Chapter 326 - 302: Jet Lag

Chapter 326: Chapter 302: Jet Lag

But compared to this tragic, unrequited love story with no conclusion, what really made Lloyd laugh out loud, however, was how other students had tried to tack on their own endings—

Apparently dissatisfied with the unresolved romance, someone immediately took matters into their own hands and added a fanfiction-style ending.

But this person was clearly a troublemaker, because they had the original author get together with the bold junior who had confessed to him!

This ending left a lot of people unhappy, so someone else immediately wrote a second one where the two male seniors ended up together...

Now, even more people found this unacceptable. An increasing number of students began writing their own versions, with each ending getting more and more absurd.

Like one where the four of them graduate, only to discover they’re all long-lost relatives and suddenly become siblings.

Or one where after graduation, the four of them form an investigation team to handle all sorts of dangerous and bizarre incidents. In the end, they forge a deep camaraderie and become sworn siblings.

Or another where they all go their separate ways after graduation. Two become criminals, while the other two become Hunters for the Saint’s Grace Court, beginning a deadly tango of love and hate.

Or even one where they graduate, choose to become ordinary people, and enter the world of finance, sparking a series of high-stakes business gambits.

But Lloyd’s favorite was the one where the four protagonists boarded a spaceship and started exploring outer space, kicking off a series of spectacular yet comically absurd storylines.

You could only expect this from the Mizikatok Asylum, really—turning a campus love quadrangle into... all of that.

But none of those were the most absurd...

As for the most absurd—or, to put it another way, the most off-the-rails—ending, it was the one that turned the two female characters into Magical Girls and the two male characters into rampaging, mutated tentacle monsters. And then...

If that were all, it would have been one thing. But the author was apparently from the art department, skilled in Painting, and had gone so far as to illustrate the sequel they’d concocted.

Unfortunately, the works of Painting visible on the "message board" were all relatively "tame." The true masterpieces, it was said, had been compiled into a booklet by the author and were only circulated privately. This left Lloyd unable to evaluate the artist’s full talent, which he found to be a great shame...

All in all, after reading just the beginnings of two stories, Lloyd felt he was already falling in love with this "message board."

Besides the incredibly entertaining "Story Section," other areas like the "Lifestyle Section," "Study Section," "Pet Section," and "Work Section" were also full of interesting content. However, when Lloyd glanced at the time, he saw it was already 7:00 PM.

’I should head back. Weiya’s probably still waiting for me.’

’Besides, I have a lot of things and questions I need to sort out and summarize.’

Lloyd reluctantly closed the "message board," scooped up the little kitten, took out his brooch, and tapped out a certain frequency.

This was a frequency he had learned from the student handbook, one specifically used to return to the real world. The brooch would open a Teleportation Gate and send the student back to their point of entry.

The passage describing this frequency also came with all sorts of warnings.

For instance: never tap the wrong frequency, lest you become lost in an Alternate Space; always remember your point of entry to avoid any bizarre accidents; and be mindful of adjusting and adapting, etcetera, etcetera.

Most of the warnings were about spatial safety, which seemed quite necessary.

Only the part about "adjusting and adapting" was stated a bit vaguely, leaving Lloyd somewhat puzzled.

’Maybe some people don’t adapt well to this kind of spatial travel, and it causes discomfort?’

’But thankfully, I have [Spatial Domination]. I shouldn’t have to worry about this.’

Lloyd didn’t get cocky, though. He dutifully tapped out the exact frequency from the handbook, stepped through the Teleportation Gate, and instantly found himself back in his office in the Eighteenth District.

But before he could even steady himself, a massive wave of dizziness washed over him, making him stagger and nearly fall.

His mind reeled as the world spun around him. Even with level 6 [Dizziness Resistance], he could barely fight it off and was on the verge of collapse.

A notification from his panel immediately sounded in his ear:

[Ding! Madness Value +500]

And Lloyd quickly realized an even more dire problem—

This dizziness and discomfort didn’t seem to be spatial or physiological.

It felt more like it was... on the level of time itself.

He felt as if he’d run into a Vampire and been hit with "Time Pause"—only it wasn’t him that had been paused, but the space all around him.

Light, air, sound, other people, objects—everything was caught in a bizarre, frozen state, completely motionless.

And standing there, amidst it all, it felt as if his mind was being split in two, which was what caused the overwhelming, unbearable dizziness.

Thankfully, just when the feeling became unbearable, a refreshing coolness surged from an inner pocket and shot straight to his head.

