He’d rushed… just a little bit. It wasn’t by much. Given his graciousness in extending additional time to his most awaited subject, he didn’t feel the least bit guilty about retrieving her a few hours early.

As was standard, the Epikairos disciple appeared already restrained on the designated bed. The devices he had primed instantly began scanning the human female. She looked aggrieved, but the elf couldn’t be bothered by her discontent. She’d gotten what she asked for and had no reason to complain.

Seriously. He could have just brought her to the ship immediately and put her in [Stasis] until he finished with the rest of the subjects like he initially planned to do. But he’d been swayed by the Time Mage, not seeing any disadvantages to allowing his last subject time to say goodbye to her family.

It wasn’t like she couldn’t see them again. She just had to survive the dungeon. It wasn’t even very difficult for most elites. At least, up until Tier Seven. That seemed to be a bit of a watershed, even for the elites.

“Let’s get right to it, shall we?” Sir Eri’Non asked as he used Analyze on the girl.

[Name: Emie deEpikairos

Level: 22 (39772/57700)

Profession: Enchanter

Affinities: Time, Space

---

Health: 250 (5/min)

Stamina: 450 (18/min)

Mana: 450 (17.5/min)

---

Attributes

Strength – 20

Agility – 23

Vitality – 25

Intelligence – 45

Wisdom – 35

Perception – 30

---

Spells*

Skills*]

“Oh, what an interesting attribute distribution,” he commented. “I don’t know why I expected your stats to be skewed toward Intelligence.” He could tell his comment surprised the human girl, but he paid her little mind for the moment. He’d get to questioning her soon enough.

He focused on her spells and let out a surprised gasp. It seemed she wasn’t the only one getting surprised by his discoveries.

“How did you learn this many spells?” he asked in wonder. Only spell scholars bothered learning so many general spells. It should have been impossible for the girl to do, given the limitations built into the system.

He had to repeat his question for the girl to answer, and she appeared reluctant to do so, even with [Truth Compulsion] embedded into her restraints. With a grunt of annoyance, he reminded her that his findings would be kept secret in accordance with their agreement. Of course, unless she admitted her Master had helped her or it had something to do with Time magic, there was nothing stopping him from sharing what he learned.

“Master Kairos said you’ll find out anyway, so I might as well tell you,” she grumbled before sharing a fanciful tale about living in another timeline and creating a formation that would return her consciousness to the past. He almost called her a liar several times since everyone knew time travel didn’t work that way.

She also essentially admitted she had no formal training in Enchanting during this ‘alternate timeline.’ But his sensors didn’t pick up any indications of falsehood. It was clear she believed what she was saying. Whether or not it was actually true was another matter.

“We’ll come back to your claim of traveling through time in a moment,” he said. “How does that answer my question about your spell knowledge?”

“Easy. I learned about the interface upgrade in the other timeline from a former noble. He told me how nobles were trained from a young age to memorize spellforms, even learning simple ones before they gained access to the system,” the girl replied.

“When I came back,” she continued, “I recorded every spellform I could find in the game and learned them after awakening. I focused on the easy ones first and moved on to the more complex ones once my upgrade was complete. It’s simple to have the interface assistant create a template to follow. All you have to do is fill it with the right mana enough times for the system to award the spell. After that, the system does most of the work for you.”

As he considered her simplified explanation, the Senior Researcher’s primary Interface Assistant sent him an alert, drawing his attention to the first set of analyses that had just completed for the subject. It was obvious something significant had happened to the human’s soul – something that had a great deal to do with Time magic.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Explain the readings I’m getting on your soul,” he said, not providing additional information in hopes the girl would provide more than she might otherwise.

The girl frowned, but a slight increase in the amount of mana sent into the compulsion enchantment loosened her tongue. “When my memories were sent back, they brought a portion of my soul. Maybe that’s what you’re seeing?” the girl said uncertainly. “Master Kairos said it was more than I could survive without specialized healing – which was impossible given my situation in the other timeline.”

