A week has already passed.
Time sure flies, but I felt a bit uneasy about myself not changing at all. Of course, I hadn’t just been loafing around. I went to the training ground every single day without fail.
I also tried to make friends with the people around me. Although the results weren’t that great. Their stares felt like I was being viewed as a bug, and it really hurt my heart. I couldn’t help it.
In a way, this was self-inflicted. According to the diary of the Time Stop Breeding Uncle, he easily stole food and supplies from people using his Time Stop.
From people’s perspective, I appeared as a suspicious individual who didn’t do anything but always had an abundance of food, so it was only natural to receive unfriendly glances.
“Besides, the Time Stop Ability isn’t completely invincible.”
It wasn’t that the Time Stop Ability was weak. In fact, the more I used it, the more I realized how ridiculously overpowered it was. However, it wasn’t without weaknesses.
The biggest weakness was the cooldown. While I could surprisingly choose the duration at will, the cooldown lasts twice as long as the stopped time. In other words, I couldn’t just spam it recklessly.
It probably didn’t matter in the original story. He showed up only after all the enemies were dead. Even when time was stopped, the opponents couldn’t even react. Why would one need to worry about cooldowns?
But now, the situation is different.
If the opponent is an ordinary human, it might be fine, but with regeneration, there are plenty of cases where someone doesn’t die even after getting their head chopped off. Of course, that doesn’t mean the value of the Time Stop Ability decreases.
Just having the ability to fight in a very advantageous situation makes the value of the Time Stop Ability more than enough. But if I can’t finish off the opponent, I’ll end up losing.
In other words, I shouldn’t just rely on the cheating ability of Time Stop and mess around. Actually, many characters in other novels or comics have met their ends by being overly reliant on their overpowered abilities.
Huff, Huff.
And the second weakness was the extreme physical drain. To put it simply, it was similar to running a marathon. Continuous stamina consumption leads to tiredness, making me collapse and release the Time Stop.
In other words, if I could just endure physically, I could maintain the Time Stop as long as I wanted. It also means individual skill is crucial. Without stamina, I can’t maintain it.
Also, no matter how much time I stop, if I can’t kill the enemy, I’ll end up dead. Of course, if I intentionally run away, I would never die. But things don’t always go as planned.
“Aren’t you the uncle!? Uncle!”
“Whoa! When did you get here?”
“I just got here!”
The training ground set up in the refugee camp was open for everyone. And that included little kids too. Thanks to that, the little red-haired kid I met before was visiting me almost daily.
The more I saw, the more I felt like I’d seen them somewhere before. But I couldn’t remember where. I clicked my tongue and looked at the kid. They were smiling brightly for some reason.
“Why do you keep coming here?”
“Just! I’m curious about what the uncle is doing!”
“This uncle is always working hard on his workout.”
“Why? To lose weight?”
“………Yeah.”
I got hit with reality from an unexpected direction. Do I really look like a pig to the kid? Suddenly, I felt really down. But I had to admit the truth. At this moment, I was indeed a pig.
In fact, being able to gain weight in this situation is incredible. After all, the Time Stop Breeding Uncle always gets food easily. Not working out and just playing all day long…
That’s how I ended up being a pig. And now I had to bear all the blame. Thinking about it made me feel unfair. So I decided to stop thinking.
“I think you’ve lost weight since I first saw you!”
“Really?”
“No!”
What the heck?
How dare this little brat mock an adult! I charged forward to give them a playful smack, and the kid squealed with laughter while running away. They seemed to have a lot of pent-up stress.
I let out a smirk. Yeah, kids should laugh and enjoy themselves. But just then, someone blocked my way. I looked up and saw a young man wearing brown leather armor.
He looked like he was in his early twenties? He had neat skin and blue hair. But what mattered was his gear.
Brown leather armor with a cheap shortsword. It looked like nothing, but it was actually issued to the village guards. So in short, I was facing a cop.
Gyaaah!
Calm down, stay composed. Even if you get bitten by a tiger, as long as you keep your wits, you’ll survive. I hadn’t done anything wrong. But the guards appeared. Why?
First, let’s think about why. What was I doing just now? I was playing with the little kid. The kid ran away, and I was chasing after them… Damn it, I had just unknowingly accepted the situation. What now?
