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Leonid, who had been staring at the document following my observation, snapped his fingers lightly. 

“You’re right. It does look similar.”

“If the cipher in this document is related to an ancient language, then this character must be a verb associated with blood.”

Combining my discovery with Eugene’s earlier hypothesis led us to a plausible theory.

“What kind of verbs are related to blood?”

“If we think simply… perhaps ‘to bleed’? When someone is hurt, blood flows.”

Leonid’s guess was straightforward, but it made sense that the meaning might not be overly complex.

Leonid and I leaned closer together, staring intently at the letters on the paper, hoping for the intuitive flash of insight that had often helped me in the past. Unfortunately, no such inspiration came this time.

After who knows how long of silent concentration, Eugene let out a small sigh and gently pulled the paper from between us, separating Leonid and me.

“I’ll take a closer look at this document, incorporating what Resia has found.”

It was disappointing not to be able to delve deeper after uncovering such a promising lead, but I had reached my limit.

‘Or maybe not,’ I thought as a new idea flashed through my mind.

‘If I visit a future where the cipher has already been decoded, I could find the answer, couldn’t I?’

It was a simple solution. How had I not thought of this sooner, wasting time trying to decode the cipher myself?

At this moment, I had an advantage over even the brilliant Eugene and the confident Leonid—I could find the answer more quickly and easily.

‘I guess I just wasn’t used to using this useful item and forgot that I could travel to the future.’

There was no reason to hold back on using the hourglass. It wasn’t something that would wear out with frequent use, and as long as I paid with Heaven Coins, I could use it indefinitely.

‘And after 100 uses, it even unlocks a new feature!’

This was the perfect time to be proactive in using the hourglass. The thought of surpassing both of them made a wide grin spread across my face. Leonid, noticing my expression, scanned me up and down with evident unease.

“You’re not planning anything strange, are you?”

“Strange? I only ever have righteous thoughts.”

“Yeah, right.”

Leonid gave me a deeply skeptical look, clearly not buying my words. I pushed both him and Eugene towards the door, urging them out.

“Come on, stop hanging around here and get back to work! You should be focusing on deciphering the code!”

Though they seemed suspicious and confused, they had no concrete reason to accuse me of anything, so they reluctantly left without further protest.

After making sure they were both out, I firmly closed the door behind them.

I picked up the hourglass resting quietly on the nightstand beside my bed, watching as the sand inside caught the light and sparkled beautifully. I thought of the cipher I would retrieve from the future and then flipped the hourglass over.

Bracing myself for the sensation that would soon envelop me, I squeezed my eyes shut, but surprisingly, everything remained eerily still.

‘What the…?’ 

I cautiously opened the eyes I had squeezed shut and looked around. Since this was my second time using the hourglass, perhaps the strange phenomena from the first use weren’t happening again. However, the fact that my surroundings were still very much the same reality meant that nothing had actually happened.

Puzzled, I blinked in confusion, wondering what was going on. Suddenly, a bright message window appeared before my eyes.

**[Message from Heaven]**  

*(Notification)* The influence of the hourglass is still in effect.  

To use the hourglass again, you must completely resolve the impact of the previous usage.

The explanation was a bit complex, but it essentially meant that I couldn’t use the hourglass right now. 

‘So it’s because I haven’t fully dealt with the document I brought back from the future.’

I let out a groan as I set the hourglass down. Just then, another message window popped up, almost as if it had been waiting.

**[Message from Heaven]**  

*(Notification)* The hourglass has been used. The usage fee has been deducted.

“What?”

Why was a usage fee deducted when I didn’t even get to use it properly? I glared at the empty air in protest, and another message window quickly appeared.

**[Message from Heaven]**  

*(Notification)* The usage fee for the hourglass is charged regardless of whether its effect is activated. Please be mindful of this when using the hourglass.  

For more details, refer to the hourglass usage guide.

What? Was that actually written in the usage guide?

Fuming, I quickly rummaged through the message inbox and opened the hourglass usage guide. After straining my eyes through the excessively long guide, I found the section explaining the fees. Sure enough, in tiny, almost unreadable print, it stated, *”The usage fee is charged regardless of whether the effect is activated.”*

This… this was a scam! 

Using fine print to pull a fast one like this was a classic scammer tactic. If I tried to complain to the folks in Heaven, they’d probably just smugly respond, *”Well, it was written in the usage guide!”*

Seething with rage, I closed the usage guide. I tried to calm myself with deep breaths, hoping to graciously let this injustice go, but who was I kidding? That was impossible with my personality.

‘Serlus! Serluuuusss!’

I stomped my feet in frustration, calling out for Serlus. Naturally, Serlus, who never responds in unfavorable situations, remained silent this time as well. So much for buying that hotline.

Grumbling, I was about to close the message window when I spotted something that made my eyes widen—a long-untouched “Divine Card Draw Ticket.”

‘Yes.’

I may have lost money, but at least I could get something good with a Divine Card!

Thanks to the special event, I had accumulated six Divine Card Draw Tickets from the additional rewards of various quests I had completed. Given that I also had the “Blessing of Luck,” the draw results were likely to be quite favorable.

**[Message from Heaven]**  

*(Notice)* [Event] Divine Card Draw  

Proceeding with the Divine Card Draw.  

This draw is part of the [Event] Divine Card Draw, with card grade probabilities proportional to the quest reward amount.

Determined to pull a great card that would shock those smug Heaven folks, I selected the ‘Divine Card Draw’ option. A bright light immediately filled my vision, followed by a familiar sequence of quick flashes and message windows appearing and disappearing.

**[Blessing of Luck: Possessed]**  

**[Probability Adjustment: Complete]**  

**[Draw Progress: Complete]**

With the final completion message, a single card appeared before me. The card, engraved with a holy mark, exuded a soft purple glow, making its presence known.

‘Something good, something good, something good…!’

Muttering to myself, I flipped the card over to reveal its text:

**[Feeling of Feels! (Heroic)]**

It was a lower grade of a card I already owned. Since only one card of each type’s highest grade was valid, this card was effectively useless.

‘It’s just the first draw. It’s fine.’

I still had five more draw tickets left. I took a deep breath to calm myself and proceeded to use the remaining tickets one by one.

The same process repeated for the second, third, fourth, and fifth cards. Unfortunately, each one turned out to be either useless or a lower grade of a card I already possessed.

Now, only one draw ticket remained. Despite being backed into a corner, I strangely didn’t feel anxious at all.

‘If anything… I have a good feeling about this.’

Was it my intuition, which had often guided me to positive outcomes, signaling a favorable result? Or perhaps it was just my brain’s happiness circuits working overtime…

Whatever the case, I would soon find out.

Taking a deep breath, I used the final Divine Card Draw ticket. The familiar messages flashed before my eyes again, and the final card floated up in front of me.

There was no point in delaying any longer. I immediately flipped the card to see its contents.

‘Huh…?’

The moment I saw the text, my eyes widened in shock.