The Accident of Time, and the Accident of Time!

"Whoosh—"

The Frigid Wind howled, biting and piercing.

The snowflakes whipped up by the gale were not soft; the ice shards swirled and poured down, like an invisible plow rake recklessly scraping the earth, carving out countless furrows and ravines into the vast expanse of white snow.

Cheng Shi shuddered.

Why does this scene... seem familiar?

Cheng Shi froze abruptly, then a chill ran from his tailbone straight to the top of his head, making his scalp tingle.

It wasn't from the cold, but from being startled.

"!!!!!"

When he saw that instead of the pitch-black Dolgo D Assembly Hall, the Rosna Conscription Plaza was completely white, he was stunned and stood there, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints, and goosebumps rising all over his body!

Cheng Shi suddenly realized something: the Sinner's Regret hadn't been successfully activated, and the reason it hadn't was that someone had reset time before he could act!??

How did I reset the time?

Could it be that someone secretly opened a [Time Battlefield] at the very start of the Trials, without telling anyone?

Who is this person?

Who else could this person be?!

Cheng Shi looked at his refined teammate on his right, who was climbing the roof beam, with shock in his eyes. He felt no fear, only admiration and respect.

There are no ordinary players at the peak.

This Jiang Chi... he's truly a Time Walker!

It all fits together, everything fits together.

Cheng Shi took out his Pocket Watch to check the time; it was exactly past noon.

He had noticed this detail before time was reset, but the problem was that he overlooked one point: Jiang Chi, who had already climbed onto the roof, must have woken up earlier than him. In other words, the other party had a chance to activate the Time Battlefield at the top of the hour!

No wonder, no wonder this Pointer Knight could freeze time in the entire space, no wonder this Pointer Knight, despite being a warrior, lacked power, no wonder this Pointer Knight used a variety of methods in battle but was not as violent and reckless as a warrior, no wonder he drew wisdom and erudition from Poison!

Because he wasn't a Pointer Knight at all, but a Mage of time, a Time Walker capable of creating Time Battlefield!

Very well, he successfully disguised his identity with a broken gnomon, and didn't mention it at all during the entire Trials. Not only that, this "Pointer Knight" may have put a lot of effort into his disguise, and he may even possess some strength-based combat talents that even Mage wouldn't choose!

He used all his strength to disguise himself as a soldier, perhaps his ultimate goal was for this moment!

A miraculous turnaround, a chance to start over!

Sharp!

This act is no less than that of the most egregious "Deception" Believer!

That's really amazing!

But Cheng Shi was neither the caster of the Time Battlefield nor the bearer of the special [Time] talent. How did he, a [Nothingness] Walker, discover all of this when the Time Battlefield reset?

This time it wasn't because of that Dice.

As a cautious player, Cheng Shi did indeed deliberately maintain the value of his [Destiny] dice as a marker of time after seeing a teammate with the [Time] ability.

However, this method can only make him realize that time has been reset, but it cannot make him retain the Memory from before the reset.

This time, however, he was not erased by time; he even retained his Memory!

Why!?

In fact, Cheng Shi was also quite confused. Only a small part of his shock was related to Jiang Chi's identity. After all, he had some suspicions about Jiang Chi's identity. Although the result was unexpected, it was not unacceptable. As for the rest of the shock, it was all about the [time]!

That's right, it's time!

It was the power of [Time] that saved him from having his Memory erased and allowed him to see the reset time. But before that, Cheng Shi had no idea that he still carried the power of [Time] within him!

But where does this power of "time" come from?

The answer is actually quite simple: since it is the power of time, it naturally comes from time itself.

Coincidentally, Cheng Shi had seen [Time] in the Evil Infant Tribunal in Afros!

It was at that moment that this eternal [being] emitted a breathtaking radiance. This radiance only shone on Cheng Shi, allowing him to transcend the Mortal World dimension and see the true appearance of the time prison where Afros was located.

Do you still remember what that cage looked like?

"Time circles and twists into knots, allowing countless Cosmos to pass by. This independent knot of time always floats quietly in the Nothingness, silent and lonely."

In that massive time loop, Cheng Shi saw through the essential truth of the connection between past and future time. Therefore, in this "loop" that could hardly be called a "loop," Cheng Shi... was completely unaffected.

Or rather, he will never be affected again.

Because at the moment when time was reset and the cycle began again, an antique ring, radiating the vicissitudes of time, appeared on Cheng Shi's finger.

That spot should have been occupied by another ring from [Existence], [Floating Dream of the Sea of Memory].

However, since Cheng Shi had already exhausted his three [Memory] abilities, he had taken it off long ago, and now, that spot has been filled with a [Time] ring!

