Five seconds.
That was all Lucas had.
[Temporal Sight]
The world remained almost completely still.
The mid-boss’s weapon was frozen in the middle of its swing.
Lucas could see every detail.
The movement of the armor.
The position of its feet.
The small crack beneath its neck.
Everything was clear.
Lucas moved.
He twisted out of the creature’s grip and landed on the ground.
Four seconds.
He immediately created distance.
The mid-boss’s body slowly moved through the distorted flow of time.
Lucas stared at the notification.
[Temporal Sight]
[Remaining Duration: 4 seconds]
He didn’t waste them.
He studied the creature.
The mid-boss wasn’t simply powerful because of its level.
Its movements were extremely efficient.
There was almost no wasted motion.
Lucas recognized the fighting style.
Whoever—or whatever—had created this creature had designed it to punish mistakes.
Three seconds.
Lucas moved closer.
He didn’t attack.
He watched.
The creature’s center of gravity shifted.
Its right leg moved slightly.
Its shoulder turned.
Lucas understood.
The next attack would come from the left.
Two seconds.
Lucas stepped into position.
He raised his fist.
Impact Break.
He prepared the attack but didn’t release it.
One second.
Lucas aimed directly at the crack beneath the creature’s neck.
Then—
[Temporal Sight Ended]
Time returned to normal.
The mid-boss swung.
Lucas moved exactly where he had predicted.
The weapon passed beside him.
Lucas released Impact Break.
His fist slammed into the damaged area.
CRACK!
The armor around the creature’s neck shattered further.
The mid-boss stumbled backward.
Lucas landed several feet away.
He breathed heavily.
[Temporal Sight]
[Cooldown: 60 seconds]
Lucas glanced at the notification.
He had already learned something important.
The ability wasn’t meant to defeat the enemy by itself.
It gave him information.
Five seconds of near-perfect perception.
Five seconds to understand an attack.
Five seconds to find an opening.
The rest depended on him.
Lucas smiled.
“That’s enough.”
The mid-boss charged.
Lucas raised his fists.
The fight continued.
The creature’s weapon came down.
Lucas dodged.
He countered with Impact Break.
The mid-boss blocked.
Lucas moved around it.
Strength Enhancement.
A punch.
Speed Enhancement.
Another attack.
Impact Break.
The monster barely moved.
Lucas was forced backward.
He looked at the creature.
The difference between them was enormous.
Level 100.
D-Rank.
Lucas was Level 30.
E-Rank.
Even with his experience from his first life, he couldn’t simply overpower it.
But this was exactly why Boost Breaker had brought him here.
It wasn’t asking whether he was stronger.
It was asking whether he could overcome something stronger than himself.
Lucas continued fighting.
Minutes passed.
The mid-boss attacked relentlessly.
Lucas dodged whenever possible.
Every mistake cost him.
Every successful attack created another crack in the creature’s armor. This story is hosted at g.com.
But Lucas was slowly getting tired.
Break Limit was putting strain on his body.
His breathing became heavier.
His muscles began to ache.
Yet the mid-boss still looked almost untouched.
Lucas glanced at his system.
Something caught his attention.
[ADVANCEMENT DUNGEON]
[Progress: 86%]
Lucas frowned.
He opened his experience window.
[LEVEL: 30]
[EXP: —]
There was no percentage.
No experience number.
Nothing.
Lucas smiled slightly.
“So that’s why.”
He already knew the answer.
But he hadn’t thought about it until now.
All of the experience he had earned inside the advancement dungeon wasn’t being added to his level.
It was being stored.
Converted.
Every monster he defeated.
Every battle he survived.
Every bit of progress he made.
It was all being counted toward the advancement trial.
Lucas remembered his first life.
He had misunderstood this exact thing.
Back then, he had entered his first advancement trial thinking he could gain experience while completing it.
He couldn’t.
He had fought.
He had survived.
He had reached the end.
And he had failed.
The system had taken nothing from him.
No level.
No experience.
No reward.
He had been forced to start over.
Lucas’s expression became serious.
“I failed this before.”
He remembered the feeling.
The frustration.
The exhaustion.
