Strange Familiarity

Five counts.

After the first initial success where Ymir managed to pause the time on Earth, he tried to repeat it multiple times, but as of now, he can only manage to pause time for a maximum of five counts, which, while very crucial during the midst of a battle, wasn't actually much helpful in daily life.

Granted that he can seemingly just do it over and over again to provide a greater effect, but he discovered that pausing time too much over a short period actually had a side effect of giving him nausea and vertigo.

So, in all, he still needed more practice.

And, since instantaneous improvements isn't possible, perhaps, he could try the other aspects of time alterations as well.

Such as speeding up time, slowing it down, and even, traveling to the future or the past.

The possibilities are endless.

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November 4, 1991

01-Terra

Observation Entry #16

As of today, Roughly three Terran weeks/three Earth days since the Cerberus was placed in Terra, it had finally started showing its first signs of mutations.

It grew roughly half a foot taller than it originally was, though I am unsure of the exact measurements since the beast always tried to attack whenever I attempted to get closer to it.

It still hasn't warmed up to my presence even after so long.

Along with that, it's saliva had turned quite toxic, corroding the ground whenever they dripped from it's gaping maw.

I was already wary of getting bitten by it in the beginning, and now, I am even more so.

Perhaps, I should give up trying to pet it. Anyways, dogs never did like me for some reason.

Maybe next time, I'll try with cats instead.

For now, I went to the other side of the ravine to check up on the plants and animals. Still no sign of mutation, it seems.

At this point, I was already quite sure that they won't have the possibility of mutating, considering how the herbivores in Gaia, despite having existed for several Gaian months already, still didn't mutate.

Actually, any creature that was created inside the strange space didn't seem to mutate. Only those that came from outside did.

Interestingly, the things that I held in my hand also wouldn't mutate even if I brought them from outside no matter how long I stayed inside the space, but the moment those objects leave my hands, then the mutation would gradually begin. Like how my clothes wouldn't mutate as long as they stayed on my body.

Checking the condition of the plants, I was pleased to see a considerable number of fruits have been produced ever since the bees and butterflies were created. Since I've confirmed those fruits to be edible, it wouldn't be long before it was time for them to be transplanted to Gaia along with the other animals.

Entry End

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"Is anyone here aware of muggle weaponry?" The new History of Magic professor asked the class as he took out a bunch of metallic items from his expanded trunk.

And, all that Ymir could do was stare blankly as he recognized what those things were.

Guns.

What was happening?!

After breakfast this morning, they were informed of the arrival of the new History of Magic professor, and Professor Bagshot's departure the night before.

Initially, the students were apprehensive about the new professor, especially since they've already begun to respect Professor Bagshot even though she had only been teaching them for a little over a week, but, since the new professor was recommended by Professor Bagshot herself, they decided to wait and see before doing anything.

Gail Green, they remembered his name was, when the Headmaster introduced him during breakfast. Though, strangely enough, the Headmaster didn't seem to like him much. Or, atleast, he didn't quite trust him.

"I was told that your last lesson with Professor Bagshot was about the first Wizarding World War, and I decided to continue that." The professor spoke, fiddling with what looked like a pistol. "But, I'm going to add a twist."

The professor scanned the faces of each student in the room discretely, pausing briefly when he locked eyes with Ymir, before continuing on. "We're going to view it from the side of the muggles and the reason why the Dark Lord of that time decided to work with them."

Ymir narrowed his eyes and studied the professor skeptically. From his golden blonde hair to his green eyes, he had a strange feeling that what he was seeing wasn't real. Like the professor wasn't supposed to look like this.

"Now, this, in my hand, is called a Luger Pistol." The professor showed the weapon to the class, letting them have a good view of it for a few moments before, suddenly, he aimed it towards a wooden closet and shot, releasing a loud sound which startled the class.

Ymir's eyes widened imperceptibly, not having expected the professor to do that so suddenly.

