Chapter 108: Stealing Time

Zaid hadn’t yet fully grasped that description, but the moment he saw the attack coming at him, he knew exactly what to do.

He raised his hand, pointing it toward the attack, and concentrated. Since it was the first time he’d activated it—and in a situation like this—he had to go through a slow process... though it was still quick. The effect was triggered.

The space around the attack warped. The attack didn’t slow down, but by the time it struck where Zaid had been standing, he was already right on the other side of it.

It looked as if he had teleported.

In Zaid’s mind, a strange, unannounced notification showed him the time he’d gained: 7 seconds.

Enough.

Now he had 7 seconds to add to something else...

However...

’Did I teleport?’ he wondered.

That was a shock to him. Wasn’t he supposed to be stealing time? How was that teleportation?

He knew he had to study. But not right now.

Zaid wanted to figure out what it meant: adding time to something.

He didn’t think about it too much. No one had processed the fact that he’d dodged that attack—not even him. It was his turn to attack.

’To an action...’ he thought.

Attacking was an action.

Without thinking, just as he’d imagined, he added those seven seconds to something: his attack.

He closed the distance and summoned his two daggers. He launched a cross-attack straight at Kael’s chest. His daggers struck once, but with a power and momentum that Zaid’s strength alone could not currently generate. Kael, who had merely parried the attack thinking it wasn’t powerful, slammed his back into the wall.

Zaid’s stunning attack left everyone present speechless.

Even Zaid was taken aback.

’Stealing time... Stealing space? According to physics, space-time is one and the same... And adding time to an action means adding the inertia and power of that time. It must have its limitations, but this is wonderful. Better than I expected!’

He swallowed hard. His body shuddered, and a smile spread across his lips.

Kael trembled with rage and looked up fiercely. "Damn bastard..." He couldn’t even say anything, because whatever he said would only drag him down further. His pride had been tarnished—he wouldn’t let him get away with it!

He thrust the spear into the ground.

ROAR!

With a tremor, several beasts rose from the ground, and he roared, "Knock that bastard to the ground."

The beasts... weren’t really all beasts; rather, they were beings made of blood, born from the victims of the Bloody Spear. There were undead and beasts, but mostly humanoid beasts.

There were more than 15 of them.

Zaid frowned... ’How dangerous,’ he thought.

However, he saw Kael’s hatred toward him grow. He was on the right track.

’Just a little more...’ Zaid braced himself for a fight.

"Stop!" Someone called out from the doorway, pushing his way between Luke and Jackson. "Fighting on an upper floor—do you want to destroy the building’s foundation? Put down your weapons!"

A teacher exclaimed angrily.

Zaid and Kael recognized him.

Master Lois. One of the academy’s most distinguished teachers.

"Master Lois..." Kael tried to speak, but the stern look on Lois’s face made him clench his teeth and lower his weapon.

Zaid had no trouble doing so, though he wished he had a little more time to really piss off this bastard.

Kael, however, walked past him and shot him a murderous glare. "Since you’re an Awakened One, why don’t you compete against your brothers? Surely you’re eager to join a guild, aren’t you? The most exciting time of the year is coming up. If you manage to get a good score, you’ll be able to graduate early and will be rewarded with a spot in a guild. We’ll be participating... I’ll be waiting for you there. You won’t chicken out, will you?"

If it weren’t for that murderous glare, anyone would have thought the invitation was genuine: he just wanted to compete with his brother. But that murderous glare spoke volumes.

Zaid scoffed. "What a strange way to invite someone you want to kill."

"So you’re going to chicken out. Tsk, you’re nothing but trash. We’ve got that kid—are you going to rescue him? Shawn family, Building 13 on 87th Street. Good luck." With that, he left.

Zaid took the information to heart, but he really had to take advantage of the missions.

Not only would he be able to rise in rank within the Guild, but more importantly, he would be able to go to areas that were crucial for hunting. Now that he’s experienced how great "time theft" is, he needs to know what he’ll be able to do once he raises his Talent to Rank B.

He needs Rank C beasts or to team up with people capable of killing Rank B beasts. To do that, he needs to complete these missions, and he’d already been preparing for them for some time.

So Kael’s invitation... had been accepted without him even knowing it.

Lois watched Kael leave; they exchanged a sidelong glance, but neither said a word.

"Zaid Zachary, right?" Lois said, looking at him.

Zaid nodded. "Is something wrong, Master Lois?"

"I’d like to know that too, but I’m not all that interested, so I won’t ask. The Dean is looking for you."

His eyes widened. ’The Dean is looking for me? How strange...’

She wondered if Zayn had something to do with this. But she nodded. "Let’s go."

Although mentally, he braced himself for his first death in this apparent loop. He wondered what would happen if he died. Would it hurt, or would he simply go back in time?

Good question...

If Zayn had sent the Dean to kill him, he had no choice but to find out.

Master Lois nodded coldly and then looked at the mess.

"Someone will pay for this," said Zaid, walking beside him alongside Erick.

Lois nodded. "As long as they pay," he muttered angrily.

He led Zaid through the academy to the Dean’s office.

There, he sent Erick away. "You can’t come in. This meeting is for Zaid Zachary only."

Zaid walked into the office after telling Erick to wait nearby. The door closed behind him.

The room was enormous and had everything a person could possibly want in an office: a game area, a movie area, a food area... An extraordinary aroma of freshly ground coffee that wasn’t overpowering.

The design was reminiscent of those Victorian-era rooms. It was no coincidence that this academy had once been home to several century-old universities.

Zaid walked through it and stopped in front of the desk.

A young man was sitting there.

’That young? Damn, he must be 25 or 30 at most,’ he thought to himself.

"Zaid Zachary, right?" asked the young man on the other side of the desk.