1 Chapter 1: Arrival

Gaus trembled as the cold bit into his bones. He stood by the roadside, staring at a collection of capped bottles on a table.

After what seemed like forever, he saw two people approaching him from the other side of the road. From their tired looks, worn-out dresses, and fast strides, Gaus assumed they had spent the whole day at work and were in a hurry to get home and rest.

"We have fresh milk for sale. 5% discount," he said at the top of his lungs.

And when he didn't get any response, "5% discount. 10% discount if you buy two."

"..."

"...You can have a 20% discount if you buy more," he said, desperation palpable in his voice.

But still no luck. The two would-be customers didn't even look at him.

A few minutes later, another batch came - three old men and a woman. This time Gaus went all out from the very beginning.

"20% discount from the original price for any pair of purchase!" He declared.

None of them took his offer.

As he waited for more customers, the King's clock rang twelve times, signifying midnight. He was supposed to pack his stuff and go home, but he couldn't do that. He had to sell the milk or it would spoil in a few hours.

He stared at the empty street in front of him. Everyone was probably asleep. There might not be any more customers. He felt weak in his knees.

He had to pay his landlord tomorrow. He had already signed the papers to leave the house by the end of the week if he didn't pay his rent in the next twenty-four hours. The exam fees could wait. Even though he was three years late already, he could take the exam next year. But the rent had to be paid.

Would the orphanage even take him back after all these years? He was too old and the place was overcrowded with children. He had no memories of his parents and so no living relatives. Mrs. Cassack had already helped him so much by letting him milk the cows for free. Without her, he would have starved already.

Another ringing came from the clock, signifying one o'clock in the morning. His body trembled and his teeth clattered. It was the cold, it had to be. There was no way he was afraid of the landlord.

Gaus refused to go home. There might be people coming back late. They would be hungry and would buy his bottled milk. If he could sell all the bottles every day for the next seven days and add it to all his savings, then he could pay the thirty percent due that would give him two more months.

He stood there for another two hours. When the clock rang three more times, it became clear that no one would come.

It was over. At least, he wouldn't die. He could milk cows even while living on the streets.

He packed the bottles and went home. Every time he passed a house, he would look at the closed door and the dark curtains covering the windows and think about the happy family living comfortably inside. Everyone had their fate, so he would just look away and pretend he didn't see it.

He went inside his house and locked the door. Absentmindedly, he found a room by the side and entered. He downed a bottle of milk and threw himself on the bed after clearing the little space he needed.

He fell asleep almost immediately, thinking about the angry landlord.

***

It was Tuesday at 03:00:00 for the first time.

Gaus opened his eyes to a flash of blue light. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep in his bed and now he was seeing some blue panel.

Gaus rolled his eyes looking at the text in confusion.

He looked at his right hand where the text was being projected from. An analog watch with a golden crown was wrapped around his wrist.

Gaus decided to go along with it for now and turned the crown back. He was greeted by another notification.

<Magiwatch has saved five seconds.

You have Rewound for five seconds, effectively erasing everything in the said period. Only you will remember.

For using Rewind for the first time, you've unlocked the primary skills: save library and skill book.

•Save Library

Rank: rare 1

Everything you saved is special. What's saved is far more precious than what's not. This function is designed to add value to everything worth saving. Gain clarity point (CP) and use it to clarify what's saved. A CP used on memory will automatically turn the memory into a book. You'll remember every single moment of the book and you can further clarify it to learn skills targeted at you or to pick your opponents' weak spot.

1 CP x level per level

You have 1 CP left.

NB: any CP used will be lost forever.

Skill book: this saves all the skills learned from save library>

Gaus turned to look at his surroundings. He was still standing in the alley...

In the alley?

The wall in front of him was painted yellow, and the one behind him green. He remembered nothing of that sort. The whole thing felt like he was in a dream sequence. But he was fairly certain he was awake. And the watch was showing some strange date that just didn't add up.

<Tuesday

April, 833 A.A

3:03 am>

833 A.A? What did that even mean?

It was dark but some bright stones hanging over the walls lit up the streets. Hesitatingly he walked to the end of the alley and looked around. There was no one nearby. The houses had their doors and windows closed. It was silent with no lights or any sign of movement inside the houses.

Gaus walked to the next street and checked. It was the same. The silence seemed to be getting worse even.

Each house was exceedingly clean with not a speck of dust on it. Even the walls seemed freshly painted and the glass windows cleaned. The streets were paved with shining stones. It seemed like the area was renovated very recently and the occupants were yet to come back to their houses. But why the eerie silence?

"Hey," someone called out from behind him. "What are you doing?"

The voice broke the silence and startled him. A man in uniform pointed a sheathed sword at him... A sword? Since when did the officers carry swords? Where was he anyway?

"It's late, I know," Gaus said with an apologetic smile. He didn't want to get in trouble with an officer. "I'll be on my way."

The officer gave him a wicked grin. "Late, you say? This is 332 Henwi avenue, remember?"

