Chapter 404: Ancestors
ELSEWHERE, FAR FROM THE BEAST’S GAZE, Arthur found himself hidden behind a cluster of trees.
In his possession was something remarkable: a fragment of the Two-Tails itself. It was a flame-coloured hair that was thick and long, roughly the size of his entire arm. When had he acquired it? It was during the brief distraction while the beast was grooming.
Arthur truly was that fast.
To a giant creature of that size, it was no different than plucking out a tiny fragment from a grown man’s arm hair.
Arthur hadn’t needed to tell the creature anything more than what it already knew because some truths were better left unspoken. Once he returned to his timeline, he could make up something believable to reduce suspicion of him when they should meet again.
The game was complicated, but he was patient to craft more stories for the other Tailed Beasts since time was on his side. The main thing he valued was extracting more resources like this Tailed Beast hair from the others.
Meanwhile, Arthur used his Tamashii to see the Two-Tails let out a low hiss. It sensed something was amiss but couldn’t quite place it. Rather than go looking for him, the beast decided to move on.
Now Arthur was certain that his actions here in the past would undoubtedly translate to the present.
What he wondered was how something like this was even possible. Time travel in this world could only bring an individual—more specifically, a player—as far back as a day. Had him waking up in the pod triggered this phenomenon? Whatever the case, he wasn’t going to let it go to waste.
Arthur quickly turned into smoke and whisked into the night sky.
His mind was already preoccupied with the next phase of his plan. Currently, there were still two or three Tailed Beasts he intended to seek out. But before making those moves again, he understood the significance of the monks from the temples.
When he finally reached the inn, he confirmed that nothing had changed. The room still remained untouched, with no sign of anyone having moved the chipped wood. That was a good sign. Whatever precautions the monks took, they hadn’t discovered his actions.