Death… And Me

Chapter 3970: Enjoying the Gathering

Rean walked forward with his hands on his back. The Spire acted on him, accelerating and slowing time in different parts of his body. To fight it, Divine Energy would be necessary, and that’s why those around believed he would lose to the Spirit, since Zonwikui had a higher cultivation.

Yet, Rean’s movements were weird. He seemed to walk forward a moment, then left, right, and back on other moments. The strangest thing was that even though he did that, he got closer and closer to the Spire.

Rean looked back, smiling at everyone. ”What you all failed to remember is that the Future Realm is not just about time, but also space. You are all at least in the Space-Bending Realm, and you couldn’t even notice this obvious detail.”

Rean’s head turned back to the Spire, still walking forward. The changes in the environment didn’t affect either his speed or his mind. ”Everyone, you can’t forget that Space and Time walk side by side. So much so that when an expert gets to the Space-Time Realm, they can open Spatial Gates by controlling these two forces.”

”So, since time is being manipulated here, the space must be too,” he continued. ”Yes, I know, the Future Realm is different. It even shows different possible futures, but at the end of the day, it is a time-related thing.”

Everyone’s eyes opened wide as they looked at Rean, who was quickly catching up to Zonwikui.

”Impressive!” Kentucky commented again; his commentator’s act was as good as ever. ”Even though participant Rean’s cultivation is lower, he seems to have a higher understanding of his Spatial Abilities. How will Participant Zonwikui react? Tridaz or Nondux, who will lose their chance to participate in the selection a year from now?!”

Rean shrugged, not stopping Kentucky’s fun. ”At the end of the day, if you pay attention to the changes in the space, you can more or less predict how the time will react. The images of possible futures ahead of you will be clearer, so you just need to focus on those that are apparently moving forward without issues.”

Zonwikui could see Rean approaching, and he heard Rean’s explanation. He understood that he was doing it wrong and tried to apply Rean’s methods, which did work indeed. It made it easier for him to move. The problem was that Rean only brought it up now. It would take time for him to get used to it, time he didn’t have.

Seeing that Rean was going to catch up to him, Zonwikui threw caution to the wind and forced himself forward. He covered several meters at once and didn’t stop. It’s just that the changes in time and possible futures made Zonwikui feel like his core and mind were being ripped apart, even though it wasn’t truly the case.

Kentucky hyped the crowd while Nondux and Tridaz were nervous. With Zonwikui’s actions, it was impossible to tell if it was Rean or Zonwikui who would get to the Temporal Resistance Spire first.

”Rean, you are obviously having an easier time!” Nondux shouted. ”Just forget everything and run! We can do it!”

Tridaz was doing the same. ”Keep going, Zonwikui! Ignore any damage! I can get everything needed to heal you once you win and still give you the stones!”

Finally, Zonwikui arrived at the Spire, reaching out to it!

*Touch!*

Then, he touched it... and so did Rean, who appeared out of nowhere on his side.

The formation immediately deactivated, allowing Rean and Zonwikui to relax and stop fighting against it.

”Who was it?!” Everyone looked over.

Surprisingly, both Rean and Zonwikui’s names appeared at the same time. They had truly touched the Column together, and the formation couldn’t distinguish who did that first.

”WOOOWWW!!!” Kentucky burst. ”It is a draw! Both Rean and Zonwikui touched the Spire at the same time! Who couldn’t have imagined that?!”

Rean laughed in response. ”Hahaha! Friend Zonwikui, you weren’t too bad. You managed to understand my explanation quite fast, even though you had no time to apply my concepts very well.”

Zonwikui wasn’t as happy. He was mentally drained and could barely move his core through the air. Even worse, since he didn’t win, he wouldn’t receive any reward either.

Tridaz and Nondux looked at that and at themselves. ”What now?”

Rean walked back, the experience obviously not affecting him at all. ”What else? You either decide you both will withdraw from the selection, or you decide that neither should withdraw since there was no winner.”

It was really obvious to anyone who saw Rean and Zonwikui. Rean could have won, but he didn’t. He purposely touched the Spire at the same time as Zonwikui.

Noticing everyone’s thoughts, Rean explained. ”Come on, everyone. If I had won, friend Tridaz might try to get back at me for making him lose his slot. If I had lost, friend Nondux would be the one wishing for my head on a plate. The same goes for Zonwikui. So, the only way I wouldn’t offend either side was to avoid winning or losing. Thus, a draw!”

Tridaz and Nondux were speechless. Indeed, that way, there would be no reason to go after either Rean or Zonwikui. That would only be seen as a petty move.

”Hmph!” Tridaz snorted. ”You were lucky, Nondux. That’s all. I’m out of here.”

”Me? Lucky? Rean could obviously have won. Well, it would be ridiculous to argue about the results now.” Nondux also said his piece. ”Whatever. We can challenge each other some other time again. At least no one lost any Divine Stones. We will all get our stones back.”

”Wait!” It was then that someone shouted. ”The bet! Someone bet on a draw!”

”What?!” Everyone quickly checked the betting website, just to see that, indeed, there was one winner in the draw category!

It wasn’t that no one saw that option, but that they all knew what the Temporal Resistance Spire was capable of. The chances of a draw happening were nearly zero! And yet, someone truly bet on it.

Nondux and the others looked at Rean, who shrugged. ”Why are you looking at me? Don’t forget I also bet on my own victory, and I showed you all I did exactly that. It’s just that I thought the winning prize wasn’t worth offending either the Van-Hais or the Riquicious guys. Besides, I wouldn’t lose any money either... Wait! Doesn’t that mean I also lose 1000 Rank Thirteen Divine Stones?! FUCK!”

Indeed, they all saw when that happened. Then, if it wasn’t Rean who bet on the draw result, who did?

Coming back to the ground, Kentucky changed back to his Minokawa form, checking his own CD. Who bet on a draw? Obviously, it was him! Why? Obviously, because he and Rean knew they could pull it off! ’Hohohohoho... such a huge reward in just a few minutes. Now, that’s what I call a profitable business.’

The twins’ group would need Divine Stones to make the Starlight Formation work; the higher the level of Divine Stones, the better. Now, they have a lot of them! Even better, there was still a year before the selection started, so more opportunities to suck everyone dry would definitely appear.

Rean smiled in Kentucky’s direction. ’I’m truly enjoying this gathering already. It’s a gold mine!’