Chapter 9: 1st Floor Hidden (Part 2)

Mental concentration is possible even while time is frozen.

Willpower recovers even while time is frozen.

The conclusion: I can use skills with almost no restrictions!

For Magic-type skills, the casting time effectively disappears because I can just freeze time and concentrate. I’ll never run out of willpower either. If I hit zero, I can just stop time and wait for it to recover.

The only remaining constraint is the skill cooldown.

‘Wait, could it be the cooldown too?’

No, that’s probably not it. Cooldowns should only tick down when actual time is flowing in reality. Still, just in case, I decided to check. I waited for exactly 100 minutes while time was stopped.

[Willpower: 100/100]

After filling my willpower to the max, I unfroze time and looked around. Since I’d already taken down the Knight Goblin, it was time for the Crossbow Goblin to appear.

“…?”

What was that? A small rock in the corner of the cavern rattled. Then, a Crossbow Goblin crawled out from a passage that had been hidden behind it. I’d wondered where they were popping out from last time; so that was the trick.

I made eye contact with the Crossbow Goblin. As it frantically tried to aim its crossbow, I froze time.

Alright, here’s a gift for you.

The moment I finished concentrating and unfroze time, I fired a Fireball. With a loud explosion, the Crossbow Goblin was blown to bits.

[Flame Strike (0:27)]

The message appeared as soon as I thought about checking the skill cool. I immediately froze time again.

[Flame Strike (0:27)]

The number didn’t move. As expected, even this power doesn’t reduce cooldowns. Honestly, it would be broken if it did. Then again, being able to ignore concentration and willpower costs is already broken enough.

I take back what I said about Magic being trash. For me, Magic skills are a perfect fit. No, “perfect” doesn’t even cover it; it’s an insane synergy. The biggest downsides of Magic—long concentration times and heavy willpower consumption—have been completely erased.

In gaming terms, it’s like having infinite mana and instant-cast spells. Since Flame Strike has a 30-second cooldown, I can spam a spell of this caliber every 30 seconds without limit.

‘Though my mind might get a little tired.’

I cleared my thoughts. But come to think of it, the clear message hasn’t appeared yet. I didn’t come back here for Magic Stones; I came to find the hidden route. Since it hasn’t ended yet, there must be something more.

The message popped up the moment I thought about leaving. Good, I can leave whenever I want. Let’s look around a bit more first.

The boss room was a sealed cavern. Going back the way I came would just lead to the starting area. There didn’t seem to be any other space…

“…”

My eyes fell on the tunnel the Crossbow Goblin had crawled out of. Could it be that?

I approached it. My skill had blasted the area, leaving the entrance more exposed. I lay flat on my stomach and poked my head inside to investigate. A tunnel led further down, resembling a rabbit hole.

Is it an underground passage? After a moment’s hesitation, I decided to go in. My gut told me this was it. It shouldn’t be too dangerous, since I could escape at any time.

“Hup.”

I squeezed my body into the hole. It was just wide enough for one person. I crawled down the gentle slope. It was pitch black ahead. With nothing to see, my ears became hyper-focused. I was a bit nervous. I hoped an arrow wouldn’t come flying into my face.

‘Maybe I should have gone down feet first.’

Fortunately, the tunnel ended quickly. A wide, bright space appeared ahead. I crawled out and stood up, only to flinch in surprise.

It was a cavern with holes riddled throughout the walls, much like the one I had just crawled through. And in the center of the cavern, someone was sitting.

For a second, I thought it was a Goblin, but it was a human. A human… in here?

I tensed up. The person didn’t budge.

“…Excuse me?” I called out cautiously.

There was no reaction. I moved closer to get a better look. The figure wore robe-like clothes reminiscent of a wizard. When I caught a glimpse of the face under the hood, I winced. The skin was grotesque, looking as though it had rotted and melted away.

The old man with the melted face sat in a meditative posture with his eyes closed. I watched him quietly. What… am I supposed to do? Since it wasn’t a Goblin, I didn’t know how to proceed.

‘Do I have to wait until he opens his eyes?’

Could this old man be an enemy? Moving any closer felt risky.

Right then, the old man opened his eyes. His gaze turned toward me, and a voice like scraping metal rang out.

“I thought it was noisy outside… Child, for what purpose have you come here?”

I was at a loss for words. Purpose? I didn’t really know myself…

“You don’t look like the Imperial Army. An adventurer? You’ve hurried your own death. Since you’re a rat who crawled in here anyway, I might as well use you as a test subject.”

“What?”

Test subject? I didn’t understand a word he was saying, but one thing was clear: my life was in danger.

The moment I identified him as an enemy, I backed away and cast my skill. I froze time, concentrated, and hurled a fireball at him.

KABOOM!

Crimson flames engulfed the old man. Did I get him?

As the smoke cleared, his figure emerged. To my surprise, he was perfectly fine. A translucent film was stretched around him. What was that? A barrier?

“…A Mage? How?”

For some reason, the old man muttered in a bewildered voice. While I was wondering what to do now that my only and strongest skill had been blocked, he suddenly shouted.

“All of you, come out! Kill him!”

