Even with twenty-eight days left before the likely destruction of the Mysterious Sea, sleep was still necessary.
There was no way he was going to stay awake for twenty-eight straight days just because of an impending apocalypse.
Kanzaki Rei slept deeplyâpeacefully.
Future Simulation had another subtle advantage.
Since he had already seen five days into the future and knew where he would be at that time, it also meant that nothing catastrophic would happen to him within those five days.
If he were destined to die within that period, there would be no "five days later" for him to observe in the first place.
With that reassurance, Kanzaki Rei pulled the blanket over himself and went straight to sleep.
...
When he woke up, his mind was sharp and fully refreshed.
The first thing he did was head to the air harbor.
To change yesterdayâs travel plans.
He had already "been" to Tenge in the simulationâthere was no longer any need to go there in person for now.
Although Tenge did have some valuable gains, most of them were geared toward Mechanics. The benefits for him personally were limited.
"Huh? Little genius, youâre not coming back with us?"
"What a shame..."
"If His Majesty knew a talent like you wanted to visit our nation, heâd surely be delighted."
Kanzaki Rei smiled politely.
"I just have some other matters to attend to for now. I wanted to visit Tenge, but it looks like Iâll have to leave it for next time."
If he went to Tenge now, the only meaningful thing he could do... would be to kill that Doomsday Prophet.
But killing him would also doom the entire nation.
After all, without Kanzaki Rei interfering with fate, the people of Tenge were originally meant to live out normal lifespans.
Yet after he killed Mokri and the king in the simulation, something changed.
Not long after, he witnessed itâ
The death dates of every single person in the kingdom updated simultaneously.
All set to the same day.
April 1st.
The effect of "God-Tier · Predestined Death Outcome" treated Kanzaki Rei as though he did not exist when calculating fate.
It simulated a world where he had never intervened.
And yetâ
He did exist.
And he had interfered.
He had killed Mokriâwho wasnât supposed to die.
He had killed the kingâwho was originally meant to escape and warn the world before fleeing.
And as a result...
Fate recalculated.
The deaths of the entire kingdom shifted drastically.
This proved something criticalâ
Even when treated as "nonexistent" in fate calculations, Kanzaki Rei could still indirectly alter the destinies of others.
However, these changes werenât updated in real time.
There was a delay before fate fully synchronized.
As for why...
That likely required higher-level Fate Studies to understand.
So going to Tenge now meant facing a dilemma:
Kill Mokriâand doom an entire continent.
Or spare himâand allow a future cultist of "Doomsday" to live.
A classic trolley problem.
Kanzaki Reiâs decision?
To hell with Tenge.
Right now, priority belonged to maximizing benefits.
Going there would gain him little beyond playing the hero.
But the other continents of the Secret Sand Archipelagoâ
Xiyang, Xiangya, Zhuoyu, and Tarabellaâ
Each one was rich with opportunity.
Xiyang, for example, was a land of powerful warriors. It would undoubtedly hold invaluable combat techniques and methods to strengthen martial prowess.
Tarabella was a coalition of smaller nations, famous for its abundance of ancient ruins. Its treasures and inheritances far surpassed those of other continents.
Of course, Kanzaki Rei had no intention of personally exploring ruins.
Since these nations were doomed anyway...
Not looting them would be a waste.
Zhuoyu, on the other hand, was a theocratic continent.
Churches thrived thereâfar more advanced than elsewhere.
At the same time, heretical cults ran rampant.
A land full of... opportunity.
One by one, he evaluated them.
Each had its own strengths.
As for how to get thereâ
Heâd just fly.
The airships of Loren were painfully slow. At 10 km/s, reaching those continents would take nearly a month.
But before that...
Whooshâ
[Kumironi Residence]
Kanzaki Rei knocked on the door again.
"Sister Kumironi."
Knock, knock, knockâ
The door opened, and he stepped inside.
"Well? Did you get a more precise prophecy?"
Kanzaki Rei sighed lightly.
"Sister Kumironi... I think I foresaw something even more serious."
"More serious?"
She froze.
What could possibly surpass An Zheng attempting to break through to Rank 9âwith two Rank 8 Transcenders supporting him?
If that battle truly broke out, the entire Secret Sand Archipelago would be devastated.
That alone was already a catastrophic, continent-level disaster.
"Sister Kumironi... have you heard of âDoomsdayâ?"
At the mention of that name, her heart trembled slightly.
Such an ancient term...
It had been recorded in sacred texts.
The leader of "Doomsday"... was said to be a Level 3 Doomsday Prophet.
"Little Rei... are you saying..."
"This is a prophecy... of that level?"
"...Yes."
"It seems like that kind of disaster will occur."
"Maybe because I hold a unique class... I can perceive things others try to conceal."
"I saw it."
"The destruction of the entire Mysterious Sea."
"âDoomsdayâ has foretold itâand is carrying it out through means I donât understand."
