Pari was, without a doubt, the person who left Kanzaki Rei feeling the most conflicted since arriving in this world.
Enemy? Not quite.Friend? Not exactly.
Someone he needed? Yes.Someone he didn't want to see? Also yes.Someone he found irritating? Absolutely.
And yet—whenever Rei encountered a dilemma that was difficult to resolve, Pari was often the first person who came to mind.
She had indeed helped him solve quite a few problems.
But she had also scammed a great deal of money out of him.
The money itself wasn't the real issue. Rei simply disliked being toyed with.
"I don't know," Rei replied.
"Big sisters like you are popular, Pari. It's normal for so many people to want to meet you."
Since Pari hadn't said anything directly, Rei had no intention of mentioning the things he'd done in Ruijia.
After all, Pari was supposedly neutral.
Who knew what she might have divined? What if she decided to sell information to Ruijia?
"Heh…"
Pari gave a faint, cold chuckle.
When Rei saw that she didn't continue the conversation and instead lowered her head to read again, he turned around, preparing to leave.
A diviner…
Better to keep one's distance.
But the moment he turned—
He saw Yuna standing behind him.
Just now, his attention had been completely focused on Pari. He hadn't even noticed Yuna's presence.
"Rei… who is she?"
Yuna hugged the book in her arms and looked toward Pari, who was quietly reading by the window.
"She's…"
Rei was about to say an evil diviner, but stopped himself.
"She's an older scholar I knew before."
"She's helped me a lot."
Probably better not to badmouth someone in front of them.
Yuna looked at Pari.
Pari, however, didn't move her gaze from the book.
She looked to be a little over twenty—still in the bloom of youth.If one ignored the "evil diviner" aspect, she was genuinely a quiet and beautiful young woman.
"Oh," Yuna said. "Did you come to see her today?"
"No," Rei replied immediately. "I came to see you."
Given Pari's Scholar level and vast experience, she could probably provide more help than Yuna.
But unless absolutely necessary—
Rei truly didn't want to work with Pari.
Part of it was her personality as a diviner, which had left a deep impression on him.
The other part?
Her fees.
They were terrifyingly expensive.
If he asked her to help research forbidden texts, who knew what astronomical price she would charge?
Yes, Rei had money—but money didn't fall from the sky.
These forbidden books could be studied by himself anyway, and his progress hadn't been slow.
So why invite Pari?
Compared to that—
Yuna was free.
And she even provided emotional support.
That was the best possible option.
"Really?" Yuna tilted her head.
"Absolutely."
Yuna hugged her book tighter and lowered her head, a barely noticeable smile appearing.
"…That makes me a little happy."
Rei said,
"Enough about that. Come to my house."
"I recently got my hands on a batch of extremely valuable books—knowledge you'd never normally have the chance to read."
And so Rei brought Yuna back home.
The Following Days
From then on, Pari could be seen in the White Tower every day.
Rumor spread that upheaval had occurred in Ruijia Kingdom.
Some high-ranking members of the churches in Lorren had been dispatched to Ruijia.
Some were dismissed from their posts.
Others were promoted.
It was said that powerful figures from overseas had arrived to reinforce the seals on the churches' Forbidden Vaults, and the items within had been replenished.
The items in those vaults were apparently used as rewards.
Exceptional performers in the church could receive them.
Or those who accumulated enough merit and contributions could exchange them.
After Kumironi learned of Ruijia's secret dealings with the Church of Death, the knot in her heart loosened somewhat.
Later, she told Rei the truth.
What had troubled her most wasn't the theft of church treasures.
It was seeing Rei become the High Priest of the Church of Death, learning so many dark rituals, mastering the Source of Calamity…
And then planning thefts with Iz Palut.
She had been worried.
Afraid Rei would walk down a path of no return.
But everyone had their own principles.
Kumironi didn't want to interfere with the principles her companions chose to follow.
The conflict between those thoughts had left her deeply troubled.
On top of that—
The two children she had once saved:
One had become an incredibly lethal assassin.
The other had become a bishop of the Church of Death.
That left her questioning herself even more.
Had she failed as a teacher?
In the end, Rei and Kumironi spoke at length.
Rei promised he had firm boundaries.
He would never become like the members of the Church of Death.
He would use his power for relatively righteous purposes.
Only then did Kumironi finally feel relieved.
She didn't demand perfect righteousness.
She only hoped Rei would never become someone who slaughtered innocents.
After all—
The world was full of dilemmas with no clear right or wrong.
Forbidden Knowledge
During this time, Rei and Yuna deciphered many of the forbidden texts of Ruijia.
They had nearly mastered:
Precognition
Futurology
Fate Studies
Divination
The only field still lacking was Chronology (Time Studies).
There was almost no knowledge about it available.
