2026-07-18 09:19:17The night sky above the Aethelgard Magic Academy was no longer black. It had bruised—a swollen, throbbing purple that beat in sync with Aster’s heart, which felt ready to explode.
Aster ran. Their lungs burned like embers, their feet stumbling over magical tree roots protruding from the alleyways behind the academy. Behind them, deep in the old winery district, a pillar of violet light still pierced the clouds, swirling like a giant drill boring into reality. It wasn't fireworks. It wasn't a New Year's party. It was the Abyss Beacon.
And Aster Vale, a junk dealer who just wanted to sell some used toothpaste, was the one who had just triggered it.
"Pick up the pace, Master! The Magic Tower’s security perimeter will be active in three minutes!" Kaelen shouted from behind. The young man didn't sound tired at all. Instead of panic, Kaelen's voice vibrated with a tone suspiciously like... excitement?
"Don't... call... me Master!" Aster gasped, wiping away the cold sweat that stung their eyes. "And stop running like we’re out for a morning jog! We just triggered the apocalypse, Kaelen! The apocalypse!"
They took a sharp turn into a narrow alley between two abandoned dorm buildings, seeking cover from the aerial patrols that had undoubtedly already been deployed. Aster slumped against the damp stone wall, their legs feeling as though their bones had turned to jelly. They took a ragged breath, trying to calm a heartbeat that felt like the war drums of a barbarian tribe.
But calm was impossible. Because right before their eyes, a semitransparent blue screen—visible only to them—was glitching.
[SYSTEM ERROR: CRITICAL TIME ANOMALY DETECTED]
[CAUSALITY ANALYSIS: 'DRAGON WHITENING' TOOTHPASTE INTERACTED WITH ABYSS PARASITE HOST.]
[RESULT: TOTAL PURGE. PARASITE DEAD. HOST (VANCE) EXPERIENCING SPIRITUAL ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK.]
[SIDE EFFECT: MANTIC PARASITE DEATH TRIGGERED EMERGENCY BEACON TO ORIGIN DIMENSION.]
Aster gulped, the taste bitter as bile. "Damn it, damn it, damn it," they muttered, clutching their own hair. "I just wanted to make Vance’s teeth white so he could give a sweet smile to the Board of Directors. Why is the side effect a longdistance call to hell?!"
The system screen flickered again, this time a painful, bloodred.
[WARNING: 'ABYSS WAVE' SCENARIO (CHAPTER 50 EVENT) HAS BEEN FORCIBLY TRIGGERED.]
[ESTIMATED ARRIVAL OF ABYSS FORCES: 71 HOURS 59 MINUTES 42 SECONDS.]
[WORLD STATUS: PANIC. WORLD LAWS ARE ATTEMPTING TO REPAIR BUG... FAILED. REPAIRING... FAILED.]
[SYSTEM SUGGESTION: RUN. OR WRITE A WILL.]
"Seventytwo hours..." Aster whispered, eyes wide as they stared at the digital numbers counting down in their vision. "Three days. I have three days before this world gets eaten by monsters from another dimension. Three days! I haven't even finished paying off the pressure cooker installments at the flea market!"
They imagined dying a ridiculous death, eaten by a multimouthed monster, while their debts were passed on to Toby, their roommate who couldn't even cook instant noodles without burning them.
"Master?"
Kaelen’s voice broke Aster’s panicked reverie. The young man stood at the mouth of the alley, back straight, his silhouette framed by the faint purple light from the sky. Kaelen wasn't looking at Aster hyperventilating in fear. Kaelen saw a man sitting in deep contemplation within the shadows, staring at his own hands with a vacant gaze—as if bearing the weight of a great sin for the sake of humanity's salvation.
"Do you see that, Kaelen?" Aster pointed at the purple sky with trembling hands. Their voice was raspy, broken by dehydration and pure terror. "The sky... it's broken. Everything is wrong. I... I didn't mean for it to happen this fast."
