Chapter 40: Northward

“Yo, Mann Matthews, you’re really early!”

“Long time no see, Helgort.”

“So, how was the Evil God himself?”

“Incredibly strong! But I felt like he wasn’t going all out.”

In a pure white space, Mann and Helgort sat next to each other.

“I don’t know if it’s just me, but I couldn’t sense any killing intent from him. Not that it matters anymore.”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

Mann let out a sigh.

“My second life ends here.”

“At least I cleaned up my mess before leaving. What happens next has nothing to do with me.”

“Hahaha… you’re surprisingly pessimistic, aren’t you?”

Helgort couldn’t help but snicker.

“Whatever, say what you want.”

“But things aren’t as you think. You’re not dead yet.”

Hearing this, Mann shot a scornful look at Helgort beside him.

“Even in this state, you’re messing with me? That’s just twisted.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“The Evil God used your body to absorb that head. That’s why you survived.”

“Hey, hey… doesn’t that put us back to square one? That thing will erode my consciousness!”

“No, it won’t.”

Helgort shook his head.

“Because the Evil God completely erased the head’s consciousness. Your body is still yours.”

“What the hell is he trying to do?”

“Who knows? But setting aside the Evil God, you should leave here and go back to the people waiting for you.”

“Hey! Wait! Helgort!”

In a flash, a thick, transparent wall separated them.

“At least tell me how to get you out!”

But Helgort just smiled at him.

“This is the World Rules’ punishment. We can’t change it.”

“But who knows what the future holds? Oh, right, there’s a word in your language called ‘fate,’ isn’t there?”

“We’ll meet again someday. I believe in you…”

The scene before his eyes began to blur.

“Hey! Helgort!”

In a hastily set up tent, Mann shot up from his lying position.

He gasped for air, feeling like his body was falling apart, and his stomach growled loudly.

Mei, who had been watching over him, jolted awake. She looked at the sitting Mann, and they both froze for a moment.

Mei’s face looked haggard; she must have been taking care of him while he was unconscious.

Her violet eyes were unknowingly covered in a film of tears.

“Master Man En…”

Mei’s tears broke free, and she could no longer suppress her emotions.

She threw herself into Mann’s arms, feeling his warmth like a child.

“You were so badly hurt, I thought you…”

“I’m so glad you woke up!”

Mann gently patted her back. “How could I break a promise?”

“By the way… how long was I out?”

Mei reluctantly pulled away from him.

“Fourteen days.”

“I see… no wonder I’m starving. Mei, take me to get some food first.”

Hearing this, she looked panicked.

“No! You just woke up. Wait here.”

She turned and walked out of the tent.

But Mann’s face turned cold.

“Ge Rui En, you’ve been watching, haven’t you?”

The moment he spoke, a dark-skinned beauty appeared abruptly, kneeling before him.

“Please punish me, Lord Holy Son.”

“Sigh…”

Mann sighed, finally understanding the pressure of being a leader.

“Get up. In the future, you can be more relaxed around me.”

“Yes.”

Ge Rui En stood up, her striking figure fully on display.

“Ahem… ahem…”

Mann coughed twice to hide his awkwardness.

“Did anything happen with the task I gave you?”

“Well… quite a few Heretic God Sect members came to reinforce us. At first, they didn’t believe you were the Holy Son, until they saw you summon the Evil God…”

As she spoke, her cheeks flushed red. She didn’t hide her worship of the Evil God at all.

‘So it was the right call to have Ge Rui En block the reinforcements back then…’

“So, they’re all waiting for my orders now, right?”

“Yes! As soon as you give the command, we’ll all move out! We could even capture this territory for you!”

“Good. Then pass on my order: the Heretic God Sect is hereby disbanded.”

“You… what?”

For a moment, she even doubted her ears.

“Your actions have probably already alerted the higher-ups. I imagine an eradication order has already been issued for you, right?”

“This…”

Ge Rui En stammered, confirming Mann’s words.

“What? Wus didn’t tell you?”

“She only told me to follow the Holy Son’s orders…”

Hearing this, Mann breathed a silent sigh of relief.

‘So only a very small number of Heretic God Sect followers can grasp prophecy.’

“Anyway, do as I say for now. I don’t want to see you suffer an undeserved disaster.”

“To avoid any incidents, cut all ties with the original Heretic God Sect from now on. Act only under my orders. Understood?”

“Yes! I will strictly follow the Holy Son’s orders!”

“Now, gather people to help rebuild the Matthews Territory. If anyone asks, say you’re my friends here to help.”

“Because, no matter what, this will be our base from now on.”

Though Ge Rui En looked surprised, she nodded in agreement.

“One more thing: when you have time, secretly form a team to gather intelligence on the God of Time, Helgort.”

“Yes!”

“You may go.”

Only after sensing that Ge Rui En had left a good distance did Mann collapse back onto the bed.

“Ah… finally got all that trouble off my shoulders!”

But it was time to check his physical condition. After absorbing that thing, he felt a little creeped out.

He tried to circulate his mana, but couldn’t feel even a trace of it.

Even the mana passively absorbed from the outside was expelled from his body without change.

Lifting his shirt, the spot that was originally a huge hole was now blocked by irregularly growing flesh. That flesh was also where the mana leaked out.

After carefully examining his body, aside from that flesh’s appearance, he didn’t find anything wrong.

Mann focused, and the familiar translucent panel appeared before him.

Besides some skill level increases, the usable count for Pseudo Time Manipulation had become zero.

He wasn’t surprised; without mana, he couldn’t cast skills—it made sense.

Scrolling down, a string of garbled text had appeared at the end of the skill list.

Though it bothered him, he figured Helgort had no reason to lie to him.

‘It’s just a skill. As long as I don’t use it actively, there’ll be no problem.’

After confirming his condition, the weight on Mann’s heart finally lifted.

“Next, all I need is to find a way to save Helgort, and my laid-back life in this other world can officially begin!”

Thinking this, Mann couldn’t help but smile.

“Knock, knock…”

A knock sounded.

“Master Man En, Lord Matthews and Miss Laira have come to see you.”