Chapter 65: The Cost

“Where is this?”

Mann’s consciousness arrived in a pure white space. Everything here felt so familiar.

“Helgort… is that you?”

“…Sigh…”

A soft sigh echoed out, and Helgort’s figure gradually solidified.

Seeing him again, for some reason, a long-lost feeling filled Mann’s chest.

“We meet again so soon… Helgort. It’s a pity, though—the matter of the Armor of Time is still completely without a lead.”

Helgort came over and sat down in front of Mann. After pondering for a long while, he finally spoke in a faint tone.

“You idiot. Before, I only thought you dared to think and act, but now it’s clear you’re just stubborn! Stubborn to the point of insanity! Do you have some kind of psychological trauma?”

“…”

Seeing Mann’s silence, Helgort could only force his words back.

“Forget it. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“Besides, being sealed like this was my own choice. You don’t need to bear any guilt.”

Mann shook his head upon hearing this.

“In the end, if I hadn’t spoken that name back then, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“But don’t worry—I will definitely find the Armor of Time!”

“Even if I tell you, you probably won’t listen, but you should just give up.”

Helgort suddenly interrupted Mann.

“I’ll be blunt. Stop meddling with the Armor of Time from now on.”

“What does that mean? How can I just let it go after all this?”

“Not just the Armor of Time—don’t interfere with anything for a while. Don’t get involved!”

These words only confused Mann further. Why would he suddenly say this?

“Hey? At least tell me the reason?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t. I can’t overly interfere with the real world. But if you insist on continuing, you will regret it! You will absolutely regret it!…”

The surroundings suddenly became illusory, and the ground beneath Mann’s feet lost its support, sending him plummeting downward.

“I hope this time, you won’t repeat the same mistakes…”

“Hey, Helgort!”

Mann sat up abruptly, only to find himself on a large bed.

His clothes had been changed, and the bloodstains had been cleaned.

He guessed it was thanks to the Evil God’s Head’s self-healing combined with the passive treatment of Divine Light. In any case, his body had recovered about sixty percent, though moving was still somewhat difficult.

But at least he was out of immediate danger.

Thinking this, Mann’s tense nerves relaxed.

“Awake?”

“How’s your recovery?”

The person who arrived was Sophien, carrying some food.

“Sir Commander?”

“Mm. You recognize me, so your mind seems fine.”

She handed the food over.

“Eat while it’s hot. You’ve been unconscious for five days.”

Mann initially wanted to be polite, but his stomach betrayed him with an embarrassing growl.

“Then… I won’t hold back.”

He took the food and began to wolf it down.

“In your state, losing your life outright would have been normal. And your left hand…”

Sophien looked down at his arm wrapped in bandages and trailed off for a moment.

“In any case, don’t let anyone else know about this. The Empire will remember your sacrifice.”

“Well…”

“If possible, please help me keep it hidden. I don’t really care about fame or merit.”

Mann put down the half-eaten food.

In this nation that believes in gods, if he showed himself before the public, the Evil God inside him would be a ticking time bomb.

If things went wrong, it might even implicate his family.

That was the one thing he couldn’t accept.

Besides, his father had just been promoted to Marquis and earned a Hero Title for fighting the cult; he was already in the spotlight. He probably had his hands full dealing with other ministers. Mann didn’t want to add to his troubles.

“In short… I’m counting on you…”

“Oh?”

“…Can you?”

Sophien looked at him with clear interest.

“You don’t want to trouble Count Matthews?”

“Let me tell you straight—this time isn’t like last time. Quite a few important people know about this.”

“Including Principal Fei Si, Duke Kelge, the lord of this city, and the higher-ups of the Guild—they probably already know.”

The implication was clear: even she couldn’t stop outsiders from talking. So there wasn’t much hope there.

“But… I can still suppress it for now.”

“Really?! Thank you…”

“But I can’t guarantee how long I can hold it.”

Mann let out a long breath, finally relieved.