I mean, I didn't mean to trigger the apocalypse this quickly! I need at least a month to save up for retirement and run to another continent!
However, to Kaelen’s ears, the sentence sounded different. Very different.
Kaelen stepped closer, his eyes shimmering with an intensity that made Aster shudder. For Kaelen, a Time Looper who had lived through 147 painful life cycles, seeing Aster Vale "regretful" was an alien concept. The Master never felt regret. The Master was only... calculating.
"Didn't mean for it to happen this fast?" Kaelen repeated Aster’s words, then gave a soft snort, a faint smile of admiration etched on his lips. "Of course. It’s too soon even by their standards. But that is the genius of it, isn't it?"
Aster blinked, confused. "Huh? What are you talking about? We're in huge trouble! Those rats... those monsters are coming!"
"Exactly!" Kaelen slapped his palm, his eyes burning with the fire of fanaticism. "Rats! Master, you truly see them. For hundreds of years—I mean, for all this time—the Abyss Sect has been hiding in the deepest holes of the Magic Tower. They are parasites that couldn't be touched because we didn't know who they were. Inquisitor Vance was only one of thousands."
Kaelen knelt before Aster, his voice dropping to an intense, conspiratorial whisper.
"If you had killed Vance quietly, the others would have run. They would have hidden again for another hundred years. But by triggering the Abyss Beacon now... in the middle of the city... in front of everyone’s eyes..." Kaelen let out a small, slightly manic laugh. "You just burned their house down! You forced every rat, every traitor, every cultist to crawl out of their nest in one sweep! They have no choice but to gather to welcome their 'master' descending from the sky!"
Aster stared at Kaelen, mouth agape. Their brain struggled to process the logic they had just heard.
Wait. What?
"You..." Aster gulped, trying to find words that made sense. "You think I... did this on purpose?"
"Don't be humble, Master," Kaelen cut in quickly, looking at Aster with profound respect. "This strategy is too cruel to be admitted openly. Baiting the enemy with the apocalypse? Using the threat of total destruction to purge the academy in one night? This isn't just a tactic. It’s a divine strategy. A Grand Design."
[SYSTEM NOTE: USER CHARISMA INCREASED ACCIDENTALLY. 'MYSTERIOUS AURA' EFFECT ACTIVE.]
Aster felt like crying. System, please turn off that effect. I’m not mysterious, I just have diarrhea because I ate cheap clams this afternoon!
"But Kaelen," Aster tried to argue, their voice sounding pathetic to their own ears. "72 hours. We only have 72 hours. That’s not enough time to... to prepare anything. We don't have an army. We don't have a fortress. We only have..." Aster reached into their pocket and pulled out the crumpled, nearly empty tube of toothpaste. "...this."
Kaelen stared at the toothpaste tube as if looking at the Holy Sword Excalibur.
"A weapon of mass destruction," Kaelen muttered in awe. "And you say it isn't enough? Of course it isn't enough for an ordinary person. But for you? 72 hours is a luxury. Just enough time to make them tear each other apart before you step in."
Kaelen stood up, glaring at the darkening sky with a challenging look.
"Let them come. Let the Magic Tower panic. Let the noble Valerius family tremble behind their castle walls. Because this time, Master... we won't be hiding. We will sit on the front lines, drink tea, and watch them crumble by your own design."
Aster looked at Kaelen’s broad, confident back. In their heart, two voices screamed.
The first was their survival instinct screaming: RUN TO A CAVE! SLEEP UNDERGROUND! SELL A KIDNEY FOR A BOAT TICKET!
The second was their economic logic: If I run now, my security deposit is gone. And if the apocalypse really happens, the gold coins under my mattress will be useless.
Aster let out a long sigh, a breath that sounded heavy and resigned to Kaelen, even though they were actually busy counting the remaining coins in their pocket.
"Alright," Aster said finally, standing up with legs still trembling slightly. They had to go back to the dorm. At least Toby was there, and Toby had a stash of instant noodles. If the world was going to end in 72 hours, Aster Vale wasn't going to die with an empty stomach. "We're going back to the dorm. I need to... pick up some things."