During the process, Rei also uncovered numerous secrets.
He learned two additional War God Secrets:
Secret of Penetration
Secret of Kicks
Now his attacks could more easily bypass outer defenses and strike internal structures.
The Secret of Kicks dramatically enhanced every combat technique involving kicks.
Rei also gave the Ice Bow to Luluvi, who loved it.
From the Church of Death's archives, Rei uncovered highly confidential documents.
Many nations secretly maintained connections with the Church of Death.
Even Lorren had officials secretly collaborating with them.
Though in Lorren's case, it wasn't a national-level conspiracy.
After this intelligence surfaced, the Church of Life began holding frequent meetings.
But this time—
They did not immediately launch purges.
Instead, they grew strangely quiet.
Almost as if nothing had happened.
What exactly they were planning internally was unclear.
Rei had little interest in finding out.
December 31
"Who would've thought the Month of Death and Destruction would pass just like that."
It had been surprisingly peaceful.
Ruijia had suffered enormous losses.
But Lorren couldn't simply swallow such a massive territory overnight.
Instead of direct war, Lorren preferred internal disintegration.
They were offering huge sums to lure Ruijia's talents over.
Bloodless conquest—and strengthening themselves in the process.
Of course, plenty of people had still died this month.
Rei sat on a reclining chair on the balcony, gazing at the fractured night sky.
Pure white had not descended.
The monster tides had not destroyed nations.
In this strange world—
He had safely survived an entire year.
Then—
The clock struck midnight.
The celestial month changed.
The Month of Forgetting had arrived.
January — The Month of Forgetting
The shattered sky gradually returned to its original appearance.
Then mist drifted in from nowhere.
Within minutes—
A thick pale pink fog filled the world.
January.
Month Attribute: ForgettingCelestial Phenomenon: Dense Fog
During this month:
Thick fog covers the entire world.
Vision and perception are affected.
All living beings become extremely forgetful.
Written records become incredibly difficult to preserve.
Rei grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote:
My name is Lu C—
The words remained visible for about five seconds.
Then they faded and disappeared.
Rei frowned.
He picked up a wooden board and carved a mark with a wind blade.
The mark remained.
But when he tried carving words—
The grooves gradually spread and blurred until they were unreadable.
"So this is… forgetting."
Among all twelve months, the Month of Forgetting had the least documentation.
Memories from this month were difficult to carry into the next.
Rei took out a golden notebook and a small bottle of ink.
These were special supplies for the Month of Forgetting.
Trace Paper
Long-Hold Ink
Trace Paper cost 20 gold coins per sheet.Long-Hold Ink cost 200 gold coins per bottle.
Even Level 4 adventurers would struggle to afford it.
Rei began writing.
Regarding the relationship between dungeons and nests, I have discovered the following…
He also took out a notebook made of Flame Script Paper and recorded additional information.
Everything proceeded normally today…
Testing the Fog
Rei stepped outside.
Even though it was past midnight, the first day of a new month was worth investigating.
"Gentle Breeze (Tier 2)."
Wind blew through the fog.
It didn't disperse.
Then—
BOOM!
Rei unleashed a straight-line wind blast.
The fog parted into a cylindrical tunnel.
So it could be dispersed.
His Ultimate Perception expanded outward.
The fog did not block it.
Still as powerful as ever.
Then—
FLASH!
Rei teleported onto a street outside the royal palace.
And immediately—
He sensed spatial fluctuations nearby.
Turning his perception toward it—
He saw a massive creature.
Thirty meters tall.
Arms dangling.
A single dull eye in the center of its face.
It walked down Kronoya's broad streets like a sleepwalker.
THOOM.
THOOM.
Each step shook the ground.
Rei frowned.
What was this?
A monster?
Impossible.
Kronoya was protected by Demon-Suppressing Stones forming a barrier.
Monster tides couldn't enter the city.
That was why cities could exist.
Otherwise monsters would spawn everywhere.
Wait.
Not a monster.
A living creature.
Better ask Iz—
But just as that thought arose—
WHOOSH!
The giant creature vanished as if passing through an invisible portal.
Gone from Rei's perception.
"…What?"
Iz Palut's Explanation
Rei went straight to Iz Palut's palace.
Iz appeared wearing pajamas, half asleep.
"Rei… what's wrong?"
"Iz, I just saw a huge creature—"
"You mean a Dream Ghoul?"
She yawned.
"They only appear during the Month of Forgetting."
"They wander around randomly like sleepwalkers."
"But they never cause damage."
"Haah…"
"Don't you feel sleepy during this month?"
"No."
"Everyone should feel sleepy on the first day…"
Another yawn.
"Oh right. You're a Riddle Scholar. That's why it doesn't affect you."
"Can the sleepiness be resisted?"
"Of course."
Iz yawned again.
