Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener

The reason for Sterl's astonishment was that he recognized the old man. He was the scout player from the Demigod Guild. He should have been a young man, so why did he look so aged now? The appearance of players could change, and the rate of change depended on their lifespan limits.

For instance, the average lifespan limit for third-class players varied among different races, typically ranging from three to four hundred years. A player who lived beyond 300 years would start to show signs of aging.

However, the scout from the Demigod Guild was definitely a young man, and yet he now appeared as if he were three or four hundred years old. What was going on??

Sterl thought for a moment and directly asked, "Lovic? Is that you?"

"I'm a new member of the [Sky Thunder] Guild, here in Lorik Harbor on a mission. The members of my guild asked me to look for you while I was at it."

"How did you end up like this?"

Sterl had confirmed that once inside the instance, all communication with the outside world was cut off. Lovic couldn't possibly know that the guild was gone.

Sterl was just making things up.

However, after hearing this, Lovic displayed a very strange expression.

"Lovic, who is that?"

"That name sounds familiar. I think I did join some guild, but that was back in my youth."

"No, wait. It should have been before I entered this instance. I've been wanting to go back all this time."

"Where was I trying to go back to?"

"Where did you hear all this?"

"No, no…"

At first, the old man remained relatively calm, but soon veins began to bulge on his forehead. He clutched his head, looking in pain.

"I'm still young…"

"How could I have fallen to this state?"

"No! I won't accept this. I won't accept it."

In the end…

Bang!

With a clear sound, Lovic exploded into a mist of blood, which then transformed into several tadpole-like larvae that slowly gathered.

Ultimately, they were forcibly reformed into Lovic.

And at that very moment, Sterl's Star Insight activated.

[Larvae]

[Description: The most basic element that constitutes dreams; the power of all living beings serves as food for the larvae, and the larvae are everything within this dream.]

Sterl "…"

At this moment, he looked at the revived Lovic—

Lovic was no different from before, except he seemed a bit older and had calmed down, as if he had forgotten the earlier conversation.

Sterl frowned slightly.

He felt that this instance was a bit sinister. Initially, he thought the people in front of him were players, but now it seemed uncertain whether they were real humans or monsters.

However, Sterl kept his mouth shut for the time being, while the young girl who had been by his side approached with a bright smile.

"Don't be nervous," the girl said. "Although this instance has trapped us for who knows how many years, there's a silver lining: if you don't really want to die, you can't die here. You can respawn infinitely, which isn't much different from struggling outside the instance."

The girl had a youthful face, radiating a hint of innocent beauty, and her voice was as melodious as a silver bell. However, Sterl, now on guard, felt an inexplicable sense of unease as he looked at her.

"Unlimited respawns here?" Sterl inquired, keenly observing that the seemingly delicate girl spoke while the others in the vicinity were desperately trying to mask their anxiety and fear.

"Exactly! Let me tell you, this place isn't so bad…" Her voice echoed from all directions, like pesky flies trying to burrow into Sterl's very being.

But at the same time, Sterl seized the opportunity to learn about the peculiarities of this instance. Dream of Lalaye, as the name suggested, was a realm where everything felt dreamlike.

Once inside, time flowed differently than in the outside world; while one or two years might pass here, only one or two days would elapse outside. Moreover, players wouldn't truly die upon death; they would simply age continuously.

This detail had been confirmed by players already in the instance who had inquired about the timeline from newly arrived players.

As players aged, they naturally began to show signs of memory loss, slowed reactions, and blurred consciousness.

However, they would only die when their consciousness completely faded or they willingly accepted death after repeated cycles of dying.

"What do you think? Doesn't it sound pretty good?" the girl continued. "Out in the real world, we might be casually killed by a wild monster at any moment!"

Sterl remained silent for a second before nodding slightly.

However…

In the small world, as Sterl observed the outside, he felt a chill run down his spine. He suddenly sensed prompts continuously popping up before him.

[Your Bionic Tear has been infected by larvae.]

[Your Bionic Tear has been infected by larvae.]

[Your Bionic Tear…]

[Your Bionic Tear has died.]

The girl's brief remarks had directly led to the demise of the Bionic Tear!

Of course, it wasn't just the girl.

