The knights gazed at the boy who cheats death with reverence—
No, from now on, he should be called Saint Paige!
Shen Ye froze.
Saint—Paige?
Shen Paige?
That damn name even exposes my surname, doesn’t it?!
Alright, alright, so that’s how you all want to play.
I quit!
Anyone with a shred of dignity would refuse to endure such humiliation!
I’m out of here!
Grief and fury filled Shen Ye’s heart. Just as he was about to summon the door and leave, a line of glowing text appeared before him:
“Congratulations! You did it!”
He stopped.
A thought surfaced in his mind.
Right… I didn’t come here to be Paige. I have a mission!
The glowing text continued to float in the air:
“You were hunted by both the undead and humans, yet you survived.”
“The undead have lowered their hostility toward you.”
“So have the humans.”
“The undead left you the White Bone Medal, bestowing upon you the title ‘The Little Match Boy.’”
“The prince of the human empire has granted you the name Saint Paige and held a sacred ceremony for you.”
“This means that both major factions now consider you one of their own, someone they trust and wish to cultivate.”
“Evaluation: As an ordinary human, the highest rating you could normally obtain is white. However, despite being completely powerless, you leveraged external forces, resolved crises, changed how others perceive you, and even earned their willingness to help you. This is the fundamental reason you were able to obtain this rating beyond normal limits.”
“Congratulations.”
“You have received the evaluation entry ‘Comrade’ for the third time.”
The void trembled.
A translucent door silently materialized, yet no one except Shen Ye could see it.
Radiant words blazed upon the door:
“You have obtained the special honour entry ‘An Ordinary Human Who Has Earned the Same Exceptional Rating Three Consecutive Times.’”
“This is something impossible—yet you have achieved it.”
“This honour tag has been automatically sacrificed, triggering a powerful resonance that has granted your ‘Door’ a hidden ability:”
“Temporal Fluid.”
“Beginner Level.”
“Description: When you pass through the door, time on one side will freeze at the exact moment you leave, while time on the other side continues to flow normally.”
“Duration: 3 seconds.”
“Cooldown: Once activated, it cannot be used again for one week (relative to your own time perception).”
“—A special force of the temporal realm, a hidden rule, the unseen power of the interdimensional gate.”
“Additionally, when you next break through your evaluation level and obtain a blue (Superior) or higher entry, the ‘Door’ will gain a new ability.”
Shen Ye swiftly read through the information.
Never mind when he would next obtain a high-tier tag—
Just looking at this “Temporal Fluid”—
It’s only three seconds.
A measly three-second ability.
And it takes a whole week to cool down?!
How the hell am I supposed to use this?!
Good thing I don’t have a girlfriend, or she’d break up with me on the spot.
Tsk.
This ability…
If I enroll in the Imperial Military Academy one day and the instructor asks, “Kid, what’s your ability? How long does it last? How long is the cooldown?”
Could I even answer that with a straight face?
Shen Ye felt both sorrowful and disheartened.
But he was someone who knew how to adjust his mindset. After thinking it over carefully, he quickly steadied his emotions.
The truly valuable aspect wasn’t the ability’s duration—
It was the nature of the ability itself.
It was connected to time!
Or rather, did the Door inherently possess immense potential?
If he continued strengthening it, could its duration increase?
Time!
Control over time!!!
If that were the case, then his future was bright!
Shen Ye convinced himself.
With this realization, the name issue suddenly seemed trivial, utterly insignificant.
At worst, if he ever returned to Blue Star, he’d change his records and alter his name immediately!
——
“What happened today, I’ll pretend I didn’t see it. You and your partner should be careful in the future—don’t get exposed.” Prince Norton said.
“Understood, Your Highness.” Shen Ye replied.
“If anything happens, inform me in advance. If you make contributions, I will not be stingy with rewards.” Prince Norton added.
He handed Shen Ye a magical envelope.
The white-haired elder explained how to use it.
—After all, this Saint Paige had a contact within the undead faction, and that contact only recognized Paige.
If Saint Paige could provide confidential information—
As long as he reported it, the prince would certainly be generous and rewarding.
Once everything was settled, the group bid farewell to him and turned to head toward the human army camp.