“I’m satisfied as long as it buys me some time.”

“Mm…”

Sophien nodded.

“Leave it to me.”

“Just keep resting—you haven’t fully recovered yet.”

“Oh, right. The Guild has something for you.”

Saying this, she tossed over an emblem emitting a faint green glow.

“This is…?”

“The highest-level adventurer emblem—Orichalcum Emblem. Even if you go to other countries, you’ll be treated as an honored guest. Honestly, I didn’t really want to give it to you.”

“Anyway, keep it. You might find it useful later.”

With that, Sophien stood up and prepared to leave.

But when she reached the door, she suddenly stopped.

After hesitating for a long time, she slowly spoke.

“Your body… is it really fine? Your aura has clearly changed…”

The room fell into absolute silence.

Mann knew she was worried about him. He didn’t want to lie to her, but under these circumstances, he had no choice.

“I…”

“The reason you could beat A Ke Lei En was thanks to the Evil God’s Head inside you, right?”

“…”

“If you need help, just tell me.”

“As your friend, that’s my true feeling.”

Thud

A soft closing sound echoed, and Mann was alone in the room once more.

“So she… already knew…”

“What a terrifyingly perceptive woman.”

Still, this meant he had gained her initial trust and secured her backing. His family now had an extra safety net.

But that could wait for now.

With a thought from Mann, a light blue panel appeared before him.

[Name: Mann Matthews]

[Level: None]

[Faction: Divine (Messenger), Orphan of the Divine Era]

[Subordinate God: Helgort, God of Time]

[Abilities: Pseudo Time Manipulation LV8]

[Divine Revelation: LV1]

[Divine Light (Max)]

[Subhuman Assassination Technique (Max)]

[Thunderclap Step: LV3]

[Rune Magic: LV1]

[Evil God: LV1]

Evil God? Quite a plain name…

And Pseudo Time Manipulation had jumped four levels at once. It seemed the speed of leveling was tied to the intensity of the ability used.

Unfortunately, in his current state, he couldn’t use time manipulation normally. Even if he linked to Sophien’s mana, it would dissipate instantly.

In short, his body was like a broken barrel—no matter how much water he poured in, it would leak out.

It looked like he needed to focus his training on Rune Magic. Maybe he could use rune-generated mana words to replace storing and releasing mana.

But that would require carving the letters into his own body.

“Planting the seed in the flesh, huh… But it’s worth a try.”

Without delay, Mann’s consciousness entered that familiar white space.

He drew letters in the air and clashed with them…

The next day, Mann woke up early.

His eyes gleamed with an unusual light. He immediately sat up, stretched out his hand, and traced strange characters in the air.

Soon, a pale yellow letter floated slowly in the air.

Under Mann’s guidance, the letter gradually merged into his body.

Instantly, he felt the temperature of his blood spike sharply, flowing through his entire body like boiling water.

The excruciating pain nearly made him faint, but fortunately, the sensation came and went quickly.

A few minutes later, Mann returned to normal, though his clothes were soaked with sweat.

“Huff… huff… This feeling… is no joke…”

With a thought, the panel appeared again.

When he saw that the usable count of Pseudo Time Manipulation had increased to four, Mann finally sat down in relief.

“Good… it worked.”

But before he could savor it, a Communication Artifact he carried with him began to ring.

Mann pulled out two artifacts and frowned.

“Strange… I should only have one artifact to contact Kris…”

Driven by curiosity, Mann activated the artifact.

The voice on the other end was a woman.

Why didn’t he remember this person, yet the voice felt so familiar?

Listening to her anxious account, Mann grew more and more irritated.

“The Griffin Mercenary Corps attacked Matthews Territory? Ridiculous! If you’re going to sow discord, at least come up with a plausible excuse!”

“And you—who are you? Spreading this kind of news—aren’t you afraid of being confronted?”

“Ge Rui En? Never heard of you! Don’t act like we’re so familiar!”