“Are you trying to molest kids now, Hans?”
“I would never do that!”
“Yeah? How do you explain what happened just now?”
The smirk on his face was full of mockery. At first, I thought I seemed suspicious, but it was apparent he felt malice. I scoffed and said, “What you see depends on where you’re standing. That’s how it is. ”
“What?!”
“Why? Didn’t I speak the truth?”
“You brat!! You can’t even look into my eyes on a normal day!”
“…….”
Looks like this guy knew the Time Stop Breeding Uncle. He called him by name earlier. No wonder he approached me so casually; there must have been some secret there.
But with the powers the Time Stop Breeding Uncle has, did he really keep his head down? Or maybe that’s moral of him. At least he recognized the fact that he’s trash.
I glanced around. People drawn by the commotion were whispering among themselves, all casting unfriendly looks my way. Naturally, all directed at me. This isn’t good.
Setting aside the circumstances of my reincarnation, objectively I was at a serious disadvantage. After all, I was nothing but a burden to the village, while this guy was a guard.
“What’s up? Where did that bravado go?”
“…….”
The momentum shifted. As he realized that, his expression brightened again. It wasn’t wise to keep fighting here. In the worst-case scenario, I could get kicked out of the village. That would be troublesome.
Of course, I have the Time Stop Ability, but it’s one thing to safely grow my skills in this refugee camp and another to do so outside where it’s dangerous. Even a fool could tell which was better.
“Looks like you finally grasped your place, Hans.”
“…….”
“Here’s your last chance. Apologize, and I’ll let you off easily.”
“Uh…”
So if I apologize, will he let me go? If that’s the case, I had nothing to lose. A single apology could clear this mess. I could always repay this humiliation later.
“U- Uncle! Please stop bullying him!!!”
“???”
If the little kid hadn’t jumped in, I would have definitely lost it. I was stunned. Out of nowhere, the red-haired kid had wedged in between me and the young man to protect me.
“This is an adult issue! Kids shouldn’t interfere!”
“But the uncle is a good person! He gave me food that wasn’t spoiled!”
“Wh- why is that coming up here?!”
Seemingly flustered, the kid shouted with a red face, on the verge of tears, and it looked like he was just spewing out random words. But because of that, I realized one fact.
“Was that rotten food you gave me… from you?”
“You gave rotten food to a kid?!”
“No way, a guard wouldn’t do that…”
The atmosphere shifted again. With the innocent child’s statement, everyone’s gaze now focused on him. I thought something was off. Even if he was a guard, who gives rotten food like that?
“Wait a minute; were we fighting over that?”
“Giving rotten food was a problem, alright?”
“Unless you seriously protest against this…”
Thanks to that, I now had a reason to stand tall. People mistook our fight for a disagreement over this issue. As the situation turned unfavorable for him, his expression rapidly morphed into one of rage.
“You little brat!!!”
“Ahh?!”
In the end, he couldn’t hold back his anger and swung his fist. My reaction was far too late. Even if he was a guard, that punch was incredibly fast. If I didn’t react, the kid could really end up hurt.
But just before his fist could hit, all colors in the surroundings vanished. In that gray world, only I could move. I quickly grabbed the back of the kid’s neck.
Then, as I pulled him back, I extended my palm to block the guard’s punch. In an instant, time resumed. Kwaaang!! An enormous sound echoed. I frowned and said,
“That’s not something you should do to a kid.”
“What the hell…!!”
“Where did you learn to say that?”
The kid I was holding by the nape looked up at me with sparkling eyes. But in truth, it wasn’t that cool. His punch was so fast that my response was delayed. Plus, I was overwhelmed by his strength.
If it weren’t for the Time Stop, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop it. Thankfully, other guards came and arrested the young man. I finally felt some relief. At the same time, I realized I couldn’t stay put.
“I need to become stronger than now.”
To find a way back to my original world, I would need strength, whether I liked it or not. I hadn’t actively used my abilities until now for safety, but at this rate, I didn’t know when I’d grow stronger.
Starting today, I shall train using the Time Stop.
I might be in danger because of the cooldown, but…
If I just stay here, nothing will change.
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