The Idle System (A LitRPG series Book 7): Family, Pegaz [learn to read books txt] 📗

ever there is divination, then it’s either someone trying to make a living by saying random things, or a Transcendent like us that could manipulate time who did it. We would go back in time to say or do something that makes what happens, really happen.

“I’ll explain the rules of time travel. First, you can’t travel into the future because it hasn’t happened yet. The best you can do is travel back in time and come back to the point in time you travelled back.

“Second, you can’t change the past without a price, you only help it along. If you go into the past and do something to help your past self, then it was supposed to happen anyway and you helped it along.

“If you want to change what happened, like harming instead of helping your past self, then you’ve got to pay a price. That price is normally the universe placing a powerful seal on your powers for a long time, making you a mortal that can’t die.

“When you’re a mortal and can’t die, if anything happens like someone decapitates you, you will live as a human head until the punishment is over. You’ll be unable to move or speak but have your conscious intact.

“If you’re at this castle when you return to the present, then you’ll suffocate without being able to die until someone helps you get on a planet with air because you’ve technically become a mortal again.

“The last person I know that paid that price was decapitated by bandits, and his head was buried for over a billion years before he regained his powers and body. He explained that it’s worse than hell and he’ll never pay that price again.

“Also, keep in mind that if you ever pay the price to alter the past, then you can’t undo what you did. You would think that you could go further back into the past to stop yourself from paying the price to alter the past, but it doesn’t work that way. Once a Transcendent alters the past and pays the price, it stays that way forever.

“The last rule is that no matter what happens to the past, you—as a Transcendent—aren’t affected. That means that if I paid the price and killed your past self, you as a Transcendent in this point of time will still live.

“If you weren’t a Transcendent and I paid the price, then you would die in that timeline and wouldn’t be here now.”

John’s eyebrows arched up. “I didn’t think time travel worked like that.”

“Back on Earth, maybe. I remember I read scientific journals which explained the theory of time travel and how it could work if technology advances enough to do it. But as Transcendents, we’re not simply travelling through time like they theorised, we’re manipulating time itself.”

It’s a bit confusing, but I think I get the gist of it.

John nodded his head as he made sure to remember those rules.

“How does transcending really work?” John asked.

“Well,”—O’Malley crossed his arms in front of his chest—“you’ve experienced it yourself. The only thing that you might not know is after your old body is destroyed, the transformation starts in your soul and then reforms a new body.

“Jamie got lucky because when he transformed his Life Power into Silver Grade, he was already at the pinnacle of immortality and it used up all his Life Power and Soul Power which began the transcending transformation. I already explained what happened next.”

“Can you teach me how the origin language is spoken?” John asked. “I found a book that translates a common language into the origin language so I can read and write—but not speak it. I think a lot of Transcendents will probably use the origin language and it might become useful.”

O’Malley nodded his head. “Yes, a lot of Transcendents use it, but they’re all asleep right now. I’ll teach you anyway, for when they wake up.”

“What do you mean asleep?” John asked.

“Most of the Transcendents here have been alive for more than a trillion years,” O’Malley explained. “During that time, they’ve experienced everything possible and simply don’t want to repeat things over and over again.

“So, they go to sleep for thousands and sometimes millions of years to wake up and experience something new. They’ll explore the universe to see what’s changed and when they’ve done it all again, they’ll go back to sleep.

“Before I continue with the explanation, I’ll fulfil your request since it’s the least I can do.” O’Malley then taught John how to speak the language. It only took an hour since John already knew how to read and write the language.

Chapter 32: Explanation 2

After teaching John how to speak the origin language, O’Malley continued by speaking in the origin language for more practice. “Now, I’ll tell you a few things which you might not know.

“As you know, Siders are born with gifts, but what you might not have realised is those gifts come at a price.”

John knitted his brows. He couldn’t think of any kind of price he had paid by using the system.

“When a Sider reaches Rank 9, that’s when the price starts. It has something to do with their past lives and everybody is different. I was watching you when you told your past life to the woman who later became your wife.”

John thought about when that was.

It was just after he won the tournament and met Sarah on the balcony at the king’s feast. He had changed a few things in the story like the names of people and places, but he did tell the truth of what happened.

“The past feelings and memories follow you here through your soul,” O’Malley explained. “When you reach Rank 9, those past memories, feelings, and most importantly, your fears start to amplify how you act and behave because of them. I can take a few guesses at what happened to you since I know your past story.

“My first guess is that your fear of losing the woman you love