My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Do you still remember Thales Messo?

About 10 years ago, he was the resident mage of Rosac City. He liked to appear in the apothecary as an ordinary middle-aged man. He once gave Xia Zuo, who was about to become the fire-breathing man of Audrey's Circus, guidance and helped Xia Zuo take the entrance exam for the academy.

When the Starry Night Kingdom moved its capital, he got a new job.

He moved from Rosac City to the foot of the mountains in Starry Night City, where he opened a brighter apothecary, selling alchemical materials, including rare herbs, and finished potions.

Same job, same lifestyle, different real identities.

After enduring ten years, he accumulated the enormous amount of materials needed to build the tower and successfully advanced from a high-level mage to an archmage.

Thales Meso is no longer an ordinary resident mage; he is now the head of the resident mages, in charge of their routine mobilization, defense, and rotation.

As the chief resident mage, Thales Meso reports only to Beatrice, and thus possesses some highly classified top-secret intelligence.

It was early morning that day.

The white mist melted away in the dawn, and Starry Night City awoke from its slumber. Thales Messo began his daily work as usual.

There are many green plants in the cultivation room in the backyard of the shop.

Thales Messo watered the flowers with his alchemy jug while reading the words on the leaves.

The resident mages in each city would report their daily itinerary to the chief at dawn, dusk, and midnight, and this information would be transmitted to Thales Messo via alchemically modified plants.

The position of Chief City Magistrate sounds impressive and busy, but in reality, it requires a lot of energy to handle miscellaneous tasks. Apart from coordinating the garrison forces in various places, there is not much power.

Only a lazy mage like Thales Messo is suited for this job.

The perfect balance between leisurely watering and busy work is what Thales Messo strives for; otherwise, he would have moved to the resident mage's stone tower long ago and lived the life of a monk who spends his days alchemy and meditation.

"Your Excellency Messo." In the adjacent back garden, separated by a wooden fence, a female mage with long, wavy red hair walked to the fence, carrying two wooden buckets filled with liquid in her silver sand hands.

"You requested a high-concentration liquid fertilizer. Remember to dilute it at a ratio of 1:1000 before use, otherwise the mutagen in the liquid fertilizer may induce plant mutations."

"Thank you, Teresa."

Thales Messo took the barrel with his silver sand palm and placed it on the ground, then took out a handful of gold coins from his alchemy pouch and handed them over.

His gaze swept over the other's glossy red wavy hair, and he was unconsciously drawn to her equally red, moist lips. The full lips stirred Thales Messo's heart, leaving him with an urge to suckle them.

"cough.."

Thales Messo coughed lightly, realizing he had been somewhat out of line, but this kind of fantasy that every male animal has didn't bother him much:

"You look different today...younger and more energetic."

“Really?” Teresa twirled a strand of hair between her fingers and bit her lip lightly. “I used my new lipstick.”

"Swish, swish, swish..." The sound of leaves rustling came from behind Thales Meso, indicating that a new resident mage had delivered the itinerary.

Thales Messo glanced back, but business was on his side. "I'm getting back to work, Teresa. Let's talk later."

“Yes, Lord Meso. If you have any other needs, please remember to come to me.” Theresa smiled at him and swayed her exaggeratedly proportioned waist and hips as she walked toward her alchemy room.

Thales Messo watched the other person's retreating figure, feeling somewhat puzzled.

Teresa had always been rather quiet, and Thales Messo could read the affection in her expression.

Today, this is the first time Teresa has expressed her inner thoughts so openly.

Perhaps she realized she needed to take the initiative to make me certain that she wanted me to get to know her better? ...Thales Messo pondered for a moment, and could only think of this possibility.

Thales Messo picked up the alchemical kettle and continued watering the plants while reading the itinerary sent by the resident mage.

A series of knocks came from the front hall.

There's still a while before the shop officially opens. I guess someone who urgently needs medicine can't wait to buy it... Thales Messo thought to himself. He put down the alchemy jug and used a detection spell to observe the shop entrance from a distance. Then his expression changed.

The next second, Thales Messo returned to normal, naturally walking towards the front hall and quietly activating the protective magic circle in the shop, replacing the real scene in the shop with a pre-woven illusion image.

