Robin woke with the sun. His body protested, muscles sore from combat, wounds still healing. But underneath the pain was something else.
Satisfaction.
He pulled up his status screen:
```
┏━━━━━━━[ Host Profile ]━━━━━━━┓
│ Name: Robin Stark
│ Level: 4
│ EXP: 325/400 - 81.2%
│
│ Core Attributes:
│ STR Strength 8
│ AGI Agility 6
│ END Endurance 6
│ DEX Dexterity 7
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
Seventy-five experience points from level 5. One good daily quest completion and a handful of rats would get him there.
But first, he needed to recover. Needed to be smart.
Robin examined his wounds in the mirror. The claw marks on his arm were healing well, the life force absorption had done its work. The scabs on his chest from the Void Hound fight were fading to pink scars.
Evidence of combat. Evidence he couldn't explain if anyone saw.
I need to be more careful.
Robin changed into clean clothes. Hid the bloodstained ones with the others. His collection of ruined clothing was growing. Eventually, he'd need to burn them all.
A knock at the door. Robin tensed.
"Your morning meal, Young Master."
Mary. The servant who'd been kind to him.
Robin opened the door. Mary stood there with her tray of gruel and a piece of bread. But her eyes widened when she saw him.
"Young Master, you look... exhausted. And is that blood on your..."
"Training accident," Robin said quickly. "I fell during exercises. It's nothing."
Mary's expression was doubtful, but she didn't press. Set the tray down on his table.
"You should rest more," she said quietly. "Whatever you're doing, you're pushing too hard."
"I'll rest when I'm strong enough to survive."
The words came out harsher than intended. Mary flinched slightly.
"I know you're trying," she said softly. "But if you kill yourself training, it defeats the purpose." She paused at the door. "I'll bring extra food again tonight. You need it."
After she left, Robin ate immediately. The gruel was tasteless. The bread stale. But his body needed fuel.
He completed his daily quests slowly, deliberately. Push-ups, steps, plank holds. The movements were easier now with his improved stats, but he still felt the exhaustion from last night.
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETE: BASIC CONDITIONING III]
[REWARD: +50 EXP]
[LEVEL 4: 375/400 EXP]
Twenty-five experience points. That was all. Two rats. One if he got lucky and found a higher-level variant.
Tonight. One more hunt tonight.
Robin forced himself to rest during the day. Lay on his bed, conserving energy. His mind reviewed the previous night's fights, analyzing what worked and what didn't.
The nest clearing had been efficient. Using chokepoints, controlling engagement range. Good tactics.
But his stamina management needed work. He'd pushed too hard, fought too long. If another Void Hound had appeared at the end, exhausted as he was, it would have killed him.
Lesson learned. Know when to retreat.
Evening came. Robin waited until the castle settled. Then moved.
The route to the dungeons was burned into his muscle memory now. He navigated it on autopilot, his mind already in combat mode.
The lock clicked open. Robin descended into darkness.
His enhanced perception swept the corridors. Void Rats everywhere. The dungeon was practically infested.
Good. Plenty of targets.
Robin moved with purpose. No hesitation. No fear. Just cold, calculated hunting.
The first rat died to a spine thrust. Clean. Efficient.
[VOID RAT DEFEATED]
[+15 EXP]
[LEVEL 4: 390/400 EXP]
Ten more experience points. One more rat.
Robin found it quickly, a larger specimen, probably an alpha. It was feeding on a dead normal rat in one of the cells.
[VOID RAT (ALPHA) DETECTED]
[LEVEL: 3]
[RANK: F]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: LOW]
The alpha was bigger, meaner. But still just a rat.
Robin approached from behind. The creature's senses were sharper than the regular variants, it detected him at ten feet and spun around, hissing.
Robin didn't give it time to charge. He closed the distance fast, using his improved agility. The rat lunged, teeth snapping for his throat.
He sidestepped. His dagger flashed. The blade opened the rat's throat in a spray of corrupted blood.
The creature collapsed, dissolving.
[VOID RAT (ALPHA) DEFEATED]
[+20 EXP]
[LEVEL UP! YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 5]
The transformation was immediate and overwhelming.
Power surged through Robin's body like lightning. Not the gentle warmth of previous level-ups, this was intense, almost painful.
His muscles expanded, fibers multiplying. His bones hardened, density increasing. His lungs deepened, pulling in more air with each breath.
And something else. Something new.
His perception shifted. Time seemed to... slow? No, not slow. He could see it. Feel it. The flow of causality itself was suddenly visible, tangible.