"When it happens, it wonât just be Loren... or the Secret Sand Archipelago..."
Kumironi continued softly,
"...but the entire Mysterious Sea."
She paused, then asked:
"How certain are you?"
Kanzaki Rei hesitated briefly.
"At least... fifty percent."
"Iâm sorry. I donât have concrete evidenceâonly this prophecy."
Kumironi pressed her fingers against her temple.
Then shook her head.
"Itâs enough."
Fifty percent?
Even one percent would be too high to ignore.
Noâ
Even a one-in-ten-thousand chance...
She couldnât gamble against something of this magnitude.
"Iâll report this to the Church immediately."
Kanzaki Rei tilted his head.
"If itâs true... what will the Church do?"
"Theyâll try to save as many people as possible."
"But the exact course of action... depends on their decision."
She walked to the window, gazing toward the royal palace.
"We canât run."
"We canât allow An Zheng to break through to Rank 9."
"So..."
"We have to stayâand kill him."
She turned to Kanzaki Rei.
"Little Rei... youâre already very strong."
"But youâre still not ready for this battle."
Kanzaki Rei replied calmly:
"If we wait for the two Rank 8 reinforcements, itâll become much harder."
"We should strike early."
Kumironi hesitated.
"...Perhaps."
"For the sake of saving more lives... perhaps we should."
Butâ
To act on an unproven prophecy...
To kill someone who had not yet committed any crime...
Was that right?
She clutched her chest tightly.
Kanzaki Rei saw her struggleâand felt a quiet sigh in his heart.
Killing a "future criminal" before they commit the crime.
Was it justice?
By the moral standards of his past lifeâabsolutely not.
But this world was different.
There was magic.
There were prophets.
Those old values... didnât fully apply here.
Even he wasnât certain.
Kumironi hesitated, then finally asked:
"In the future... will we keep killing âinnocentsâ to prevent tragedies before they happen?"
Kanzaki Rei stared into the distance.
A line from his class advancement echoed in his mind:
Foresight is not a gift, but a burden. Insight is not authority, but a shackle.
He hadnât expected to feel its weight so soon.
But when he answeredâ
His voice was firm.
"Regardless of the future... killing An Zheng now is the right choice."
"He is not innocent. Nor is he unaware."
"We canât treat all situations the same."
"This one is different."
"And every situation in the future may also be different."
"Itâs not always about killing someone."
"But sometimes... the scales simply cannot balance."
"If killing one innocent could save the entire world..."
"...then the answer becomes inevitable."
"At the very least, I know what Iâm doing."
"And I have no regrets."
Kumironi slowly relaxed her grip.
"Little Rei..."
"Youâre very mature."
"If it were Akasei, heâd never say something like that."
She smiled faintly.
The turmoil in her heart had settled.
Kanzaki Rei scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Hehe... I just read a lot of books."
No way he could say he was a transmigrator from Earth.
"Mm. Youâre right."
"At least... I understand why Iâm doing this."
"Iâll discuss it with the others."
Kanzaki Rei nodded.
"Iâll leave it to you, Sister Kumironi."
...
Shortly after, he wrote a letter.
To Runeâthe guard who had once saved his life in Rain Town.
Along with it, he sent a spatial bag containing 2 million gold, high-grade defensive gear, skills, magical tools, and potions.
"Rune... I hope you survive."
...
Later, standing in line at a breakfast stall, Kanzaki Rei blended perfectly into the crowd.
"Fate Prediction."
Whooshâ
Countless hazy visions flickered past.
Then one became clear.
Zhuoyu Continent.
"At my current speed... I can reach Zhuoyu in one day."
"This will be my first stop."
...
Soon afterâ
"God-Tier · Future Simulation."
In an instant, he simulated his arrival.
A land of white doves.
Endless cathedrals.
A nation of faith.
"The Nation of Light and Day."
He looked directly at its grandest palaceâ
Layered with thousands of restrictions.
...
Half an hour laterâ
Kanzaki Rei stood in a distant forest, fully loaded with gains.
"No one noticed."
After allâ
He had disabled the detection restrictions, removed access permissions, and reinforced the barriers.
Even their original creators would struggle to break back in.
...
Whooshâ
He continued onward.
From the Nation of Light...
To the Nation of Darkness.
One church after another.
One vault after another.
...
March 3rd.
9:02 AM.
Kanzaki Rei opened his eyes.
To others, it looked like nothing more than a blink.
"Zhuoyu... no issues."
"Time to go."
He finished his breakfast.
Paid.
Thenâ
Vanished.
One minute laterâ
He stood above the Mysterious Sea.
A distance of 120,000 kilometers crossed in sixty seconds.
At full speed, he could reach 3,000 km/s in bursts.
Even sustainedâ
1,000 km/s was effortless.
BOOM!
He accelerated againâ
Shooting toward the northeast.
This timeâ
Not a simulation.
But reality.