Court Grand Mage Yudria lingered behind and whispered:
“Saint Paige, let me tell you—there is actually a secret behind the name Paige.”
“What secret?” Shen Ye immediately lowered his voice.
“In ancient legends, the name carries a hidden truth—Paige’s weapon was ever-changing. Sometimes a sword, sometimes a spear or bow, and even strange weapons unknown to mankind.” Yudria said.
“So the name Paige came from wielding strange weapons?” Shen Ye murmured.
“As expected of Saint Paige! You understood immediately!” Yudria marveled.
“…Thank you for your praise.” Shen Ye said flatly.
“—Remember, you must work hard to master various weapons.” Yudria advised.
“Wait!” A thought suddenly struck Shen Ye. He hurriedly asked, “Are there many people named Paige?”
“Quite a few. Among the people I know, there are five.” Yudria replied.
Shen Ye inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
If he wasn’t the only one with that name, it wasn’t so bad.
But a new concern immediately arose.
“So if everyone’s called Paige, how do you tell them apart?” He asked.
“It’s actually quite simple—”
Yudria recalled, “Among the ones I know, there’s Old Paige, Little Paige, Red Paige, Big Paige, and Fat Paige.”
It seemed that, whether to encourage him or for some other reason, Yudria patted him on the shoulder and said:
“But the title ‘Saint Paige’ requires the kingdom’s royal family to personally confer it, so you’re the only one.”
“Well, I really appreciate it.” Shen Ye said expressionlessly.
“Keep it up, the prince thinks highly of you.” Yudria smiled at him.
She turned to her horse and rode off, heading to catch up with the distant main force.
Only Saint Paige and the large skeleton remained where they were.
Saint Paige looked at the magic envelope in his hand.
Inside was a piece of precious magical letter paper—
Anything written on this magically woven paper would instantly appear on another identical sheet in Prince Norton’s hands.
An interesting item.
Saint Paige put away the magic envelope and picked up the skull.
“We should get going too, Paige,” the skull said casually.
“You’re asking for death.”
“Huh? Why are you mad?”
“…Don’t call me that. Call me Shen Ye, got it?”
“Got it, Paige.”
“I just told you to call me Shen Ye! I’m done talking to you!”
“Wait for me! I was wrong, Paige!”
“Damn it, do you have no memory at all?!”
Saint Paige walked deeper into the dense forest, kicking the skull along the way. When he reached a secluded spot, he finally opened a door, kicked the skull inside first, and then stepped through himself.
He returned to his dormitory.
The first thing—
“Devour ‘Comrade.’”
Shen Ye silently commanded in his mind.
The evaluation entry was instantly consumed.
His attribute points changed from “7” to “10.”
Shen Ye pondered for a while.
He remembered that when he had revealed just “3” points of mental strength, Qian Rushan had been so excited that he signed him on the spot.
If he added his attribute points now, his mental strength could reach “11.”
If Qian Rushan found out, how would he react?
Anyway—
He had done his best to complete the “Comrade” entry three times, earning “Temporal Fluid” and three attribute points.
That was enough for today.
Same time tomorrow, he would continue working hard.
Shen Ye stretched, ordered a large batch of calcium supplements, and then went to take a shower.
By the time the delivery arrived, he had just finished bathing.
Perfect timing to change the water in the fish tank and toss in a bunch of turtles for the big skeleton to chew on.
—This time, it had teeth, and its head wasn’t cracked, so it ate quite happily.
A short, thick back bone started to grow out.
Kinda cute.
Shen Ye watched for a while, then rubbed his eyes.
Sleepy.
The clock on the wall pointed to exactly 6:00 a.m.
Next—
He could finally rest.
It was already 6 a.m.!
Lights off, lights off, time to sleep.
Lying in bed, he tossed and turned.
He just couldn’t fall asleep.
After all, too many things had happened in this one day and night.
His shoulders and neck were sore.
Shen Ye let his mind wander for 59 minutes before finally drifting into dreamland.
7 a.m.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it!” Shen Ye shouted angrily.
“It’s me! Hurry up, we’re about to head out!” Qian Rushan’s voice rang out.
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