Vol 1 Chapter 4 – The Prison of Time and My Only Weapon【Vol 1: The Hero Awakens】 

(Is it really just this…? Did I miss something…?)

With my mind sunk in disappointment, I stare blankly at the screen.

And my gaze gets pulled to a tiny line of text at the very bottom of the window.

Letters so small I hadn’t noticed them before.

“Hm…? What’s this tiny text…?”

I squint and try to read it.

And there, written out, were the words that would become my only light—my only way to survive in this hopeless world.

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【Time Flow Rate】

Modern World Time: 1 week ＝ Otherworld Time: 10 years

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“…Huh?”

I didn’t understand what that single line meant right away.

One week in the modern world.

Ten years in the otherworld.

(…What does that mean?)

I turn the words over and over in my head.

If one week passes in the world I came from, then ten years pass in this world…?

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

The instant it clicks, I can feel all the blood drain from my face.

This is insane.

Time itself is warped.

It’s like I’ve been locked inside a prison of time.

(Then while I’m here, in the world I came from…?)

If I spend a year in this world, then in my old world… such a short amount of time will have passed I can’t even calculate it.

There’s no point thinking about it when I don’t even know if I can go back.

But just having that possibility shoved in my face sends a crushing loneliness flooding into my chest.

Betrayed by Misaki, thrown into another world, and my one lifeline of a skill is useless.

And on top of that, time doesn’t even flow the same?

How much despair does it take to satisfy you?

(I’m… really screwed…)

I tilt my face up to the sky and let out a weak laugh.

But that dry laugh dies quickly.

In my head, scattered puzzle pieces snap together with a click.

(Wait…?)

The difference in time flow.

My weak Level 1 stats.

My useless 【Edit】 skill.

And the one advantage I do have.

“…Perfect, complete walkthrough knowledge of Arks Ende…”

Yeah.

I know everything about this world.

Up until now, I thought it was wasted.

That knowledge is meaningless if I don’t have the power to act on it.

But what if—

What if I can use this overwhelming time gap?

(…Training.)

That single word flashes through my mind like lightning.

(That’s it. I’ll train…!)

Ten years here. Twenty. Thirty…

No matter how much time I spend in this world, only a few weeks pass back home.

Then I just have to use that massive stretch of time to forge myself into something else.

Starting from Level 1?

Perfect.

Even if this is starting from zero—no, from negative—if I have time, I can do it.

(I can…! I can do this…!)

My heart pounds—thump, thump.

Like the despair from seconds ago was a lie, something hot surges up from deep inside me.

In Arks Ende, there are countless growth routes.

Not just the straightforward ones.

Paths nobody would ever take—wildly inefficient, requiring absurd amounts of time, but in the end leading to the strongest possible build.

Hidden skills, hidden dungeons, best-in-slot gear you can only get under special conditions.

I know all of it.

(This time gap isn’t a prison… it’s an advantage…!)

The one chance God handed me to become the strongest.

Even my 【Edit】 skill—the one I wrote off as “useless”—looks different now.

“Allows fine adjustments to information contained within spell formulas.”

Even if I don’t get it yet, once I understand this world’s rules—how magic and skills actually work—maybe it’ll evolve into something insane.

A world-exclusive exploit.

A trick only I can use.

(I’m going to live…!)

Strength wells up from the bottom of my gut.

Hunger, thirst, pain—none of it matters anymore.

All I feel is heat.

My heart is burning-hot.

(I’ll survive… and become the strongest…!)

Misaki’s face flashes through my mind.

Those ice-cold eyes looking down on me.

“It’s all your fault, because you’re a useless man with nothing to offer.”

Those words are still stuck in my ears.

(Never again… I won’t let anyone betray me again.)

Yeah.

I got betrayed because I didn’t have power.

I lost everything because I had nothing to offer.

Then I’ll just get overwhelming power.

Absolute power—so nobody can complain, nobody can take anything from me.

“Never again will I let anyone betray me. Nobody’s taking anything from me…!”

I stand up and thrust my fist toward the sky.

The forest trees rustle, like they’re hearing my resolve.

“With overwhelming power, I’ll be able to protect what matters…!”

What matters?

Right now, I don’t have anything like that.

I lost Misaki, I lost my future, and I’m empty.

But that’s why it starts now.

I’ll start a new life in this other world.

This time, I won’t screw it up.

With my own hands, I’ll carve out my place—and protect the comrades I’ll come to cherish.

That’s what I need power for.

From the very bottom of despair, I finally stood up.

This isn’t revenge.

This is a vow—so I can live as myself, new and reborn.

A declaration of the beginning, so I can overcome the past and seize a future.

(First… I’ve gotta survive.)

The moment I lock in that resolve, my stomach lets out a pathetic grrrr…

Reality check: I’m still a Level 1 newbie.

No food, no water, not even a place to sleep.

(Sera Village…)

My game knowledge lights the way forward.

The closest village from here.

That’s my first goal.

I open the status screen again.

Those weak numbers and that plain skill name don’t look like symbols of despair anymore.

They’re my starting line—mine alone—packed with infinite potential.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

I step forward, hard.

My life that started with an NTR ending wasn’t game over yet.

This is where it really begins.

The path to becoming the strongest—starts now, for real.