People in the Alliance, Time Management Master

"This is our last chance..."

“Zieran, we should be on the safe side…” Although Ryze’s attitude remained firm, he was actually starting to waver. “We should use the fifth rune to reinforce the barrier, instead of taking risks…”

"Strengthen the defenses, and then what? Hold out for one year, three years, or five years? And what about after five years?" Kieran shook his head regretfully and smiled bitterly.

"We're nothing more than food raised in the void. Can reinforcing the fence really stop the hunters? Besides, are you confident you can extract the rune from Mu Bai's body?"

The harsh truth.

Humans are utterly powerless against the void.

Even with the protection of the runic barrier, the number of survivors in the sanctuary is dwindling, while the void creatures continue to evolve.

Even if you persist, it will ultimately only lead to a bad end.

We must find an opportunity, a chance to turn the tide...

"..." Ryze fell silent, and a bitter seed took root in his heart.

He knew more about the world runes than anyone else, and he knew more about the Sanctuary than anyone else.

He dared not easily covet the power of the runes, yet he understood that only the runes could defeat the void.

It's very contradictory.

“Give it a try, Ryze,” Zilean said. “Let Mu Bai travel through time and bring back more Chosen Ones… This is our last chance.”

"What are your chances of success?" Ryze finally relented.

"If we can control the energy of that rune well... exceeding 70%, the travel time will be between seven and fifteen days."

"Um……"

Ryze nodded slightly, a conflicted look in his eyes. This was a very bold choice, and everyone had to be cautious.

"Wouldn't changing history affect the present and the future?" he asked again, "like the grandfather paradox you once mentioned?"

"The grandmother paradox is outdated, my friend."

Kieran laughed and waved his index finger from side to side, as if mocking the other's ignorance and shallowness—of course, it was just a joke between old friends.

"The course of history is predetermined and cannot be changed, even when traveling through time."

"Time travelers can influence historical events in the short term, but they will not change the overall development pattern."

"In short, no matter what Mu Bai does after he travels through time, it will not have any impact on us or on this point in time."

“It’s obscure and hard to understand…” Ryze shook his head repeatedly. “Anyway, if you think it’s okay, then it’s okay. I believe you.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure things stay within our control,” Kieran said with a smile.

"So, what should we do now?"

"Let Mu Bai rest for a while, call him back in a few days, and then... try time travel."

"That sounds really simple."

"I can only say that it's not a difficult task."

Kiran was full of confidence.

Chapter Eight: The Chosen One, and then Hasage

Mu Bai has been following Kasha all over Bandle City these past few days.

Since there's nothing important to do anyway, I might as well spend all my time increasing my favorability with Kaisa, hoping to get on her good side as soon as possible—in every sense of the word.

If something unexpected could happen... that would be even better.

Unfortunately, this leisurely and relaxed period was forced to end on the third day.

Kieran's magical apprentice disrupted their world of two.

"Good morning, Mr. Mu Bai. My teacher, Kieran, requests your presence in the Rune Chamber."

"Now?" Mu Bai looked at the void girl beside him, somewhat conflicted.

The latter had already consciously covered its entire face with a symbiotic carapace.

“Yes, now.” The magic apprentice bowed respectfully. “However, my teacher said that if you are not available, you can wait.”

"Go ahead." When there are outsiders around, Kasha's voice would revert to its usual cold and low tone. "I can handle the rest of the work myself."

Although it was called work, the task of cleaning up the battlefield was actually mostly completed on the first day. In the following days, they just strolled around and chatted.

Mu Bai was aware of all this, and after a moment's thought, he waved goodbye: "Alright, see you next time, Miss Kasha."

You can raise your favorability rating anytime, but the rune issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

"Hmm." The girl nodded faintly, revealing no emotion.

The magic apprentice standing to the side remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was astonished—no wonder he was the person his teacher was looking for, he was so familiar with the Void Infected.

Anyone else would feel uncomfortable just getting close... He thought, this guy is really heavyweight.

..............................

Inside the Rune Chamber, the two old mages, Ryze and Zilean, were ready.

The four world runes sealed within the anti-magic crystal ceased their energy output to minimize any uncertainties.

The room, already filled with runes, was further adorned with dozens of intricate patterns of varying sizes. Each one was meticulously crafted by Ryze based on the characteristics of the runes, designed to suppress the rune energy from going out of control to the greatest extent possible.

