Chapter 3: Ability

Cael Horais Sirius POV

As my eyes instantly wandered to the Special Ability section of my status, I immediately understood what it meant.

Special Ability: Time Conversion allows a person to expend their lifetime by consuming their Physical Age to use several abilities, such as:

Little Hand: Allows a person to use the short hand of time.

Lightens anything the person touches to a fraction of its original weight.

An hour of a person's lifetime is expended for every fractional decrease in weight.

Reducing an object's weight to one-tenth of its original weight consumes ten hours of the person's Physical Age.

The effects only apply to the person using Little Hand.

The original weight of the affected object or being remains unchanged.

Long Hand: Allows a person to use the long hand of time.

Lengthens a person's stride to travel greater distances.

Each additional step expends one minute of the person's lifetime, up to a maximum of one thousand steps. Movement is instantaneous.

The cost is doubled if used again within the same minute.

Sweep Hand: Allows a person to use the sweep hand of time.

Shortens the time required to cast a spell by omitting the incantation.

Instead of consuming Psyche, the spell consumes the caster's Physical Age.

A second worth of Physical Age per Psyche.

For every additional rank beyond Basic Magic, an additional cost is required.

Rank 1 - Basic Magic: Required Psyche: 100.

Rank 2 - Intermediate Magic: Required Psyche: 200. Additional Cost: 10,000 seconds.

Rank 3 - Advanced Magic: Required Psyche: 400. Additional Cost: 20,000 seconds.

Rank 4 - Personnel Magic: Required Psyche: 800. Additional Cost: 40,000 seconds.

Rank 5 - Cluster Magic: Required Psyche: 1,600. Additional Cost: 80,000 seconds.

Rank 6 - Rampart Magic: Required Psyche: 3,200. Additional Cost: 160,000 seconds.

Rank 7 - Legion Magic: Required Psyche: 6,400. Additional Cost: 320,000 seconds.

Rank 8 - Territorial Magic: Required Psyche: 12,800. Additional Cost: 640,000 seconds.

Rank 9 - Continental Magic: Required Psyche: 25,600. Additional Cost: 1,280,000 seconds.

Rank 10 - Forbidden Magic: Required Psyche: 51,200. Additional Cost: 2,560,000 seconds.

Somehow, God heard my desire and granted me the very thing I wanted at that moment.

I closed my eyes for a moment and looked at my status again because, somehow, there was another word I missed.

Title: Hero

“Hero?!” I uttered softly in surprise.

Effect: Doubles the owner's current status.

I froze for a few seconds, finding it hard to believe.

But after looking closely at the numbers, it was really true.

My Power, Speed, Endurance, and Fortitude had all doubled.

With my Endurance and Fortitude doubled, my Vitality and Psyche had doubled as well.

Since each point of Endurance grants ten Vitality, while each point of Fortitude provides ten Psyche.

I really did receive the title of Hero, I thought.

I felt delighted, but the demonkind's animosity was so overwhelming that Talya and the other children in our village started to shudder in fear.

The demonkinds' eyes glared in our direction as if we were nothing more than animals waiting to be eaten.

I looked toward the Kingdom wall's gate again and saw my mother peeking in our direction, just like the others who still had family members outside the wall.

My eyes darted forward as I sensed a bloodlust.

A few hundred meters away, I saw a giant carrying a massive boulder on his shoulder.

The giant moved slowly and took his stance as if he were about to throw the enormous boulder.

The giant's eyes were fixed on the Kingdom wall's gate, which was still open.

The giant flung the massive boulder toward the Kingdom wall's gate, where my mom was currently standing.

The boulder flew through the air like a stone launched from a slingshot, following a parabolic arc toward the outer gate at an incredible speed.

I wanted to shout to warn my mom.

But my words would only reach her ears.

She wouldn't be able to evade the massive boulder hurtling toward her.

With so little time to think, my mind was overwhelmed, and panic instantly set in as I desperately tried to figure out how to save my mom.

“Run inside, Aunt Eleonor!!” Talya shouted through her cupped hands.

Talya saw what was coming. After all, her special ability was Clairvoyance.

But before I could collect my thoughts, my body moved on its own and darted toward my mom.

How far was the Kingdom wall's gate?

How heavy was the boulder flying toward it?

My mind was flooded with questions, but as the boulder came within a few meters of the very spot where my mom was standing, my mouth moved on its own and uttered,

“Long Hand: One hundred steps.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I instantly teleported near my mom’s location.

Looking around, I found myself standing in front of the Kingdom wall's gate.

My mom's eyes widened as the massive boulder was about to crush me.

My own eyes widened in panic as the shadow of the enormous boulder covered my entire body.

If this doesn’t work I’ll at least deflect away from my mom even if it kills me, I thought.

I thrust both my hands forward as if trying to catch an enormous straw ball.

“Little Hand: One-thousandth weight!” I shouted as the massive boulder made contact with my hands.

Despite the boulder's weight being reduced to one-thousandth of its original weight, it was still incredibly heavy, probably several thousand kilograms, moving at an incredible speed.

I'm glad I wasn't stingy and used the maximum effect of Little Hand, or else it would have crushed me.

It probably still would have crushed me if I hadn't received the Hero title's status boost.

My palms and fingers were almost torn apart as I brought the large boulder's advance to a halt.

Rather than stopping it completely, I deflected its course toward the side of the wall, where it crashed to the ground with the remaining force it had left.

It was too heavy for a level-one, ten-year-old child.

Still, even if I trained for thousands of hours, I wouldn't be able to attain the strength needed to stop such a massive boulder.

That's why I didn't feel bad about instantly expending a thousand hours of my Physical Age in a single moment.

It was all worth it as I watched my worried mom run toward me.

As soon as she reached me, a warm sensation spread across both my hands.

Lesser Healing, the special ability that heals minor wounds and ailments.

Mom began healing my hands, which were now bleeding and covered with bruises.

I watched as the torn skin and bruises slowly vanished.

“Mom, why did you come out?” I asked, looking into her eyes as tears streamed down her face.

“Sorry, Cael. Mom can't bear the thought of living without you or your dad,” she said between sobs.

“Me too, Mom,” I replied as my mind started searching for a way to save my parents and everyone else from this predicament.

I could use the Sweep Hand ability, but I only knew up to Rank 3 magic.

Since only Rank 1 to Rank 3 magic was available for us Outlanders to learn.

And as far as I could remember, there wasn't a single Rank 3 spell capable of dealing with hordes of monsters, I thought as I looked for my dad, who was running toward us.

I could simply use Little Hand and Long Hand to grab Mom and Dad and force them inside the Kingdom wall's gate.

Leaping over the walls was not possible, as the Kingdom's barrier extended into the sky, covering the entire kingdom like a colorless dome.

And what about the others? I thought as I could feel most of the monsters in front of me now looking in my direction.

Am I really out of options?...

“Hero, call me. I will lend you my power,” a strange voice rang in my ears.

“Call my name, and I will heed your call,” the strange voice added.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Fragarach,” the strange voice replied.