From outside the shop or from the backyard looking into the front hall, Thales Messo is talking to an anxious commoner.

If you pass through this illusionary image to reach the front hall, you will see a different scene:

The castle steward, Dim, looked grave, as did Thales Messo, who stood opposite him.

“Thales, has Theresa acted strangely today?” Dim asked in a low voice. “For example, different words, different clothes, or different actions.”

Castle Administrator Dim is Beatrice's representative outside the academy. Wherever he appears, problems arise, and they are often related to demons.

Thales Messo, recalling Theresa's previous behavior, immediately realized the seriousness of the problem:

"Teresa is like a different person today. She's wearing overly glossy lipstick, and she's altered her proportions with an alchemical corset. Plus, her manner of speaking and her words are more frivolous than before. Strangely enough, I felt some inappropriate impulses when I was around her. This would never have happened before."

"Hmm..." Dim pondered for a moment before asking, "It sounds like you behaved exactly as one would when under the influence of [Charm]... I'm about 80% sure you didn't arouse the demons' suspicion..."

“Charm spell? Demon?” Thales Meso clenched his fist. “You mean, a Pleasure Specialist has invaded Starry Night City, and it’s right next door to me? Where is the real Theresa? Where did you get this information from? Is it reliable?”

“The source is very reliable, Thales. Trust me, a highly experienced and skilled full-level Pleasure Specialist has her eye on you. We need to find a way to control her and force her to reveal the whereabouts of the other demons.”

Tim stroked his beard a few times, thinking as he spoke:

"As you probably know, these strange demons called Pleasure Specialists are born with the ability to transform into human women without any magical fluctuations or energy traces. Unless they are fatally wounded, they can maintain their disguise indefinitely."

"The fully-formed Pleasure Specialist is even more capable, able to manipulate the consciousness of women and female creatures for extended periods of time."

"So I'm not sure right now whether the Pleasure Specialist transformed into Teresa to approach you, or whether the Pleasure Specialist used [Mind Control] on Teresa to achieve the goal of getting close to you using Teresa herself."

Thales Messo looked toward the backyard, his eyebrows furrowed:

“I understand what you mean, Dim. We can seriously injure Theresa and force the Pleasure Commissioner to reveal his true form. But if that Theresa isn’t the Pleasure Commissioner in disguise, then the Pleasure Commissioner hiding behind the scenes might interfere in the battle, causing us to accidentally kill Theresa, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s the part I find most troublesome.” Tim nodded. “Think carefully, is there any way to determine whether Theresa is actually her?”

“Without using detection spells, I can’t verify the authenticity of Theresa.” Thales Messo shook his head. “Do you have any more information about Theresa in your intelligence?”

Dim shook his head regretfully. "That's all. That's all."

Beatrice told Tim this information, and Beatrice also gave orders to capture the Pleasure Commissioner.

But what Dim didn't know was that the real source of the intelligence was Shazo, and the actual situation was far more complicated than Dim knew.

In short, depending on whether Teresa is replaced by the Pleasure Commissioner, there are two different future timelines.

Based on this, could the Pleasure Commissioner have been posing as Theresa all along, and could different future timelines be created?

If she impersonates Teresa and acts as her during this hour, and then manipulates Teresa herself to appear in the next hour, it will create many different future timelines.

It's like Dim and Thales Messo have two sealed black boxes in front of them, one containing a left-hand glove and the other containing a right-hand glove.

Before one of the boxes was opened, no one knew whether the gloves inside were for the left or right hand.

Dim and Thales Messo only have one chance to open the box, and they must open the left glove that represents the correct answer. There is no room for error, and they cannot act rashly, otherwise Teresa will be killed and the Pleasure Commissioner will escape.

"How about... you sacrifice yourself, Thales?" Dim suggested a plan that was like sending a lamb to the slaughter:

"The Pleasure Specialist is using all sorts of tricks to get close to you in order to obtain your teleportation identification code and find the exact location of the teleportation hall in the Storm Mountains."

“You did well this morning; you shouldn’t have aroused the Pleasure Commissioner’s suspicion. We still have a chance to find a loophole in the Pleasure Commissioner’s plan. Later today, go to Theresa’s room. I’ll be waiting outside for your signal. Once we’ve confirmed Theresa’s identity, we’ll act immediately.”