Ryze was also holding an exquisite longsword.

This is a gift I'm going to give to Mu Bai later.

Or rather... compensation. After all, time travel is a risky business, and it wouldn't be fair not to offer some form of compensation.

"I'm a little nervous."

Ryze kept stroking his bald head, looking somewhat restless. Both the fusion of runes and time travel were simply too incredible for him.

“I think there are people more nervous than you…” Kieran stared at the wall clock, silently praying it would slow down, “like me.”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Time certainly wouldn't slow down because of Zilean's thoughts, nor would it stop flowing because of Ryze's tension.

As the clock ticked, a soft footstep sounded outside the secret room.

A few seconds later, the door to the secret chamber slowly opened, and the magic apprentice bowed deeply to Kieran before quickly leaving, leaving behind only a young man of about twenty years old.

"Good morning, Mu Bai." Kieran grinned and greeted him warmly.

"Good morning, Mr. Kiran." Mu Bai returned the smile, his gaze sweeping across the entire secret room. "And Mr. Ryze."

“Hello, nice to meet you,” Ryze said.

Countless runes suddenly flickered with a faint light, as if welcoming the owner of the fifth rune.

Mu Bai clicked his tongue and, following Kilan's gestures, sat down on the chair covered in runes. Instantly, a tingling sensation, like electric currents piercing through his body, surged into his brain.

“Relax, Mu Bai. This is a rune restriction to ensure that the runes within you remain stable,” Kieran explained.

"I see." Upon hearing this, Mu Bai stopped resisting, letting the talismans suppress his magic. "So, are you going to extract the runes from my body now?"

"No, we're going to help you gain complete control over the runes."

Kieran shook his head and, under the other person's gaze, a mixture of confusion and surprise, continued:

"After much research with Ryze, we both agree that the runes have become one with you and are difficult to remove. If we try to force it, the result will likely be that your body and the runes are destroyed together."

"So we decided to settle for second best—to let the runes settle down with you, while also allowing you to make greater use of them."

"The specific method is... to use the overflowing energy of the runes to travel through time and space, thus giving that frenzied energy an outlet."

Mu Bai was completely baffled by what he heard.

Time travel?

Are you filming a sci-fi movie here?

Shouldn't runes be used to reinforce the barrier? Or at least as a bomb to blow up void creatures? This time travel thing is a bit...

“I know this is incredible, but I’m serious,” Kieran emphasized immediately when he saw the other person’s disbelief.

"This..." Mu Bai scratched his head, "Please explain in detail."

"Yes, that's right."

Kieran wasn't surprised at all by Mu Bai's reaction. Time travel is something that sounds very... fantastical to anyone, and it's hard to believe until you see the results.

Therefore, he needs to do some ideological work with Mu Bai first.

This includes his various spacetime theories developed over many years, as well as Ryze's understanding, cognition, and application of rune energy.

After a long and rambling explanation, not only Mu Bai, but even Ryze, who already knew the situation, was completely bewildered.

“Did you understand?” Kieran said. “If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask.”

"Hmm... I know a little bit..." Mu Bai nodded without much confidence.

I couldn't understand any of the principles behind it.

However, he could still understand the actual operation method and the goal of time travel—it was roughly similar to the parallel universe theory, but not a parallel universe; rather, it was a real return to the past.

Fortunately, he had watched quite a few science fiction movies before, otherwise Kieran would have been talking to a brick wall.

Therefore, it's good to accumulate some unusual knowledge in normal times, so that you won't be clueless when you travel through time.

"So what I'm going to do now is use the runes within my body to achieve time travel and bring the 'Chosen One' back, right?"

"That's roughly it." Kieran looked surprised, not expecting the young man in front of him to understand so quickly.

"..." Mu Bai inevitably fell silent.

Traveling through time and space, especially with the help of extremely dangerous world runes... that's hard to accept, isn't it?

After a moment's hesitation, he decided to politely decline the offer.

But before he could speak, the system's voice rang in his mind again:

[Task: Time Management Mentor]

[Description: Zilean, the Keeper of Time, has dedicated his life to unraveling the mysteries of time, and now success finally lies before him. This success belongs not only to him, but to all humanity. Rising star, flower of hope, never stop!]