Yoo Jinhyuk hadn't spoken to anyone in two days.
Not because he couldn't.
He just didn't need to.
When the world crawls beneath your feet and your thoughts spin faster than most people talk, silence becomes a strange kind of comfort. Conversations take effort. Waiting for others to finish their sentences is like running a marathon in molasses.
So he moved. A lot.
He jogged along rooftops. Leapt across alleys. Ran up empty parking ramps just to run back down again. It kept the overclock buzz from building in his blood.
The city, for all its noise, felt quieter when he ran fast enough that no one could see him.
It made him feel... distant.
Untouchable.
But not in a good way.
He stopped on top of a crumbling ten-story office building and sat with his legs dangling over the edge. Below, people walked slowly. A street vendor grilled skewers. Two kids kicked a ball. A tired delivery driver checked his phone.
Jinhyuk sighed.
They were living their lives. At their own speed.
He wasn't part of that anymore.
System Prompt
[Reminder: Class Skill Tree Unlocked]Would you like to begin customizing your unique path?
He hadn't opened it yet.
Truth was, he was scared.
The Path of the Untouchable wasn't just a class. It was a declaration. A way of life. And once he picked a branch, there was no going back.
Still... he couldn't run forever.
Jinhyuk took a deep breath and opened the tree.
[Skill Tree – Path of the Untouchable]
Tier 1 Skill Branches:
Flash Vector – Specializes in instant acceleration. Gain short-range warp dashes that ignore terrain.
Echo Frame – Every movement leaves a fading afterimage that deals minor damage and confuses enemies.
Speed Shift – Allows player to manipulate their perception of time. (Slows world without speeding up body.)
Kinetic Theft – Steal the speed of anything you touch for a short duration. (Yes, even bullets.)
He stared at the options.
They were tempting. All of them. But only one pulled at him—the third.
Not more speed. Not more power.
Just the ability to... slow things down.
He chose Speed Shift.
[Skill Acquired: Speed Shift – Tier 1]You may now bend time's rhythm to your will.Caution: Overuse may cause temporary sensory loss.
No flashy effect. No dramatic glow.
Just a cold breeze across his skin and a sudden, eerie quiet in the world around him.
Jinhyuk blinked. Then stood.
Later That Afternoon
He walked into a small market near the edge of the city. Not a dungeon, not a combat zone—just a place where people bartered for potions, energy pills, and old gear.
He kept his hood up.
One merchant waved lazily. "You looking for anything, friend? Got some cheap stamina rings."
Jinhyuk paused, then shook his head. "No thanks."
He walked past a booth selling broken weapons. Past a girl trying to haggledown the price of a cracked mana stone. He didn't need anything here.
But he wasn't here to buy.
He was here to try something.
He moved toward a wide path between stalls and activated Speed Shift.
The world... dipped.
Everything around him slowed—not frozen, but dulled. A man turning his head looked like he was stuck in syrup. A paper flyer drifted down in slow motion. A bug flying through the air became a slow-moving dot.
And for the first time... he felt normal.
The noise quieted.
The thoughts slowed.
He could think, speak, breathe without feeling like he was outrunning the world.
It only lasted ten seconds.
But in those ten seconds, Jinhyuk walked the length of the street. He looked into every face. He listened to a song playing from an old speaker. He helped a little girl pick up the pouch she'd dropped without her noticing.
Then time snapped back.
His knees buckled slightly. His vision blurred.
[Warning: Minor disorientation – Overuse detected.]
He smiled.
It was worth it.
That Night
He returned to the same rooftop. This time, he didn't just watch.
He drew.
A small notepad. A pencil. Nothing special. Just something he hadn't done since middle school.
He sketched the food cart vendor. The dog lying beside him. The crooked antenna on the apartment across the street.
He drew slowly. Intentionally.
Because for once, he could.
The system beeped again.
[New Mission Unlocked: Solo Hunt – Tier 2 Rift]Location: Abandoned Subway Line – Sector 12Time Limit: NoneObjective: Clear Without External SupportRecommended Stat Threshold: STR 400 / AGI 900 / INT 300
He looked at his stats.
STR 210AGI 9999INT 160
He snorted. "Unbalanced, huh?"
Didn't matter.
He stood up, stretched, and packed his notebook.
The world still moved slow. Still refused to reward him for saving people. Still didn't understand what kind of player he really was.
But that was fine.
He'd beat it anyway.
One rift at a time.
At his speed.