Thales Messo's expression stiffened. "Isn't there any other way?"

Dim shrugged. "If you're not willing... then we'll just have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Headmistress Beatrice is requesting support from the Temple, asking the Witcher School to intervene. The Witchers certainly have a way to deal with the Pleasure Commissioners."

"Why is the reinforcement taking so long?" Thales Messo's eyebrows furrowed like a pretzel. "Normally, when a new Otherworldly being appears, the Witchers arrive immediately, right? They wouldn't make us wait this long..."

"I'm not entirely sure either... It's probably because the war in the eastern part of the Eastern Continent is too intense, and the Demon Hunters can't spare any manpower to support us." Dim reached out and patted Thales Messo on the shoulder:

"Make a decision as soon as possible, Thales. I'm worried that things might change."

"I've heard that Pleasure Specialists are masters of seduction, to the point that some mages from the Eastern Continent secretly keep them... These lust-driven mages have all been brought to justice... But I think... the experience must be quite enjoyable."

"It's not a loss for you to do the task, right?"

Chapter 53 The Power of Imagination

Making Thales Meso go to the Pleasure Commissioner's bed was just a joke; it was practically the same as abandoning the light for darkness and betraying the Temple. Shazo wouldn't dare let Dim encourage Thales Meso to do such a thing.

When Shazo told Beatrice the information, he also conveyed all the dangers that Tim and his companion might face and how to deal with them, which should be enough for them to capture the fully-fledged Pleasure Commissioner.

Meanwhile, in a secret base in the western mountains of the Western Continent, Xia Zuo was fiddling with illusionary images in the alchemy room, his eyes bloodshot.

The alchemy table, chairs, and other facilities in the alchemy room were all moved by Xia Zuo to another room.

The place is now empty; even the small golden chaste tree's cultivation jar has been placed on the ground in the corner by Xia Zuo.

A massive illusionary image, filled with symbols, numbers, and abstract patterns, occupied almost the entire room in the form of a three-dimensional sphere.

Only Xia Zuo himself knows the meaning of the various symbols, numbers, and patterns on the sphere.

They are constantly changing, exhibiting a mutually influential and interconnected pattern—if Xia Zuo adjusts a certain number, the symbols and patterns connected by thin lines will also change accordingly, just as changing the coefficients of a complex system of equations alters the entire calculation process.

Xia Zuo's hair was messy, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and several silver sand hands held a notebook and a pen, floating around him, helping him to pre-calculate the numbers to be filled into the illusion image.

He gestured wildly, shouting and muttering strange phrases such as "time itself has no meaning," "space comes from perception," and "the purpose of a fishing net is not to catch fish but to filter them."

Since waking up in the [Space-Time Phase Simulator] at 4 a.m. today, he has entered this rambling state.

On the ground in the corner, Little Golden Bauhinia leaned against the glass dome with a worried expression, staring at Xia Zuo, who seemed to have fallen into madness.

If Xia Zuo hadn't remembered to replenish her with some hydrating potions, Little Golden Bauhinia would have almost thought he had completely gone mad.

Xia Zuo knew very well that he wasn't crazy; on the contrary, he had entered an unprecedented state of clarity.

The ratio of internal to external flow rates in the [Space-Time Phase Simulator] is as high as 1:6000, far exceeding that of the Faceless Man.

This enormous and magnificent power of spacetime has been placed within Xia Zuo's body like a snow-capped mountain in eternal winter.

Now, the great snow mountain is melting little by little, and a torrent of knowledge about time and space is pouring into Xia Zuo's mind.

Just as Melina, who possesses the talent of a spirit reader, can read several times more information than an alert person from a brief temporary memory, Xia Zuo, who is holding a treasure trove of spacetime laws, has an epiphany after deeply pondering Beatrice and Melina's words, and officially begins to comprehend the spacetime laws.

What is time?

Is the reference time information recorded in the spacetime information on the Sands of Time time itself?

No, it's not.

Time is a sorting, a sequence number.

It represents the order in which events occur, and the sequence in which changes happen.

The time was divided into evenly spaced seconds, minutes, and hours simply to make it easier to keep records.