The realization that everything he had done inside the trial had amounted to nothing because he hadn’t completed the final requirement.
He had attempted the advancement several times.
Each time, he learned something new.
Each time, he got closer.
But until he finally understood how Boost Breaker worked, he couldn’t complete it.
This time was different.
Lucas knew exactly what he was facing.
He knew what failure meant.
No experience.
No progress.
No D-Rank.
Everything he had earned inside this dungeon would disappear from the system’s progression if he failed.
He couldn’t let that happen.
Lucas looked at the mid-boss.
“You won’t beat me this time.”
The creature roared.
It charged.
Lucas activated Speed Enhancement.
He moved to the side.
The weapon missed.
Lucas countered.
Impact Break.
The attack struck the damaged armor.
The crack widened.
The mid-boss staggered.
Lucas stepped backward.
His breathing was becoming heavier.
[Temporal Sight]
[Cooldown: 14 seconds]
Lucas watched the creature.
Fourteen seconds.
He could wait.
The mid-boss charged again.
Lucas didn’t attack.
He dodged.
The creature swung.
Lucas ducked.
Another attack.
He stepped backward.
Another.
He moved to the side.
He wasn’t trying to win yet.
He was buying time.
[Temporal Sight]
[Cooldown: 7 seconds]
The mid-boss raised its weapon.
Lucas moved.
The attack missed.
[Cooldown: 5 seconds]
Lucas activated Strength Enhancement.
The creature stumbled.
[Cooldown: 3 seconds]
Lucas stepped back.
The creature recovered.
[Cooldown: 2 seconds]
Lucas raised his fists.
[Cooldown: 1 second]
The mid-boss charged.
[Temporal Sight]
[Cooldown: 0]
[Ability Ready]
Lucas’s eyes sharpened.
The creature was already moving toward him.
Lucas smiled.
“Now.”
He activated Temporal Sight.
The world slowed.
Five seconds.
Lucas moved.
He could see everything.
The creature’s attack.
Its foot placement.
Its shoulder movement.
The weakness beneath its neck.
He had already learned its pattern.
This time, he wasn’t going to waste the ability.
Four seconds.
Lucas moved behind the creature.
Three seconds.
He activated Strength Enhancement.
Two seconds.
He raised his fist.
Impact Break gathered around his hand.
One second.
Lucas aimed directly at the largest crack beneath the creature’s neck.
Time returned to normal.
Lucas released the attack.
The impact struck the exact same weak point.
The mid-boss staggered.
Its armor cracked.
Lucas landed in front of it.
The creature slowly raised its head.
It was injured.
But it wasn’t defeated.
Lucas wiped the blood from his mouth.
“Still standing?”
The mid-boss roared.
Lucas smiled.
“Good.”
He lowered his stance.
He remembered his first life.
The failures.
The mistakes.
The times he had entered this trial and been forced out without gaining anything.
He remembered the moment he finally succeeded.
He had been much stronger then.
But he hadn’t understood Boost Breaker nearly as well as he did now.
This time, he didn’t need years to figure it out.
He only needed to finish what he had started.
Lucas looked at the creature.
The mid-boss raised its weapon.
Lucas activated every enhancement he could safely use.
[Strength Enhancement]
[Speed Enhancement]
[Break Limit]
Power surged through his body.
His muscles tightened.
His heartbeat accelerated.
The mid-boss charged.
Lucas charged toward it.
The distance between them disappeared.
The creature swung its weapon.
Lucas shifted his body.
The blade passed beside him.
Lucas stepped inside its reach.
Impact Break gathered around his fist.
He drove his fist toward the cracked armor beneath its neck.
The mid-boss suddenly changed its stance.
Lucas’s eyes widened.
It had predicted his attack.
The creature’s free hand shot toward Lucas.
Lucas realized he was trapped.
The mid-boss was about to counterattack.
Lucas clenched his fist.
“Then I’ll change the plan.”
He twisted his body.
The creature’s hand closed around his shoulder.
Its weapon rose above him.
Lucas looked up.
The blade began descending.
And this time—
Lucas couldn’t use Temporal Sight.
The cooldown had just begun.
The weapon was already coming down.