Euphy said, “Fufu, if you want to give it a try, you can enter the future right now. I’ll help you research how to undo the seal on the brass pocket watch. Once I’m done, you can bring my memories back to reality.”
That way, in reality, it would be as if Euphy had completed the research in an instant.
Freya thought about it and said, “Then... let’s try it?”
Freya dismissed all her clones in the room, then activated “Future Simulation” and chose Mind Freya's save slot.
Since this simulation was essentially meant to buy Euphy extra time for her research, Freya herself had nothing to do. It was the perfect opportunity to use her Mind Freya clone to slack off and digest her potion in the process.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Freya said to Euphemia, “Alright, I’m back.”
Euphemia couldn't help but marvel at the sight. “Every time I see it, I can’t help but think how amazing your ability to enter the future is.”
Freya replied at the same time, “No, I actually feel like Scholars are the amazing ones...”
Freya then summoned Mind Freya, who pulled a black 【diary】 from her person. Of course, this was no ordinary diary; it was a journal engraved with Euphemia’s memories and covered in layers of occult arrays.
Upon taking the item, Euphemia didn't open it. Instead, she lightly tapped her finger on the cover, activating the array. Instantly, all the memories and research findings from the month and a half spent in the simulation flooded into her mind.
If an ordinary person did this—constantly transmitting memories to themselves—they might suffer from brain overload or memory confusion. But a Scholar wouldn't, especially since the effects of the Hyperdimensional Brain were further enhanced after reaching Rank Four.
A moment later, Euphy opened her eyes again and said, “Give me a few minutes. I’ll prepare the occult array to undo the seal.”
Freya nodded and sat on the edge of the bed to wait. As for Mind Freya, she wasn't recalled into the system immediately; instead, she followed the main body and sat on the bed as well.
It was worth mentioning that Mind Freya was currently wearing a light-colored dress and white thigh-high stockings. The stockings weren't very thick, and if one looked closely, they could see her pale pink skin subtly showing through the white fabric.
Sitting on the bed, Mind Freya swung her calves slightly, kicking off her shoes. This revealed her cute, rosy feet wrapped in white stockings. Due to her shrunken body, Mind Freya's figure was even more petite. Any normal adult could probably grasp her entire foot with just one hand.
During this simulation, Mind Freya had naturally gone out to buy herself a few new outfits. True to her initial thoughts, they were all cute-style clothes and several pairs of white stockings. Just as the main body wore black stockings with whatever outfit she had on, Mind Freya wore white stockings with everything. She never took them off, except when sleeping.
And as it turned out, her choice of outfit was spot on. Freya looked at her other self. Her waist-length golden hair fell like a waterfall behind her, reflecting the sunlight. Combined with those blinking golden eyes that seemed to reflect little stars, she was absolutely adorable.
Not to mention, when someone was cute and knew it, and would even deliberately act cute, the sheer impact was devastating.
Mind Freya tilted her head slightly, flashed a peace sign, and said, “Ciallo～ (∠・ω＜ )⌒★”
Who would have thought that this incredibly cute, white-stocking-wearing little girl was actually a powerful Rank Four extraordinary?
“Ahem.”
Just as Mind Freya was deliberately acting cute, Euphemia cleared her throat. Hearing the sound, both Freya and Mind Freya turned to look, but they could only see the back of Euphy's head. She said, “Um, it’s nothing. The occult array is almost ready. Just wait a little longer.”
Of course, Euphy’s mind was currently filled with thoughts of she’s just too cute! She was so uncontrollably distracted by Mind Freya that her speed in drawing the occult array slowed down significantly.
Finally, about ten minutes later, an intricate occult array appeared on the living room floor. Under Euphy's direction, Freya stood right in the center, while Euphy began chanting in a language Freya couldn't understand at all.
As the occult array was gradually activated, bands of deep blue light swirled around Freya. The array on the ground grew brighter and brighter, forcing Freya to squint her eyes.
Standing to the side, Mind Freya could also feel a rich surge of spirituality erupting from the array, filling the entire room.
Normally, the Scholar Pathway definitely wouldn't have this much spirituality or mana. However, Scholars generally didn't rely on their own spirituality anyway. For instance, in this instance, Euphemia had used up almost all the spirituality crystals she had on her.
The light lasted for about thirty seconds before slowly dimming. Then, a notification popped up in front of Freya:
【Successfully survived... successfully survived... successfully survived the third death crisis detected. System upgrading...】
【Upgrade complete】
Wait, it actually worked.
Euphemia wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked, “How is it? Is the seal undone?”
Freya nodded her little head. “Mm-hmm, it’s undone.”
She then began to check the changes after the system upgrade. Just like before, a new save slot had appeared, which meant Freya could now create another clone of a different pathway.
Additionally, the maximum simulation time had been extended from two months to three months.
But... when Freya looked at the very bottom of the system interface, specifically at the countdown for the 【death crisis】, she discovered that the countdown, which should have had one year left, had actually shortened. Only six months remained.
Freya: “?”
What was going on? How could a death crisis be shortened? Was a new crisis coming her way, or was the death crisis from a year later happening earlier?
But that didn't make sense. All she did was have Euphy exploit a bug to force-upgrade the system. She hadn't done anything else. Was it really that serious?
Unless this disaster was related to her “system”—this brass pocket watch. For example, the more seals she unlocked, the more obvious the leaking aura would become, thereby drawing the attention of other entities.
...
Rate on N.U.