The cool sensation was like having a piece of ice slipped under your shirt in summer—it would make you shiver, but it effectively relieved the dizziness from the sweltering heat. Lloyd’s mind instantly cleared.

Then, he felt "time" begin to flow around him again, but it was erratic—"fast-forwarding" one moment and "playing in slow motion" the next. This jarring back-and-forth lasted for about ten seconds before gradually returning to normal.

The afternoon light was finally streaming normally through the window, and he could at last hear the sound of footsteps from the hallway outside.

Lloyd felt the dizziness in his head vanish. Things seemed to be back to normal.

But the little kitten in his pocket wasn’t right. Its eyes were squeezed shut, its tiny tongue was sticking out, and it had passed out.

Lloyd panicked and quickly reached in to gently stroke it.

Only then did the little kitten shake its head and slowly come to, seemingly no worse for the wear.

"Mew?"

"Yeah, you should be okay now."

Lloyd said reassuringly, then glanced at the glaring sunlight by the window before pulling out his pocket watch.

’It’s not even two in the afternoon?’

But Lloyd remembered entering Mizkatoke around one in the afternoon, right after lunch, and leaving when it was seven in the evening there.

’Don’t tell me... I was only inside for a few hours, but a whole day passed outside?’

He hurriedly left his office and ran to find Weiya.

Weiya was buried in a pile of forms. She looked up in surprise as Lloyd burst in, and asked:

"Huh? Weren’t you going to Mizkakotok University? You haven’t left yet?"

Then, she gave him a sweet smile, her eyes narrowing slightly as she shot him a flirtatious glance. She continued,

"Your new clothes look great."

"No, that’s not... I was only gone for an hour?" Lloyd asked urgently.

"That’s right. What’s wrong?"

Weiya froze for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, she pressed,

"Don’t tell me... you’ve already been inside?"

Lloyd was about to answer, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he felt the student handbook in his breast pocket suddenly grow scorching hot.

A line of text immediately appeared before his eyes:

"Discussing important academy information in the outside world is prohibited!"

This must be a warning, a reminder not to violate the third school rule.

Lloyd could only hold up a hand, signaling for Weiya to hold on while he tried to sort out his thoughts.

Weiya tactfully fell silent, simply watching her boyfriend with a concerned expression.

Lloyd then took out his pocket watch for a closer look. After estimating the time, he quickly figured it out.

’So that’s how it is?’

’The flow of time in Mizkatoke is different from the outside world. It’s about a one-to-ten ratio. One hour outside equals ten hours inside.’

’And all the discomfort I felt earlier was because of "jet lag." That was absolutely horrible!’

’But thankfully, I have the "Synchronized Hourglass" to help. No wonder Dandy kept stressing how important this thing was, no wonder he insisted on arranging a dorm for me, no wonder he said many of the students there commuted, no wonder the Chief Judge said my going inside wouldn’t interfere with my work and life outside...’

’So there really is a difference in the speed of time!’

’And this time difference is probably one of Mizkatoke’s important secrets, which is why it can’t be revealed to the outside world.’

So Lloyd chose his words carefully and explained to Weiya:

"Weiya... I can’t tell you too much about what it’s like in there. I can only say... it’s a very special place."

Weiya, ever the understanding one, simply nodded and asked,

"Mm, I can pretty much guess. You didn’t run into any danger, did you?"

"No. In fact, everything went very smoothly."

Lloyd smiled, reached out to hug Weiya, and continued:

"Thanks for worrying about me, Weiya."

"Mmm..."

Weiya narrowed her eyes slightly, nuzzling her chin against Lloyd’s shoulder.

She wanted to hug a little longer, but that strange, invisible force appeared again, unceremoniously pushing her away.

’This...’

’Why is it getting so stingy?’

’It’s only been three seconds...’

’Is he my boyfriend or yours?’

Weiya complained silently, her face twisting into a pout.

Lloyd also felt awkward and could only offer a weak explanation:

"Er... it is working hours right now, and this is a public place. Maybe we should wait until after work..."

But that only made Weiya look more hurt. She pouted and said:

"But I have to go to the outskirts of the city with my dad today..."

’What for? To slaughter some pigs?’

Lloyd couldn’t help but grumble to himself. Out loud, he could only say resignedly:

"Sigh... well, forget it then. I should leave early too, I need to go prepare some necessary things. We’ll have to wait until the day after tomorrow."

He might have said the day after tomorrow, but Lloyd knew that once he entered Mizkatoke again, there was no telling what actual day it would be when he finally came out...