I was so scared that I put all my points into health.

As the clock tower of Elparan City struck its eleventh chime, the magic lanterns in the square gradually went out. I was squatting behind the stage counting the prize boxes when my fingertips suddenly touched something damp—a half-melting ice trophy was lying on my starlight carpet, blowing bubbles. This was clearly the work of a cosplayer from "Eternal Frost Chronicles".

"Lord Raine!" A goblin from the logistics team burst in, brandishing a smoking recording crystal. "Master Silas's alchemy table has turned the third stage into a candy house!" When I arrived, the Archmage of Time was using his pocket watch as a stirring rod, pouring rainbow syrup onto the oak staff of the Druid Codex cosplayer. A swarm of Shadowcats, drawn by the sweetness, were licking the granite tiles, their whimpering as their tongues got stuck sounding like a lute playing out of tune.

System notification: Spatiotemporal coordinate anomaly detected.

"It is recommended to consume 5000 gratitude points to activate the purification process."

Current gratitude level: 4873

I silently swatted away the warning pop-up and casually took the gilded spoon handed to me by the second princess's maid—it had now become a trophy for the "Best Prop Modification Award." "His Highness said he would award this to the gear armor cosplayer from 'Cult of Mechanics'," the maid said, pointing to an engineer in the distance who was baking pancakes with a wind-up device that emitted blueberry jam fireworks every three seconds.

Suddenly, a loud clanging of gears meshed echoed from the awards stage. We turned to see the old scholars of the "Hourglass of Time" cosplay group manipulating a pocket watch model magnified tenfold as it rolled across the red carpet. As the minute hand swept across the judges' seats, the astrologer's crystal pen was caught in the gears, ploughing a galaxy-like trail of ink onto the score of "Starfall Wars."

"This is true time-space alchemy!" Master Thorne, the team leader, waved the ribbons on his tutu, and colorful smoke kept billowing from his feet. I watched as the smoke condensed into the form of a siren from "Dark Tides," the raid boss that should have appeared 270 days later, was now using its tentacles to snatch away the macaron tower from the dessert table.

Suddenly, the VIP seating area lit up with a deep blue starlight. President Vinnie set down her teacup, and the emblem of the Star Church spun into a halo at her fingertips. The moment the halo disappeared into the siren's phantom, its tentacles suddenly began to tap dance, precisely tossing macarons into the pockets of each cosplayer—this was clearly her "Divine Automatic Sorting Technique" invented last month!

“Mr. Renn.” President Winnie appeared behind me at some point, stardust still falling from her dress. “Don’t you think Master Silas’s pocket watch… is running fifteen minutes fast?” I followed her gaze and saw the alchemist using time acceleration to brew milk tea, the afterimages of teacups floating around him forming a strange Möbius strip.

Suddenly, a sharp crackling sound of shattering crystal echoed from backstage. When we rushed into the prop room, we saw the tentacle model of the *Abyss Watcher* devouring the shield of the *Golden Guardian*. "It's Master Silas's Condensed Sands of Time!" the prop master exclaimed, pointing to the shimmering silver sand on the floor. "This sand has given the props a strange appetite..."

It was midnight when I finished dealing with the rampaging props. I slumped down by the fountain, when I suddenly noticed a figure in black robes reflected in the water. The clock emblem on the figure's sleeve gleamed eerily, and a bronze gear landed with a "clink" at my feet. When I looked up, I only saw the banner of "The Shadow Clan's Secret History" fluttering in the night wind, like a mocking wave.

(New foreshadowing: The inside of the gear is engraved with the ancient Elven script for "Cronus")

Current status of key items:

1. Holy Light Restoration Potion: Used as sunscreen by a cosplayer from "Dawn Expedition" and applied all over her body.

2. Abyss Resistance Scroll: Mounted as decoration on the stage backdrop of "Dark Tides".

3. Starlight Carpet: Milk tea stains are drying on the top of the clock tower.

4. The Time-Accelerating Hourglass: Modified into a popcorn machine by Master Silas.

5. Star Church Commemorative Coin: A throwing prop used by cosplayers of "Starfall Wars".

- The missing Sands of Time trigger an item evolution event

President Winnie discovers astrological clues at the bottom of her milk tea cup.

- New Appearance: High Priest of the Gear Cult "Cetus"

- The key item "Looping Music Box" has appeared on the black market.

This chapter took: 2 game days (real time + 0.29 days)