"Clock King Erica..."
Ron’s heartbeat slightly accelerated. He knew he was witnessing an extremely precious historical fragment.
In the image, Erica was crafting something, each of her movements precise to an awe-inspiring degree.
Various rare materials flowed and fused in her hands as if they were alive, while the clock shadows precisely controlled the timing of each step in the process.
Ron could see that she was forging the very pocket watch he held in his hand.
But the crafting process was far more complex than imagined, requiring not only top-tier alchemy techniques but also a profound understanding of the laws of time.
The picture suddenly shifted, and Ron’s perspective came to a bizarre temporal fissure.
Here, there was no fixed ground or sky; there were only numerous twisted time streams intertwined, forming a chaotic and dangerous hunting ground.
Erica stood in the center of this perilous area, surrounded by at least seven or eight time hounds.
They constantly shuttled between different time flows, launching attacks from different angles and temporal points.
"Is this... the time hounds’ lair?"
Ron watched in amazement.
Erica was not fighting the time hounds in conventional space but had actively entered their home ground — the temporal fissure itself.
The battle began.
The first time hound launched an attack from the side, its maw darting toward Erica’s head like lightning.
But just at the moment of impact, Erica’s figure suddenly vanished, appearing the next second behind the hound.
"Time Jump?"
Ron observed Erica’s techniques intently.
He found that she was not simply instantaneously moving but fine-tuning along the timeline, temporarily jumping out of the current moment.
The second and third time hounds immediately joined the fray, with the encirclement from three directions putting Erica in a dangerous position.
But her way of coping was even more astounding — she simultaneously released three spiritual shocks, hitting the three hounds respectively.
"Three-Phase Shock Burst!"
Ron’s eyes lit up; it was the advanced skill Uther had mentioned.
He focused intently on observing Erica’s casting process, trying to understand the mysteries within.
The key to Three-Phase Shock Burst was not simple consciousness splitting but learning to exist simultaneously at multiple temporal points.
Erica, through a special time perception ability, anchored her consciousness at three temporal points — past, present, and future.
Then, she released spiritual shock at these three points, forming a continuous attack across time.
This attack method was almost impossible to defend against, as the target needed to repel impacts from three different times simultaneously.
The time hounds were clearly thrown off balance by this attack, but they quickly demonstrated the terrifying nature of group cooperation.
The remaining hounds began to methodically adjust their attack rhythm, attempting to form an inescapable attack cycle through time reset cooperation.
Erica realized the danger, her expression becoming intensely focused.
Her hands rapidly wove signs, and the surrounding time streams suddenly became thick, like the air turning into gel.
"Time Anchoring!"
Ron recognized the technique, precisely the magic Uther had mentioned that could confine the time hounds’ resetting ability.
Under the effect of Time Anchoring, the time hounds lost their greatest advantage, unable to reset their states anymore.
Erica seized this opportunity to launch a truly meaningful slaughter.
Her attack skills far surpassed Ron’s imagination, with each shock precisely hitting the time hound’s weaknesses.
Besides, she seemed able to predict each hound’s movement trajectory, always responding optimally ahead of time.
"This is the strength of a top-tier combat wizard..."
Ron was shaken in heart, the battle before his eyes granting him a direct understanding of higher realms.
Erica’s every move demonstrated perfect mastery over her power, with no waste; each attack was executed just right.
The battle quickly approached its end, most of the time hounds had already been defeated.
Only the last one remained — the largest among them, presumably the so-called Hound King.
The Hound King evidently realized the defeat was certain, beginning to unleash an ability Ron had never seen before.
The entire temporal fissure started to shake violently, countless time fragments raining down like raindrops, each containing formidable twisting power.
But Erica did not panic; she slowly raised her right hand, revealing a beautiful silver pocket watch in her palm.
"I see..."
Ron suddenly understood; the pocket watch in Erica’s hand was the very one he now possessed.
The whole hunt itself was to complete the final forging step of the pocket watch — integrating the Hound King’s time core into it.
As the pocket watch activated, the surrounding time fragments converged upon it like rivers returning to the sea.
The Hound King struggled desperately, but before the powerful time attraction of the pocket watch, its resistance seemed so futile.
The pocket watch emitted a dazzling light, like a newly born star.
Erica looked at the finished product in her hand with satisfaction, her eyes revealing the pride of a creator.
However, at that moment, she suddenly lifted her head.
Her indigo eyes pierced through space-time, directly staring at Ron who was observing all this.
The feeling was extremely eerie as if she had long known that a future observer would study this experience through historical research.
Erica’s lips slowly curved into a meaningful smile.
The smile contained wisdom transcending time and a certain indescribable expectation.
"A curious little fellow."
Erica’s voice clearly entered Ron’s consciousness, despite the long river of time:
"Being able to glimpse these memories, it seems you have already mastered quite good historical research techniques."
Her image began to blur, indicating the memory was about to end:
"Use it well, it’s the crystallization of my life’s work. Remember, time is the most impartial judge and also the toughest enemy."
The image completely dissipated, and Ron’s consciousness returned to the real world.
He opened his eyes to find the pocket watch in his hand was emitting faint warmth as if responding to the historical rewind just now.
[Special historical fragment detected, gaining additional skill insight]
[Historical Research (Beginner) Experience Points + 1]
[Historical Research (Beginner) Experience Points + 1]
[Historical Research (Beginner) Experience Points + 1]
...
[Current Progress: Historical Research (Beginner 45/50)]
[Detected "Three-Phase Shock Burst" skill essence, providing direction for Spiritual Shock skill upgrade]