Rita jolted upright, the cloak slipping from her shoulders. Wait. Shouldn’t she be on the Divine Game stage? Where was this? She saw Lightchaser and GodDraw77 sitting across the boat. Panic hit her. She scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping on the oversized clothes, then flapped her way to Lightchaser’s side. She grabbed her teacher’s hand. "Did I activate GodDraw77? Why am I here?" Lightchaser gave her a strange look, glancing down at their joined hands. "...Something happened. You suddenly vanished from Arisentna." "Vanished?!" Rita’s brows knit tight. Was it possible she had somehow gone back to Earth—only for Lightchaser to drag her back again? It wasn’t impossible... In her mind flashed a scene of Lightchaser standing over her family, holding her tightly, declaring: —"I don’t care who she was before. I only know she’s my apprentice." —"She’s a genius. She doesn’t belong in that ordinary world. She’s chosen, and she has her mission." Her expression grew more and more complicated, something between worry and secret delight. Lightchaser, unwilling to explain, jabbed GodDraw77 with her elbow. GodDraw77 smoothly delivered the excuse they had agreed on beforehand, one that wouldn’t break the rules. "The details aren’t clear. It seems tied to how you arrived in Arisentna. In short, you disappeared. We got word you’d fallen into the River of Time, so we came to find you. "Lightchaser and I spent a year tracking your location and another year reaching you. Now we’re on our way back to Arisentna. The trip will take another eleven months. If all goes well, you’ll make it back in time for the 175th Divine Game." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs n0velfire.net It made a kind of sense. She had been unconscious for two years without aging—maybe this strange River of Time explained it. As long as they hadn’t snatched her straight off Earth again, she wasn’t going to dig too deeply. Best to leave that topic alone. But then the latter half of GodDraw77’s words sank in. Rita gasped. She looked at her hands, her height. Still fourth grade. Just odd clothes, probably switched by her teachers. "You mean, when I get back, I’ll be competing alongside seventh-years like Mistblade and Maple Syrup? I was suspended for two years... no, three years?" Her panic shifted fast to another thought. She looked at GodDraw77. "Then doesn’t that mean you left Moonlight Marsh for three years too?" GodDraw77 nodded. "Yes. Wrong Answer is filling in for me. So when you return, you’ll face classmates who’ve had three extra years of training—and under a stronger teacher." Rita hardly cared about that part. Her clear eyes locked onto GodDraw77. "You left Moonlight Marsh for me?" GodDraw77 gave another quiet "Mm." Rita’s face lit with gratitude mixed with guilt. She sneaked glances at Lightchaser, then finally threw herself against GodDraw77, hugging her tight. "Thank you, teacher." This wasn’t something GodDraw77 had to do. But she had left Moonlight Marsh behind just to find her. How could Rita not be thankful? Before Lightchaser could complain, Rita hurried back to her side. "Thank you, teacher." She didn’t know what had happened, but she trusted they weren’t lying. Her game interface clearly showed that two years and three months had passed. But questions piled up. "What about my enrollment at Moonlight Marsh? Do I still have it?" "Of course. Even if you wanted to quit, Wrong Answer wouldn’t allow it. From the moment you activated GodDraw77 before leaving, you became an honorary student of Moonlight Marsh." "What about the team tournament? I’ve been gone so long. Will I even have time to find teammates?" At that, a faint, unreadable smile flickered on Lightchaser’s face. "Don’t worry. A lot happened after we left Arisentna. I can’t say what may have changed over the past two years, but teammates won’t be hard to find." If Lightchaser said so, Rita decided to shelve that problem for now. The priority was training. When she realized the River of Time took care of food and drink, she immediately started pestering. "Quick quick quick! Lightchaser Lightchaser Lightchaser! Start class already!" She darted circles around the boat, calling, "Lightchaser, class! Lightchaser, class!" She had no idea why Lightchaser looked so conflicted, or why a couple of pitiful balloons were still tied at the stern. She didn’t care. Three years had passed. Who knew how much her rivals had evolved?! Before, whenever she ran around at home, Lightchaser would get annoyed fast. But maybe because she was still recovering, this time Lightchaser showed no impatience. She only followed her with a strange gaze. When Rita finally tired herself out, Lightchaser, lounging at the bow, muttered to GodDraw77, "I regret it. I liked the older one." "Don’t talk nonsense. You don’t even know how to talk to the older one." GodDraw77 waved Rita over. "Come here." Rita bounced across the deck in one leap, eyes full of expectation. Surely it was lesson time. But GodDraw77 began with, "I decided to temporarily leave Moonlight Marsh to find you. My plan was to take you as my formal apprentice. That was the condition Lightchaser agreed to when we left Arisentna." Rita stole a cautious glance at Lightchaser. One glance, then another, then another. Lightchaser sat up in shock and smacked GodDraw77’s arm. "Did you see that? Did you see? She actually thought of me when it came to recognizing a new teacher." Rita bristled, confused and annoyed. "Of course! You’re my first and so far only official mentor. If someone else wanted to be my mentor, I’d obviously need your approval!" Lightchaser went quiet, then lay back down again. "...Mm." At last she looked normal again. GodDraw77 tried not to laugh, keeping her face straight. "Did it just dawn on you that maybe you’re the later one instead?" Only once the elf fell silent did GodDraw77 and Rita continue. Rita looked at her expectantly. "But?" "But," GodDraw77 said, "on my way to find you, I met another apprentice I liked more. When she agreed to become my formal apprentice, I decided I’d never take another." That stung. It was the teacher’s version of falling for someone else on the rescue mission. But Rita only felt disappointed for a moment. Then she let it go. GodDraw77 had already done more than enough for her. Demanding more would be unfair. She just waited, knowing her teacher wasn’t done yet. "But I can still teach you," GodDraw77 said. "As an ordinary teacher. Do you want to learn the Heart of the Druid?" "Yes! I want to learn!" Rita blurted without hesitation.