The Ti Dilation wasn't a separate skill, but rather a sub-skill under his Miracle Sage Eyes—a fusion of the Miracle Eyes and Sage Eyes. This unique evolution granted him the ability to slow ti by ten tis for up to ten minutes.
He could also compress and accelerate ti perception, allowing him to process and react at three tis normal speed within that slowed ti. In essence, he could live through what felt like thirty seconds in just one second of real ti.
As the golden glow faded from Leon's eyes, he stood calmly among the crumbling remains of the Blood Knights. Their armor shattered like glass, and their bodies lay still—silent witnesses to the overwhelming gap in power.
Millim's playful grin faltered for a mont as she stared in awe. Then, with a slow clap and a wide, gleaming smile, she laughed.
"Hehe, okay, that was so cool! You weren't even trying, were you?"
Leon gave a small smirk. "I used maybe... two percent of my capacity. Just enough to test sothing."
Millim pouted, crossing her arms. "And here I thought my knights could at least make you sweat."
"They were impressive," Leon said truthfully. "Coordinated, disciplined, and packed with raw power. But against this—" he tapped the side of his head, where the Miracle Sage Eyes glowed faintly "—they never had a chance."
Roselia, still nearby, folded her arms and stepped forward again. "So that's what your new Skill. The Miracle Sage Eyes... sothing that play with ti."
Leon turned to face her, his expression neutral. "It's more than just power or knowledge. These eyes... see through the flow of reality itself. I can find weak points, pause instincts, even sense the potential of what's to co."
"Scary," Millim muttered, but she was grinning again. "Also kinda hot."
Leon rolled his eyes, but the faintest smile tugged at the edge of his lips.
Suddenly, the sky rumbled faintly, and a ripple of space brushed over the battlefield. A tear in reality shimred just above the horizon, warping the clouds and twisting the wind around it. All three turned sharply to look.
"Hmm… is that a Rift?" Leon asked, his eyes narrowing as golden rings flickered faintly in his irises.
The others nodded. "Looks like it," Roselia replied, brushing her hair aside. "We're getting another Rift already? How sweet."
Rifts were no ordinary anomalies—they were instantaneous dungeon-like zones, complete with their own challenges, resources, and sotis entirely new rules of space and ti. More importantly, if one managed to clear a Rift, especially a naturally occurring one, it was possible to claim it.
Just like how Leon had claid the Spiral Mountain Rift—a colossal structure that now served mostly as the aviary and training ground for their strange, powerful collection of pets and companions.
"Do you think this one's as big as the Spiral Mountain one?" Millim asked, her silver hair swaying in the wind. "It feels different."
Leon watched the tear in space carefully. "It's fluctuating… unstable, like it's being forcibly opened from the other side. This might not be a simple Rift."
A system notification chid again in his mind:
[Unstable Rift Detected – Class: ???]
[Warning: Possible Invasion-Level Threat]
[Ownership: Unclaid. Rewards: Variable.]
[Bonus Condition Active: First Contact – Unique Reward Guaranteed]
Leon's eyes narrowed further, and a faint smirk curved his lips. "Looks like we've got dibs again."
"Wanna go claim it?" Roselia asked, stretching her arms and cracking her knuckles.
"Definitely," Millim chid in. "Let's go break whatever's trying to crawl through."
Leon drew his blade and stepped forward, his tone calm but commanding. "Form up. We don't know what's waiting in there. Millim, scout ahead with one of your Blood Bats. Roselia, barrier duty. I'll take point."
"Let's call the others too," Leon added, his tone calm but firm as a flicker of golden light burst from his hand—a signal flare only their group would recognize.
Far from the ridge, at the base camp nestled between trees and rocks, Naval, Liliana, and Roman stirred awake as the flare illuminated the night sky like a silent firework.
Roman blinked, eyes groggy, and mumbled, "What the hell now?"
But the answer ca swiftly as they saw Leon standing near the rippling sky with Roselia and Millim, the Rift pulsing behind them like a heartbeat in reality.
"A Rift," Leon confird, turning to face them as they rushed up the slope toward him. "And not just any Rift. This one feels… unstable."
Liliana, rubbing sleep from her eyes, tilted her head slightly. "Unstable how? Like Spiral Mountain unstable, or fight-for-our-lives unstable?"
Naval's eyes sharpened as he focused on the distortion. "That… doesn't look natural. I've never seen a Rift pulse like that before."
Roselia glanced at Leon. "What's the plan? We can't just rush in blind."
"We're not," Leon replied, eyes fixed on the churning rift. "We go in prepared. This is a Class ??? Rift. That ans we're either about to get rich, get powerful… or get wrecked."
Millim chuckled. "Sounds fun. I'll prep the Blood Knights again. Might as well let them warm up first."
Liliana tightened her gauntlets, her tone light but serious. "If it's worth waking up for, then I'd better get sothing shiny out of it."
Roman just yawned and cracked his neck. "Fine, fine. Let's do this. But after that, I'm picking the next rest spot."
As their group assembled fully—battle-hardened, bonded, and still growing stronger—they turned to face the swirling rift in unison. The wind howled louder now, like sothing was clawing to co through from the other side.
Leon raised his hand. "Everyone ready?"
One by one, they nodded.
"Then let's begin."
The Rift howled… and opened wide.
Just as they were leaping forward to enter, the Rift pulsed violently—and began spitting out monsters on its own.
"Well, that's new," Leon muttered as he blurred forward, vanishing from view.
A split second later, he reappeared mid-air, sword already halfway through a clean horizontal arc. Slash! The heads of the erging monsters hit the ground before their bodies did, rolling like oversized marbles.
The group stepped back as they got a better look at the creatures.
They were rmanoid in nature—twisted hybrids of fish and man, their scales bristling with unnatural sheen, eyes glowing with malice. Long fins curled down their arms like grotesque blades, and gills flared with each rasping breath.
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