"Zhenbao, are you really going again?"
"What else can I do?"
After a short rest that eased the dizziness from teleporting back to this starting point, Yi Zhen geared up for his fifth attempt.
The pink-haired girl watched her impulsive little companion with a hint of hesitation, then said softly,
"Actually, even though I can't tag along directly, there are still some ways I can help you."
"Like what?"
"The Olonis Prayer."
Yi Zhen froze at that, then smacked his forehead a moment later.
"You're right, I totally forgot you had that basic skill."
Xilian's shining moment had been obliterating the Iron Tomb and reshaping the universe, but before that, she was just an ordinary village girl back home. Her specialty had been the Olonis Prayer.
To put it simply,
it was a divine art of time.
By borrowing Olonis's power, one could manipulate time to a certain degree.
But the technique was picky—it depended on the person, their face, and any connection to March 7th.
As fellow Leakless Pure Children, Olonis naturally favored Xilian. And as March 7th's companion, it made sense for the Trailblazer to wield the Olonis Prayer too.
"Can you still use the prayer?"
"...I think I can manage it one more time, barely."
The pink-haired girl answered softly, her face still beaming with a bright smile, showing no trace of gloom.
"No."
Yi Zhen gave her a deep look, then flatly refused.
"Why?"
"You piss me off just looking at you."
"..."
Xilian fell silent. It was the first time anyone had said that to her, stirring up some indescribable emotions.
"Your smile is genuine, kind, and pure."
"But that's exactly why... it makes you seem less than human."
Yi Zhen sighed, stood up, and his tone grew serious.
"In my view, you should be angry—at least capable of anger or hatred, like that young fellow from your hometown. You should hoard that rage until it breaks the 'Scepter's' chains."
"But here you are, still smiling, like you're forcing down your feelings, trying so hard to stay optimistic, to face every hardship with calm acceptance."
"Xilian, if you really want to help me..."
"First, become human again."
Without waiting for her response, Yi Zhen tapped the 1-1 map and vanished from the Nameless Titan's Great Tomb,
leaving the pink-haired girl standing alone, lost in thought.
"Become human again...?"
...
Janusapolis.
Returning to this mountainside city-state, Yi Zhen was starting to get the hang of it.
His previous attempts had all ended in failure, but at least he'd mapped out the routes.
In his digitized field of vision, he could see the map interface left from prior explorations—one of the few basic functions he could actually use right now.
Combined with enemy and ally markers, it was how he'd dodged the Janus Temple guards and Golden Progeny patrols.
Too bad,
even with that, he wasn't some pro infiltrator.
After getting spotted multiple times while closing in on Tirixipios, the security had only tightened.
At this rate, even Tirixipios's own plan to steal the Portal Fire Seed would be a lot harder.
But he couldn't worry about that now.
"First, get out of Janusapolis and head to Sky People territory."
With the map, skirting wild monsters and highway robbers should be no issue.
The only hitch was pinpointing the Sky People's lands, but luckily, Senexios lived far from both her homeland and those two clans.
That home also bore traces of wingbeasts, so it had to be near Sky People territory.
"Need to snag a map somehow."
Sneaking up on Big Teacher Tiri was a pipe dream now, but other spots might not be as heavily guarded. This era had no public libraries on display, but the big nobles and high priests had plenty of stone tablets at home.
He'd scouted a few houses before. Now Yi Zhen used his map skills to play hide-and-seek, dodging patrol lines as he slipped into several noble and priestly homes.
""Janusapolis Local Gazetteer" recorded."
""Olonis Prayer: Part Two" recorded."
""Aglaea Geography: Part Three" recorded."
""Rainbow Bridge and the Skies" recorded."
""Wingbeast Chronicles: Part Three" recorded."
These era-precious tomes flooded into his brain via quantum reading. Shame he hadn't had digitized intake before crossing over.
After swiftly absorbing the stone tablet data from those noble homes, Yi Zhen ghosted out of Janusapolis like a specter, heading toward the "Wingbeast Habitat" noted in the tablets.
If Ritsuka Fujimaru could trek across North America on foot back then, no reason his bro couldn't!
With datafied stamina and hunger bars in view, how could he still see himself as that old wheezing mess after 800 meters?
Now, he was the real Fourth Calamity!
Sure, a bit noobish at the moment.
But the future looked bright!
Damn it...
Just you wait, Omphalos—I'll clear this in one life—!
Over the next two or three months, Yi Zhen shuttled between the Wingbeast Habitat and the Nameless Titan's Great Tomb, dodging dangers while asking passing, friendlier-looking Omphalos folk about a girl living alone in the area, keeping wingbeasts as companions.
"I've endured three betrayals..."
Well, actually more than three.
Staring at the brown-haired girl picking raspberries not far off, Yi Zhen couldn't hold back tears of relief.
Screw that,
who said Omphalos folk were all honest? Too many turned bandit on a whim.
And those who deliberately led him into peril—if not for respawning at Demoge's Great Tomb, he'd be dead who-knows-how-many times.
Unsure if this brown-haired girl was his target Senexios,
at least she matched the profile. First solid lead!
"Who are you?"
The brown-haired girl spotted the ragged-looking boy and asked on instinct.
The next second, she watched him topple backward.
She dropped her raspberries without hesitation, rushing to his side like a gale and catching him just before he hit the ground.
"Are you okay?"
She helped him up, her saintly azure eyes showing genuine concern. If she really was the one, this reaction fit perfectly.
A pure, noble, brave, stubborn knight.
"Your name... it's Senexios, right?"