NOVEL WEB chapter 181
106, The Cost
“This is… time freeze?”
Not yet, but the time had indeed been greatly slowed down.
Soon, Mo En realized the nature of this power from the changes around him.
The Eternal Bell, which Meila teacher had spent a thousand years building to control the law of time, had such a miraculous ability. Mo En was not surprised.
He was just not expecting that this was only the first stage of the first mark, and it could already achieve such a level.
Everything around him was becoming very slow in his perception, from the falling water droplets. Time had slowed down by at least several dozen times.
What would happen if Meila teacher’s construction was completed? Would this power be even more terrifying?
Would it be possible to have the power to reverse time?
If so, having such power…
Mo En suddenly thought of that fleeting, flower-like face again.
…
…
“I feel like, if I don’t do something about this situation, I won’t be able to live up to my yellow-haired identity,”
As Mo En gazed at the slowly floating water droplets and petals, Meila teacher’s face, which had frozen into an expression, looked somewhat silly, especially her chubby cheeks, which were white and tender, making him want to bite her.
The distance between the two was not far, but under the drag of time, Mu En’s movements had slowed considerably. Yet, when he acted at full speed, he still surpassed the sluggishness of everything around him.
Closer! Closer!
Mu En’s fingers slowly approached Teacher Meila. As they drew nearer to that pale, soft cheek, his heart couldn’t help but race with excitement…
However, just as Mu En’s fingers were about to make contact, he was horrified to discover that Teacher Meila, who had been frozen in place, suddenly moved her amber-red eyes with a dexterity that took him by surprise.
It was as if the girl in the photograph had broken free from the constraints of dimensions, casting a meaningful glance toward Mu En.
“Your courage never ceases to amaze me, kid.
Whether in thought or action.”
Mu En’s expression slowly, slowly stiffened.
Yet in his slow movements, he saw Teacher Meila’s body tremble slightly, and then, as if completely liberated from the shackles of time, she began to move with agility.
“Any last words?” Teacher Meila blinked, cutely uttering something terrifying.
“Mei—La—Teacher—I—wrong—”
Mu En’s voice was drawn out, so long that before he could finish, Teacher Meila had already shown an impatient expression.
“Looks like there’s nothing left to say. Off to the heavens to cool down.”
With a clap of her small hand,
whoosh! The yellow-haired boy, like a rocket, successfully detached from his neck and shot into the sky at a speed that broke the sound barrier, performing various high-difficulty maneuvers before landing face-first on the ground.
The delay of time had unknowingly returned to normal. Pure water droplets overflowing from the watering can reflected a faint rainbow in the air.
Teacher Meila lifted Mu En’s head, smiling as she gazed at his pale face, asking, “How do you feel?”
“I… I have exited the chamber, feel… feel good.”
What a joke, Mu En saw stars, feeling as if his brain was being shaken up.
“Very good. Next, you will feel even better.”
Teacher Meila grinned mischievously, and that meaningful expression instantly made Mu En’s hair stand on end as he cried out in terror:
“Wait, it can’t be that bad, Teacher Meila! I was just joking!”
“This is not a punishment from me, but rather a price you must pay.”
“Price?”
Before Mu En could wrap his head around it, he saw Teacher Meila supporting his head and placing it back on his body’s neck.
In an instant, his senses reset.
An indescribable agony surged through him.
At that moment, Mu En felt as if he could hear the sound of tendons tearing and bones cracking, followed by a series of explosive pops, like frying beans, erupting at his joints.
His skin turned slightly red, but it was not a healthy flush; rather, it was the capillaries beneath the skin bursting, blood seeping to the surface.
Before Mu En could comprehend the situation, he felt all his strength being instantly drained from his body, collapsing to the ground like a lifeless heap of mush.
“Cough cough… what is going on?”
Mu En opened his mouth in confusion, coughing out several chunks of bloody flesh, clearly indicating that his internal organs had suffered significant damage at that moment.
“I’ve already told you, this is the price you must pay.”
Teacher Meila looked down at Mu En, a hint of glee flickering in her eyes. “Did you really think the power of the Eternal Clock could be so easily controlled?”
“But why does the price have to be paid in this way? Can’t I just pay with money?” Mu En shouted indignantly.
“They say it’s a price, but the true reason is that your physical body is too weak.”
Teacher Meila rolled her eyes:
“The Eternal Clock, which has a preliminary connection with you, can extend your time, but it cannot enhance your physical body.”
“So that means…” Mu En suddenly understood something.
“That’s right. Because time has been stretched, you’ve overdrawn your body without even realizing it.”
Teacher Meila clasped her hands behind her back, pacing around Mu En as she explained:
“Generally speaking, it’s very difficult for a person to exert their full strength because the human body has a protective mechanism to ensure that we don’t harm ourselves while using our power.
However, under the condition of slowed time, this protective mechanism is hard to take effect, and the reason is…”
“Because in that situation, my brain perceives my movements as very slow.” Mu En recalled the moment when he tried to pinch Teacher Meila’s cheek.
Feeling that his movements were too slow, he desperately wanted to speed up, to go faster.
But that slowness, under the condition of time being delayed… in the real flow of time…
“Had already broken through his own limits.”
“Exactly.”
Teacher Meila snapped her fingers, satisfied with her foolish disciple, nodding her head.
“This is precisely due to the limitations of the body. Clearly, the consciousness can distinctly feel that time has slowed down, yet your physical body still cannot keep up.
The Eternal Clock can only affect time; it cannot influence anything else.”
“But I feel like the price is not just this.”
Mu En forced a bitter smile; crimson flames ignited on his body, but the flames were very weak, thus the healing of his injuries was also very slow.
“I feel like after using such a short amount of time, I’m being emptied out completely.”
“Of course. What do you think you are affecting? That’s time, something even gods cannot control.”
Teacher Meila stood with her hands behind her back, her gaze crossing the sea of flowers, looking into the distance.
Her petite figure exuded a hint of arrogance that was entirely incongruous with her appearance.
Yet this arrogance made Mu En feel it was entirely justified.
Compared to the artificially crafted authority of the Eternal Clock, perhaps it was Teacher Meila, the one who created it, who was even more incredible.