“Anything else about this so-called status screen?”

“Yeah, before that, the system message said this status screen became usable when Time Stop reached Level 1, which also meant my Time Mage level hit 1, marking the end of the tutorial.

Now, it shows ‘Time Mage Level 1,’ but unlike Time Stop or Time Leap, there’s no EXP display. So, I’m thinking it might be the total of all my skill and magic levels combined that determines my Time Mage level.”

“Mhm, mhm, I see?”

“Well, my reasoning is that Time Stop just hit Level 1 the other day, but before that, it was Level 0. At that time, I hadn’t even learned Time Leap yet, and right now, Time Leap is still Level 0. That’s my basis.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“As for the benefits of leveling up… Well, first, the status window became visible, but I think that’s less about the level increasing and more about just going from Level 0 to Level 1.”

Yōji nods repeatedly.

“But honestly, this is kinda it for now. Time magic’s pretty underwhelming. No real uses yet.”

“True. But I did think of one special use for Time Leap, though.”

“Eh? Seriously? What, what? I thought that was the most useless time magic of all! Wow, Yōji—no, Yōsahiro—coming in clutch?”

“‘Most useless’ when there’s only two options? Whatever. Anyway, like… if a nuke was coming—nah, that wouldn’t work. Radiation and heat would still be deadly after 10 minutes.”

“Ah, I kinda get what you’re saying. If you can survive the initial 10 minutes, then it might work, right?”

“If you got caught in a mudslide or an avalanche, there might be a chance.”

“That makes sense, but… yeah, I’ll keep it in mind, I guess?”

“Pretty much. Oh, or like a plane crash—maybe a chance there…”

“That’s more likely to happen, but if the plane’s on fire 10 minutes later, no dice. Best-case scenario, you just wake up 10 minutes later in a wrecked plane.

But if you survive and get interviewed like, ‘So, what was the plane like before the crash?’ you’d have no clue what to say.”

“That’s what you’re worried about? Just say you were knocked out. Easy.”

“Fair. Either way, none of those are things I’d wanna experience.”

“Well, that’s just how it is, right? Stopping time to work miracles and all.”

Maybe so… But seriously, is there really no good use for this magic?

Slurp. I sip from a carton of orange juice, deep in thought.

!!!

“Yōji, it’s here! It’s here! The divine usage of time magic has finally descended upon me!”

“Somehow, I already know it’s gonna be stupid, but go ahead. I’ll hear you out.”

“If you’re touching something, it stays soft, right? So, if I stop time while holding Haruka’s hand or just lightly touching her, her boobs should stay soft! Oooohhh, this is a huge discovery!”

“Maybe. But her clothes would still be hard.”

Tch! Damn it!

“Ugh, and here I thought I’d found a great use for it.”

“Really?”

“Ah, but what if she’s in a swimsuit? Maybe a chance then?”

“At that point, why not just confess to Haruka? Might have a shot.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Zero chance.”

“With your smarts, Hideaki? I’d say you’ve got a shot. Maybe even two shots.”

What’s he talking about? For such a smart guy, Yōji says weird stuff sometimes.

Ugh. And here I thought I’d finally come up with a good use for it.

“Hideaki, what if you fought evil organizations or something? Time Stop would probably be most useful there.”

“It’d help, but I’d most likely die.”

“Well, with a 2-second stop and a 9-minute cooldown, yeah, probably.”

Game over!