Keon stood on the sidelines of the chaotic battle, watching as the knight clashed against the colossal skeletal serpent. Each strike, dodge, and roar felt like a thunderstorm tearing apart the world itself. But then, everything changed.
The knight suddenly raised his sword high into the air, the golden blade glowing brighter than ever before. He roared something incomprehensible—probably a dramatic battle cry—and brought the sword crashing down with unimaginable force.
The impact unleashed a massive explosion that sent shockwaves through the ground. Rocks and debris flew everywhere, and the side of the battlefield where Keon was standing erupted into a blinding inferno of light and fire.
Keon blinked once. Then twice. And then he sighed.
"Not again." He glanced down at himself, completely unharmed despite standing in the middle of what looked like a volcanic eruption. His clothes weren't even singed.
"Honestly, at this point, I'm starting to feel a little left out. Couldn't even give me a cool burn mark for the aesthetic?"
Keon brushed some imaginary dust off his shoulders and turned away from the fight. That's when his eyes fell on the shimmering black fabric draped over his shoulders—the Cloak of disguise and obsidian hourglass
He'd nearly forgotten about it in all the chaos. His hand brushed the smooth, otherworldly material as he muttered, "Oh, right. You two are still here. Bet you've got something up your sleeve, huh?"
Curious, Keon opened his system panel and accessed the item's description.
---
Obsidian Hourglass
Type: Artifact
Description: A Hourglas imbued with the power of time and shadow. Grants the user the ability to temporarily manipulate their surroundings using temporal distortions.
Requirements: 4 Mystic Affinity.
Current Status: Usable.
Abilities
Time stop: pause time for 4 minutes under small area
Hourglass Reversal: Rewinds time within a small area for up to 10 seconds.
---
Keon raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "Okay, that's actually kinda cool. Rewinding time? Sounds like cheating, and I love cheating."
He checked his stats and noted that he met the Mystic Affinity requirement perfectly. "Guess all those points weren't wasted after all."
The explosions and roars of the battle between the knight and the serpent still echoed in the distance, but they felt far away now. Keon was too focused on the cloak.
"Alright, let's see what you can do."
He activated Hourglass Reversal.
For a moment, nothing happened. The world around him remained still, the distant sounds of war continuing uninterrupted. But then, the air around him shimmered, and a strange, weightless sensation washed over him.
The rubble on the ground began to shift. Broken stones reassembled themselves, cracks in the earth sealed up, and the fiery remnants of the knight's earlier explosion disappeared as if they'd never happened.
Keon's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. The hourglass was rewinding time—not on a grand scale, but in a localized area around him.
"Whoa." He turned his head to look at the massive boulder that had been obliterated by the knight's earlier attack. It was now completely intact, as if the explosion had never occurred.
A grin spread across his face. "Oh, I am definitely keeping you."
But before he could revel in it power any longer, a loud crash shook the ground beneath him. Keon turned to see the skeletal serpent lashing out with its tail, sending the knight flying across the battlefield.
The knight crashed into the ground, his armor dented and his sword knocked from his hand. The serpent reared back, preparing to deliver the finishing blow.
Keon hesitated for a moment, debating whether to step in or stay out of it. Then he sighed, muttering to himself, "This is probably a bad idea…"
He activated his cloak of disguise, vanishing from sight.
As the knight and serpent continued their battle, Keon slipped through the chaos unnoticed, his mind racing with possibilities for how he could use the both the cloak and hourglass to his advantage.
As Keon watched the chaotic battle between the skeletal serpent and the knight, a sudden ding from the system panel interrupted his thoughts. He instinctively glanced at the glowing display that appeared in front of him, and his eyes narrowed at the bold text
---
Urgent Mission: Save the Knight
Objective: Ensure the survival of the knight currently battling the mutated skeletal serpent.
Reward: Rift Storage Ability (unlocks dimensional inventory storage).
Failure Penalty: Rift Leap ability cooldown extended by 32 hours.
