Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"Heir of the World Tree of Time, holder of the authority of time. He is the oldest transcendent being, yet also the newest pioneer, and the one who walks with all things."

The cat senior meowed softly, telling a story that Yu Man didn't know.

It then said—

"At the same time... he is also the most powerful being in the entire world, far surpassing me."

"So exaggerated?" Yu Man was surprised.

Having said this, Senior Cat used his paws to pick up some snack crumbs and put them into his mouth to satisfy his craving before continuing.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea where you ended up. Even before I met you... I didn't know such a thing existed. So it's hard to compare the final boss you encountered with Time. But in my traditional view, Time is the strongest."

After thinking for a while, Senior Cat said again——

"I've never seen it myself, only heard it from Lie and... another. The old world, the worlds before, or our reality, are but books flowing, turning the pages in his hands."

"……Uh?"

"He is a reader, Xiaoman. This is the nature of His authority. He can turn the pages of the book with the 'world' as its volume. This is the truth of the forward flow of time, and therefore we are moving forward."

So exaggerated?

Even Yu Man understood the power of "time" in an instant.

And—its horror.

"And if He wants to savor it, He will turn back a few pages, and the entire 'world' will be performed again for Him. This is the truth of the world repeating itself, and it is also the truth of you and me passing through the levels."

"W-what?"

"Because we have had a wonderful journey, time wants to see another one."

Senior Cat lay on Yu Man's legs and whispered extremely heavy words.

It thought for a moment, and added:

"Or—if others want to read, He will turn the page for them."

"...The person I... met—turned out to be this kind of person?"

Senior Cat nodded: "It's likely, right? Anyway, after listening to your description so far, I can't think of a second one."

Yu Man was lost in thought.

But the question is: "Why did He come to us? And what's more, He came in such a weird way..."

"He's one of the game administrators, and he's also a very artistic person, right?"

Senior Cat tried to analyze it.

"The game shell still needs to look good, so they're harvesting the wealthy—that's you—reclaiming large amounts of gold to prevent financial inflation. At the same time, they're indirectly showing off their little poem to us. Believe me, they're definitely waiting for you to praise it."

Senior Cat was quite confident in his conclusion.

……

and so--

"That little poem has a lot of rhythm."

After Yu Man went online, he started with such praise.

Hei Li was drinking yogurt when she was choked and frightened by Yu Man's words.

"Ahem... ahem... what did you say?"

“Time.”

Yu Man softly read out the title and described it this way.

"It's a poet's pen name... right?"

This worked.

The girl in front of me kept blinking awkwardly and said nothing.

Even the long passages of literary talent that she could come up with effortlessly became ineffective at this moment.

"Perhaps this poet has found me in a roundabout way... hoping to become our last seat... and at the same time, to make us his readers. So, am I right?"

Blackbird was silent, having already put down the cup.

She held her face in her hands to hide her uncontrolled expression.

Looking at the scene before him, Yu Man sighed inwardly, Senior Cat is truly amazing, worthy of being a master of the "Three Secrets" route...

But as a fellow book-clearer: "I don't mind... I just have one last question: why would such a great poet want to personally experience the journey depicted in the book?"

This is exactly what confuses Yu Man.

After a full minute of silence—

Blackbird lowered his hand.

With a lingering blush and a satisfied smile that means being understood.

In a soft voice, she carefully described the answers she could give.

"The poem you're talking about—in short, the person you're talking about is actually just a simple observer, not the creator of the world. I hope you understand this... This is an important point."

"...Yeah." Yu Man nodded.

"Her poems and essays were all just ordinary, meaningless creations...created to pass the time. Just like her reading literary works to pass the time, these were all ordinary activities."

"...It doesn't have magical power?" Yu Man asked.

"Of course not. She is just a mortal—she just happens to be able to see a more vast and mysterious work (world) than ordinary people. That's all. She is not the creator who depicts the world with magic."

She was describing her own authority, an awkward, veiled explanation.

Fortunately, Yu Man could understand it very clearly.

In her opinion, watching cultural works such as novels, movies, and animations is actually the same as observing the book "World" with "time" as its axis.

The Blackbird continued:

"The world keeps going round and round, but no more works are created. It's very distressing for me—and for her, as it means she's lost the most important way to pass the time. Therefore..."

