Chapter 3: The Power to Pause Time

Jinu sat cross-legged on his bed, staring at the glowing orb on his desk. It was quiet now. The initial shock of gaining the Time Tyrant System had worn off, replaced by a growing sense of curiosity and excitement. He felt like a kid who had just been handed the keys to a brand-new car, unsure of what to do but eager to learn. His hair—half-silver and half-black—still felt like a strange new reality. Every time he glanced in the mirror, the reflection seemed like someone else. But this was real.

"Okay," Jinu muttered to himself, rubbing his hands together, trying to center himself. "I already know what time powers are, but there's gotta be more to it. There's gotta be some kind of strategy for using this."

He grabbed his phone from the desk and pulled up the search engine, fingers tapping quickly as he began typing. His mind raced with questions—What could he do with this power? Could he control time more effectively? Could he use it for self-defense, making money, or something even bigger?

He tapped the screen, scrolling through the search results, and clicked on a thread from an online forum that caught his attention. It was titled:

"What would happen if time paused?"

Jinu squinted at the screen, intrigued by the question. His finger hovered over the comments, and he read the first one aloud, unable to resist the curiosity:

"FatSquirrels" - 8 years ago:

"In your scenario, unless for some reason gasses are unfrozen for some strange reason, then you would asphyxiate quickly. As even if the stuff in your lungs and right in front of your face was moving, you would still exhaust your oxygen pretty fast. Is the Earth still turning or is it frozen? Have forces, momentums, etc. also frozen? If you are essentially stopping time, then theoretically nothing should move at all. And if you are making just a small part move, then you are violating all known physics anyway."

Jinu blinked, reading the words carefully. The idea of being frozen in time, trapped without oxygen, made his stomach tighten. He scrolled down to the next comment:

"ZombiePenguin666" - 8 years ago:

"I would take it a step further; let's say all the gas in your body 'froze' with time too. You'd be stuck to the spot, every fabric of your body stuck in place by billions of microscopic shards, and you'd die by asphyxiation while every slight move you attempted to make would cause stabbing pain."

Jinu recoiled, the weight of the comment sinking in. For a moment, he felt a wave of panic, his breath quickening. He looked around his room, wondering if time were to stop again, would he become trapped in place like those comments suggested?

"Thank God that doesn't happen to me..." he muttered to himself, wiping a hand across his forehead, a bead of sweat forming from the mere thought of it.

He leaned back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Okay, that was a close one." He let out a nervous laugh. "I thought I was gonna die for a second there."

With a deep breath, he decided to search more, determined to learn more about how he could actually use this power. His fingers tapped the screen again, this time typing in: "What to do if you have a time stop ability?"

After a moment of scanning through the results, he found a comment that intrigued him. It read:

"If you had the ability to stop time at the poker table, you could use it to gain a significant advantage by: carefully analyzing your hand and opponents' tells while time is frozen, allowing you to make the optimal decision every time, potentially reading your opponents' cards, and even subtly manipulating the situation to your benefit by adjusting chips or positioning before time resumes; essentially, giving you perfect information and control over every move at the table."

Jinu smiled to himself. That was the kind of information he needed. Perfect control over the game. It was strategic—a mind game where he could predict outcomes, manipulate the situation, and walk away a winner every time. A grin slowly spread across his face. The idea of using time manipulation for something as simple as winning money was almost too easy.

"That's nice," Jinu whispered under his breath, thinking about his average life. He had always struggled to make ends meet, scraping by on the bare minimum, and now, with this power, maybe he could finally change that. Maybe he could make money easily, something his parents never had the luxury of doing.

His mind drifted back to the thought of his daily struggles—getting by, barely managing rent, dealing with bills. But now, with his time powers, there was an opportunity to reshape his life.

He scrolled further, looking for more ways to use his abilities. Another comment caught his eye:

"To effectively use Time Stop in a fight, the key is to leverage the ability to move and act freely while time is paused for everyone else. You can strategically position yourself, deliver critical blows, or set up advantageous situations before time resumes, essentially giving you a brief moment of complete control over the battlefield."

Jinu's eyes widened. "Fight?" he muttered to himself. His mind clicked as he read the rest of the comment. Time Stop wasn't just for fun or making money—it was a tool for self-defense, for protection, and for fighting. This was real. He could fight with this power. He could control any situation, even in combat.

The comment went on:

"Key strategies for using Time Stop:

Strategic Positioning: When time stops, quickly move to a position where you can attack multiple enemies at once, gain an advantageous height, or access a critical area that was previously inaccessible.High-Impact Attacks: Utilize the time to perform powerful, high-damage attacks that would be difficult to land in normal combat, such as a surprise critical strike or a devastating area-of-effect spell.Disarming or Disrupting: During the time stop, disarm enemies, destroy key items, or disrupt their formations to significantly hinder their ability to fight when time resumes.Information Gathering: Use the time to quickly assess the battlefield, identify enemy weaknesses, and plan your next moves.Escape and Defense: If surrounded or outnumbered, use time stop to quickly teleport to a safer location or set up defensive measures before time resumes."

Jinu absorbed the information eagerly. This wasn't just about personal gain—this was about survival, too. Self-defense. Fighting. He could be untouchable.

He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining the possibilities. What would it feel like to be invincible, to have complete control over the situation? In that brief moment, he saw himself standing tall, powerful, a figure whose actions could not be predicted. The confidence he lacked all his life was now within reach.

Jinu leaned back on his bed, smiling widely. "Alright, I get it now." He felt a rush of excitement coursing through him. "I'm ready." He couldn't wait to put this knowledge to the test.

He glanced at the clock on his desk, wondering how much time had passed.

The Time Tyrant System had opened his eyes to a new reality, and Jinu was ready to take control of it. But there was one more thing he wanted to know—how much longer could he hold this power before it started to consume him?

But that was a question for another time.