Night took over fully. Through the slim window, just black sky plus far-off twinkling lights could be seen.
Robin was flat on the floor, crashed there after his last push-up. His arms were heavy, useless. Breathing hard, his ribs rose with every gasp.
Yet he finished six. That's three ahead of what he'd done earlier.
Progress.
He flipped over, eyes fixed on the dark ceiling. It was chilly inside, no warmth from a hearth. That blamed kid? Not worth tossing wood into the stove.
Robin thought about the system. Back then, right after he'd died....no, when Justin died in that crack between worlds. That cold voice spoke up, flashing a pale screen. It yanked him decades backward. Threw his awareness into this weak kid's body, failing and frail.
What are you?
He'd come across magic more than once, lots of times, actually. Some mages flattened entire buildings. Others poured spells right into metal, locking power there. Then there was the Void stuff, rotting people's minds until they weren't human anymore.
This time it seemed off, sharper somehow, almost clinical.
The system picked up on what he was thinking. Words showed up right in front of his eyes, bright blue in the blackness like they were floating there
[CHRONO DOMINION SYSTEM - STATUS INTERFACE]
[EXPLANATION NEEDED. SHOWING MAIN TOOLS...]
Text kept moving by:
[SYSTEM PURPOSE: GRANT HOST TEMPORAL MASTERY AND PROGRESSIVE POWER ACQUISITION]
[CURRENT RESTRICTIONS: POWER LOCKED UNTIL HOST ACHIEVES MINIMUM VIABILITY]
Beat foes. Then take their energy to get tougher
Robin sat up slow. But his arms wobbled from the strain.
"Show me everything," he whispered.
The display grew wider. Then, a complete overview popped up
[NAME: ROBIN STARK]
[AGE: 10]
[LEVEL: 1]
[EXP: 0/100]
[TITLES: NONE]
[STATS:]
STR: 2 + 0.3
AGI: 3
END: 1
DEX: 4
INT: ???
WIS: ???
[MANA: 12/100 ]
[SKILLS:]
The skills part stretched out more. He shifted ahead, though his body screamed to stop.
[ACTIVE SKILLS:]
NONE AVAILABLE
[PASSIVE SKILLS:]
- COMBAT SENSE (INHERITED FROM PREVIOUS HOST)]
- TACTICAL ANALYSIS (INHERITED FROM PREVIOUS HOST)]
- WEAPON FAMILIARITY (LOCKED - REQUIRES WEAPON)]
[SSS-RANK SKILLS (CHRONO DOMINION):]
- TIME ECHO (LOCKED)]
- VOID STEP (LOCKED)]
- CHRONO OVERDRIVE (LOCKED)]
[UNLOCK RULES: DIFFERS PER ABILITY. NEED AT LEAST LEVEL 5 TO ACCESS.]
Robin squinted at the sealed abilities, SSS-class. Top level. Stuff that wasn't supposed to be real.
Time Echo. That name felt like hitting reverse like stepping backward instead.
Void Step. Moving? Or maybe jumping across space?
Chrono Overdrive. Felt like an extra burst of speed. Short-term upgrade, maybe. Or something similar.
All shut tight. Each needing him to get tougher before moving on.
"How do I level up?" Robin asked the darkness.
[EXPERIENCE GAINED THROUGH:]
- DEFEATING ENEMIES (+VARIABLE EXP BASED ON RANK)
- COMPLETING QUESTS (+VARIABLE EXP)
- ABSORBING LIFE FORCE FROM SLAIN FOES (+BONUS EXP)
- ACHIEVING MILESTONES (+MAJOR EXP)
Robin's teeth tightened. Naturally. It was pushing him to battle. To take a life.
He managed just a few push-ups. So how'd he expect to beat anything?
[CURRENT DAILY QUESTS AVAILABLE:]
[BASIC CONDITIONING I]
- COMPLETE 10 PUSH-UPS (6/10)
- WALK 1000 STEPS (247/1000)
- HOLD PLANK POSITION FOR 60 SECONDS (0/60)
REWARDS: +1 STR, +1 END, +10 EXP
[MANA CIRCULATION I]
- MEDITATE FOR 30 MINUTES (0/30)
- CIRCULATE MANA THROUGH CHANNELS 10 TIMES (0/10)
REWARDS: +5 MAX MANA, +10 EXP
Daily tasks. Tiny prizes. Slow progress - yet steady gains.
That could go on endlessly.
Robin's fingers curled tight. Back then, he'd had power, sure moves, sharp instincts. Not anymore. This weak shell struggled just to move, yet some voice demanded push-ups in exchange for tiny gains.
Still, there was a way out. Just one option available. Follow it or end up dead here, just like the first Robin ever did.
He stared at the sealed SSS skills once more, time control here, teleporting there, strength boost tucked beside them.
If those abilities worked like they sounded… maybe he could crack them open somehow….
Robin couldn't be stopped.
Worth every second you waited - worth pushing through the slow climb.
"Show me the locked skills," he commanded. "Details."