Junk. I have to grab all my junk. Maybe there's something I can use as a shield or at least sell to refugees later.
Kaelen nodded firmly, his eyes shining with meaning. "Retrieving war artifacts, I see. Understood. Your secret armory at the dorm must be ready."
"Not an armory..." Aster muttered while starting to walk again, dragging their feet. "Just a pile of trash under the bed."
"Humble to the end," Kaelen praised himself, walking behind Aster like a knight escorting his king to the battlefield. "Trash to the world, but a weapon to The Observer."
They moved through the shadows of the academy city, which was starting to descend into chaos. In the distance, the Magic Tower’s emergency bells began to toll, breaking the night’s silence with a deafening, panicked tone.
Aster stared at the system notification still blinking in the corner of their vision.
[COUNTDOWN: 71:45:10]
[SURVIVAL TIP: DON'T DIE.]
"Thanks for the tip, really helpful," Aster muttered sarcastically at the empty air.
They didn't know how they were going to survive an accelerated apocalypse with nothing but junk and a bodyguard who suffered from delusions of grandeur. But one thing was certain: Aster Vale had just become the most wanted person in the entire kingdom, and they didn't even know why.
"Kaelen," Aster called out softly without turning.
"Yes, Master?"
"If anyone asks later... we were just out for a night walk. Understand? Don't say anything about the toothpaste."
Kaelen smiled thinly, a smile full of secrets and blind loyalty. "Of course. The secrets of a divine strategy must be guarded. Let them think this is a natural disaster. They don't deserve to know that this is your work of art."
Aster could only close their eyes and pray that the gods governing this novel had a sense of humor. Because if not, Aster was certain that in 72 hours, they would be the most regretful ghost in existence.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 34: Humiliating Mercy
The wind in the Aethelgard Battle Stadium suddenly felt heavy, as though the oxygen in the air had been sucked away by the gripping tension.Darius Vorn stood tall with his drawn fallen star sword. A silver-colored mana aura blazed around him, radiating a cold chill that froze the sand beneath his armored boots. He had issued an open challenge, swearing to free Kaelen from the grip of the junk merchant. He braced for an epic collision of aura, for a clash of Sword Intent that would split the academy sky.Yet, Kaelen merely stared at him.Inside Kaelen's dark pupils, time seemed to spin backward, piercing through the boundaries of current reality. Kaelen did not see the arrogant and powerful Darius Vorn standing before him. What he saw were one hundred forty-seven shadows of death.Loop 14: Darius froze into an ice statue at the Northern Citadel because he refused to retreat from a blizzard, too proud to admit that nature was stronger than his blade.Loop 67: Darius was torn apart by A
Chapter 33: Darius's Open Challenge
The white dust from the shattered arena sand slowly began to settle, leaving behind a two-meter-deep crater in the center of the Battle Stadium. A chilling silence still hung over the thousands of seats in the stands. At the edge of the exit tunnel, Aster Vale was busy dusting off his tattered robe, getting ready to head out and look for Toby and his stack of leaking pots.However, up in the VIP box, Darius Vorn's mind was suffering a massive existential crisis.As the heir to the Vorn Family, Darius had trained his body in the frozen northern borders ever since he could walk. He knew exactly how heavy steel was, how heavy stone was, and the absolute limits of human flesh and blood. Five tons was five tons. No low-level magic spell or ordinary human muscle could lift it with a single finger, let alone by using a rusty clothesline.It had to be a trick, Darius thought, his jaw clenching until his teeth ground together. His sharp eyes locked onto the clothesline Aster had just stuffed i
Chapter 32: Physical Qualification and the Clothesline
