As our conversation inside the room continued, he handed me a badge and a document. He informed me that he wanted both Mayu and me to study in the kingdom. He also turned to Mayu and told her that she would be made a princess of Zeron to grant her authority. "What? You're going to make me a princess of Zeron?" Mayu asked, taken aback. "Correct. I will recommend you to my father to grant you the title of princess. To my father, celestial items are highly valuable, which is why we ensure they remain under Zeron's control as much as possible." I immediately rejected the prince's proposal. "Hold on. I'll agree to our deal, but I don't want Mayu involved in this. I am the one tasked with the mission to save Zeron, not Mayu." Suddenly, Mayu grabbed the badge and replied boldly, "I accept. I will study at the palace and become a princess." Shocked by her words, I immediately protested. "What are you talking about? Didn't you hear Aryan's story about what happened when you entered the

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a brilliant dimension filled with glowing golden clocks made of pure energy, floating and surrounding me on all sides. "Where am I?" Turning around, I saw a giant clock spinning rapidly backward. As it whirled, it gradually siphoned the energy from within my body. "What is happening?!" Moments later, a powerful force yanked me downward, and I was swallowed by darkness. In an instant, everything vanished from my sight—even the ambient sound went dead silent. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself on my knees, immediately collapsing to the ground from sheer exhaustion. My body was trembling violently, and I was gasping for air. "I've returned to the past again." A sharp pain throbbed in my chest, mirrored by the utter chaos in my mind. Even now, I still couldn't believe that the person who claimed to be my own child had stabbed me straight through the heart to kill me. I hadn't even been able to protect myself; I had no choice but to

Inside the carriage, Ora suddenly manifested from the spirit crystal. Furious, she smacked me on the head and began lecturing me. "I swear, Aren, I don't know what to do with you anymore. I agreed to let you rescue Lavender, but now you’ve added so much extra baggage. What on earth do you plan to do with all these women?" "Don't talk like that, Ora," I replied. "They need help. I’m bringing them to Magista so they can start over and build a new life." "They need help? Did it ever cross your mind that they’re just going to be a burden?" Ora yelled. "Do you honestly think our journey to Magista is going to be some walk in the park?" She pointed out that our journey would be treacherous, warning that we were highly likely to encounter bandits or monsters—especially since the road through Cashin cut straight through the mountains. Normally, travelers would hire armed escorts just to keep their carriages safe. "Do you really think you can safeguard five whole carriages by yourself wh

After the joyous drinking and celebration in the village, we never expected the chaos that was about to unfold. Hundreds of orcs were attacking the village. Some of them stood nearly 3 meters tall, possessing massive, hulking bodies. The orcs were slaughtering the men and seizing the women to carry them away. Many of those they killed were the female hunters who were with me earlier, who had tried to fight back. I nearly vomited when I saw the headless corpse of a wolfkin woman I had been talking to just that afternoon. Among the dead were Lavender’s friends, the same ones who were laughing with me while we drank earlier. "No... this can't be happening..." My body trembled with uncontrollable rage. I never thought the orcs would attack that night. This was my fault—why didn't I consider they might be in danger here? I unleashed a surge of powerful energy, and the Time Sword manifested in my hand. "You will pay for what you've done. I will kill you all!" I screamed, charging fo

While I was talking inside the fox girl’s room, someone suddenly knocked on the door. She stood up to open it, but the door swung open before she could reach it, and a woman entered. She was also a fox-kin, and there was a clear resemblance between them. "It’s true, then—you’ve finally woken up." "Wait! You can’t just barge into my room, Mother!" she snapped irritably. Ignoring her daughter, the woman walked straight to me and took my hands. "Finally, you’re awake. That’s a relief." I was surprised by her sudden enthusiasm. "Ah... Um... Did you save me?" "That’s right, it was me. You owe me a great debt. To be honest, you’d be dead right now if I hadn’t arrived. Your body would have been mangled and eaten by maggots by now," she said bluntly. I was stunned, but I couldn't deny it—I did owe her my life. Suddenly, her daughter pulled her away from me. "What are you saying? Have you no shame? Why would you say something like that to him?" "My name is Elaine, Captain of the Magi