The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 82: Astronomical Clock Page

The weather had gotten a bit cold. Sylutia looked outside—a layer of pale frost had formed on the window, and the sky was turning gray.

She had no classes this morning, so she slept in a little, not getting up until after nine. She pulled on warm stockings and a knee-length dress, then threw on the light cloak issued by the academy and stepped out of her room.

She headed to the restaurant first for a simple breakfast of fruit and bread. Sylutia checked the time—it was exactly ten o'clock. The instructor should be in the office, so she made her way to a nearby building.

Arriving at the duty office for the new students on the third floor, Sylutia gently knocked on the wooden door. After a moment, a voice came from inside.

"Come in."

She pushed open the door and walked in. The instructor inside saw it was her and smiled.

"What brings you here today? Is there a problem with your coursework?" In the instructor's eyes, this young lady was probably the most worry-free student he had. Not only was she intelligent and studious, but she was also polite and followed the rules—unlike some geniuses who, despite their talent and strength, often caused headaches and trouble for the academy's teachers.

"It's not about coursework." The young lady shook her head first, then stepped closer to ask.

"I wanted to find out what advanced secret arts the academy has for me to study and choose from."

"Advanced? Already?" The instructor quickly caught on and looked at the young lady."For an ordinary student, it's a bit early, but if it's you..." He thought for a moment.

"It seems you can start preparing."

"Follow me." With that, he stood up and led Sylutia out of the office, heading to another part of the academy. This was the 'Silver Wheel Hall,' a building whose interior resembled multiple overlapping, rotating silver gears. Set into the inner walls of each gear were precision stone tablets, storing various secret arts and spell models.

Once inside, the instructor exchanged a few words with the guardian here, then took Sylutia down to the underground section. It was divided into several circular underground libraries, and he led Sylutia into one of them.

"This is the place." He turned around.

"Hedra, this is where the 'Mithril Clock' school's various core secret arts are stored, all options you can choose at the Third Tier."

"Since it's your first time here, let me give you a general introduction."

"First, our school originated from a group of 'clockmakers.' Because making clocks required high-level knowledge and many skills, they developed into an organization."

"Later, the school gradually absorbed many related knowledge theories, becoming one of the important early factions of the Mage Alliance. Now, we've accumulated a vast array of secret arts and techniques."

"Currently, members of the 'Mithril Clock' school can be broadly divided into three mainstream advancement directions. The first focuses on creating precision enchanted creations. They can also be called traditional clockmakers, specializing in Enchantment Spells, making enchanted items, and creating precision instruments."

"The second focuses on decrees and analysis. They are well-versed in various laws and rules, skilled in identification and analysis, breaking illusions, distinguishing truth from falsehood, and investigating data and information."

"The third focuses on time, space, and stellar orbits. This direction has the fewest people and is the most difficult. It requires gaining perception of the 'Alien Star' and fully mastering its power without being eroded or shaken by it. One can borrow the power of Astral Plane beings, or channel the power of stellar orbits to combine with the school's original time-based secret arts, gaining the ability to interfere with time."

"Don't rush to decide. Let me show you the core secret arts of each advancement direction, and then you can make your choice." The man pulled a silver stone tablet from the wall and performed a special decryption spell.

A bright trace lit up on the stone tablet, like flames, revealing the hidden patterns and script underneath. He then took down several more tablets, unsealed them, and placed them on the table for the young lady to examine.

'Mercury Page' - One of the core advancement secret arts. Improves mental stability and enchantment precision, indirectly enhancing the quality of enchanted creations and spells. (Mental Stability +2, Enchantment Quality +3)

'Manifestation Page' - One of the core advancement secret arts. Greatly enhances the effects of enchanted creations. If using a spell orb, the converted Aspect power becomes stronger. (Enchanted Creation Effect +3, Spell Orb Consumption -2)

'Silver Engraving Page' - One of the core advancement secret arts. Increases the power of Construct spells and allows for control over more complex constructs. (Construct Spell Power +2, Complexity +3)

