Our day started just like any other. We woke up, went fishing, and caught 100 fish before returning to the guild. Though it wasn't a particularly full day, we were still tired.

  Constantine was about to head home when I stopped him.

  "Constantine," I called out, waving at him, "can you come with me to the workshop? I have a surprise for you!"

  The workshop I had found was on discount, and I was eager to share this opportunity with him.

  " The workshop is about sales," I told him, "You said we should go to such a workshop."

  I took his hand and continued, "Honestly, I think we could benefit from this."

  The workshop taught me valuable lessons that day. It showed me that if I lost someone's trust, I might spend years trying to regain it but never succeed.

  It taught me that walking away isn't always the best option. Most importantly, it revealed the value of a time room.

  I couldn't typically afford time rooms, but in this workshop, time seemed to stand still.

  The outside world appeared frozen. Students received lectures after lecture—knowledge that would have taken years to absorb, compressed into a single moment through the magic of the time room.

  As we were preparing to leave the workshop, I approached the teacher, an elegantly dressed older lady who seemed to make teaching in the sales department her passion.

  Despite my nervousness, I mustered the courage to speak with her.

  "My lady," I said, sure she was at least a merchant princess, "how does one gain a time room?"

  The senior lady looked at me with a curious expression. Her response was cryptic: "How does one capture time?"

  I blinked, annoyed. Surely, if someone possessed such a powerful tool, they would want to profit from it, creating and selling time rooms at the highest price!

  I could already think up several potential uses for these rooms.

  When the merchant teacher didn't seem eager to elaborate, I decided not to press further. But then she spoke again, patting my shoulder with a question I hadn’t considered: "Do you honestly believe the king would allow these rooms?"

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  It was a strange question, but I was sure she wouldn't ask unless she believed I could be trusted. I pondered her words, wondering if she was seeking some hidden benefit from educating her subjects in such a mysterious manner.

  "I'm sorry," she said, looking at me with a maternal gaze, "You can go to a hundred workshops and keep buying time stopper items, but if you aren't careful, you will never truly age."

  I was confused.

  Never age?

  I had never heard of time rooms stopping the aging process. She clapped me on the shoulders and turned me around, offering a cryptic warning: "Do not chase time, or time will chase you."

  As she began packing her things, she added, "If you'd like, I can give you the key to this room. It’ll show you how pointless it is to squeeze in more time than you are allowed."

  She removed a keychain from around her neck and handed it to me. "Understand," she said softly, seemingly apologetic for putting me in this position. "You can have as much time as you want here. The outside world will not notice."

  Then she asked: "But if we could all stop time, then what? Think about it, my child. Spend time here and read from the library, but please remember to rejoin the world of the living. The world of the dead–or the time runes, as they are known-is not for you."

  She walked away with the grace of a gazelle, her movements suggesting she had spent considerable time in these time rooms and was now seeking a way out.

  Constantine approached me.

  I was uncertain what to tell him about what had just occurred. "We got permission to train here?" I mused, to which Constantine nodded.

  "Train. You know, cultivation," he began. He looked at me for a while before saying, "Mana is key in some cultures. The key is what makes the world go round. The more you cultivate in a field, the more points you get, and the better you become."

  This might sound like Eastern philosophy, but Constantine continued explaining: "You must pick something to cultivate. You are very good with the bow. Would you cultivate if you had the chance?"

  “That sounds nice, yes,” I said, only for him to shake his head.

  “If you become a battle cultivator, don’t you think you will miss out on all the peaceful dungeons? There is the Dungeon of Health. The Dungeon of Training, which not only wants you to train in it, but also feeds you healthy food while doing so.”

  "A dungeon where I could train and eat for free?" I blinked, intrigued.

  “It won’t be for free,” Constantine said, his lips tugging up. If you agree to train in the dungeon, you will be made to protect it.

  He paused.

  "Have you ever heard about adventurers who have grown to a ripe old age and successfully retired?"

  "No," I admitted, which was the truth. I had never heard of such a thing.

  “If we cultivate negotiation and healing, we will be able to move from dungeon to dungeon! Make a merchant route!” Constantine’s eyes were blazing! His butterfly wings were fluttering behind him.

  It was the first time I saw him this happy.

  “We wouldn’t need to kill anything!” He said, grabbing my hand. “Never stain our hands with blood!”

  I was young back then. No older than eighteen. Never did I feel anything for anyone during my entire life.

  But as I saw the hope in his eyes, the way his smile lit up his face. Brought out the twinkle in his eyes…

  I knew that I would follow him to hell and back.

  “If that is your wish,” I whispered, letting him pull me into a hug. “Then that is my wish.”

  The books on sales and negotiating were still here, in the room.

  But the teacher’s warning came back to me. If I hoarded time, then what would happen to the rest of the world?