Fifty hours of quiet rest ended when a deep vibration shook the cedar shutters of the herb shed.
Dust drifted from the ceiling beams, settling lightly over Kaelen Vance’s straw hat. Outside, the steady crunch of iron-shod wagon wheels rolled across the cobblestones like distant thunder.
Waking up after fifty hours feels like being dragged out of a warm river, Kaelen thought, blinking in the dim room. If someone brought noisy horns to my gate, I am billing them by the second.
He rubbed his eyes and sat up in the hemp hammock.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, the Fallow Slate gave a low, resonant hum.
[The Fallow Slate] [STAGE 4 QUAD-TRACK TIMER UPDATE]
[TRACK 1 (CULTIVATION VESSEL): 240 HOURS 00 MINUTES (241x)] [TRACK 2 (MARTIAL COMBAT): 240 HOURS 00 MINUTES (241x - SEALED)] [TRACK 3 (ALCHEMY & COMPREHENSION): 50 HOURS 00 MINUTES (51x)] [TRACK 4 (DAO & FORMATIONS): 870 HOURS 00 MINUTES] [1-Month Lunar Fallow Surge Activated - 10x Multiplier Bonus] [TOTAL ACTIVE TRACK 4 MULTIPLIER: 8,710x] [TRACK 4 STATUS: UNSPENT - ACCUMULATING]
The formation timer had climbed fifty hours without a single break.