With a clear perspective, Sterl witnessed the bizarre nature of this instance through the visuals of the small world. The infection by the larvae had begun the moment the Bionic Tear arrived; each interaction with other players accelerated the infection.

It didn't matter if it was the girl he spoke to or not; communication with any other players would lead to the same outcome.

In other words, this was a trap—any player who felt a sense of vigilance upon noticing that the girl seemed to be feared by others would undoubtedly grow wary. But such caution was utterly useless; even if they avoided the girl and communicated with other players, they would still be infected.

And now, the situation was clear: the Bionic Tear was dead!

However, this item did not realize its own death and continued to carry out Sterl's commands. But things took a more outrageous turn. Sterl discovered that those so-called larvae were trying to invade his own body through the connection with the Bionic Tear! Fortunately, they were easily blocked and crushed by the divine authority he had created.

The power of the higher divine authority was terrifying; even if Sterl was passively resisting, it was enough to prevent divine beings from intruding, let alone these larvae.

"Damn! This is absurd!" Sterl couldn't help but shiver. On the surface, it seemed like his Bionic Tear had entered the instance and was preparing to start an assault on it, currently in the phase of collecting intelligence. In reality, the instance had already concluded, and the Bionic Tear was dead. It simply didn't know that it had perished.

Fortunately, because the Bionic Tear was unaware of its own death, Sterl was still able to control it.

At this moment, Sterl asked with a serious demeanor, "So how do we clear this instance?"

"This?" The girl bit her lip in a cute manner. "According to our guesses, a swarm of insects will attack us at regular intervals, and each time we end up being completely wiped out. If one day we can fend off the swarms, perhaps a boss will appear."

"Defeating the boss should allow us to leave the instance, right?"

"Don't let my current appearance fool you; I look calm here, but it's because I've failed many times and have become desperate." The girl explained, raising her small fist as if to emphasize her innocence, looking nothing like a monster.

The Bionic Tear seemed to ponder this, while Sterl frowned slightly.

At the rate this instance was progressing, even those warriors with resistance to the larvae would inevitably be infected during the prolonged encounters with the so-called boss monsters. Who knew when the swarms would attack? Who knew how many insect bosses needed to be killed before the real boss would show up??

However…

As if to prove the girl's words, a sudden surge of movement occurred ahead.

Lovic suddenly called out in panic, "It's the swarm! The swarm is coming again!"

"It's coming again! I don't want to die; I don't want to be torn apart."

"Help! I don't want to be eaten!"

…

In an instant, everyone was wailing.

Although death could be avoided, the pain was very real. Many people rushed to Sterl's side, pleading, "Warrior, aren't you here to conquer the instance?"

"Protect us; it's a simple task! We beg you!"

Sterl hesitated for just a few seconds before nodding in agreement, "No problem, just stay behind me."

Even though he had already sensed that something was off with the instance, he figured that the only one suffering was the Bionic Tear. Once they cleared the instance, it would reset, and any infection would be gone. Besides, Sterl had heard that time inside the instance flowed at a ratio of one year to one day in the outside world, so there was no need to rush.

"Wait! One year to one day??"

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, and he sat cross-legged to begin cultivating.

However…

After cultivating, Sterl found himself seemingly stuck, unable to make any progress in his insights.

But soon…

A spark of incredible realization ignited in his eyes.

"This feeling is… the power of time!"

Sterl realized that he had caught hold of a vague and indescribable force—a Law Power categorized in the Hall of Valor as a mere conjecture—Time Law!

Wait a minute…

Sterl sensed that he was dimly grasping a transitional state from demigod to deity. It was more like an incomplete form of time divine authority!

A wave of enlightenment washed over him.

Time…

This incredibly high-level power did not exist as a typical Law Power. Even its most superficial aspects would involve divine realms. Furthermore, the time power in Dream of Lalaye was severely fragmented, seemingly stretched to a ratio of one year to one day.

But within that time, it could only be wasted; any effects of cultivation or training could not be retained.

.

"So the first manifestation of the power of time is sensory deception—an illusion of time flow."

Sterl's vision grew increasingly bright.

Despite often talking about "points" and "points," he actually possessed exceptional talent, bolstered by the Arcane soul.

Time power.

It was something that couldn't be grasped or seen in ordinary circumstances.

But now, Sterl was on the brink of touching a boundary, and that boundary was enough to expand to the entirety of—

The power of time!

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