New Abilities

“Alright, it’s done!”

Standing before the cold operating table, Mera clapped her small hands together in delight, signaling the preliminary completion of the alchemical core’s installation within Ewan.

Not only the alchemical core, but a total of three thousand six hundred and twenty-one magic runes had also been meticulously etched into Ewan’s body. Though still incredibly insignificant compared to connecting with the entirety of the Eternal Clock, this marked the successful first step in her long-cherished ambition.

“Oh, didn’t I say it was done? Why are you still lying there?”

Mera leaned down, her gaze questioning as she looked at Ewan. He had been freed from his restraints, yet he lay sprawled, utterly motionless, like a dead salted fish.

Lying there, refusing to get up…

She lightly tapped her small hand, a sudden realization dawning on her. “Could it be that my technique was too comfortable, and you simply fell asleep?”

“Comfortable? Mera, do you have no conscience?”

Ewan finally turned his head, his handsome face—despite Mera’s skilled technique—was undeniably streaked with tears.

“It hurt, it hurt so much! Mera, do you have any idea how much pain I endured?”

Truthfully, the beginning wasn’t so bad. The surgical blades, thin as cicada wings, merely tickled his skin. Compared to what he experienced every night in the Black Book, it was utterly negligible.

The real problem arose during the installation of the alchemical core. When Mera poured that golden solution, concocted from ancient dragon heart blood, into his body, it wasn’t a solution at all. It felt like molten iron being injected!

The molten iron seemed to burn his flesh inch by agonizing inch, piercing his bones and gnawing at his heart, making him wish for death.

Given his high tolerance for pain, he could have endured it for a short while. However, this ‘exhilarating’ experience, which felt like ascending to heaven from hell, lasted an entire day.

One whole day!

Twenty-four hours!

One thousand four hundred and forty-four minutes!

‘Do you know how I survived it? Do you know how many times I passed out from the pain in between?’

‘Yet you think I was comfortable? You clearly don’t care about me at all!’

‘You even slacked off halfway through to do something else, and when you came back, you had half a chicken leg stuffed in your mouth! I saw it all!’

“You can’t even handle this much pain? You’re weak, kid.”

Mera pouted, a hint of disdain flickering in her crimson eyes. “When I was young, I wouldn’t even grunt from this level of pain.”

“…Is that so?”

“Of course.”

“Then Mera, why won’t you look me in the eye?” Ewan stared intently at Mera’s evasive gaze.

‘Don’t boast like that when you look like you’d cry for ages if someone punched you!’

“Ahem, let’s set aside such trivial matters for now. How do you feel? Do you have any discomfort?” Mera cleared her throat, deftly changing the subject.

“Tsk…”

Ewan clicked his tongue and moved his body, stretching slightly.

“I don’t feel any discomfort, but my back still feels a bit hot.”

“That burning sensation is normal. Come, let’s see the results of your twenty-four hours of endurance.”

Mera produced a mirror from somewhere and gestured for Ewan to turn around.

Reflected in the mirror, Ewan finally saw the outcome of the intense pain he had endured all day.

It was an intricate and solemn pattern of extreme precision. Thousands of golden lines encircled the alchemical core, which resembled a rising sun, spreading across his torso. These golden lines pulsed rhythmically with his breathing, exuding a mysterious and profound beauty.

“This is only the first etching, merely to establish a preliminary connection between you and the Eternal Clock. Once your body grows stronger, I will expand upon this foundation with at least one hundred and six thousand more magic runes and install seventeen additional alchemical cores. Only then will the second stage truly be complete.”

“One hundred thousand…”

Ewan’s mouth twitched. “Will there even be enough space on my back?”

“Oh? Who told you the next ones would be etched on your back?”

Mera’s delicate eyebrows arched, and her gaze swept over Ewan’s body. It lingered for a while on a particular area, a meaningful curve forming on her lips.

“Aren’t other parts of your body quite spacious?”

“Huh?”

Ewan froze, then looked down, following Mera’s gaze. His forehead instantly twitched, and he clutched his lower abdomen, wailing, “Mera, some places cannot have strange patterns drawn on them!”

“Relax, relax, I wouldn’t intentionally draw a pink little heart there that you could never wash off in your life.” Mera winked, the old loli who loved to act young now wore an expression of innocent cuteness.

“Saying that makes me even more uneasy!”

“Next time, I’ll be gentle.”

“I don’t need that kind of gentleness!”

****

After a long battle for his dignity, Ewan finally secured Mera’s promise not to mess around. He then spent a considerable amount of time preening in front of the mirror.

He couldn’t help but feel… that these golden patterns, combined with his increasingly muscular back, looked rather cool.

‘Perhaps in the future, my handsome back alone will capture the hearts of countless ladies,’ Ewan thought, striking a dashing bodybuilding pose, somewhat lost in his own reverie.

A perfect ‘ogre back,’ complete with built-in golden LED lights—who could possibly resist that?

“I think it’s more likely to attract same-s*x perverts.”

Mera ruthlessly shattered Ewan’s fantasy, then her expression grew slightly more serious.

“Alright, enough chitchat. It’s time to test the actual effects.”

“Actual effects?”

“After all, you’ve established a preliminary connection with the Eternal Clock. You should now be able to wield a small portion of its authority. While it’s an incredibly tiny amount, for you right now, it should provide a very noticeable boost.”

Mera pulled out her pink watering can. Just as Ewan thought she was about to habitually water the flower garden, she suddenly tossed the can at him.

“Infuse the alchemical core with magic,” Mera instructed.

“Yes.”

Ewan immediately reacted, swiftly directing the magic within his body toward the alchemical core on his back.

Despite being an artificially carved external object, Ewan now felt that the magic runes had completely merged with him, becoming an extension of his own meridians. Magic flowed through these patterns as smoothly as it did through his internal pathways.

In an instant, the alchemical core, infused with a massive amount of magic, began to tremble slightly, as if resonating with something.

Dong.

At that moment,

Ewan felt as if he heard the midnight chimes of a grand clock tower.

The world instantly fell silent, yet it wasn’t a profound stillness.

Instead, all sounds stretched out, distorted, except for the rhythmic beat of his own heart and his breathing.

“This…”

Ewan’s eyes widened in astonishment, for the watering can Mera had thrown was suddenly suspended in mid-air.

No, not suspended; it was simply moving incredibly slowly, as if a slow-motion button had been pressed.

Ewan could clearly see water droplets gently leaping from the spout, blossoming in the air into crystalline, silvery flowers that lingered for an unnervingly long time.

Through those shimmering water blossoms, Ewan watched Mera, still frozen in the act of throwing the watering can, her slightly chubby, childlike face appearing exceptionally cute in the static scene.

‘Time stop?’

‘Blonde?’

‘Loli?’

Ewan suddenly felt as though certain familiar scenes had truly manifested before him,

The elements were all there, perfectly aligned.