Huh. I had leveled up?

  Wait—six levels?!

  Before I could even react, I noticed the rabbitman’s body glowing faintly before slowly dissolving into golden energy.

  “What the hell is that?” Hessien blurted out.

  “Did it turn into a ghost?” Vacinay asked, visibly unsettled.

  One of the guards shook his head and explained, “No. That happens when a skill construct is broken. The energy that formed it is released back into the world—after being absorbed and processed by whoever broke it or was closest when it happened.”

  All eyes turned to me.

  Ghomas narrowed his gaze. “And what happens when someone absorbs it?”

  I leaned in slightly, just as curious.

  The guard replied, “They level up.”

  I paced back and forth across the spacious bedroom. Hessien, Ghomas, and Vacinay sat nearby, watching me in awe—except for Vacinay, who seemed more preoccupied with her injuries. A moment ago, a guard had handed her a healing item.

  She kept her eyes on me as she injected herself with a crimson syringe filled with thick green liquid. Apparently, it was called a healing shot. Instead of drinking potions, they injected healing elixirs directly into their bloodstream.

  Hessien, having already taken his, rolled his shoulder with an impatient scowl.

  “What the hell is taking you so damn long? Just pick a skill already!” he snapped.

  “Relax,” I said, smirking. “I’m setting the stage for my grand reveal.”

  Arms crossed, I turned to the window, watching as the clouds slowly drifted away, unveiling the fractured moon’s glow. The moment the light fully broke through, I grinned.

  The ritual was complete.

  Summoning my legendary card, I scanned through the available options.

  Those three were still the only ones I could unlock.

  There were some insanely interesting ones I really wanted but couldn't get—Time-Loop Traps, age alteration, and concentrated time reversal, to name a few. Especially the last one, since it allowed me to reverse time in a specific area rather than entirely. Essentially, it could turn me into a pseudo-healer. But it cost 40 skill points.

  The best option from what I had available was, without a doubt, time freeze. According to the manual, we could only gain a single skill point per level—yet, I had somehow earned eight. I had no idea why.

  “Hurry up!” Vacinay barked. “That way, when I strangle you to death, it'll be fair.”

  I ignored her. Taking a deep breath, I focused on the time freeze option. My card glowed with a deep white light, and the same glow spread to my fingers as I held it. Moments later, it felt as if a memory had been forcefully implanted into my mind.

  I blinked a few times. The sensation was bizarre—truly unsettling.

  “I did it,” I said. “I can freeze time now.”

  Their eyes widened. Vacinay tensed, then anxiously muttered, “I thought you were going to take future sight…”

  I smiled. “I love to deceive.”

  Then, raising my fist, I declared, “Come fight me!”

  Hessien remained silent, mumbling something under his breath about the ethics of time manipulation.

  Vacinay, despite a slight limp, stood up. “Fine!”

  Brimming with confidence, I spread my arms wide in an exaggerated stance. “Freeze… time—”

  Before I could finish, Vacinay’s fist slammed into my breast. A sharp yelp escaped my lips as I staggered back, clutching my chest. It hurt, but not as much as I had expected.

  That wretch. “What the hell?! Who punches someone in the tits mid-sentence?!”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Vacinay smirked, flexing her fingers. “So much for time freeze.”

  I glared at her. She met my stare, then her eyes widened as she realized what I was about to do. “No—”

  Freeze the goddamn time!

  Her voice cut off mid-protest. Instantly, I got to my feet, cracking my neck as I wound up my shoulder.

  Alright… an elbow strike to the head should—

  My thoughts shattered as her foot nearly grazed me. What the hell?!

  Did it only last two seconds?!

  I couldn’t afford to level it up, either. Damn it!

  With half my EP drained, I activated time freeze again—just in time to stop her fist an inch from my face.

  I had no time to strategize, so I went with the most effective option.

  Swinging my leg forward, my foot closed in on her crotch. The moment time resumed, my strike had already landed.

  Her confidence crumbled along with her posture. She dropped to her knees, gasping in pain.

  “You bitch!” she howled, clutching her cunt.

  Ghomas tilted his head. “Huh… I always wondered if it hurts the same for women as it does for men. It does. Cool know, I guess.”

  I doubted it was quite as bad, but it was clearly painful enough to bring her down.

  Hessien stepped forward, eyeing us both. “Alright, conflict’s over. You got a punch in, she got a kick in.”

  “Mhm. I agree,” I said smugly, watching Vacinay struggle to stand.

  She shot me a glare before sighing. Using Hessien for support, she pulled herself up. “Whatever. I’ll take pleasure in knowing I killed her.”

  Maybe I should’ve kicked harder. Holding back might’ve been a mistake.

  Hessien raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  “What?” she echoed.

  “You said you killed her. What the hell does that mean?” he asked.

  Had he not been paying attention when I made it clear I could rewind time if I died?

  “When I die, I rewind time,” I said.

  “No shot,” he muttered, his expression shifting into one of pure skepticism. He looked at me like I was some delusional child.

  I could feel my temper rising, but I decided to just roll my eyes. “Okay then.”

  Hessien studied me for a moment, then turned to Vacinay and Ghomas.

  “She’s lying, right?” he asked Ghomas.

  “Why are you asking me?”