---
Keon's face immediately contorted into a sour expression. "Seriously? Seriously?" he groaned, running his hand down his face. "I haven't even hit adulthood yet, and I'm already being forced to play errand boy for this sadistic system. I swear, you're the real pain in my spine!"
The knight wasn't even his ally! In fact, the guy had literally thrown a spear of thunder at him. Why would Keon save someone who clearly wanted him dead? He glanced back at the chaotic battle as the serpent lunged toward the knight, who barely managed to deflect its attack with his sword. Explosions shook the ground as magic clashed with bone and steel, but it was clear the knight was starting to falter.
"Yeah, sure, no pressure," Keon muttered sarcastically. "Just save the guy who's been trying to barbecue me. Great idea."
Then, he remembered something. The spear. The same spear the knight had thrown at him like a lightning bolt earlier. Keon's eyes widened as he looked around, his mind racing. That weapon had been powerful—too powerful for him to ignore. If he could find it, maybe it would give him an edge, or at least buy him some time to figure out his next move.
Muttering curses under his breath, Keon began scanning the area. Rubble, boulders, and shattered debris littered the ground, but the glowing trail of electricity left by the spear gave him a faint clue to follow. He jogged toward the trail, occasionally phasing through fallen debris in his path.
As he moved, he kept glancing back at the fight. The knight was still holding his ground, dodging and countering with surprising agility despite the relentless attacks of the serpent. However, the snake's skeletal armor was proving nearly indestructible, and each attack seemed to chip away at the knight's strength.
Finally, Keon spotted a faint glow ahead. A jagged spear, still crackling with residual energy, lay embedded in a boulder several feet away. The sight of it made Keon grin despite himself.
"There you are," he said, jogging toward the weapon. "Let's see what kind of fireworks you can really bring to the party."
Keon reached for the spear, but the moment his fingers made contact—
His hand phased right through it.
He blinked.
Then, he tried again.
Once more, his fingers passed through as if the spear didn't exist.
"…Oh, come on." Keon groaned, his eye twitching. "Even weapons are refusing to acknowledge my existence now?"
The spear, still crackling with residual lightning, was embedded deep into the boulder, its energy flickering violently. Keon scowled, realizing the problem—his immunity. This thing was still an active weapon, carrying a destructive force that should, theoretically, hurt him. But because of his invulnerability, it simply ignored him like he wasn't even there.
"Right, right," he muttered, crossing his arms. "I can't pick up something that's supposed to kill me. Makes perfect sense. This whole system is such a pain in the—"
Ding!
A system prompt appeared before him:
---
[Weapon Identified: Stormpiercer]
Type: Relic Spear
Affinity: Lightning
Description: A legendary spear once wielded by an ancient knight who conquered thunderstorms. It is imbued with the wrath of a thousand storms and will strike its target with unavoidable lightning when thrown.
Effect: Upon activation, the spear hones in on its target and delivers a piercing strike enhanced with elemental destruction. Requires a wielder with at least 5 Mystic Affinity or direct permission from the last owner.
Warning: This weapon does not acknowledge those unworthy and might harm them upon attempts of welding
---
Keon read the last line.
Then read it again.
His eye twitched harder.
"...You're telling me I can't pick it up because it doesn't acknowledge my existence?"
He wanted to punch something. But knowing his luck, his fist would probably phase through that too.
Keon sighed, rubbing his temples. "Alright, let's think. If I can't touch the spear normally… then I need another way to interact with it."
He glanced down at his system panel, scrolling through his options. He had Mystic Affinity: 4, which was one point short of the required amount to wield the spear properly. His Cloak of Disguise needed 2 Mystic Affinity, and his Obsidian Hourglass required 4 to activate.
"Do I risk using a skill or just stare at this thing until inspiration hits me?"
Meanwhile, behind him—
BOOM!
.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's dumb. Trust me, I'm suffering too," Keon muttered. He exhaled, then rolled his shoulders. "Alright, enough whining. Time to fix this mess before the system punishes me."
Keon clenched his fist, prepared to try something stupid.
Again.