…All of you?

A moment later, the sound of trampling feet rushed in. Goblins swarmed out of the holes lining the cavern walls.

Crazy, what is this now? I was horrified.

Skreeee—!

Dozens of Goblins charged from all directions.

[Flame Strike (0:01)]

Seeing that the skill was off cooldown, I immediately froze time. A few Goblins would be one thing, but dozens were a different story. If I got surrounded and hit by a stray spear or blade, I wouldn’t come out unscathed. There was no reason to fight a dangerous battle.

‘I’ll wait 100 minutes, you bastards.’

Exercising the virtue of patience once again, I waited for my willpower to fill up.

[Willpower: 100/100]

After a long while, my willpower was maxed out. I concentrated, unfroze time, and immediately launched a fireball toward the largest cluster of Goblins.

KABOOOOM!

Flesh and bone scattered through the air. The Goblins at the center vanished without a trace, and those nearby were sent flying. A pungent, acrid stench hit my nose. It looked like two-thirds of them were wiped out in one shot.

I moved to clean up the stragglers. Darting back and forth, I sliced through them one by one. It was over quickly.

After dealing with all the Goblins, I looked back at the old man.

“…”

Seriously, what are you doing? I wanted to ask.

Amidst the chaos, the old man was still sitting in his spot, eyes closed as if meditating again. The barrier remained around him, so there wasn’t much I could do. Should I go up and whack it with my sword?

It seemed like I had to kill this old wizard to end this…

Just then, the old man’s eyes snapped open. Simultaneously, a dark energy enveloped the cavern. I tried to back away in surprise but nearly fell. The ground had suddenly turned into a murky swamp, sucking my feet in.

‘Wha-what is this?’

The old man cackled at my panic and shouted.

“You arrogant brat! Didn’t your master teach you how Mages fight? To stand there blankly waiting for me to complete my magic!”

Tentacle-like things rose from the black swamp. Trapped, I couldn’t move. The more I struggled, the more the swamp swallowed my legs. The tentacles slithered toward me. The sight sent shivers down my spine.

Wait, time out. Just a second.

Emergency exit.

‘Exit, exit, exit!’

As I shouted inwardly, the scenery shifted. I was back in my room. I gasped for breath, panting heavily.

“Phew…”

I almost died.

The message floated before my eyes. So that old man really was the hidden boss.

“That crazy old geezer.”

Barriers, controlling Goblins, and the floor turning into a swamp… he was using some bizarre abilities. Given the “test subject” comment, was he a Warlock? It seemed the hidden route was on a completely different level of difficulty compared to the standard one.

‘Closed after three failures…’

It looked like I only had three chances. At least I could keep my life.

…I’ll have to try again. With two chances left, I had to find a way to defeat that wizard.

“How do I beat him?” I sat on the edge of my bed, crossing my arms.

My skill was blocked by the barrier. If it could block a fire explosion, it wouldn’t break just by me hitting it with a sword. I had to do something about that barrier to deal damage, but with my current means, there seemed to be no way.

***

“Seohyun, are you up? Come eat.”

Morning came while I was lost in thought. Even while eating at the table, my mind was elsewhere.

“Don’t pick out the carrots. Eat them all.”

“I am eating them.”

“Carrots are so good for your eyes. Seo-ah, you take after your mother with bad eyesight, so you need to manage it well.”

My younger sister grumbled as she poked through the braised short ribs. No matter how much she was told not to be a picky eater, it was like talking to a brick wall. Sigh, that stubborn brat.

Wait, a thought suddenly struck me.

‘Didn’t your master teach you how Mages fight? To stand there blankly waiting for me to complete my magic!’

The old man did say that. “Complete my magic”? Did that mean he also had to concentrate, just like I do when I use a skill?

‘He was meditating the whole time before he used that weird magic.’

Maybe that was his version of concentration. Then what about the barrier? That was magic too, but he deployed it the moment I attacked.

‘…Ah.’

No. When I first encountered him, his eyes were definitely closed. Perhaps he was already concentrating on the barrier then? Talking to me afterwards was only possible because the preparation was already done.

The old man said: Why are you standing there waiting for the magic to be completed? In other words, when fighting a Mage, don’t give them time to finish their spell.

…I think I found a method worth trying.

***

Taking advantage of a moment when my family was out, I entered the Tower again. After easily clearing the Goblins, I went back into the underground passage. I crawled as fast as I could.

When I emerged, the wizard was sitting there with his eyes closed, just like before. The moment I saw him, I froze time. I finished my concentration and unleashed my skill without a single word.

KABOOOOM!

An explosion erupted. Where the old man had been, only scorched ash remained.

Did I get him? A message appeared.

I got him. I let out a hollow laugh and muttered to myself.

“That actually worked.”

So he really had been preparing his barrier. A preemptive strike was the answer. It was a disappointingly simple strategy once I knew the trick.

The scenery shifted.

My level went up a lot again. Feeling the power overflowing in my body, I clenched and unclenched my fists. Now, let’s see. What’s the hidden reward?

There were several items around. I picked up a book first to check it. It was an old book with geometric patterns on the cover.