While outside the arena Toby was busy building a makeshift pharmaceutical empire with a kerosene stove, Aster Vale knew nothing about the sudden wealth awaiting him. Aster's mind was focused on one thing alone: how to avoid paying fines.After obliterating the Orb of Arcane Veracity during the written exam, Aster had been warned by Professor Eldric that his Honorary Participant status came with terms and conditions. If he failed the physical qualifying round without a legitimate excuse, the academy reserved the right to revoke his honorary status and bill him for the destroyed crystal artifact. To Aster, the threat of a bill for tens of thousands of gold coins was far more terrifying than an ancient dragon attack.The afternoon sun beat down mercilessly over the Aethelgard Battle Stadium. At the center of the white-sand arena stood a giant, dark purple Obsidian Mana Stone. The stone emitted a heavy aura that nearly distorted the surrounding air. This was the second phase of the physic
Chapter 31: Toby and the Kerosene Stove
While inside the Great Hall Aster Vale was busy shattering a thousands-year-old ancient artifact with flea market profit margin theory, a far more miserable fate befell his roommate, Toby, outside the arena.Autumn winds blew hard across the courtyard of Aethelgard Academy, carrying a bone-chilling cold. Toby sat curled up on a used wooden crate, hugging his trembling knees. Stacks of cardboard boxes and burlap sacks filled with Aster's precious inventory surrounded him: rusty nails, cracked mugs, and various bits of junk salvaged from trash cans. As the Logistics Manager unilaterally appointed by Aster, Toby was tasked with guarding these items from being stolen by other scavengers.Damn it, Aster. You are inside sitting comfortably taking an exam, while I am out here guarding trash that even sewer rats would ignore, Toby grumbled, his breath puffing into the freezing air. His fingers were numb, and his stomach ached from skipping breakfast.He needed warmth. He needed hot water.Tob
Chapter 30: Chaotic Mana Theory Qualification
Morning at the Great Hall of Aethelgard Academy was shrouded in tension thick enough to slice with a sword. Thousands of wooden desks lined up neatly beneath a vaulted ceiling painted with ancient constellations. This was the first day of the Inter-Grade Internal Tournament: The Written Exam Qualifying Round for Mana Theory.Aster Vale sat at desk number 999, tucked into the farthest corner near the emergency exit. He had the face of a man who was being hunted down by loan sharks.He was not supposed to be here.Aster assumed his role in this tournament was purely as a manager sitting comfortably in the stands, eating boiled peanuts and cheering whenever Kaelen beat up arrogant opponents. However, the Honorary Participant Badge given by Senior Elian yesterday, born out of absolute terror of the Salted Fish, carried a lethal bureaucratic side effect. In the brick-thick academy rulebook, badge holders were automatically registered as Independent Participants and required to take the wri
Chapter 29: The Salted Fish Bribe
The afternoon sun shone brightly over the Administration Pavilion at Aethelgard Academy, but Aster Vale felt a chill run straight down his spine. He stood frozen in front of a massive gilded bulletin board, staring at a line of text that had just been rewritten in bright red ink.Inter-Grade Internal Tournament Registration Fee: 50 Gold Coins per Participant.Aster felt like his heart had just been tossed into a meat grinder. Fifty gold coins? That was not a registration fee, it was daylight robbery. With that kind of money, he could buy out the entire flea market in the lower district, stock up on every leaking pot in sight, and still have enough left over for a month of steak dinners.He reached into his tattered robe pocket and pulled out a small cloth pouch. Inside were twelve silver coins, four copper coins, and a button he had picked up that morning. His total net worth was not even enough to cover the fee for a single qualifying round, let alone the main event.“Master,” Kaelen
You may also like
Fake Regressor Apocalypse
Autistically21.9K viewsRise of the Useless Young Master
AFM3133.2K viewsSystem Super Daily Login
Khusayni36.9K viewsThe Vampire System
Dragonslav48.1K viewsSUPER DOCTOR REVENGE
Saranghae351 viewsThe Transcendent Zombie Master
Divine97 viewsFrom Prison scapegoat to a Multi-Trillionaire
Lady Chids365 viewsInvincible: I Level Up In My Sleep
Beibe480 views