This is a ring with a slender, complete hand of time twisted and intertwined into two rings. The two rings are tightly fastened on the fingertip, while floating between the two rings is a knot that looks like an infinity symbol or a Möbius strip.

At first glance, the ring may seem old and rusty, but upon closer inspection, one can clearly see the radiance of time flowing within it.

Eternal Prisoner of Time (SSS): A ring born from Discarded Divine Artifact, a ring that bursts forth with the sentiment of [Time], witnessing the closure of time.

Special effect [The Prisoner of Time's Self-Awakening]: All time resets, rewinds, and loops caused by the power of [Time] will not diminish your concept of time, nor will they affect your consciousness and Memory.

Special effect [The Self-Awakened's Cry]: All positive effects that occur to you due to time reset, rewind, or loop will be slightly increased.

"..."

From Discarded Divine Artifact, and from Discarded Divine Artifact again!

Looking at the description of the ring, Cheng Shi almost extinguished the anger that had been building up inside him.

"What is this, compensation?"

"A slap followed by a treat?"

Did He anticipate that His Believer would anger Him, and thus prepare the compensation beforehand?

Is [Time] really that generous?

Cheng Shi was bewildered. This ring, in any sense, could perhaps be considered a divine artifact, especially for a Believer in "Destiny"...

It's important to understand that Time is always at odds with Destiny, and their Believer are not on good terms. So what's the point of giving the Believer of their rival a ring that can break most of the mysteries of Time?

If Jiang Chi knew about this, wouldn't he be so angry that he'd point to the sky and curse, "We were just about to fight again, why did Your Majesty aid the enemy?!"

Cheng Shi couldn't figure it out, and he didn't want to think about it anymore. Compared to these incomprehensible things, he knew very well what he needed to do right now.

Whether the ring was "compensation" prepared in advance by "Time" or a warning to stop here, it was impossible for him to give up his idea.

After being repeatedly "tricked," Cheng Shi broke down. He needed to find an outlet for his frustration, and now, with everything reset, was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity.

At this moment, Gongyang Weifan was still alive despite the Poison, and Jiang Chi had just found the gnomon that was impersonating him and was walking back. The other party probably didn't know that he hadn't lost his Memory. Judging from his appearance, this Time Walker might want to reenact the previous events.

This time, however, he probably felt he could avoid all the pitfalls and make it to the end.

So that's the secret to this "Knight's" ranking up.

Little did he know that the moment Cheng Shi saw him, his fate had already been rewritten.

Jiang Chi returned, leaning on his gnomon against the wind and snow. A strange glint flashed in his eyes when he looked at Cheng Shi, but he quickly smiled and greeted him:

"The roads are slippery after the snow... I need a walking stick to help me walk... Oh, sorry, the wind is too strong..."

I hate the north of the Isle of Hope, even though I am a northerner myself.

How should I address my friend?

He extended his hand to Cheng Shi again, a bright smile spreading across his face. Everything seemed so friendly, as if the five-on-one hunt had never happened.

This time, Cheng Shi didn't take out his fur coat to shield himself from the wind. He looked at the outstretched hand, returned a bright laugh, and warmly greeted Jiang Chi, grasping both of his hands and shaking them vigorously.

"Cheng Shi, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Jiang Chi was taken aback, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes. The other person's personality seemed different from when they first met. Back then Cheng Shi was very reluctant to get close to him, but this time... why was he so enthusiastic?

Although something unusual must be amiss, the problem is that in Jiang Chi's eyes, no one here should know what happened in that loop just now, because no one could tell that he was a Time Walker.

This act of disguising himself Pointer Knight allowed him to climb to the top without ever making a mistake, and also earned him a reputation for wisdom and reliability. But who would have known that beneath the surface of this Pointer Knight was actually a Mage constantly imitated a warrior?

Despite his doubts, Jiang Chi did not reject Cheng Shi's enthusiasm. He knew that this man was not simple, so rather than choosing to antagonize him, he would rather stand firmly by his side from the beginning.

Survival does not depend on hatred, but on wisdom. Jiang Chi may not have been very wise, but at least he had the opportunity to try and make mistakes.

So he took two more steps closer, smiled, and squeezed Cheng Shi's hand, raising an eyebrow and teasingly saying:

"Your name is the same as a friend of mine. What a coincidence. I wonder if you know him? He's a Fate Weaver, a very famous one."

Cheng Shi also raised an eyebrow and smiled:

"Oh? How did you become famous?"

"It seems you don't know, hmm, where should I begin..."

It was the familiar conversation again, but this Cheng Shi quickly interrupted him. He looked at Jiang Chi with a playful expression and couldn't help but chuckle, saying:

"How about..."

"Let's start from the moment you reset the Time Battlefield, shall we, Sir Knight?"

"!!!!!!!!!!"