  Hessien moved on to Vacinay. Before he could even speak, she nodded.

  His gaze flickered between us before, without warning, he picked me up like I was a damn child. “Hell yeah! Now we’re talking! Defending this world is gonna be mega easy!”

  “Put me down, you oaf—before I age-beam you!”

  He held me firm, completely unfazed. “That makes me wonder… Since you can loop through time, do you actually go back, or do you create a new branch in the timeline?”

  I hadn’t thought about that yet. Honestly, I had no idea. “No clue. Maybe we’re actually dead in multiple alternate universes.”

  The thought was terrifying. What if this world was just a copy of the original?

  Hessien frowned. Meanwhile, I was still waiting for this idiot to put me down. I am an adult!

  Also… I was level ten.

  While Hessien was deep in thought, I brought my palm down hard on his head. With a startled yelp, he dropped me. Unfortunately, my landing was far from graceful.

  I hit the ground hard on my back, but the pain was surprisingly mild.

  Hessien rubbed his head. “What the hell was that for?”

  “My bad. Just wanted to test something,” I said, staring at my palm.

  Hehe...

  I shadow-boxed. Despite all the fights I’d gotten into at school, I never actually learned how to fight. To anyone with experience, my punches were absolute garbage.

  However… the sharp, crisp sounds they made as they cut through the air were addictive.

  Ghomas gawked. “What the hell? What kind of trick is that? Your punches are almost too fast to see.”

  A wide grin spread across my face. I planted my hands on my hips and started twirling them in circles like a suggestive male stripper. “Haha… I think I might be the main character.”

  “Your arrogance is showing,” Vacinay muttered.

  “I mean, I have time powers. I single-handedly saved the city from a genocidal creature, and I’m currently the strongest one here physically—despite weighing nearly ninety pounds less than Hessien.” I rambled on, unable to wipe the smirk off my face.

  Vacinay scoffed. “Fate just threw you a tiny advantage, since it’d be unfair for you to compete with someone as talented as me.”

  I gave her a thumbs-up. “Sure, buddy.”

  She growled before flopping back onto the carpet. “Whatever. I’m getting some sleep. You should too.”

  “You plan to kill me—”

  “I have no interest in that. I’d rather see the look on your face when I gain the power to shapeshift into a time dragon or something. Jokes aside, we’re all exhausted.” She cracked one eye open. “Especially you.”

  I folded my arms. She wasn’t wrong—I was utterly drained. But I wanted to stay up all night experimenting with my time freeze. Not only that, but I’d finally hit the required level to use my secondary cards.

  I still didn’t know the risks or hidden conditions tied to them.

  Hessien mulled over something before speaking. “You know, I wonder what my passive skill is. It’s not listed anywhere on my originator skill card.”

  Oh, right. I had no idea how I’d gotten my passive skill either.

  He turned to me. “Did you get your rewind ability when you died?”

  “I think so. It just... randomly activates.”

  Ghomas, still staring at his card, spoke up. “Maybe it needs a condition to unlock? Like, her condition was dying. So…”

  Oh! That made sense—

  Ghomas finished his sentence. “We just have to die.”

  What.

  He was already twisting a bedsheet into a makeshift rope.

  “No!” I shouted. “I don’t think that’s it. It’s probably tied to the theme of our skill. I think I got my passive for a deeper reason. Sure, it protects me from death, but it also fits the concept of time. ‘If I could go back and do this differently, I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.’”

  Ghomas sighed, almost disappointed.

  Vacinay's eyes were closed when she muttered, “So it’s probably a defense mechanism. After all, it’s passive. I assume it triggers when we’re close to death.”

  I glanced at Hessien before responding. “No. There has to be another condition.”

  Or… maybe he had already obtained a passive skill in one of the loops? If my rewind had prevented his near-death moments, we would’ve never known.

  Everyone fell into deep thought. I shrugged. “Actually, never mind. That’s probably the case. But I think it’s too risky to experiment with.”

  Vacinay hummed. “Hm, you know—”

  I cut her off before she could finish. I already knew what was about to leave her mouth.

  “I am not dying for your damn experiments.” I didn’t like the pain, but more importantly, I wasn’t completely sure if my ability had hidden side effects.

  I wanted to believe there weren’t any. But I had this nagging feeling that the world always had some sort of ‘balance.’ A dumb philosophy, maybe. But it made sense to me.

  The fastest person in the world would never be the strongest. Why? Limited time and focus. Sprinters needed to be lean; strongmen didn’t. I supposed my philosophy wasn’t about the world itself but about people.

  To put it simply, I didn’t want to overuse my power. Not until I figured out what the real drawback was. Energy consumption alone didn’t seem like a high enough cost. There had to be something more.

  I sighed. Oh well. Hopefully, it wasn’t anything too insane. If it was just creating alternate timelines, I could live with that.

  Taking a deep breath, I climbed onto the bed and lay down. “We’ll find out one way or another. Like Vacinay said, let’s get some sleep.”

  Hessien groaned. “You really want to sleep in the same house as that toilet monster…?”

  I nodded and gave a thumbs-up. “Yup. Just ignore it.”

  He stared at me, deadpan. Then, with a sudden grin that completely contradicted his usual demeanor, he said, “Okay. I’ll do exactly that.”

  … I had a very bad feeling about this.