Stretching like a cat after waking up, Raine noticed she had a few unread notifications blinking in the corner of her vision.
“Hmmm?”
Opening up the notifications, her eyes widened in surprise.
A little present as thanks for getting even with a certain trickster. From F.
New Art:
Passive Ability: Natural Beauty Lv.2
?????????????????????
?????????????????????
?????????????????????
“Huh? When and how did I get this? An art related to beauty and an initial of F. And a certain tricksters tale. It couldn’t be…”
Raine trailed off in doubt. The entire situation was unusual. To acquire an art, one first had to meet the specific requirements to unlock it. Then, one needed to spend art points to buy the art.
Arts varied in cost depending on your associated profession and the strength of the art. A warrior would find the one-handed sword art to cost one art point while for an alchemist, it might cost three.
“Not only was this art free of the art point cost, it’s description is also mystery.”
Looking into the mirror, Raine saw no difference between when the art was equipped versus when it was off. Her appearance did not change nor did she feel the mysterious effect of charm that such an art would typically have.
“Well, leveling it will help me gain art points and it certainly will not hurt me to have it equipped.”
Every 10 art levels gained from the combined sum of all art grants an additional art point to spend. Thus, with a level 5 art 「Altered Time」 and a level 2 art 「Natural Beauty」, Raine only needed 3 more levels to gain an additional art point.
Taking breakfast at the inn, she once again verified that 「Natural Beauty」’s ability didn’t seem to do anything. Thinking about what to do before the special event, she recalled Loki’s words.
“Go back to the angry god’s place, huh? Well, it as good a place as any to spend the last day of the beta test. Better get started early.”
It wasn’t that the dungeon was particularly difficult. It just was long and with beginner stats, would require a few tries.
“Speaking of the finale, I better stock up on a variety of stuff for whatever the event will be.”
Raine happily set off humming a little tune as she shopped. Raine had accumulated a decent sum before Chronos cursed her to level one, and thus could afford to splurge a little on potions and the like.
“Alright, ten beginner potions of each type: healing, stamina, and mana. Food and bandages as well. Beginner bow and arrows as well as a sword. I think that is about the limit I can prepare at my current level.”
Done shopping, Raine set off for the clock tower, the place where it all began.
-------------------
Walking up to the clock tower, Raine smiled with nostalgia.
“Back at the start of the beta, we all thought there was a hidden quest associated with this clock tower.”
In the city, the clock tower stood out as the tallest building. On each face of the tower rested a giant clock, showing the in game time.
“After all, a clock tower sticks out quite a bit in a fantasy world. Nobody could figure out how to make it to the top.”
Looking at the outside of the building, Raine remembered her attempt to scale the building. With little handholds, she had clung to the side of the building with the tips of her fingers. Her progress was at a snail’s pace and small cuts on her fingers had only served to make it even slower. In the end, a sudden gust of wind caused her to fall to her death less than a third of a way up the tower.
“In hindsight, I should have guessed that any class quest related to this place was associated with time. And that I wouldn’t be able to cheat my way to the top by climbing. Still, that was quite the cruel quest.”
Pulling out a broken pocket watch, Raine stared fondly at it. She received it as a reward for a chain quest.
“A long grueling five part chain quest that rewarded only a broken pocket watch. With no quest to give it value, I was so angry at the game for a worthless reward.”
Raine had spent a good two days angry at the game. After that, she would take it out on occasion and stare at it, but the connection always eluded her.
“If it wasn’t for that coincidence, I would not be cursed right now. Give me back my happiness at solving the riddle!”
Only a few days before, Raine leaned against the wall and took out the pocket watch. Holding it up to the sky in frustration, she placed it side by side with the clock tower in her vision. Besides the unmoving hands on the broken pocket watch, the two were exactly the same.
“After Chronos cursed me, I thought I would never visit this place again. Yet here I am, once again filled with hope and venturing into that accursed dungeon.”
Entering the clock tower, Raine was greeted with an empty silence. The players gave up long ago on searching the small barren room inside the clock tower. Holding the broken pocket watch in hand, Raine walked up to the furthest wall and---
---Went right through it.
“All that effort spent searching every corner of the room when the actual method is quite simple. One only needs a key.”
Sighing at her wasted hours, Raine put away the pocket watch. Much like the room before it, the first room in the clock tower dungeon was a small barren room.