"So?" Yu Man waited for the next words, but nothing came.

This last answer was extremely poignant for Blackbird.

To the point where even trying to say it out loud—it turned bloody.

It's just such a heavy thing.

Blackbird stared at Yu Man and said, "I hope you'll keep what I'm going to say a secret. I hope you won't laugh at me. I hope... the great Clearer, you can understand me."

"I promise—in the name of a person who has passed the level, I swear to the 'Aurora String' to keep this a secret for you."

Such a precious promise, Blackbird...

No.

"Time" is no longer subtle.

"Eel, you're going to participate in the Spring Tournament, right? ... That... can give you a lot of bonuses, real-world currency... right?"

"Ah?" The eel was stunned.

And "Time" blushed and finally explained -

"I want to help you, too! I want to earn some bonus money and use it to make a movie of something I've always wanted, something I've always dreamed of! I really have nothing to watch! I have to do it on my own... Help me, Eel!"

"...Ah?" Yu Man froze in place, unable to understand for a long time.

232·Retain Time

A long silence fell over their table.

This small table, which gathers the Ice Prison Dragon, players who have completed levels, and even the game administrator, is enduring the most torturous silence in the world.

Yu Man's brain had crashed, and it took him a very long time to regain his composure.

She pressed her aching temples and sorted out the mess in her heart.

"So... "Time" - Okay, Blackbird, you went through so much trouble to get me to find you because... you want to join my team and earn the prize money... right?"

The blackbird remained silent and even tilted its head as if it didn't understand.

But in her eyes, half covered by her long light golden hair, her joy was hidden.

That is the joy of being understood.

"The purpose of earning bonuses is... to give you funds to make... a movie?" Yu Man's tone was as if he had eaten a stone, leaving small dents on his teeth.

But the blackbird just responded calmly: "You see, eel, the key to the old world is not to find the answers, but to be able to ask the questions."

Ok.

Yu Man pondered for a few seconds before asking the most crucial question: "So... are all of you three secretaries like this?"

"...I, I don't quite understand. What are the 'Three Secrets'?"

Her face was as red as the sun, as if it could emit light to burn the world and promote the growth of crops.

This scene made Yu Man appreciate the beauty of harvest.

Alright alright.

She smiled and raised another key question -

"Well, unknown poet... Blackbird—would you like to join our team? We're exactly one in four."

"Oh, Eel, you see, you've got the perfect question. I wish—"

"No, no, no, wait, let me review it first."

Yu Man interrupted her laughter with a smile and continued to ask questions to her who was frozen.

"You should know... that only players can participate in this competition, right? Otherwise, if I call Lao Huo and Xiao Bing in, they'll just be slaughtered. Do you meet the requirements?"

This was a problem Blackbird could handle: "Listen up, Eel, there are actually two types of players."

"……here we go again."

"One type is players who enter this world from your world. The other type is players who enter your world from this world. The rules of the game we write will certainly not harm our interests."

Oh... this has a bit of the "Three Secrets" tone.

Come to think of it, this being with the name of "Time" must be able to easily straddle the two worlds.

As the god who imprisoned time, she must have some status in the real world.

Otherwise, all the literature and art accumulated in the real world would not be as she said -

They have eaten everything up so that no new nutrients can be taken in.

"Okay, then you can create an account in the real world, that's fine." Yu Man breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, interesting description..." Blackbird smiled knowingly.

"Then the question arises again." Yu Man continued, "What is your profession and class? Can you keep up with the level of the brothers?"

Yu Man asked on purpose.

This seemed like a humiliation to the "Three Secrets". In fact, "Time" was still the strongest person in the world designated by Senior Cat.

But the humiliated can do nothing about it.

Because she was so angry, she burst out laughing and became very talkative.

"Look, Eel—no, little sister Yu Man, the key to this question is—what do you need?"

"You...don't call me by my name, it ruins the immersion! I'm an eel...Besides, you didn't even ask for a name when you registered for this crappy game...how did you get mine?"

"So now you should know that I'm Blackbird, right?"

"...Okay, okay."

Well, let it be a bird... Big accounts like "Time" will be temporarily sealed.

But the Blackbird continued, "Besides, you are the son of that 'poet'. Of course I know everything."

"……what?"