'Sovereign Page' - One of the core advancement secret arts. Greatly increases Sovereign Spell power and inscribes one sovereign decree onto the page, automatically applying that decree's effect to any attack spells cast. (Sovereign Spell Power +3, Attack Spells Gain Additional Sovereign Effect)

'Breaker Page' - One of the core advancement secret arts. Enhances analytical ability and grants stronger spell-breaking capabilities against analyzed spells. (Analysis Ability +2, Breaker Effect +3)

'Star Prayer Page' - One of the core advancement secret arts. Enhances perception of the Alien Star and grants partial resistance to its erosion, allowing for communication with and summoning of stronger and more numerous Alien Star beings. (Perception of Alien Star +2, Resistance to Alien Star Erosion +2, Summoning Spectrum +1)

'Star Selection Page' - One of the core advancement secret arts. Designates a single star, strengthening the connection to it and gaining the protection granted by that star. (Perception of Alien Star +1, Resistance to Alien Star Erosion +1, Star's Protection +3)

'Astronomical Clock Page' - One of the core advancement secret arts. By perceiving stars, one indirectly gains perception of true time and gradually masters the ability to accelerate thought and interfere with time. (Perception of Alien Star +2, True Knowledge of Time +2, Time Interference +1)

Although there were many choices, the moment Sylutia saw the 'Astronomical Clock Page,' she knew it was the only choice for her.

Back in the Hidden Grove, she had heard the high-ranking officers of the Hidden Grove Alliance talk about this advanced secret art. However, back then, they called it the 'Arcane Astronomical Clock.' Perception of true time touches upon the authority of the Hours, so the Mage Alliance had always kept this advancement method somewhat obscure.

It felt like fate, in a way. Many of the 'Mithril Clock' school's secret arts involved rules and decrees, and tracing things like that back to their source always led to the Hours.

"I choose the Astronomical Clock Page." Sylutia picked up the stone tablet. Engraved on it was a beautiful silver pattern of an astronomical clock.

"This..." The instructor looked at the young lady, his expression hesitant.

"The Astronomical Clock Page is a core advancement secret art that His Grace released twenty years ago. It has no major advantages in the early stages; instead, it will expose you to the erosion of the Alien Star, forcing you to spend extra time and energy dealing with it."

"Students have chosen it before, but many regretted it at the Third or Fourth Tier. Because this path gets progressively harder as you advance, they eventually had to pay a heavy price to change their core and continue on the path of the transcendent."

"If you choose to advance with this core secret art, you need to be mentally prepared."

"I will be prepared." Sylutia nodded solemnly, making it clear she wasn't joking.

Seeing the young lady's firm decision, the instructor stopped trying to dissuade her and instead talked about the advantages of this core secret art.

"Although it's the most difficult, its benefits are rarely seen in other secret arts. It's like a key that opens the door to the truth of this world, allowing you to glimpse a sliver of the secrets that the Hours conceal."

"The time that most people perceive is actually controlled by the 'Four Seasons Clock.' True time and the time described by the 'Four Seasons Clock' don't always perfectly overlap. Sometimes there's an error, and at those times, the Hours are usually adjusting the temporal order, changing this world."

"But as the 'Four Seasons Clock' turns, this error slowly fades away, and they realign."

"At the Third Tier, this core secret art can at most accelerate your thoughts. At the Fourth Tier, it can slightly speed up your body's reaction time. At the Fifth Tier, you can slow the passage of time within a small area. As for the time reversal that most people dream of, you'd probably need the Seventh Tier to interfere with time and make it briefly reverse."

"However, this ability to interfere with time is, after all, challenging the authority of the Hours, and you're borrowing the power of the 'Alien Star' from outside this world. Even if you reach a high tier, you must still use it with caution." He paused.

"If you choose this core secret art and advance to the Fifth Tier, you should be able to meet His Grace. He will tell you the path forward after that."

"Who is 'His Grace' that you speak of?" Sylutia had a vague guess in her heart.

"He is the one who led the 'Mithril Clock' school to its glory, one of the current Named Ones of the Mage Alliance. His true name is already inscribed on the World Wall. The moment I speak it, it will create a resonance, so unless necessary, I won't say it."