Walking towards the closet, the professor swung the closet door open to show the students the hole which was undoubtedly made by the bullet piercing through it. "This weapon, commonly used by German muggle soldiers during the First Wizarding World War, or the Second Muggle World War, was one of the weaker muggle weaponry of that time."

As the professor showed the students the rest of the guns, Ymir took the time to study the man more.

He looked young, around his late twenties, but his eyes, much too wisened by the passage of years, told him a story about a man much older than what his physical appearance showed.

"Now, here I ask you... Between a muggle gun that can shoot a bullet in a split second, and a wand that needs a spell to be uttered first before casting-" The professor, at that moment, seemed to meet Ymir's eyes purposely and smiled. "-which one can kill you faster?"

Ymir looked straight into the professor's meaningful eyes, fingers tapping silently on his journal.

Why was it, that he felt like he should know him even when he was sure they've never met before?

Such a strange familiarity.

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Another week had passed in the mysterious space, and now, after confirming that the animals and plants were doing well without any mutations, it was finally time to transfer them to Gaia.

Since he was using the Astral Dice instead of the portal, the actual transferring process went much easier than if he was using the portal, since he was taking advantage of intimate connection between the Astral Dice and the Star Heart Crystal fragments to alter the planet.

Now, looking much livelier than before, the experimental island finally looked like it could actually be habitable and pleasant.

The forests now actually contained trees other than the Bleeding Weeds and Yggdrasil, and there was a newly forming meadow of flowers which will no doubt expand with the passage of time.

As for the predators, since they were so used to the barrenness and dryness of Terra, they were wary of the new environmental at first but, considering that Gaia was much easier to survive in than Terra, it didn't take long for them to be energetically exploring their surroundings in curiosity.

Soon enough, with the addition of their natural predators, the horned rabbit population was quickly cut down, until eventually, it settled into a more manageable number, and with the predators keeping each other in check, their population too, was balanced.

With the introduction of bees and butterflies, trees that bore fruits were bountiful, giving the forest an inviting visage, and flowers bloomed aplenty, allowing the wind to carry their unique scents. At first, one would think that this island was simply paradise.

But, now, another problem arose.

The bee population was steadily increasing, and, with the sparrows being their only predator at the moment, soon, like the rabbits, they would end up becoming unmanageable as well. Surely, it would do no good if bees were just everywhere, stinging any creature that comes close.

And, the deers would soon increase in number as well, come mating season.

Ymir sighed.

Creating a perfectly balanced ecological system was tiring.

For the deer population, maybe he'll create some bears and wolves since those two predators were notorious rivals on Earth. They'll be able to keep each other in check.

And, since bears have a more flexible diet than wolves, he'd have to add more fishes into the rivers and lakes.

Actually, that reminded him of the Terra fishes that he kept in the aquarium in his manor.

Perhaps he could transfer some of them to Gaia while he creates more animals.

Now, for the bee population, he'll have to add a variety of smaller birds as well as some badgers.

Already, he could envision the amount of work he'd have to do just managing one island. What more when he manages the entirety of Gaia?

Fortunately, he didn't have to do that as the Astral Dice was nearly perfected. Looking for outside help really was a good idea.

Now, with Gaia settled for the meantime, the next thing in his to-do list was to attempt in sculpting the land formations in the island.

Adding several mountain ranges, valleys, would do well to add diversity to the island, as well as elevating the land at certain locations while creating dips and cave formations would surely provide something of interest to the future living beings that would make their home here.

From the northeast, a long river rushed from the ocean and coursed in a winding manner across the entire island before exiting towards the south, with smaller rivers splitting off from the main body and distributing water to all locations, not leaving a single place too dry.

Lakes, hot spring, swamps, and streams were created in certain places all over the island, creating wonderful and inviting sceneries to be discovered by future inhabitants.

Of course, taking into account the possible future that may contain wars of nations, he admitted that, having done so much work on the island, he was more biased towards it and the creatures that live in it.

So, with the aim of turning the island into a natural fortress which was easy to protect but difficult to attack, he created a vast mountain range to block the icy north, while, towards the south, were jagged rocks and impenetrable cliffs.

