Chapter 116 Time Stop? Or…..
Alex stood in the yard of his house.
"Alright… first, I need to check the power I just obtained."
He opened his status window and examined the new ability he had gained.
Pause
Open the System Inventory and say the word "Pause." Once activated, the world will completely freeze. All movement and actions will stop. However, the user can only move within a small circular area with a radius of 30 centimeters. If the user moves beyond this radius or closes the System Inventory, time will immediately resume.
This ability can be used three times per day.
Alex rubbed his chin as he read the description.
"Hmm… this is just like in a game, isn't it? When you open your inventory, level up, or check items, the enemies and the entire world of Skyrim stop moving. You can access items freely like eating food or using potions while the pause is still active."
Alex then decided to test his new ability.
He opened his System Inventory and said, "Pause."
In an instant, the entire world came to a complete halt.
"Hoho… this is really interesting," Alex muttered with a grin.
He looked down and noticed a green circle surrounding his feet, extending about 30 centimeters around him.
"Ah… maybe if I step outside this boundary, the world will return to normal?"
Curious, Alex slowly walked past the edge of the circle.
The moment he crossed the boundary, time immediately resumed, and the world began moving again as if nothing had happened.
Alex held back a laugh, excitement flashing across his face.
"Isn't this ridiculously overpowered?"
He quickly prepared for another experiment.
"Alright… but what happens if I cast a spell while my body stays inside the circle? What would happen then?"
Alex opened his System Inventory again and said, "Pause."
The world froze once more.
Electric sparks began to gather in his hand.
"Okay… here goes nothing."
Alex fired a Lightning Bolt toward the wall. The spell shot out of his hand and passed beyond the green circle.
The moment the spell left the boundary, time instantly resumed, and the world began moving again as his lightning struck the wall.
"Ohh, okay… so spells count as actions that cancel the Pause skill," Alex said, nodding to himself.
"Alright… noted."
"Hm… but this skill could still be very useful in critical situations," Alex muttered.
He decided to run another experiment.
"What about Telekinesis? It doesn't make objects leave the circle… but what if I try pulling something into the circle?"
Curiosity filled his face as he opened the System Inventory once again.
"Pause."
The world froze instantly.
Alex looked at a bucket sitting a short distance in front of him.
"Okay… the moment of truth."
He raised his hand and tried to pull the bucket toward him with Telekinesis.
But the bucket didn't move at all.
"Uuugh!! It's so heavy… it's like trying to pull an object that absolutely can't move!"
Alex strained harder, focusing all his strength on the spell. Yet the bucket remained completely still.
After several moments of trying, he finally gave up, breathing heavily.
"Haaah… haaah… looks like I can't change the movement of objects outside the circle while the Pause skill is active."
He then deactivated the Pause.
Suddenly
The bucket shot forward at incredible speed straight toward him.
Alex's eyes widened in shock as the bucket slammed directly into his face.
"What ?!"
Bang!
The bucket struck his head violently, drawing blood and making his vision blur as dizziness overwhelmed him.
"Agh damn it!!!"
Alex endured the pain and quickly cast a healing spell toward his head.
"Ugh… what?" he muttered.
After a few moments, realization slowly dawned on him.
"Wait… before I tried pulling the bucket, it was completely still, right? And then "
A grin slowly spread across his face as excitement filled his eyes.
"Aaah… this is really interesting."
"So while Pause is active, you can't change the position of objects with Telekinesis. It's like the objects are completely immovable… but in reality, they can move. Could it be that they're actually moving over an extremely long period of time? Because time itself is stopped during Pause?"
Alex rubbed his chin, thinking deeply.
"Wait… does Pause actually stop time completely, or is it more like super slow motion?"
Curious, Alex opened his status again to reread the description of the skill.
Pause
Open the System Inventory and say the word "Pause." When activated, the world will freeze completely. All movement and actions will stop. However, the user will only be able to move within a small circular area with a radius of 30 centimeters. If the user moves beyond this 30 cm radius or closes the System Inventory, time will immediately resume.
This ability can be used three times per day.
"Hm… it says here 'all movement and actions will stop.' So maybe it's not truly stopped?" Alex murmured.
"Or maybe it's like in mathematics. If something is below 0.00000005 seconds or something like that, it can be rounded down to zero, right? So the system just treats it as zero… as if it's stopped."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Could that be what it means? So time isn't actually stopping it's just moving super, super slowly, to the point where the system detects it as 'stopped'?"
"That's possible."
Alex felt that most of his curiosity had been satisfied, but something still bothered him.
"Hm… I just hope this power doesn't have any negative effects on the world. I mean, the circle around me is only about 30 centimeters, which is really small… but if the entire world outside is moving at an extremely slow speed…"
His expression stiffened.
"Would that mean I'm aging faster compared to everything else?"
A chill ran down his spine.
"Brrr… yeah, I'd rather not think about that. I should only use this skill in dangerous situations or when something really important happens."
Alex then tried to experiment again.
"Pause."
But a notification suddenly appeared.
"The daily usage of 'Pause' has been exhausted. Please wait until tomorrow for the usage to reset."
Alex stared at the message and nodded.
"Ah right… I can only use it three times a day."
Alex let out a slow breath and lowered himself onto the wooden steps in front of his house. The boards creaked softly beneath his weight as he leaned back slightly, resting his elbows on his knees.
For a moment, he simply sat there in silence.
The gentle morning breeze brushed against his face, carrying with it the fresh scent of grass and distant pine. The sunlight bathed the yard in a warm golden glow, and the quiet atmosphere after all his experiments felt strangely peaceful.
Alex rested his chin on his hand, his gaze drifting across the scenery in front of his home.
"Hm…" he murmured softly.
His brows slowly knit together as a faint sense of unease crept into his thoughts.
"Feels like… I'm forgetting something."
He tapped his fingers lightly against his knee, staring blankly at the ground as if trying to pull the missing memory from the back of his mind. The feeling lingered just out of reach, like a word on the tip of his tongue.
Then suddenly
"Alex! Breakfast is ready!"
Astrid's voice rang out clearly from inside the house.
Alex blinked, his head lifting slightly in surprise. For a brief moment he stared toward the door, and then realization hit him.
His eyes widened.
"Ah !"
He lightly slapped his forehead with his palm.
"That's right… the promise I still haven't kept."
A small laugh escaped his lips as the tension in his shoulders faded. The earlier worry quickly melted away, replaced by a warm feeling of anticipation.
Alex pushed himself up from the wooden steps and stretched his arms slightly as he walked toward the door. A faint smile formed on his face, and there was a noticeable lightness in his steps.
As he entered the house, his mind was already wandering ahead.
Tomorrow… he would finally carry out the plan he had been thinking about.
And just imagining it was enough to make him feel quietly excited.