Only a large magic circle in the middle of the room gave any indication that the hidden room was any different. Stepping onto the magic circle, Raine appeared in a new location.
You have entered Chronos Dungeon.
Raine stood alone in a platform in the sky. Engraved on this platform was a magic circle identical to the one she came from in the clocktower. Walking to the edge of the platform, Raine looked over the side.
“Floating platforms and only clouds below. How does Chronos do it? Maybe the magic circle is hidden by the clouds?”
Raine pondered the impossibilities of the dungeon. The Chronos Dungeon contained no monsters. Instead, it had floating platforms.
*Sigh*
“Let’s get this over with.”
With a running start, Raine jumped onto the first floating platform. The sound of a clock ticking filled the sky. Raine looked at the next narrow platform. A click tick resounded once again. Hurrying, she leaped towards it.
Tock. Behind Raine, a platform crumbled. Landing on the second platform, Raine immediately ran for the third narrow platform. Tick. She jumped. Tock. Another platform crumbled behind her. Thud. Raine landed poorly on the narrow platform. Tick. Off balance, she slowly steadied herself and reached the end of the narrow platform. Tock.
“Kyaaa!”
The platform crumbled underneath her. Falling into the clouds, Raine suddenly found herself back at the entry magic circle. Looking at the long puzzle in front of her, Raine sighed.
“It can’t be helped, I will have to buy the Running and Jumping Art for 1 Art Point each. I should be able to easily level them in this dungeon and have them pay for themselves. Eh? I unlocked the deception art as well? Not that I need it. ”
Spending 2 Art Points, Raine equipped the two arts and tried again. Less than a minute later, she found herself back at the entrance to the dungeon.
*Sigh*
“Not only am I unused to this body, I have to rapidly jump from platform to platform. This will take awhile.”
Resigning herself to a long effort, Raine tried once again.
-------------------
Tick tock tick tock. A figure flied through the air from platform to platform. Tick tock tick tock. As if they were in a race, the crumbling platforms chased her. Calm grey eyes remain focused on the next platform, heedless of the danger approaching her.
Tick tock tick tock. Her form could only be described as clumsy. Landing, her steps faltered. Running, her body wavered. Jumping, her mind hesitated. Falling, her soul prayed.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Tick tock tick tock. The crumbling platforms chased her. Her heavy legs dragged her. The playful wind teased her. Her unfamiliar body tripped her. Only determination kept her from falling.
Tick tock tick tock. The clock echoed throughout the sky. Every second tick heralded the coming demise. The wind howled in protest. The sun shined with warmth. The clouds beckoned comfort and the sky observed in silence.
Tick tock tick tock. Over the hours, the figure became faster; her steps, surer. The short attempts became longer. Her initial frown became a smile. Her laughter charmed the wind. Her face radiated happiness like the sun. Her smile drew the clouds and her joy filled the sky.
Tick tock tick tock. Platforms of all sizes appeared. Ones that could only fit one foot. Ones that were long and thin. Ones that were short and stubby. Sometimes, they carried the figure of the girl up towards the sky, requiring that she jump with all her might. Othertimes, they drastically fell to the clouds, requiring her to take a leap of faith.
Tick tock tick tock. Her long silver hair danced in the wind. Her feet carried her from platform to platform. Leaving behind both the sound of a ticking clock and the crumbling of a falling platform, she glided forward, unbound like a fairy. Her eyes sparkled in delight and her smile contained childish excitement.
The fairy suddenly laughed.With a great leap and a resounding thud, the sound of a clock disappeared and the crumbling of platforms halted. Breathing heavily, the fairy that charmed even the wind laid down.
She had completed the dungeon at last. Laying on the cool stone platform, she felt her heart being rapidly.
“What was that feeling just now? I feel like I was on the verge of understanding something then the dungeon ended.”
Raine tried to recall the last moments of her dungeon run. The wind had streamed past her, as if teasing her. Her once heavy feet felt light as a feather and her body felt filled with boundless energy. Her joy seemed to fill the sky. Like a wind spirit, she had danced along the wind, bounding from one platform to the next with ease.
“I felt so alive. That was the single best experience I have had throughout the whole beta test. Why didn’t it happen the first time I ran through this dungeon?”
The first time she ran the dungeon, she had slowly and ponderously made her way through the dungeon. With much higher agility, she had more time to carefully jump from platform to platform.