"But this isn't really a secret. You'll learn of His Grace in due time." The man put away the other stone tablets, returned them to the stone shelf, clicked them into their slots, and sealed them again.

"Today, just memorize the core secret art on this stone tablet. When you're done, return it to the guardian here."

After that, he explained a few more things, then left Sylutia behind and departed.

Sylutia took the stone tablet and sat down at the table. She gently ran her fingers over the silver patterns and script again, then closed her eyes and immersed her mind within it.

Soon, layers of mist parted in her mind, and a precise and magnificent scene appeared in her consciousness.

It was a view of the sky above. A grand clock, vast as the heavens themselves, stood tall. It was covered with intricate vines and floral ornaments, with countless fairies surrounding it. Four hazy figures guarded the clock, too indistinct to make out clearly...

A sudden enlightenment struck Sylutia. This must be the legendary 'Four Seasons Clock.' It was said that in ancient times, the fairies used it to determine the seasons of growth and withering, dividing the cycle into the four seasons.

Although the fairies had once lost their position among the Hours, the Dragons of Law, who replaced them, did not destroy this divine creation.

Later, when the Alien Star descended, this great clock was damaged. One 'Alien Star' pierced through its dial, leaving a hole, and the power of the Astral Plane seeped in through it, changing many rules of this world.

At the end of the Seventh Epoch, the Dragons of Law reached an agreement with the fairies. The fairies would repair this divine clock and cede part of the Hours' authority, and so the four fairy Hours jointly took charge of this great clock.

The vision in her sight gradually zoomed in. Sylutia delved deep into the magnificent clock face, weaving through it. Her sight pierced the dial, revealing the complex inner structure. The inside of this giant clock was not the complex mechanical gears she had imagined. Instead, it was filled with countless seashells, conches, and fossilized fish bones.

The patterns on those seashells and conches bore the marks of accumulated 'time,' and the fossilized fish bones symbolized countless past temporal cycles.

The interval it took for a drop of water to pass through the crack in a conch was one second. The water it took to fill a seashell was one minute. Each new water-stain pattern deposited on a fish bone fossil represented one year.

The length of a second or minute in this world was not fixed; it was determined by this magnificent clock. But all things were unaware of this because, under the influence of the Hours, the functioning of everything was affected. If it stretched the length of a second, the reaction time of living beings would also lengthen, and the time it took for water to fall would lengthen proportionally. So, under normal circumstances, nothing could perceive the difference.

However, even this perfect and powerful divine creation eventually developed a flaw. A cracked 'star' was embedded in the dial. Its power was seeping into the surroundings. Although it was currently suppressed, it still introduced variables into this perfect creation.

Inside the dial influenced by this 'star,' complex, precise gears were slowly taking shape and beginning to turn. Their appearance signaled the birth of new concepts and rules for an independent world. The being capable of such a feat would be called a Named One.

A 'Named One' is not an Hour, but has already touched upon the changes in some laws.

The memorization of the core secret art on the stone tablet was complete. Sylutia felt as if a lifetime had passed. Although only an afternoon had gone by, it felt as though she had lived through a dozen years.

She slowly rose, cradled the stone tablet, and returned it to the guardian of the 'Silver Wheel Hall.' The guardian was a faceless figure clad in a full suit of armor. She couldn't even tell if it was truly human.

"Your return is received, Student Hedra. You may leave normally."

Sylutia nodded in thanks and then left the Silver Wheel Hall.

Having understood the direction of her advancement, she now needed to start preparing everything required.

First, she would need to craft the astronomical clock required for the advancement herself. Then, she would need to learn the 'Star Prayer Meditation Method,' an intermediate-level meditation method that would strengthen her resistance to the Alien Star's erosion and help her perceive some information from the Astral Plane.

After that came the inscription of the page, which also required a fair amount of resources and materials. Then she would need to learn the 'Star Sensing Method' to establish a sympathetic connection with the 'star' within the Four Seasons Clock.

Finally came the formal advancement. She would seal the astronomical clock into the page and use it as the core to arrange the runes on the page. The next step was to attune the entire page to the Four Seasons Clock. The last step was to complete the inscription. Once that was done, no matter where she was, she would always know the current time.