[CRITICAL MILESTONE REACHED]
[LEVEL 5 ACHIEVED]
[MAJOR SYSTEM UPGRADE INITIATED]
[ALL ATTRIBUTES INCREASED]
[STR: 8 → 9]
[AGI: 6 → 7]
[END: 6 → 7]
[DEX: 7 → 8]
[MAX HP: 56 → 62]
[MAX STAMINA: 40 → 45]
[MANA CAPACITY: 27 → 32]
[MANA SEAL DEGRADATION: 76% → 74%]
But that wasn't the important part. The notifications kept coming:
[UNLOCK CONDITIONS MET]
[SSS-RANK SKILL AVAILABLE]
[ANALYZING HOST COMBAT DATA...]
[EXTREME DANGER THRESHOLD: ACHIEVED (VOID HOUND ENCOUNTER)]
[NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE: CONFIRMED]
[SURVIVAL INSTINCT: MAXIMUM]
[SSS-RANK SKILL UNLOCKED: TIME ECHO]
The knowledge flooded Robin's mind. Not words or instructions, pure understanding. He knew, instinctively, how to activate the skill. How to reach back through time and grab those precious three seconds.
How to rewrite death.
┏━━━━━━━[ SSS-RankAbility ]━━━━━━━┓
│ TIME ECHO [UNLOCKED]
│ ├─ Rank: SSS
│ ├─ Effect: Rewind time 3 seconds
│ ├─ Retains all memories and sensory input
│ ├─ Allows perfect counters and evasion
│ ├─ Cost: 50 Mana
│ ├─ Cooldown: 60 seconds
│ └─ Current Mana: 32/105 (Insufficient)
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
Robin stood in the darkness, breathing hard. The power thrumming through his body was intoxicating.
Time Echo. I actually have it.
But the notification at the bottom made him pause. Current mana: 32. Cost: 50.
I can't use it yet. Not until my mana increases.
Still. He had it. The foundation was there. A few more level-ups to increase his mana capacity, or wait for the seal to degrade further, and he'd be able to rewind time itself.
This changes everything.
Robin heard skittering. More rats, drawn by the sounds of combat.
He smiled. A cold, predatory smile.
Let them come.
His improved stats made him faster, stronger, deadlier. Robin moved through the dungeon like a phantom. Each rat was practice. Each kill refined his technique further.
[+15 EXP]
[+15 EXP]
[+15 EXP]
He wasn't just hunting anymore. He was training. Testing his new capabilities. Learning the limits of his enhanced body.
Nine strength meant he could drive his dagger through corrupted bone with ease. Seven agility meant he could dodge attacks that would have hit him before. Seven endurance meant he could fight longer without tiring.
[WEAPON MASTERY (DAGGER): 89/150]
Robin cleared another nest. Then another. The dungeon became his personal training ground, and the Void Rats were his sparring partners.
Partners that died screaming.
[LEVEL 5: 95/500 EXP]
By the time Robin emerged from the dungeon, dawn was threatening. His clothes were splattered with corrupted blood. His dagger was notched and worn.
But he was smiling.
He'd killed eighteen Void Rats tonight. Eighteen kills that brought him closer to level 6.
And he'd unlocked Time Echo.
Robin made his way back to his room. Hid his bloody clothes. Cleaned his dagger as best he could.
Collapsed on his bed.
His body was exhausted. His stamina depleted. But his mind was electric with possibility.
Level 5. Time Echo unlocked. Just need more mana to use it.
He thought about the seal on his mana core. At level 10, the system said he could attempt removal. Five more levels.
And then everything will change.
Robin stared at the ceiling, his enhanced perception making every detail visible even in the dim light.
The Duke thought he had time to investigate. Thought he could unravel the mystery of his son's transformation slowly.
His brothers thought Robin was still weak. Still beneath their notice.
They were all wrong.
Robin had tasted real power now. Had felt what it was like to move faster, strike harder, kill efficiently.
And he wanted more.
The dungeons are mine now. My personal hunting ground.
Every night, he'd descend into darkness. Every night, he'd kill. And every kill would make him stronger.
The cursed child who couldn't complete three push-ups had become a predator.
And predators didn't stop hunting until there was nothing left to kill.
Robin's eyes closed. Sleep came quickly, bringing dreams of blue notifications and climbing numbers.
Of power growing. Of enemies falling.
Of a three-second rewind that would let him cheat death itself.
Soon, he thought as consciousness faded. Soon I'll have enough mana.
And then they'll learn what it means to make an enemy of someone who can rewrite time.
The smile stayed on his face even in sleep.
The smile of someone who knew exactly what they were becoming.
And had no intention of stopping.