Chapter 337

Chapter 337

Ordinarily, it might have proved fatal, but Asta likely wore protective gear, much like my robes.

I didn’t look back until I was out of breath, rushing into the maze-like gardens. Looking back usually meant getting caught in movies and TV shows, so I kept moving forward.

Instead, I heightened my senses severalfold to attune to the sounds and presences around me.

“Hmph… hmph! Ugh!”

My sides clenched. Without my improvised magic, I would never have been able to escape from Asta with my stamina.

My throat burned like I was going to vomit blood. My lungs felt inflated like they were going to burst. I ran faster and farther than ever since arriving in this world.

I ran until my legs were cramped. Blood trickled from the slash across my calf, but I couldn’t stop running. I thought he only cut the hem of my robe, but he must have cut my leg along with it.

Even if my legs were cut, I had to keep running.

“Sh!t…”

The garden around the altar, which I thought was a maze, turned out to be a real maze, with no exit in sight.

I don’t know if I should call it luck or misfortune.

I found a gap in a large garden tree and squeezed through. I couldn’t run anymore. If I kept going, I might collapse from blood loss. I turned my head to look back and saw a trail of blood where I’d come from.

Oh, shit.

Cursing under my breath, I lifted my shaking arm and snapped my fingers. I wanted to pull out my wand, but it was too flashy for this situation.

The time magic I’d been practicing in my spare time since awakening could be used in various ways. I could send things back in time, pull them forward, or make them repeat.

At first, I created magical spears or arrows using time magic and used them to stab or throw them. That alone put the other person to death, and even if they were injured, they did not recover easily.

I don’t know how it works, but wounds inflicted by time magic could not be healed by ordinary magic.

Perhaps it was similar to the fact that communication and transportation were impossible with time magic. Was healing magic also impossible?

I scratched my head. Even with Kaichen’s research, there were no immediate results. Since we had little time, I practiced magic as best I could.

These are the things I learned.

I reversed the bloodstains I left behind as I ran. I couldn’t use it on living things yet, but in this way, I could reverse the time of objects, inanimate objects, and spaces like floors and walls to a certain extent.

Of course, it wasn’t complete, and after a while, it would return to its original state, so it wasn’t a particularly spectacular effect. But if I had my wand out, I could cast a fairly large and wide area of magic, which was useful for erasing traces or repairing things this way.

I could use it to outrun my pursuers for a while.

As I crumpled into a crevice in a tree in the garden, the branches scratched my cheek and neck. There were no scratches anywhere else wrapped in the robe, but the exposed bare skin was unavoidable.

It stung, but I thought it was no big deal since I had been suppressing the wound on my leg.

I whimpered and breathed heavily.

I wanted to use magic immediately to hide and heal my leg, but I had to focus on my breathing first. If I’m out of breath, out of mind, then my magic won’t work.

Kaichen had always emphasized steady breathing and unwavering mental strength. Only then could I fully utilize the power of the deepest ocean.

“Woooh…”

A rush of heat surged through my chest at the memory of his warm advice, but I held it in.

I dropped to my knees, caught my breath, and slowly raised my head. To my relief, the blood trail seemed to have vanished. Cautiously, I snapped my fingers again.

The magic to hide one’s appearance was basic magic. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but since magicians are sensitive to detecting other people’s magic, it was also easily detected.

But it was another case around normal people.