“First, let’s get organized.”
There’s 30 minutes left.
Geo prepared a spell to stop the Kraken from the sorcerer of the East, but with the Kraken’s changes, the spell became pretty meaningless.
The sorcerer has a special power called ‘Clock,’ which seems to hold the ability to stop time in a specific space.
“…Of course, saying it like this sounds amazing, but it’s really not that great.”
The ability to control the flow of time in a certain space.
It’s what you might call the ability to create a “time gap,” and it’s more common than you’d think.
Back when I was learning the spear, I trained in a place where the flow of time was incredibly slow.
Since time gaps exist in every decent spiritual world, the sorcerer probably has a similar ability.
“What’s important are these jewels.”
These jewels contain the power of the sky that prevents regional confinement, making them the most important items in this dungeon.
According to the original plan, just these and the spell would’ve sufficed to stop the Kraken’s regional confinement.
But something went wrong, and Geo had to make a choice.
[What choice?]
“Well, we’ll have to find that out now.”
It wasn’t noted in the memo, and nothing specific was left behind.
Just the dilemma of choosing between “everyone’s life or your own life” was written.
However, there’s a clue to what might have happened.
At the end of the note, it looks like a rushed sentence was scribbled down.
If someone is watching, please do this for me…
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1WE83WnhqbmRkVmFBelZMWWxOUi9nR25ZSndoRkNLYU5CSUVsR3RoWE5HdA
A longing for something.
The crystal, a key element of the spell, wasn’t found and wasn’t even at home, but if they went through all this planning…
‘The choice might be their own life.’
They probably made this element hoping that someone would complete the spell in their place after they escaped.
Couldn’t just ask anyone, so they would have wanted to hand it over to someone who could grasp the power of the clock.
However, I still can’t understand why it was hastily scribbled, and part of the note was torn.
‘Were they being chased? Or maybe just running out of time?’
Tick-tock.
16:25
[25 minutes]
[25 minutes left]
[With a save, let’s do this comfortably]
[Sweet save, lol]
[Then Geo isn’t the mastermind?]
[No clue.]
[Feels like everyone is a suspect, lol]
[Shall we head east?]
[Let’s set up in the east and come back]
[Let’s go east ㄱㄱㄱ]
[Lily should be able to make the spell with her feet, right?]
I shook my head, hung the clock back on the wall, and gathered the jewels.
“No. Let’s just leave it for today.”
As the sorcerer said, there’s no longer much effect to expect from the spell.
Of course, I can’t fully trust this person called a sorcerer, but it’s certain that the Kraken or something related to it is coming.
In that regard, rather than carelessly setting up the spell, I should first see how Young Lily reacts.
‘Surely Young Lily will have some role to play.’
Creeeak…
“The fact that she recognized the existence of a disaster means there’s some kind of connection. There’s also the Save, so it doesn’t seem urgent to rush right away.”
The timing is a bit ambiguous.
[Hmm…]
[Okay.]
[Go go go go go.]
[Lily, do whatever you want.]
I returned home.
■
“…?”
Rustle.
Slowly opening my eyes and throwing off the blanket that was covering my body, I got out of bed.
Outside the window, the sun was setting slowly.
I was definitely tired, but actually thinking about it now, I wasn’t that tired, yet somehow I just fell asleep.
“Yawn… What time is it now?”
I instinctively checked the clock.
16:51
Did I sleep for almost 2 hours and 30 minutes?
Considering how tired I was, it doesn’t seem like that much sleep.
I shuffled to the chair in front of the desk and plopped down.
I still felt a bit drowsy.
Should I go wash my face?
Yeah. Let’s go wash my face.
My dream was a bit unsettling too, so maybe washing my face will clear it up—
But wasn’t the dream kind of fascinating?
“…Hmm. Definitely.”
I pushed the chair back to get up, but sat down again.
The dream was completely bizarre.
Suddenly, I escaped through the window, wandered around the village, and in an instant, I got faster and zoomed around the village in a blink.
Then, out of nowhere, I went to the river and received a strange jewel from my uncle. I went to a house and looked at the clock…
“…What was next?”
It was definitely something strange, but I couldn’t remember.
Mom and Dad said that dreams fade over time, but it’s been less than 2 minutes since I woke up.
The part I couldn’t remember wasn’t the beginning, but rather the last part just before waking up.
I grabbed my head.
It was something completely bizarre!
“Ugh… Lily, remember!”
Clock, clock, clock…
“Ah! It was a wall clock!”
It looked almost identical to the clock we have at home.
I hurriedly got up and dashed down the stairs.