“Maybe it was because I was constantly sprinting and jumping? I don’t have any active stamina arts and yet my stamina is at the rock bottom.”
Giving up, Raine turned to look at the stone platform she rested on. Near the center was a big treasure chest. Behind that was the magic circle that would take her out of the dungeon.
“Hmm, given that Loki wasn’t lying, the thing that would help me with my curse should be in the chest.”
Opening the chest, Raine’s face contorted into several expressions. Her initial happy smile froze stiffly. Then, it changed to confusion, followed by a brief glint of understanding, and finally, an expression of utter horror.
Novice Time Wizard’s Skirt
Type: Cloth Leggings
Durability: 20/20
Defense: 5
Stored Time: 0 (Limit: 0.25 seconds)
Description: Part of the Novice Time Wizard set, this stylish black short skirt and leggings can store time by infusing mana into the skirt. Collecting more pieces of the set increases the amount of time that can be stored.
Her, wear a skirt? A Guy In Real Life, wear a skirt!? There could only be one person to blame.
“LOKKKKIIIIIIII!!!!”
Utter horror gave way to smoldering rage. Raine thought she heard faint laughing in the distance. She wanted to leave right then and there and give up on a solution to the curse but curiosity eventually won her over. The item description said something about converting mana into time.
“It is okay. I am a guy. I will just put on the skirt, try out its function, then quickly unequip it and never use it again. This is only a game.”
Again, Raine thought she heard laughter in the distance. Shaking off her hesitation, she equipped the skirt.
It was a curious sensation, wearing a skirt. One unlike any she had felt before. A gentle breeze tugged playfully on the skirt as it passed by. Raine tried to identify the unfamiliar feeling. This foreign sensation, it was---
An unexpected gust of wind. The flapping of cloth. The sudden appearance of a snow white cloth which should not be seen.
“Kyaaa!”
--Shame. Crouching down and frantically using her hands to push down her skirt, Raine let out a girly scream. This time for sure, she heard laughter in the distance. With tears in her eyes, she warily looked around. She didn’t know how, but that perverted god must have had a hand in the wind being so playful.
It took her a full minute to regain herself and test out infusing mana into the skirt. Even so, she infused mana while holding down both sides of the skirt with her hands.
“... It took all my mana and I only stored a hundredth of a second? How is this suppose to help me?”
Confused, Raine take a leap of faith and believe in the trickster god. The dungeon should give experience as a reward for completing it. Hence, Raine moved onto the final magic circle.
Congratulations, You have cleared the Chronos Dungeon
This dungeon can only be cleared once a day. Subsequent attempts to enter the dungeon will take you directly to the exit. For completing the dungeon for the first time, you gain additional experience. Seek out other versions of the clock tower to try out an upgraded version of the dungeon.
Altered Time activated!
Extracting time.
Reverting soul to previous existence.
You lost all experience.
With a flash of light, Raine appeared atop the clock tower. Her face sported a surprised look.
“I didn’t die? So time can be substituted. By using my own stored time, I bypass the near infinite mana the curse requires and thus, the curse does not kill me. Well, whatever…”
Weary with all that happened, she equipped the newbie pants and sat down. Idly, she enjoyed the view.
“I don’t see how girls can wear such a short skirt. Aren’t they afraid they will accidentally reveal their panties?”
A town dyed in crimson as the sun set. The noise of activity as people quickly walked from building to building.
“And that perverted god! How can he just shamelessly barge into my room unannounced.”
The neighing of horses and the clanging of blacksmiths. Hawkers screaming their wares and the rowdy brawl of adventurers.
“I bet that pervert sent that sudden gust of wind to laugh at my reaction. I swear I heard him laughing.”
The drunken revelry and the melodic songs of bards. The sounds of the town below rose up to the top of the clock tower.
“First he turned me into a girl. Then he embarrassed me. Desperately, he apologized and told bad jokes. Then that look of horror at my act followed by that bold challenge. That last lonely smile before it was covered up with false cheer.”
Not a word was spoken about the curse that took place. What should have been the most frustrating event was replaced by a wave of memorable events.
“Really, these past few days have been something else.”
Words spoken alone into the empty air. Sometimes containing disbelief. Sometimes spoken with anger. Always, they carried an undercurrent of warmth.
Silently, she gazed up into the sky. Amidst the bustling town, alone atop the clock tower she quietly passed the rest of the day looking up into the sky.