“So, you killed yourself in that alternate timeline?” he asked curiously. The idea of intentionally murdering oneself was antithetical to someone like him, but he could easily see how a weaker-willed species might engage in such behavior.

The girl huffed as if annoyed. Humans’ reactions were extraordinarily odd sometimes.

“It wasn’t intentional,” she grumbled.

After a few moments of reflection, Sir Eri’Non dismissively stated, “Still, it doesn’t explain the readings I’m getting.” He was lying. Adding a bit of extra soul perfectly explained the readings. However, he suspected the girl knew more. Since he could see the girl’s mana use, he wasn’t concerned she might recognize his falsehood. He knew she hadn’t cast any spells since her arrival.

“My affinities increased. Maybe that’s what you’re seeing.”

The elf quickly turned away to hide his expression. The only entities in the room were himself and two Mana Intelligence Assistants. His regular assistants would have normally been present, but given the agreement, he’d sent them away upon finishing with the previous subject.

It was a good thing. He doubted he’d be able to keep something like that secret had anyone else heard it. The potential to increase one’s natural affinities was part of his purpose in researching mana in the first place.

“How much did they improve?” he asked without inflection. He didn’t want to give her the impression that the information was important, though the girl had to know it was, given who her mentor was. No wonder the pair had been so certain he’d be interested in studying her, even after so much time had passed since her awakening.

“The first time I remember measuring them in the other timeline, my Space affinity was seventy-six, and my Time affinity was sixty-eight.”

Sir Eri’Non felt like screaming in excitement. The girl’s awakening measurements had been vastly different. She’d had a ninety-one in Time and eighty-four in Space. That was…huge! No wonder her Master believed the person left in the other timeline would have died. To have ripped that much of her soul away was inconceivable.

But if he could harness something similar or learn to grow his soul directly… He felt a flush of mana as his mind rapidly made connections. The theory had existed before but had never been believed possible. This girl was living proof that affinities were housed in one’s soul, and the two were inextricably linked.

They were not a metaphysical aspect of one’s body, as many believed. Sure, there were indications that the body influenced one’s affinities, but with this new information, it was clear the soul was vastly more important in determining one’s affinities. How that worked with bloodline trends would likely be a topic of future research.

He couldn’t hardly suppress his excitement.

“Ummm, you’re glowing? Is that normal?” the restrained girl asked, drawing his attention to a very pressing issue.

He was ascending. Finally! He’d finally done it!

Realizing he was at risk of violating the agreement, Sir Eri’Non immediately released the girl’s restraints while simultaneously wiping the most recent data collected. As the information was destroyed, Sir Eri’Non began stripping himself of his jewelry and accessories. He could take none of it with him, but his descendants would be able to make use of it.

“We’re done,” he said excitedly as he nudged the confused human toward the inert portal. “You’ve fulfilled your end of the bargain, and I’ve already deleted everything pertaining to you in my records.”

The elf hurriedly triggered a series of preplanned instructions through his interface. “Give this to the elf you meet on the other side.” He removed a storage cube from his pocket and handed it to her. In a moment of generosity, Sir Eri’Non withdrew a vial containing an Advanced Inventory Potion and gave it to the wide-eyed girl. He had no need for such items, and she deserved a small reward for her minor part in his ascension.

“Hurry!” he exclaimed giddily. The portal glowed as it sprang to life. He pushed the confused girl through the swirling mana as soon as it stabilized before abruptly closing it behind her just before his favorite living assistant rushed into the room.

“Ancestor! You’re ascending!” the much younger elf said, stating the obvious. Instead of scolding his subordinate, Sir Eri’Non triggered the Researcher’s elevation to Senior Researcher. It was only proper that his research would continue through his progeny.

“My affairs are in order. I’m passing ownership of the ship to you. Instructions for my possessions have already been disseminated.” The elder elf motioned toward the pile of items nearby. He struggled to resist the pull of ascension. “Continue my work. Do not disappoint me.”

Before the newly raised Senior Researcher could respond, the elder elf ceased his resistance and abruptly disappeared, leaving his distant descendant standing alone in the empty laboratory.