Just as Tarkan's vision blurred and the cold silence of death began to pull at his soul, a notification flickered in his mind
[Timer: 00:01:00 (LVL 2)]
> Reverse – Reverse time without restriction, as long as you have enough time.
>Revert – Reverse time for a single target without restriction, as long as you have enough time.
[Eternal Monarch Physique (Partial)]
One minute had just been added to the timer. That meant he had spent an entire day in the dimension.
Ever since he'd used Revert on Ricky, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about using it on himself.
Now, with death pressing down on his chest and his body slipping into darkness, Tarkan summoned the last ounce of strength he had. His hand, shaking and bloodied, rose slowly to his chest.
A faint smile formed at the corner of his lips. His eyes, hollow and distant, began to close.
"Revert... One minute..."
His eyes closed completely.
All the bloodstains, wounds, bruises, his punctured heart, his crushed organs, everything that had reduced his body to a trembling husk vanished.
In an instant, his body returned to full vitality. Every injury healed. Every trace of damage wiped clean.
He looked nothing like the one who had just killed hundreds upon hundreds of awakened Zumbras and even a crowned tier one.
The only proof was the tattered remains of his clothing and the mountain of corpses scattered around him. Each Zumbra's head was burst open. The area looked like the aftermath of an apocalypse.
But Tarkan? He lay there peacefully, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Fast asleep, lost to mental exhaustion.
---
Elsewhere in the same dimension...
A young teen's grunts echoed as he clashed blades with a monstrous creature.
It looked like a grotesque mix between a grasshopper and a mantis. Its arms were sharpened blades, slicing through the air with terrifying precision. Its hind legs, thick and bent, gave it explosive leaps. Its segmented carapace was the color of rotten copper, and it moved with unnatural speed.
The teen stumbled backward, his back slamming into the dirt. His sword caught the downward swing of the creature's blade-arm, sparks flying from the clash.
"SLIM! NOW!" he roared.
As if responding to a preset command, a pale, slender figure dropped from the canopy above, silent and fast.
Slim landed in a blur, knife already drawn. Without hesitation, he darted to the creature's waist where two plates of its exoskeleton met and stabbed. The blade sank in cleanly, splitting the monster in half.
The top half flailed, hissing. Slim didn't stop. He leapt onto it, stabbing straight into its compound eyes again and again until the tip pierced the creature's brain. Its twitching stopped.
It all happened in seconds.
"Woo!" Ricky, the teen, jumped up with a cheer. "That was clean! My Awakened Prime Points are already past halfway! At this rate, we'll max out both Feral and Awakened points in, like, three days. Maybe less!"
He was giddy with excitement, energy bouncing off him in waves as he kept talking without pause.
Slim, as always, remained cold and expressionless. He didn't even glance at Ricky.
"Pick up the other half. We're heading back," he said coldly, lifting the corpse's upper body with one hand.
Ricky, unfazed by the cold tone, kept talking while lifting the creature's lower half. "Man, we're on fire today. That thing didn't even land a proper hit.."
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A scream tore through the quiet forest.
The scream was sharp, heart-wrenching.
Slim dropped to his knees.
Ricky froze, heart pounding. The other half of the creature slipped from his grip as he turned and saw Slim on the ground, writhing in pain.
Slim clutched at his skin, his fingers tearing into his flesh as if trying to rip something out from inside. The pain looked unbearable, more intense than anything Ricky had ever seen.
"Slim! What's wrong?! Is it your talent? Side effects?! What do I do?!" Ricky rushed over, panic overtaking him.
Slim didn't answer. His body twisted in agony, blood seeping from the scratches he left on himself. It was as if he was trying to claw the pain out from his soul.
Then, just as suddenly as it started, it ended.
Slim collapsed, motionless.
His already pale skin had gone ghost-white. His body was soaked with sweat, his shirt torn, skin marked by deep gashes. Blood oozed faintly from the wounds.
Ricky, hands shaking, helped him sit up against a nearby stone.
"What was that? Was it backlash from your talent?" he asked, concern written all over his face.
Slim's expression slowly returned to its usual blank state. His voice came out hoarse, but steady.
"My master is in danger."
"You mean… Tarkan?" Ricky asked, surprised.
Slim gave a weak nod.
"But how does Tarkan being in danger cause... that?" Ricky's brows furrowed in confusion.
Slim didn't respond. He struggled to get up.
Ricky moved fast, sliding under his arm to support him. Slim's weight felt heavier than he'd expected, his strength clearly drained.
They began making their way toward their clearing, a makeshift camp where they'd been roasting hunted beasts and resting.
After a few steps, Ricky looked at Slim, still pale and barely holding on. "Hey… maybe you should rest here a bit. I'll protect you until you regain some energy and then.."
"I need to go to my master," Slim cut in, voice dry but firm.
"Tch." Ricky clicked his tongue. He couldn't hold back anymore. "Quit being so damn stubborn. You said Tarkan's in danger, but in your condition? You'll just be a burden. And he's probably still in the dimension like us."
Slim didn't reply.
Ricky, frustrated, raised his voice. "And how sure are you that he's in danger anyway? You mi..."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Slim screamed again, louder, deeper than before.
His voice cracked with pain. Then, as if the scream had drained everything out of him, he fainted.
His body collapsed forward.
Ricky caught him just in time, holding him steady. His face twisted in worry.
"Damn it… Slim… what the hell is happening to you…"
...
..
First of all, thank you all so much, your support has truly been motivating!
To be honest, I don't even know what made me start writing a novel in the first place😹. I was stressed out and overwhelmed with life when I began. After just six chapters, I seriously considered dropping the book and focusing to what I was doing.
Then something unexpected happened, two amazing readers sent me power stones. I was so happy that day, I ended up pushing myself to write 19 more chapters! But at some point, I told myself, "Even if someone sends me power stones again, no matter how many, I'm done. I'll just focus on work and move on."
And just like magic 😂, my readers said, "You lie!" On that very same day, two more people dropped comments and sent six more power stones, encouraging me to keep going. I woke up the next morning feeling so motivated, and that's when I decided to continue writing for real.
Since then, you all have been giving me constant love and support, and it truly means the world to me. It keeps me going and makes me genuinely excited to keep writing this story. Special shoutout to Novelmeister, thank you so much!
I'll be honest, I'm really slow at writing. And to make things harder, my mind is always stressed. Seeing other authors pump out two chapters a day sometimes makes me feel a bit down. But I know that if I tried to force that pace, I'd end up writing something just passable. I don't want to give you guys anything less than my best. So even if I'm slow, I'll keep doing my best for all of you.
Thank you again for all the love and support!
P.S. Don't worry, this isn't to increase the word count 😂