Chapter 2: The One Who Moved
"Did... did you see that?"
Taesik stumbled back, blinking hard. One of the statues lay crumbled against the wall, a clean cut split through its chestplate.
"No way," Yura muttered. Her staff trembled in her hands. "That was Jin. Jin moved faster than the thing could swing."
Everyone turned to look at him.
Jin didn't speak. He couldn't. His mind was racing too fast—calculating movement, timing, angle. He could feel time like it was part of his own body now.
"Jin?" Hyun's voice cut through the haze. "What the hell was that?"
"I… I don't know," Jin said slowly. He looked down at his hands again. No shaking. Just silence. Clarity.
One of the remaining statues stepped forward. The ground trembled with each stride.
Another screen flashed.
> [Quest: Survive the Trial of Time.]
[Objective: Defeat 3 Statues of the Ancients.]
[Time Remaining: 03:12]
Three minutes?
"More are coming!" Yura shouted. She raised a shield spell around herself and Taesik.
Jin exhaled. "I've got it."
"What? Are you insane?! You'll die!"
"No," Jin said calmly. "I won't."
Time bent again.
His body blurred. He moved before the statue could even lift its weapon. One second he was ten feet away—then he was beneath it, slashing upward with the dagger that had never touched blood until now.
Crack.
The stone chest shattered.
Another statue crumbled.
> [Time Points +1]
[Skill Progress: Time Slow Lv.1 – 46%]
"Holy…" Taesik's jaw dropped.
"Since when could you fight like that?" Hyun asked, stepping back. Suspicion now crept into his voice. "Are you hiding your rank?"
Jin glanced at him. "I'm not even registered past E-Rank. You know that."
"Exactly," Hyun said. "So what the hell is this?"
Jin didn't answer. There wasn't time.
The last statue lunged. This one was faster—its movements more fluid.
Jin's eyes narrowed. Time crawled again.
But something was off.
His breath caught in his throat. His muscles ached. Slower than before.
> [Warning: Overuse of Time Slow will cause system fatigue.]
"Tch."
He shifted his footing, ducked under the sword swing, and drove his dagger into the statue's back with all his strength.
Crack. Boom.
It collapsed.
> [Quest Complete.]
[Reward: 3 Time Points, Stat Boost Unlocked.]
A pulse of energy surged through his veins. Strength. Awareness. Something deep inside his body clicked—like a clock resetting.
The glowing words in the air began to flicker.
Then fade.
And the sealed door slowly creaked open.
Everyone stood in stunned silence.
"Well…" Taesik coughed. "I guess… that's it?"
Yura dropped her staff and sat down hard. "I thought we were going to die in there."
Hyun kept staring at Jin. "You should explain what that was."
"I don't know what it is yet," Jin said honestly. "But it's mine."
Hyun didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue. Not now.
The team slowly made their way out of the hidden room and back into the regular dungeon path. Most of the monsters had scattered or gone dormant.
It felt like the place knew something had changed.
Taesik walked next to Jin near the back. For once, he didn't have that smug look on his face.
"Hey," he said. "That thing you did… the speed, the reflexes. That was real, right?"
"Yeah."
"You sure you're not some hidden S-Rank with memory loss or something?"
Jin gave a half-smile. "I'd trade all this for a decent night's sleep and a fridge that's not empty."
Taesik laughed. "Alright. Fair."
Yura slowed her pace to walk with them. "Thanks, by the way. You saved us."
Jin shrugged. "I just didn't want to die."
"I don't think you're the same Jin from this morning," she said.
He didn't reply.
They reached the exit portal and stepped through, the world around them warping once more before spitting them back into the cold night outside the gate.
Hyun walked over to the Hunter Association rep waiting nearby and began debriefing. Jin stood off to the side, eyes scanning the sky.
Everything looked the same.
But he wasn't.
Another screen blinked to life in front of him—visible only to him.
> [Welcome to the Chrono System.]
[Your journey has begun.]
[Daily Quest Unlocked: Strengthen Your Vessel.]
[Failure Penalty: Minor Chrono Decay.]
"Great," he muttered. "Daily quests. What is this, a game?"
But something inside him smiled.
For the first time, he wasn't powerless.
And the ticking of his new life had just begun.
---
End of Chapter 2