The interface shifted:
[TIME ECHO - SSS RANK]
STATUS: LOCKED
UNLOCK REQUIREMENT: LEVEL 5 + NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE
Go back three seconds, keep everything you saw, heard, felt. Use it to dodge attacks before they land. Works every time because your mind remembers what happened. React faster than anyone expects. No guesswork needed when you've already lived it.
COST: 50 MANA PER USE
COOLDOWN: 60 SECONDS
Robin froze. Go back just three seconds. Didn't seem like a lot. In a fight, though? That's forever.
Three seconds, that's all stood between a knife at your neck or blocking it clean. One moment could've gone either way, life slipping away or walking out on top.
He'd seen plenty of fights, so he knew it all came down to quick moves. Split-second choices made the difference. If only he could relive those seconds - knowing every move the enemy would make….
Unbeatable.
The next ability showed up:
[VOID STEP - SSS RANK]
STATUS: LOCKED
UNLOCK REQUIREMENT: LEVEL 20 + ABSORB VOID ESSENCE
Description: Vanish from real world for half a second, turn invisible, can't get hit. While phased out, you're free to shift around.
COST: 75 MANA PER USE
COOLDOWN: 30 SECONDS
Half a moment no damage possible. Just completely out of reach.
Robin pictured this, his foe's blade slicing air, missing him by inches. Then he'd pop up right behind, ready to strike back.
Assassination made easy.
The next ability showed up:
[CHRONO OVERDRIVE - SSS RANK]
STATUS: LOCKED
UNLOCK REQUIREMENT: LEVEL 30 + EXTREME DURESS
Description: Speed up your personal time. Gives a big boost - five times stronger - to all body stats for ten seconds.
COST: 100 MANA + SEVERE BACKLASH
COOLDOWN: 24 HOURS
WARNING: EXTENDED USE MAY CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE
Five times stronger. His power, his pace, his stamina each one upped way beyond before.
He'd feel unstoppable - just for ten seconds. Like a king in a world full of regular folks.
The pushback alarm felt heavy, yet Robin'd pushed past hurt earlier. Maybe he can pull it off once more.
Level 30 - he pictured it. That's where he aimed. Hit that mark, then grab every skill waiting there.
Robin opened his experience bar once more
[LEVEL 1: 0 /100 XP]
A hundred points needed for level two. Daily missions handed out twenty altogether. Took five full days of farming to rank up a single time.
Do the daily tasks, they'll help you get stronger. If you're feeling up to it, look for fights now and then
The system's suggestion made sense and annoying, yet logical.
He couldn't handle any kind of struggle like this. Just walking to meet the Duke almost finished him off. So he'd have to get tougher before trying again.
Robin got up slowly, leaning on the mattress. His legs stayed steady, just about.
Four extra push-ups left to finish his daily challenge after that, a short walk ahead. He'd have to cover seven hundred steps somehow. Once done, one solid minute holding the plank position.
All for twenty XP - also two stat boosts.
Begin with whatever's already there, a whisper from Justin echoed in his head.
Robin hit the ground once more. Then he shifted into place. His arms cried out from the strain.
[7/10]
The push-up looked rough. Halfway down, his posture gave out yet he still finished it.
[8/10]
His arms trembled hard no way to steady them. That moment had arrived. He'd hit the edge.
No. Robin clenched his jaw. Boundaries aren't real just thoughts. Hurt tells you something. Keep going anyway.
[9/10]
He lay flat on the ground, limbs gone limp. His torso crushed into icy rock.
One more.
Just one.
Robin pictured the Duke's expression, so indifferent. He'd brushed by without a glance, acting as if Robin were invisible.
He remembered Dermot's blade pressed against him. The Duke says hello
He pictured himself passing away inside a dark crack left behind, totally isolated.
He swung his arms. Just about. Yet somehow.
[10/10]
[QUEST COMPLETE: BASIC CONDITIONING I (1/3)]
[REWARD: +1 STR]
Heat crept into his arms. Just a little - hardly there. Yet his muscles didn't feel quite so numb. A bit more ready.
Robin stayed put, breathing hard, yet grinning like a kid.
[UPDATED STATS:]
STR: 3.3
Here's a single idea. Between two or three things.
Fifty percent increase.
Robin got up. His legs wobbled, though not as much as earlier. Moving toward the wall, he reached out. Contact came slowly. Holding on seemed a bit easier now.
This is true. But it actually runs.
Seven hundred more to climb. After that, the wooden board. Following it, moving energy through your body.
Next day, he'd repeat the same thing.
And again.
And again.
He couldn't battle till he got stronger. Only then could he take a life. That's how you move ahead.
He didn't figure it out until he gained abilities strong enough to change how things really work.
Robin began to move. As he paced, he wandered around his tiny space. Step by step filled the silence while numbers ran through his head.
The Duke believed he was gone by now - figured the damned boy'd slip off without a sound.
Step by step, he kept telling himself. Move on ahead, don't stop near me. Skip right by like I'm nothing.
[347/1000 STEPS]
Becoming real, just wait, someday I'll step right into where you sit in power.
[448/1000 STEPS]
And you'll remember.
[550/1000 STEPS]
You'll recall when I was made.
The darkness grew thicker. Still, Robin moved ahead, his shaky limbs dragging him through loop after loop.
Getting stronger with each move forward.