My surprised mom looked at me, but this was more important.
“Lily? What’s wrong?”
“Oh. It’s the same.”
It’s exactly the same.
It might be a bit less worn, but it was definitely this kind of clock.
“Mom!”
“Yes?”
“Can I take a look at this?”
“You mean the clock? Sure.”
“Are you serious? Then go ahead.”
Mom gave me the wall clock with an overly cute expression.
The sensation in my hand feels pretty familiar.
Maybe it’s because the dream felt so vivid.
“Thank you!”
“Why suddenly the clock?”
“Oh. A clock like this appeared in my dream, and I wanted to see if it’s the same.”
“Ah, I see. How exciting. Feel free to look!”
I clambered my way back up the stairs to the second-floor room.
Definitely holding this clock!
“Uh… what did I do?”
Didn’t I just do something?
I flailed the clock around in the air.
From a distance, it looked pretty silly, but I was giving it my all.
But nothing really changed.
“Ugh… what’s going on?”
What exactly did I do with the clock?
The back plate is slightly sw-
Huh? The back plate?
I tilted my head in thought and looked at the back.
Upon closer inspection, there were wooden rings hanging from both ends of a circular wooden plate.
Ah! I opened this part, didn’t I?
I pulled out the wooden ring and opened the plate.
Inside were wooden gears meshing and clicking away.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
As I watched the gears click together, something came to mind.
A memory.
It’s a bit strange to call it reality, but too vivid to be just a dream.
It was someone’s letter.
“…The sea?”
The sea. Monsters. Jewels. And magic circles.
Four words popped into my head.
At the same time, the dark side of the cursed sea that Young Lily had never seen in her 12 years of life…
Click.
I closed the wooden plate.
“What, what’s going on?”
Strange. Something’s off.
I set the clock down, but the tick-tock sound still buzzed in my ears.
Let’s… let’s wash my face.
This is just because the dream felt so vivid.
Once I wash my face, I’ll completely forget it.
That’s how dreams work, once I just wash my face…!
‘…….’
I washed my face.
■
As the day faded, Young Lily fell asleep.
She snapped back to reality after washing her face, had dinner, read a book, and played with her friends before falling asleep at 10 PM.
Current time is 11:55 PM.
‘I’ watched Young Lily from above like a ghost.
Due to skipping over the face-washing part, the actual time I was watching was only about 20 minutes.
[Why did we make her wash her face?]
[Couldn’t we have stopped her…?]
[Sleeping Lily is cute too.]
[Seriously.]
[Maybe not washing her face would’ve been better.]
[Isn’t excessive intervention something we’re trying to avoid? It blocked earlier too.]
Isn’t interference just a blockage? It was congested earlier too.
[Seems like it’s too congested?]
And I didn’t prevent Young Lily’s face-washing, aka, escapism.
As someone who needs to clear the dungeon using Young Lily, I definitely should have stopped it.
Still, I helped her wash her face and forget the dream.
“Heroes aren’t made in an instant.”
There aren’t many moments when I hold possession of the body.
Ultimately, all I can really do is play a guiding role, while the practical part must be done by Young Lily.
“It’s too much for 12-year-old Lily to accept.”
It’s not simply out of pity or sympathy.
Of course, I can’t say that ‘I’ have none of those feelings, but this incident involving the Kraken is a bit much for a 12-year-old Lily to take in.
If things go wrong, she might just cry and give up everything to escape.
At the very least, I need to let her slowly accept these events one by one to fully assess the situation.
“Above all else.”
[Above all else?]
I stroke Young Lily’s head in a soul form.
Even without any physical contact, Young Lily giggled as if feeling a touch.
“…I don’t want her to experience it twice.”
“Umm…”
I wish she could pass through this without knowing anything… but the situation isn’t going to allow that.
Still, the difference from before is that ‘I’ am here.
As long as I’m around, Lily won’t fail twice.
‘Definitely.’
I check the clock.
23:59
In one minute, Day 1 will pass.
Since I found a note, I could skip Day 1, but without doing anything specific, it could still end in failure.
What’s certain is that by Day 2, something will start to change, either outside or inside the village.
That’s one thing I’m sure of.
[Really?]
[Please]
[Pleasepleasepleaseplease]
[I think I should have acted]
[Failed. Returning ㅋㅋㅋ]
[Success?]
Click.
00:00
“……”
“……”
A silent room.
Lily is still lost in sleep, and the view outside is incredibly dark.
“…Done.”
I successfully moved past Day 1.
Day 2 00:01
[Day 2 has begun.]
[The disaster of seawater is on the move.]
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