and disappeared without any resistance.

They could very well launch an attack on Iver. The mirage's reflection could also inherit some of the attack power.

But they didn't.

Because they have achieved their goal.

When Iver mocked them, they immediately realized... Iver knew how his parents died. They also deduced that Iver hadn't obtained Jacob's belongings.

Iver slowly clenched his fist.

He finally understood everything.

— Iver underestimated this giant who had regained his rationality after losing his Path of Strength.

This giant, imprisoned from childhood to old age, spent four hundred years in darkness, contemplating alone without going mad.

It was simply because the other party was a giant and acted very arrogantly.

Iver subconsciously projected his own stereotypes about Titans onto him—a tactic Iver himself was most adept at using, yet he himself conveniently overlooked this fact.

This is precisely because Iver was also arrogant.

Fortunately, it's not too late.

The other party used this method simply to force Iver to reveal information...

If nothing unexpected happens.

They are very likely to come, or have already come to Eagle Cape Village.

Another question arose in Iver's mind—

Who exactly was my grandfather?

How could his "relics" be simultaneously targeted by both Professor Moriarty and the Giant King?

Professor Moriarty, who was originally the final boss of version 6.0, Iver had no idea how much power he had now, or whether he had turned to the dark side and become a boss.

But he could at least confirm that the Giant Prince Wolfram was Fifth Level powerhouse! And he was the one who suddenly escaped from prison more than a decade ago.

More than a decade ago—this time point happens to be close to Jacob's death.

Iver and his grandfather both contracted strange headaches more than a decade ago; Professor Moriarty recruited the Curse Master Aziz, and Iver was adopted by the professor, also more than a decade ago; even the royal family of Avalon began to die one after another starting from the second emperor, the Giant Prince Wolfram escaped from prison, Jacob wrote a certain manuscript, Lily's mother was assassinated by Gray-Green, Yulia became the Phantom Demon Egg... all these things happened "more than a decade ago".

It seems that all of this may have happened in just two or three years.

If we go back another year or two, there was the poisoning of Avalon's first heir to the throne, the war between Avalon and the Iris, the landing of Avalon's army on its homeland by the Iris army after only ten days of fighting, Meg's first display of power and the creation of the "Ten Day War" fame, the birth of the Noble Red... and the days when Ibn and Nobel were recruited.

Which of these things are connected to each other? Iver fell into deep thought.

He felt that he was missing First Ring.

However, he was certain of at least one thing—that Jacob's manuscripts did not seem to be easy to find.

The advantage is that it's not so easy for others who also want to get their hands on the manuscript to find it.

Although Iver arrived late, he was probably the first to arrive.

This village is a bit eerie.

If you don't take the path recommended by the acquaintance, you won't even discover its existence—the more relaxed the forces are in communicating with ordinary townspeople, the later they will obtain the exact coordinates of Eagle Cape Village.

Iver regretted letting the two griffin aunties go back.

But there was nothing he could do... At that time, he had no idea that things would develop this way.

After standing still and politely inquiring about some details, Iver finally said goodbye to old William.

Although Hai Na couldn't understand what Iver and Grandpa William were talking about, she was having a great time with her griffin Liz and didn't find it boring at all.

They stood there and talked for at least twenty minutes.

But when Iver looked up, he found that the sky was still dusk—and when Iver and his group followed Hai Na to her house, the sky there was still dusk.

"... What a long twilight."

Even Sherlock couldn't help but complain, "There's something wrong with this no matter how you look at it, isn't there?"

"Why?"

Hai Na, however, seemed a little confused. "Is it... very long?"

Iver raised an eyebrow and countered, "You don't think it's long? How is it different from your experience on Glass Island?"

Hai Na was somewhat confused. "Really?"

Upon hearing this, Sherlock took out a silver pocket watch from his pocket.

He checked the time.

But soon, his expression darkened.

"It's indeed not long."

Sherlock said slowly, "It's only been less than three minutes since we saw Hai Na."

Upon hearing this, Lily froze on the spot.

Iver then asked seriously, "Are you sure, Great Detective? You didn't misremember the time?"

Not to mention how long Iver and that Old Inspector talked... it would take more than three minutes to walk over from the north end of the village!

"I know this is incredible. But I'm sure it only took three minutes."

Sherlock said earnestly, "I picked up my watch the moment I saw the light again."

Hearing this, even Hai Na sensed something was wrong. "Could it be... that some force has moved your pocket watch? I feel like we haven't known each other for very long... otherwise I would have gotten bored long ago and urged you to leave."

Iver's heart sank.

He exchanged a glance with Sherlock, then said in a deep voice, "Senior, I might know... why you're always late."

"... Are you saying that my perception of time is wrong?"

Hai Na was taken aback.

She was about to retort when she suddenly remembered that the first time she experienced the "symptom" of "being so engrossed in reading" was when she left her hometown and started junior high school in Bagpipe Town.

Back then, her classmates often said she was a child cursed by the Hourglass —whether she was reading, practicing swordplay, or running, she would feel like several hours had passed in the blink of an eye.

It was as if I had only been distracted for a moment, and time had jumped to the end.

Time seemed to pass by exceptionally easily for her.

She felt nothing, nor did she feel tired, and she didn't slack off or get distracted...

Because for her, it didn't take that long at all.

She never exhibited this strange "genius disease" when she was in elementary school.

... So, could the problem not be "age" but "location"? Whenever she is not in her hometown, she experiences a strange "disruption of her sense of time".

This made her grades exceptionally good, but at the same time it hindered her work and caused her considerable trouble.

As she spent more and more time away from home, her deviation from the norm gradually returned to the middle point...

The best example is that when she first met Iver, it could last for several hours; but now she can keep it to around half an hour.

For a moment, Hai Na didn't know what to say.

She felt a sense of absurdity and fear wash over her—

Was she not "cursed by the Hourglass" as the Children joked, but truly cursed by the Amber God? Just then, she looked up in a daze.

The others were also startled, and looked up as if they had noticed something.

To my astonishment, I discovered that a Deep Moon had appeared in the sky sometime earlier.

Night fell, but no one present noticed anything amiss. It was Haina who was the first to realize something was wrong.

Since entering Eagle Cape Village, everyone's sense of time has been disrupted.

"Run faster!"

Hai Na's expression immediately changed. "If you haven't gone inside by night... sometimes you might run into the Night-walking Undead Legion!"

Update complete!