The only passages in and out of the island were towards the east and the west, where magnificent pillars of sandstones lined the sides where the mountains and cliffs ended. Providing high vantage points for easy defense while limiting the number of enemies that can pass through at a single time.

It was a carefully guarded paradise.

Floating above the clouds, he took a good look at the island that he had been using as his experimental base.

Located closer to the Northern Hemisphere, it was roughly as large as Russia and just as chilly during the colder months with a surprisingly pleasant spring and summer.

Instead of always calling it the experimental base, perhaps he should give it a name.

In order to honor his roots and leave him a permanent reminder of where he came from, he decided to give it a fitting name.

Beschutzer. The great protector.

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It was lunch time, and once again, Ymir found himself being dragged to the Quidditch pitch to spy on Harry Potter's seeker training, which, ever since the big reveal on the Hogwarts newspaper, wasn't so secret anymore.

Ymir raised an eyebrow at the bowl of white berries and teardrop shaped red fruits that suddenly appeared with his food, recognizing them as the fruits of the Thorn Berries and Dancing Fruit Grass.

Considering that they appeared on his table, he assumed that Glas had confirmed that they were safe for consumption from the apothecary and decided to serve them to him after the house elf had tested them itself.

Trusting his house elf not to do anything that can harm him, he picked a single berry from the bowl and popped it in his mouth with no hesitation.

One blink.

Two blinks.

It tasted like a slightly minty raspberry. A strange combination, but it somehow works. Quite refreshing, but it's not really something he'd eat often since it made his jaw hurt a little.

Though, seeing as Ayato and Anthony were already stealing from his bowl and eating with intoxicated expressions, perhaps it might be something that some people can enjoy.

The teardrop fruit, on the other hand-

Ymir studied the strangely shaped fruit for a moment before taking a small bite out of it. Instantly, his eyes lit up and he took another, more enthusiastic bite, eyes squinted in pleasure.

It had a texture similar to pudding, and a taste that somehow reminded him of creamy peaches with a milky aftertaste. Ymir couldn't help thinking that it would be nice if this fruit was served with some crushed ice during summer.

Perhaps he should ask Glas to make some for him when the heat waves strike by the next year.

'Chii!' Suddenly, from the sky, came a familiar chirping sound, and immediately, Ymir stiffened, recognizing the only possible origin of that sound.

It's just that... why did it come from the sky?

But, before he can think more about it, the answer came to him readily in the form of an owl made of dark shadows swooping in and stealing several fruits from his bowl and flying away as quickly as it came.

Noir... seems to have gotten a new interest lately?

"Hey, Schreiber?" Anthony looked at him in confusion, brain still a little slow and muddled, but already much more aware of the surroundings than the previous days. "Wasn't that just your cat..?"

The rest of the News club turned to look at Ymir sceptically, especially Blaise, who, until now, still couldn't let go of the first meeting between him and... whatever that thing was.

"Cat?" Ymir responded with an innocent tilt of his head. "I have no cat. Noir is obviously an owl."

"...Right." Blaise gave a small wavering smile. "Anyways, who wants to play Dungeons and Dragons until Potter does something interesting?"

"I'm in." The rest of the News club quickly jumped on the chance to change the topic.

"Sounds good. But, what is Dungeons and Dragons?" Said someone from behind the students, causing them to jump in surprise.

"Who-?!"

"Bloody hell! A ghost?!"

Ymir blinked slowly and turned around, seeing their new History Professor somehow sitting behind them without them noticing when he got there. "Professor Green."

"O-oh! Professor! Good... noon?" Anthony stuttered, peeking out from where he hid behind Padma.

"Not quite sure if the noon is good yet, but it sure is getting interesting." The professor said with a slight smile, causing the students to just stare at him blankly. "So, can anyone tell what this Dungeons and Dragons is?"

"Of course, professor-" Ayato cleared his throat awkwardly. "In simple terms, it is a game where players-"

Ymir narrowed his eyes in suspicion.