"But why bother?"
"There's no harm in sleeping well."
"Dreams often bring magical inspiration."
That was true.
With high Spirituality, dreams often sparked breakthroughs.
"Those Dream Ghouls are really harmless?"
"Of course. Hit them and they pop like bubbles."
Iz looked ready to collapse from sleep.
Rei decided not to press further.
"Understood, Master Iz."
He left.
Iz scratched her stomach and went back to bed.
…Had she forgotten to warn Rei about something?
Ah, whatever.
He'd handle it.
Too sleepy.
The White Tower
At the White Tower, many scholars were already asleep at their desks.
Pari lay slumped in a corner.
Heh.
Evil diviner.
So even you succumbed.
Her mental waves were calm.
Definitely asleep.
Rei approached and reached out to poke her cheek—
Her eyes opened.
She stared straight at him.
"A-ah… Pari, you're awake?"
"I have a few questions…"
He asked several trivial questions.
Cost:
200,000 gold coins.
After answering, Pari lowered her head and fell asleep again.
Evil diviner indeed.
After leaving her—
Rei suddenly forgot why he had come to the White Tower.
This month really made people forget things easily.
Even powerful beings were affected.
For example, Kumironi's healing power had been weakened during the Month of Death.
And the effects of Forgetting were even harder to resist.
Rei took out a blank sheet.
Nothing written.
But he activated:
God-Tier Talent — Information Source Reconstruction
The erased message reappeared.
Go to the higher floors of the White Tower.
Right.
That's why he came.
Everyone was asleep.
Perfect chance.
The Upper Floors
Rei climbed to the 5th floor.
Then casually broke the restriction on the 6th floor.
From here, the tower's color scheme changed.
Black and white patches like cowhide.
In the center:
Two chained books.
And one scroll.
Without Level 6 authority, these books cannot be opened.
Rei ignored them.
He continued upward.
7th Floor.
The colors here were chaotic and filthy.
Who would imagine the pure White Tower would become so corrupted at its highest levels?
At the center were two sealed books:
Foundations of Temporal Theory
Introduction to Space-Time
Rare Chronology texts.
Exactly what Rei needed to advance toward the Seer class.
He broke the Level 7 No-Touch Seal.
Opened the books.
Copied the pages.
The copied text vanished instantly.
But Rei didn't care.
Page by page, he continued copying.
When finished—
He held a stack of blank pages.
Yet in his mind, the fleeting words reappeared.
God-Tier Talent — Information Source Reconstruction
All erased traces could be restored.
Floors 8 and 9 were empty.
Lorren simply didn't have scholars high enough to use them.
Rei left quietly.
No one should know he had come.
A Personal Record
Back home, Rei suddenly thought of An Zheng.
Was he writing a diary too?
Rei opened a notebook and began writing:
My name is Kanzaki Rei.
I am a transmigrator from Earth.
Before arriving in this world, there was an airport explosion…
My father's name is Lu Zhenghang.
My mother's name is Li Youxiang…
The words disappeared as he wrote.
Memories were fading.
Even memories of Earth were becoming blurred.
If this continued—
After a few years, he might completely forget he was a transmigrator.
He didn't want that.
So he kept writing.
Recording everything.
Working backwards through his past life.
From recent events—
All the way to childhood.
His high spirituality allowed him to recall many forgotten memories.
But at the same time—
He could feel memories constantly slipping away.
Morning
By the time he came back to his senses—
The fog outside glowed with daylight.
Morning had arrived.
Two thick diaries had been filled.
"…That should be enough."
Rei couldn't think of anything else he might forget.
He touched the notebooks.
Information flowed into his mind like a stream.
He locked the blank diaries into a sealed box.
Added restriction arrays.
Then stored them in his most private storage pouch.
"…It's already noon."
"…Guess I'll sleep tonight instead."
Dungeon Hunting
Rei left again.
Research during the Month of Forgetting was torture.
Ideas vanished instantly.
Insights couldn't be recorded.
This month was destined to stall research progress.
But there were other things he could do.
Rei flew over 20,000 kilometers into an uninhabited wilderness.
He had already evaluated his combat power.
He summoned:
Source of Calamity
Then scattered countless materials across the ground.
A ritual formation appeared.
Monster tides gathered.
A Dungeon formed.
A 6th-Tier Dungeon — Evil Nest Type.
Rei had plenty of 6th-Tier survival items now.
This dungeon hadn't undergone sacrificial amplification.
Its danger level was manageable.
Even if a 6th-Tier Continental-Submerging Monster appeared—
He could escape instantly.
This wasn't blind confidence.
He had tested it repeatedly during the Month of Death with Akasei using the Source of Calamity.
Every time such a monster appeared—
He escaped successfully.
At least when it came to survival ability—
He was now on an entirely different level.