Grimoires.
In this world, they were peculiar yet essential artifacts.
They inherited magic, stored mana, and were as crucial to mages as swords were to knights.
One could cast spells without them, but it would never be as powerful — it would always fall short.
This was exactly why Ethan had longed so desperately for a grimoire of another magical attribute.
Yet among his more than two hundred magical attributes, the time attribute stood out as singular.
Unique and irreplicable.
Once someone obtained the time grimoire, no one else could ever use it — not unless they died.
And in this era, the one and only bearer of that time grimoire was none other than Julius Novachrono — the Wizard King.
But now... that very grimoire had appeared here, floating in the air.
That could only mean one of two things...
"Julius...?"
Corin, who had just prepared to deliver a fatal blow to Ethan, froze mid-strike.
He could never forget that strange, cylindrical, pale white grimoire.
Its presence could only mean one thing:
The Wizard King is here.
Ethan, too, was stunned. He had the same thought.
But the next second, his heart sank.
If the grimoire was here, its master must be nearby.
But… another possibility emerged:
Julius… might be dead.
It wasn't just a wild guess. There was solid evidence.
If Julius were still alive and well, there was no way his grimoire would suddenly become linked to Ethan —
— and yet, Ethan's previously depleted time energy was now rapidly refilling.
One month... six months... one year...
In just a few seconds, he had accumulated more than five years' worth of stored time.
It kept increasing until it stabilized at twenty years. Only then did the influx slow down.
"Could it be... that flash of golden light I saw earlier?"
Ethan recalled the brief golden burst from the direction of the Clover Kingdom capital.
"Did the elf reincarnation plan succeed...? But how?"
He couldn't understand. All the magic stones were on Julius.
For Patolli and the others to succeed, the only possibility was to steal them.
But that would be suicide — not just against the Wizard King, but with all nine Magic Knight Captains.
"Ugh... this era just keeps getting messier."
Regardless of how they pulled it off, one thing was clear: they had succeeded.
Just like in the original timeline, they had managed to temporarily kill Julius.
"And now... they're probably heading to open the Shadow Palace.
No — the devil might already be reborn…"
Chaos.
The battlefield was descending into complete madness.
But none of that mattered right now.
Even if the sky fell, Ethan had to deal with this battle first.
> "Time Magic – Time Acceleration!"
"Time Magic – Temporal Domain Slow!"
With twenty years' worth of time stored, there was no need to worry about consumption anymore.
Time magic was unique — its power wasn't based on magical strength, but how much time you had stored.
A time mage could just sit at home and do nothing. As long as they stored time every day,
then after decades, they'd naturally become Zero Tier… or even stronger.
And with twenty years, Ethan now had enough power to take on Zero Tier Corin head-on.
Zoom!
Under the effect of acceleration, Ethan's figure flickered through the sky, seemingly vanishing.
But instead of retreating — he charged forward.
> "Time Magic – Temporal Oblivion!"
With a mere swipe of his hand, past and future bent to his will.
Nothing could resist the might of time — not even the stars.
"Wh–What?!"
Corin's pupils shrank.
His indestructible Stellar Battle Armor began disintegrating under the force of time.
> "How… how does he have this much time magic now?!"
If he were fighting Julius, this would make sense.
But this was Ethan, who moments ago had completely run out of time!
Corin's gaze snapped back to the massive floating grimoire.
Julius had time magic. So did this kid.
Could it be… this grimoire didn't belong to Julius anymore?
Whoosh!
Ethan didn't give him time to think.
The temporal domain expanded again.
He raised one hand, palm forward, and whispered—
> "Chrono-Construct Magic – Chronos' Clock!"
DONG!
A heavy bell toll echoed across the void.
A ghostly ancient clock appeared behind Corin.
Hour hand. Minute hand. Second hand — each moving on its own.
But Corin was horrified to find… he could no longer move.
He couldn't even breathe.
His time had been stopped.
> "Time Reversal Magic – Stream of Life!"
DONG! DONG!...
With each chime, the giant clock ticked forward.
And with it, Corin aged.
His black hair turned white in seconds.
Smooth, healthy skin wrinkled and sagged.
In just moments, he looked decades older.
Such was the overwhelming force of time.
No matter how dazzling or powerful someone was, no one could defy it.
> "He… he's trying to drain my life force directly!"
Snarling, Corin couldn't care about dignity anymore.
He unleashed his full power as a Zero Tier mage.
His entire body exploded with dazzling starlight.
The ancient clock behind him began to waver.
Though the second hand ticked forward, it shook violently back and forth, unable to make its next move.
> "Stellar Magic – Meteoric Starburst!"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion tore through the sky.
Magic energy rippled outward in a massive shockwave.
The clouds dispersed, and the earth cracked open, leaving behind a deep crater.
Ethan raised his arms, shielding himself with time magic, weathering the blast.
Whoosh... whoosh...
The winds howled past his ears, only quieting several seconds later.
Lowering his spell, Ethan scanned the area.
The ground was scarred. Rubble and ash filled the crater.
But Corin... was nowhere to be seen.
"Heh... Old man, guess you ran off in time."
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