The rain unknowingly grew heavier, making a dull thudding sound on the skylight. Three or four withered leaves, dislodged by the raindrops, stuck to the skylight, unable to be blown away from its confines.
"Pause time?" Angers narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully pouring the tea from the zisha pot into a teacup.
In just a few minutes, Lu Mingfei explained the effect of his Rune, supported by the unedited clips on his phone: using the Rune to control three Dead Servants, briefly interrupting the Three-Generations Breed's attack rhythm, and the Headmaster's personal attempts.
Angers ultimately came to this conclusion.
"When did your Rune awaken?" Angers slowly pushed the teacup in front of Lu Mingfei.
"Not long ago, after having several consecutive dreams, I remembered something in my mind, and then I learned this Rune."
"Dreams? Or a spiritual vision. It seems you've been under too much pressure these past few days, which is why you had consecutive dreams, stimulating your bloodline and thus activating your Rune."
Lu Mingfei didn't deny it. He thought it was too coincidental to have gained Measure the Days the day before the field mission. On the way back, he had been thinking about how to explain how he awakened his Rune if someone asked.
The answer he gave the Headmaster was the result of his deliberation.
Perhaps there were imperfections, but Lu Mingfei remembered Rene's words: you are S-rank, many things you say will be automatically elaborated on by others.
"Do you still remember the content of the dream?" Angers asked.
Lu Mingfei shook his head, "Many details are forgotten. I only remember there was always a pair of Golden Eyes watching me, urging me. Many things appeared before my eyes, and because they appeared for several consecutive days, I just..."
"So you remembered a little something," Angers interjected, thoughtfully staring at the fallen leaves reflected in the tea. "Many people are conscious when they awaken their Rune. They can see and remember many things, but you only saw these things in a dream."
"Mingfei, this isn't bad news. Perhaps your Rune isn't yet complete."
"Does the Headmaster mean my Rune still has room for evolution?"
"Most likely. If similar dreams appear again, and you can remember more things, your Rune might change." Angers left some room for doubt, not speaking too definitively, as this was the first time he had heard of such a situation.
Lu Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that after his fundamentals improved, he no longer needed new excuses. Rene was right.
"Does the Headmaster's Time Zero also have room for evolution?" Lu Mingfei asked. The Headmaster's Rune was not a secret; many people, when discussing the Headmaster's power, could not avoid mentioning Time Zero.
"Haha, my Rune awakened a century ago," Angers chuckled. "Any room for evolution would have been worn away by time. What remains is only my growing mastery of Time Zero's application. There's a difference between evolution and progress. Your Measure the Days might one day transform into another Rune, but Measure the Days can only be Time Zero."
"Headmaster, have you heard of Runes with effects similar to Measure the Days?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"No, only some strongly related Runes, like Measure the Days, and like Moment. Both amplify the user's insensitivity to time. The core of Time Zero might be similar to theirs, but I am not the user; the specific core must be determined by you," Angers said.
"Insensitivity to time?" Lu Mingfei's eyes widened slightly, recalling the broken melody and the filled void. "Is Measure the Days's core to shield the user's insensitivity?"
"That's your understanding, and it makes sense." Angers leaned slightly, surprisingly throwing the hot water kettle towards Lu Mingfei.
Although there wasn't much water left inside after brewing the tea, getting hit by something like that would surely hurt for a long time!
Lu Mingfei instinctively tried to dodge, but the next moment he froze.
The entire hot water kettle floated in mid-air, completely defying physical rules. With a simple touch, its trajectory actually changed.
The original dull sound of rain also became barely audible. The noisy rainy day suddenly quieted down.
Angers's Golden Eyes had lit up at some point. "Try it. Can you use Measure the Days in this environment?"
The Headmaster used Measure the Days.
Lu Mingfei made this judgment immediately. So this was what the world of Measure the Days was like—a slow-motion space dependent on the world's melody, different from Lu Mingze's space.
In Lu Mingze's space, even if the melody was slowed down tens of thousands of times, everything within it could be used at normal speed, except for tools that expressed time.
Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei extinguished the fantasy of Measure the Days evolving into Measure the Days. The two were not equivalent Runes.
"I'll try."
Lu Mingfei nodded in agreement. A faint golden light appeared in his eyes. The melody under Time Zero was fragile, like fine sugar threads pulled from a sugar figurine, breaking off at the root with a gentle bend.
"Headmaster, is it really okay for us to disregard the rules like this, for the Vice Headmaster's sake?"
"He doesn't care about these things," Angers shook his head. "Are you ready? I'm going to end Time Zero."
Lu Mingfei nodded.
The melody around the hot water kettle had been completely broken. A vast spiritual energy filled its surroundings. This time, an exceptionally large blank space was cut out. Lu Mingfei had a premonition that if he didn't actively release Time Zero, the hot water kettle would likely remain suspended in the air until he died.
Wait, thinking about it, Measure the Days seems to be the best auxiliary Rune for Measure the Days?
Lu Mingfei quickly dismissed the audacious thought in his mind. What time was it? He was actually still thinking about the Headmaster assisting him.
After a snap of fingers.
The clamor of the rainy day once again filled the entire world. Everything returned to normal. The steam from the Dahongpao tea slowly rose, and the withered leaves tumbled back and forth. Only the hot water kettle remained suspended in mid-air.
"How long will this state last?" Angers examined the hot water kettle. Its lid was still flipped in mid-air, separated from the body of the kettle.
"A long time, until I die."
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but when Lu Mingfei spoke that sentence, he seemed to see the Headmaster's eyes light up.
"Lu Mingfei, are you interested in becoming a strong person?" Angers suddenly asked.
Lu Mingfei had heard this term more than once. He admitted that the term was very appealing. Every young man once dreamed of becoming a peerless hero who would save the world from peril.
And the standard characteristic of a peerless hero was being a strong person.
At this moment, Lu Mingfei had to admit that after experiencing so many things, and with the S-rank crown placed on his head, he felt a little stir in his heart for the word "strong person."
Even if only for a moment, he quickly tucked that restlessness deep inside.
But that half-second of restlessness was captured by the owner of Time Zero.
Angers couldn't help but smile, "Are you interested in participating in the Headmaster's two-week devil training, our S-rank superstar?"