Gaus frowned. What did that even mean?

"Let me remind you about the curfew then," the officer said. He was sarcastic.

"Yes... about that..." Gaus paused as the man disappeared right in front of his eyes and appeared in front of him. The distance between them had been at least ten meters but the man had skipped it in the blink of an eye.

"Yo," he grabbed Gaus by the collar, "it isn't just any curfew, you know. We have orders to kill on sight."

"That's ridiculous. Who punishes something so trivial with death?"

"The Qatalans," the officer said as if it was normal and Gaus was dumb for not seeing it. Without any attempt at arresting him or explaining the crimes he'd committed, the man unsheathed his blade and thrust it at his chest.

With nothing to depend on and everything being so sudden, Gaus quickly turned the crown back, but not before the tip of the sword pierced him. The world blurred and everything went dark. He couldn't know whether it was the pain or the watch that made his vision blur. When it returned to normal, he was alone again.

<Magiwatch has saved 40 seconds.

You have Rewound for 40 seconds, effectively erasing everything in the said period. Only you will remember.

Skill detected in the saved memory.

•Blink

Rank: rare 1

Teleport yourself and objects you carry on your person through space; you can go up or down and you can pass through walls. You can't teleport objects alone and you can't teleport through objects charged with mana.

Distance: up to 3m (increase with leveling up).

Cost: up to 10MP (it's dependent on distance and weight. Note that the weight of your clothes and anything else on your person will be determined and subtracted accordingly.

Save the skill for 1 CP? Y/N?>

He pressed yes.

Gaus frowned. One moment he didn't know how to do something and the next he had the technical know-how.

With a mental command, he appeared three meters away from his spot. He didn't feel dizzy or something; it came to him naturally, like he was born with it.

He ran for a while before he found a dark hiding spot behind a garbage can. He ran his fingers over his chest where he had just been stabbed. There was no longer any wound and the pain was gone. The Rewind had erased the damage he'd sustained completely.

Even if this was a dream, he would make good use of it. A timely break from selling milk and having to deal with angry landlords.

He spent several minutes fondling the watch. If he turned the crown forward, nothing happened. But if he turned it back, time would rewind. He could Rewind for up to 70 seconds at a time. Anything beyond that and the time-reversal would stop until after several minutes.

After testing everything he could, he tried removing the watch from his wrist without success. After the fifth time, he decided the only way he could probably part with it was to cut off the hand, which was not going to happen. So he turned to the immediate problem.

According to the blue panel - the name he gave the flashy blue notes being projected from the watch - this place was called Multiverse. Gaus didn't know what that meant, but that wouldn't be a problem either, he could ask about it as soon as it was morning. The real question was why he was there. There was no indication as to why or how he was there. Would asking around give him the answer he needed?

As he thought about it, the hour went by quietly. He had almost fallen asleep when he heard a voice in his head.

"You are surrounded. Do not move from your spot if you want to live."

He looked in the direction the voice was coming from and met with three officers: a woman and two men. The woman stood at the center and was the speaker. Her voice was rough, but even more surprising was her shining, black mustache. He had never seen a woman with a mustache.

He mustered what little courage he had left and looked the mustache woman into the eye, defiantly saying, "I did nothing wrong."

"Then you've nothing to fear," said the officer standing on the right.

The other officer standing on the left pointed at Gaus' conveniently placed hands. "Put your hands away from your watch."

With what happened earlier with the other officer, Gaus knew there was some ongoing investigation and this wasn't going to be a casual arrest. He had somehow managed to land in a dangerous situation. The officers wouldn't even listen to his side of the story. Just by being there, he had become a suspect. If he was caught, he would likely be charged with some absurd crimes.

"Take your hands off your watch," the woman said. "And spread them so I can see every finger."

Gaus didn't comply: he positioned his hand very close to the crown, so he could act at a moment's notice.

"Hey, move that hand away from there or I will... "

They were too slow and before any of them could move, Gaus had turned the crown backward. The world blurred and everything went blank. When he became conscious again, he was lying comfortably behind the dustbin, alone.

<Magiwatch has saved 38 secs.

You have Rewound for 38 seconds, effectively erasing everything in the said period. Only you will remember.

Two skills were detected.

•Stealth

Rank: ordinary

A mage is naturally a beacon of fire for all to see. As a mage, your presence is intensified by your mana, making your body more distinguishable and conspicuous. This is invaluable for intimidation but it is not needed for discrete jobs. It is often vital to remain hidden from foes. This skill allows you to erase your footsteps, body, and mana.

Cost: 1 MP per minute

You have no CP to activate the skill

•Mana sense

Rank: ordinary

This is a basic enhancement of the human sense of touch. It gives the ability to perceive mana through the body as heat. The range is determined by the difference in mana between you and the target, the presence of protective mana devices or skills on the target, and mana taming.

Range: up to 6m

Cost: 0.1MP per minute

You have no CP to activate the skill.>

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