After dealing with Liu Yuhan, Qi Si continued down the stairs.
At 9:20, he stopped on time and watched the hands rotate across the clock face until the minute and second hands had turned for a total of six minutes and forty seconds.
If time were converted according to the mechanics of the Sea of Hopelessness Instance, one hour corresponded to eighty minutes on the clock. He would stop or continue onward according to a cycle in which the minute hand traveled a little over one-third of a circle.
The two methods of timekeeping did not conflict. As long as he was cautious enough, he could stop once according to each set of rules, at the cost of nothing more than some wasted time.
Qi Si lingered no longer. Maintaining the same steady pace, he descended step by step. The halo of light at the top of the Clock Tower was impossibly distant, and in the darkness, only the flashlight in his hand flickered with a blinding glare.
The staircase spiraling around the Clock Tower's central axis seemed endless, as though it led straight into the earth's core and would emerge through the other side of the world.
Qi Si could hear the tide and smell the briny reek of water. After taking the Sea God Scepter from his inventory, he gained another layer of subtle control over this space—or rather... understanding.
After Frog Hospital, his connection to the Sea God Scepter had deepened further. At least outwardly, he was no different from a true god when wielding the Sea God Scepter.
He could freely use the power sealed within the scepter in suitable places—such as the Sea of Hopelessness—or remotely control and recall the scepter at any time in certain worlds.
When he had used the Sea God Scepter