Chapter 158 - 033: Time

Chapter 158: 033: Time

Lynch stared at the unremarkable old man before him, his eyes brimming with astonishment. This was the first time anyone had managed to analyze him so thoroughly—merely with a single glance.

’So this is the power of a wizard? Unbelievable…’

Perhaps noticing Lynch’s shock, Somda said casually, “There’s no need to be surprised. When you’ve lived long enough and experienced ample time, you naturally accumulate a lot of knowledge. Doing this is hardly unexpected.”

Well, that’s what he said…

Lynch couldn’t help but ask, “Just how many years does that take… How long have you been accumulating?”

Somda shook his head and replied, “I don’t remember anymore. Maybe a few thousand years? Or ten thousand? It’s been too long.”

Lynch stared at him in disbelief. “…..”

This… is he serious?

As far as he knew, the maximum lifespan of an Official Level wizard was just over five hundred years. Even someone as powerful as the Judge’s second elder sister wouldn’t exceed a lifespan of a little over a thousand years. At most, reaching the pinnacle of the Third Tier might grant two to three thousand years, but such individuals were exceedingly rare in the Ancient Ruins. The Shadow Tower itself had only one such figure.

And yet here was his mentor claiming to have lived thousands, even tens of thousands of years. Wasn’t this too far-fetched?

’He’s got to be bluffing, right?’

Lynch had skimmed through Somda’s records in the Tower’s archive. A few decades ago, when Somda had first joined the Shadow Tower, he had still been just a boy, like all the children brought here. By that calculation, he could only be in his sixties or seventies at most now.

Although he looked much older than his actual age, the difference couldn’t possibly be that vast, could it?

“Heh heh heh!”

Somda chuckled contentedly but made no further explanation. Instead, he shifted the topic and asked, “So, about the books in my study… Did you really finish reading all of them?”

Lynch nodded. “Yes.”

Somda inquired further, “How long did it take you?”

Lynch thought for a moment. “The first read-through took me five years. Then, I reread them in under three years. And about a year ago, I went over them again. Altogether, I’d say around eight or nine years in total.”

Somda nodded. “No wonder. By that measure, you’ve clearly mastered the content of those books.”

He couldn’t resist asking, “What kept you so engaged? Those books are full of dry theory without any spells, yet you were so diligent in reading them.”

“Honestly, when I first suggested it, I didn’t expect you to actually finish them.”

Lynch muttered silently: You could’ve said that earlier…

Aloud, he replied, “At first, I did it because you told me to. But as I read further, I gradually found it interesting. Theory is still knowledge, after all. Isn’t the purpose of a wizard’s existence to accumulate and learn knowledge?”

Somda’s eyes lit up, and he nodded with approval. “Well said. Very well said.”

He then continued, “Since you’ve finished those books, stay here for a while. Help me out with a few tasks, and I’ll teach you a thing or two in return.”

Lynch hesitated. “Does it have to be now?”

Somda asked, “Why? Do you have something urgent to take care of?”

Lynch thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, not really.”

Attending a wedding wasn’t that important anyway. This was a rare opportunity to gain knowledge, the truly valuable part of life.

Somda said, “Even if you did have something important, there’s no need to worry. You’d still make it on time.”

Lynch looked puzzled.

Somda walked over to a massive clock, gesturing for Lynch to come closer. “Alright, come here. Let me give you a quick introduction. This is the centerpiece of my current research and my life’s greatest pursuit. It’s an alchemy device I call—”

“Time.”

…

Who knows how much time passed?

Lynch sat on a chair, staring blankly at the twisted surroundings of the space.

According to Wizard Somda’s description, this peculiar space was called the Time Domain—an enormously distorted realm created by the alchemy clock known as ’Time,’ which Somda had built.

The device had the power to warp time.

Yes, warp time!

When Lynch first learned this, he was deeply shaken. After all, time was considered a constant, one of the highest governing principles in the Wizard World—a force etched into the fabric of unchangeable reality.

And now, someone had found a way to manipulate it, to alter it to some extent. Who would even believe such a thing…

“Mentor, does this mean we’re completely trapped here now?”

Lynch turned his head to look at Somda, who was busy tinkering with a pile of alchemy parts.

The space they were in belonged to a different dimension from the world beyond, much like the relationship between space fragments and the material world. To traverse between the two required a connection via a Space Gate.

However, during one of Somda’s tests, an unexpected error caused the time energy to ripple outward, spilling into the outer world.

Lynch’s accelerated aging earlier was a direct result of exposure to the time energy emanating from here.

Wizard Somda himself had been knocked unconscious by the burst, and it was purely by chance that Lynch entered the space just in time to wake Somda.

If left unchecked, the continued leakage of time energy from the domain could lead to disastrous consequences. Thus, upon regaining consciousness, Somda had hurriedly begun repairing the clock.

The previous shockwave had damaged countless components, making it impossible to restore the device quickly. Left with no other choice, Somda had decided on a crude solution.

Destroy the Space Gate and sever the connection between the two realms.

Disconnecting the spaces ensured that the energy wouldn’t escape, but it also meant Lynch was sealed inside.

Somda reassured him, “Don’t worry. This is only temporary. I’ll fix it eventually.”

“In the meantime, just stay here. Train, study—whatever you need to do. There’s less entertainment here than out in the vibrant world, but for cultivation, meditation, and learning, it makes little difference.”

A two-story tower stood on one side of the plaza, complete with all the necessities for living. It had a Cultivation Room, a Meditation Room, and various other facilities. For pure cultivation and daily life, it was entirely sufficient.

Well, there was no other option anyway…

…

The original plan to attend the wedding had to be put on hold. From that day onward, Lynch found himself trapped in this place.

The Wizard’s Road would temporarily continue here…

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