A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 307

Chapter 307: Why Is My Time the Only One That’s Messed Up (2)

Epherene, having rushed out of the Ages, stared at the desert floor, blinking in a daze. The landscape before her was indeed astonishing—so breathtaking that it was worth losing oneself in its sight, as though caught within a dream.

"The sand mist is suspended," Epherene muttered in a daze.

Then a dry laugh escaped Epherene as she saw the grains of sand suspended in the air, and understood that the empty space, the stagnant air, the preserved nature, and all these signs clearly pointed to one phenomenon—time had stopped.

"... It should be released soon, shouldn't it?"

I only need to wait a little, right? I don't understand why everything stopped so suddenly, but surely, if this is an accidental time stop, it won't remain frozen forever. It can't be an unplanned spell that powerful, Epherene thought.

“But...”

What if it doesn’t get released?

Epherene was suddenly afraid because the words of the ancient magic saints—that spontaneity and errors often led to great magic—came to her mind.

... Gulp.

Epherene swallowed, her mouth dry and feeling inexplicably anxious, Epherene unconsciously fumbled in the inner pocket of her robe, and her hand closed around a bundle of documents—Deculein’s exam problems.

"... Y-Yeah. There's plenty of time to study now, which is certainly a good thing."

If it's going to be released soon anyway, then I'll just be getting ahead in the meantime—after all, it will be released soon, Epherene thought.

"Well... perhaps I should head back down," Epherene muttered, ruffling her hair as she made her way back into the Ages.

The Ages remained frozen, and the motionless faces of Allen, Idnik, and Yulie were eerily frightening.

However...

"Magical errors can be figured out along the way," Epherene said, nodding as if it mattered little.

Tick, tock—

At that moment, a slight vibration emanated from the inner pocket of her robe, startling Epherene and prompting her to quickly reach inside.

Tick, tock—

The time on the wooden pocket watch was flowing.

"You're alive?!"

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

The wooden second hand and the minute hand moved.

Is it trying to tell me how much time has passed during the world's suspended time? Or...

"... Do you, by any chance, know how to resolve this issue?" Epherene asked.

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

No answer came from the wooden pocket watch, which only continued its regular ticking.

“Hey.”

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

“... Sigh.”

I mean, at least I’m able to tell the time.

Epherene placed the pocket watch on the table.

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

"At least I’m with you," Epherene said with a chuckle, speaking to the ticking watch. "Just wait. I’ll study and release it as soon as I can."

Tick, tock—

Epherene was aware of the presence of time energy, a topic on which she had even published a thesis. Thus, the energy inherent in the concept of time could be mana, nature, or perhaps an entirely different force, but in any case, time contained energy.

"It appears to be a problem with time energy, you know~ Three months should be enough to resolve this issue. No, the chances are even higher that it'll resolve itself if we just wait, probably," Epherene muttered, immediately beginning to analyze the phenomenon.

Fortunately, with time halted immediately after the magic manifested, the Ages now provided abundant evidence for thorough analysis and investigation.

Tick, tock—

"... Okay, watch, Ticktocky. Steelie has come to a stop."

Tick, tock—

By the ticking pocket watch, Wood Steel stood frozen and it could not resist the flow of time, Epherene thought.

"I’m glad you’re here, at least," Epherene said, nodding. "Let’s start with Deculein’s exam problems."

As the phenomenon of stopped time was likely to resolve itself, Epherene could dedicate approximately three days to this problem.

“Let’s see...”

Epherene took the exam paper out of the envelope.

[Theoretical Problems for the Supportive Category Mage Selection]

The following spell is a cylindrical magic circle, its design an elaborate connection of numerous three-dimensional circuits.

Let the inner radius of this cylinder be R1 and its outer radius R2.

This cylindrical construct is linked to a mana stone, which holds a mana capacity designated as S and exhibits a resistance value of V. From this mana stone, 97.3195% of its maximally imbued mana is conveyed to a connected sphere.

Assume, for calculation, that atmospheric mana concentration is sufficiently minute to be ignored, and all dispersion effects are similarly absent.

(a) For the region where R1 < R < R2, detail the mana flow within the sphere and provide its corresponding circuit diagram.

(b) Within the region defined by R1 < R < R2, determine the vector of the active spell.

(c) Should the magic circle be dismantled, calculate the precise impact a unit of energy, flowing through the R1 < R < R2 region, would exert upon the world.

(d) In the paradoxical region where R2 < R < R1, detail the complete spell for the manifested three-dimensional figure.

“... What even is this?”

At the sight of the supportive category mage selection problem, an utterance of shock escaped from Epherene’s lips. Her eyes, wide and unblinking, remained locked on the page, faced with a problem of absurd difficulty.

