Volume 2 - CH 6

A smile of hope floods Cyclo’s face as he realizes that his own internal clock has stopped.

“…… I see. The internal clock is within the effected area of the skill. If that’s the case, then maybe–“

Muttering this, Cyclo turns his own “internal clock” back on with “Clock manipulation”.

Immediately, the languid sensation that had enveloped Cyclo’s body and the decline in his physical strength dissipated.

The lack of energy caused by not eating – in other words, the phenomenon caused by the “advance” of the “internal clock” – was restored to its original state by the “Clock Manipulation”.

(T/N: Just like in music players, he played the music that he had stopped.)

“I knew it. Then, if I use [Clock Stop] in this state ……!”

Cyclo once again uses “Clock Stop” on his own body’s “Internal Clock”.

This fixes Cyclo’s physical condition at the time when he was in the best nutritional condition.

In other words – death from hunger or starvation is no longer possible.

“–Ha-ha-ha-ha! This is good! This way, I can keep staring at that monster as long as I want!”

Cyclo laughs out loud at the sheer magnitude of the hope he sees.

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The human-faced monster naturally noticed this sign, but did not act, partly because Cyclo’s position was deep inside.

Whether or not it noticed the monster, Cyclo soon realized that he had been overexcited, and he lowered his voice.

“…… There’s plenty of water I can get from here. I don’t have to eat, thanks to my skill. If that’s the case — maybe I can really go back to aboveground.”

Muttering these words, Cyclo began an endurance contest with the human-faced monster once again.

And then – another day passed after Cyclo noticed the “internal clock”.

Now that he was calm and had time to think, he was able to think fully.

Why was only the “internal clock” the target of the “Clock User” in the first place?

As soon as he got the skill, he tried it on the hourglass, the water clock, and the sundial. Sand continues to fall even when stopped and water continues to flow. The shade also does not move back toward the past.

After using the skill on various clocks, Cyclo determined that his ability was only effective on “mechanical clocks”.

If it is mechanical, it doesn’t matter if the power source is magic or a spring.

However, clocks that did not contain a mechanical structure–those powered solely by magic were not eligible.

From that time on, Cyclo believed that his ability was effective only for “mechanical watches,” and it was clear from his early experiments that this was the case.

But – what if that is not true?

One possibility is that there are two clocks that Cyclo can handle: the “mechanical clock” and the “internal clock”.

However, Cyclo found this odd.

It is not strange that he can use a mechanical watch. However, it is unnatural that it can be used on the “internal clock” instead of a common clock such as an hourglass, which can be used in conjunction with a clock.

Cyclo, who had become calm, thought about it. He thought that the “internal clock” was still too unnatural.

Therefore, he thought of another possibility.

It is possible that the range of skills that can be handled by “Clock User” is wider than before.

It is said that the more a skill is used, the more effective it becomes.

In fact, Cyclo’s “Clock User” skill was also becoming more effective.

The time and effort required to manipulate, generate, and stop the clocks became less and less, and now the skill can be exercised with just a light reminder.

The range and accuracy of clock sensing has also increased, and the amount of storage in the clock storage has clearly increased.

So – Cyclo thought that the growth of his skills was manifested in such a way.

But what if that was just an assumption?

What if — what if the growth in skills was happening in a larger sense?

Cyclo realized such a possibility, and decided to conduct an experiment since he was bored while continuing the endurance contest with the human-faced monster.

And …… the results.

“…… Impossible. Is this real?”

Cyclo can’t believe his eyes.

After all, in front of Cyclo’s eyes – an hourglass that has stopped falling. A water clock that never flows. A sundial-like structure with a small pillar and a light source.

These are certainly generated by using the “Clock User” skills.