***

... Three months had elapsed, and the proof that this period was indeed three months lay in the wooden pocket watch. Relying on the watch’s natural timekeeping, Epherene marked a stroke on the Ages for each passing twenty-four-hour cycle. Consequently, the time elapsed since time’s cessation was exactly three months.

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

"... Ticktocky," Epherene muttered, her eyes weary as she stretched out on the floor, staring at her pocket watch.

"It's been three months, and it remains unresolved—!" Epherene barked, her hands tugging at her hair. "I can't figure out either of them."

I understand neither Deculein's selection exam problems nor the time stop phenomenon—I just don’t understand them at all, Epherene thought.

"Aargh!" Epherene yelled, tearing at her hair. "There's no way to solve this!"

The problem was not solved—or rather, it was unsolvable.

"How can I solve this, trapped within this stopped time?" Epherene muttered, a dry laugh escaping her, her appearance resembling that of a mad scientist.

Epherene could not relieve her stress—there were no new novel releases, she couldn’t eat Roahawk, and despite not eating, she felt no hunger. This only deepened the chill within her, stirring eerie thoughts that perhaps she was already dead.

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

"... Hey, Ticktocky," Epherene called, turning to look at the watch. "What should I do? Am I already dead and a ghost?"

I cast the spell with the best of intentions, but time stopped—and because of that, I alone found myself trapped within it...

Tick, tock— Tick, tock—

Within Ticktocky's tick-tock, Epherene let out a sigh.

“... Why.”

How did it come to this?

"... Was Sylvia, then, correct?"

My talent—the very property of time—could, if I fail to control it, become a disaster not just for myself but for the entire continent. Does that mean that if I were to commit suicide, time would resume its flow?

"But I don't want that," Epherene muttered, lifting her head from the ground to stare at the papers scattered across the floor.

Half of these are Deculein's theories, and the other half are attempts to resolve this phenomenon. The reason I wrote with mana instead of a pencil is that graphite wouldn't stick. Therefore, only I and my mana move in this world.

Of course, I can use physical force to make things move—like turning book pages or similar actions. But once I release that force, everything just stops in place.

"Oh... motherfuuu!" Epherene barked, scrambling to her feet and grabbing Deculein's selection exam paper back.

The following spell is a cylindrical magic circle, its design an elaborate linking of numerous three-dimensional circuits.

As Epherene read the first sentence of the exam problem, a particular term, for no apparent reason, snagged her attention.

“... Cylinder?”

A cylinder. Why, of all shapes, a cylinder?

Epherene lifted her eyes and looked at Yulie—or, more precisely, at the time cylinder in which Yulie was contained.

“There’s no way.”

Epherene sprang to her feet and took a seat in the chair.

“There’s no way!”

***

... Another three months had passed, marking a total period of no less than six months.

"I even had the strange thought that the cylinder might be Deculein's hint, but it wasn't," Epherene muttered.

Over the span of six months, Epherene solved Deculein's selection problem, and her frantic efforts meant she had found a solution—at least theoretically—but in the stopped world, mana stones did not function, preventing empirical verification.

"How could the Professor have known this would happen and left a hint, right?"

Meaning, time remained frozen, and Epherene's lonely mind was precarious, for she found the present moment more difficult than the past when she had repeatedly undergone regression without end.

Back then, at least, we all shared a common purpose, but now it's just me—alone. What even is this... Epherene thought.

"Right, Ticktocky? Answer me."

Tick, tock—

Epherene waited as a reply came from the wooden pocket watch and, comforted by its response, walked from the desert to the Empire.

For the time being, I plan to go to the Empire because I need books, you see. I believe that if I fill my mind with something, I might be able to solve this problem.

"Caasi, I will find that person.”

There is plenty of time. I do not know whether it will be one year or two, but Caasi, I will find that person and study every one of their unpublished theories and books. I will absorb it all into my mind and end this damnable time stop.

“Ticktocky, but...”

Walking through the desert with nothing in her hand, Epherene found that even Deculein's exceptionally brilliant map was useless in the stopped time.

"Is this the right direction?"

Tick, tock—

There’s plenty of time, Epherene thought.

"Oh... it's the Empire," Epherene muttered.

It's three months on foot, and if we lose our way again, there's no telling what might happen, because the Empire is larger than the desert, Epherene thought.

At least it’s better to see people, even if only to watch them. There were people in the desert too, but their faces were all twisted in an uncanny way.

Tick, tock—

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock—

All I can do is only observe. This scene is merely Ticktocky showing me past moments, sustained by my mana, Epherene thought.

— ... Caasi has been designated as a forbidden book.

Snap—!

"Phew," Epherene murmured upon discovering the original manuscripts there, a sigh of relief escaping her.

Thank goodness. They do keep the forbidden books, after all.

Just how important and shocking must a scientific discovery be to lead to a publication in four volumes like this?

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