I can feel a strong breeze at my entire body, the cold weather and the thin air made it hard to breathe. I'm looking upwards and seeing the moon illuminated the nights, it's a beautiful night if there no invasion and destruction everywhere.

Once again, I'm closing my eyes and attempting to concentrate on this chilly night.

[Warning: Your destination is the deep sea. Time Travel Skill canceled]

"Why the hell? How many times have I failed to do time travel"

I’m clenching hard my hand, looking at the warning window saying I failed again to do time travel.

* Huff * * Huff *

Fortunately, although time travel failed, at least I managed to escape temporarily from attacks of that crazy soldiers.

[Unbelievable, that shitty plan works]

"It's not a shitty plan, I thought about it carefully. You know?"

* Huff * * Huff *

[Why is your breath so heavy]

"You know I'm exhausted already, but even if I don't feel tired, in this place any ordinary person will also have trouble breathing"

[I guess you're right]

When I was attacked by those fighters, I immediately thought about how I could run away from them to another safe place. But after I think twice, will I be able to escape physically from those who may have planned this raid a long time ago?

If I’m in their position, I will make plans to prevent target run away in the first place, and if with some miracle target successfully run away, I must already have the method to find them.

So I canceled my plan to escape to another place and tried to flee to another time. Well, that's the idea, but time travel is much harder to do than controlling time.

Because constant failure to do time travel, I felt my energy got drained, and my head increasingly pained on each continuous failure. So I decided to hide temporarily to save and recover my power.

Even though I must hide quickly to save my power, I still couldn’t do it sloppily. So I formulate a plan that I thought have an actual possibility to successfully hide from those fighters.

First of all, in flee 101, disturb their view perception, I rewind local weather and stopping it during heavy rain, it's too bad in this city there never hit by a storm. But even just this first step consume more than ten percent of my energy, I could feel my energy drained over. Well, no more rewinding at this significant scale next time.

Now, as an artistic touch, I will be vanishing like a magician. Well, rather than want, I really need to disappear from their sight to make sure they don’t know where I hide. So how to do it? Well, this step is a bit tricky, and I thought it is unlikely to succeed. But after I actually tried to do it, it is somewhat easy although this later drains more my energy.

Basic biology here, human need light to see. So I'm moving to my hiding place while stopping all light directed to me before it touches me and rewinding light to state it yet to reach me.

I’m not a scientist, so I kinda doubt it will work. But hey, man must try, and it works somehow. The downside is I can’t see anything in the process, but as long I know where to run, with my home field advantage, it still beneficial towards me.

But if I just vanished like that, they will run and easily catch me who can't see anything. So after that, I need to create some diversions by rewinding neighbor vehicles back to normal and let them go to their owners' job. But that still not enough, I can safely assume they capable destroy all the cars, and if they do, they will know I’m not inside any of them.

They will tighten the parameter and start frantically hunting me. I’m sure sooner or later those men will find me, but of course, I prefer the later. So I will need to create a place for them to “search” me while I hide in another location.

With that in mind, I prepared to create many holes around my house. Many years ago, this city hit by a prolonged drought. So the residents dig many holes, hoping that one of them connected with groundwater. Although they don’t see any groundwater, fortunately for them the drought is finally over, and they closed the holes because the existence of miracle invention, tap water.

However after a long drought over, when the city resident dug wells before, they found some gold in some hole, and they start digging again. Well, unfortunately for them, after a few months they found out that is just pyrite, not I say pyrite is worthless. But still it isn’t as valuable as gold, and after two years it is closed for good because it is already exhausted.

I tried to rewind time in the specific area, and opening all closed well and mines. This time, not so much energy drained from my body, I learn that it’s better to just rewind specific place than wide area, well that actually common sense when I think about it, but in my defense, I can’t concentrate very much in front of armed men.

It's long and tedious step, but I must do all of that to survive. I gambled, and I score it.

*Huff* *Huff*

My breath is getting difficult by minutes, at least I successfully hide from those assailants. The situation is relatively quiet than before, so I try to calm myself and think the next step.

'Status Open'

Many of my energy wasted trying to flee to the past, but it recovers over time. So now I open my status window while waiting for my power to recover.

[Name: Nathan Gibson

Age : 17 years

Element: Time (Mythic)

Level: Colorless

Time Power : 41/150

Strength: 7/12

Dexterity: 5/12

Stamina: 3/13

Intelligence: 10/18

Wisdom: 19/20]

I can see my overall status got a little improvement from the previous battle with the first person who wants to kill me and there a new column, Time Power. I don’t know what exactly what is it, but I think it similar with mana in RPG game or Ki in Dr*gonb*ll.

On the other hand, my current status looks like crap, most of them is got halved because of wounds and tiredness. I can sense my stamina rapidly decreased in previous defense, but still, I don’t expect it is less than a quarter remaining.

‘Skill Window Open’

[Skill:

Time Control

Time Travel

Time Aura]

Skill window shows me three skill I have right now. I got Time Aura as an additional skill from my battle with the previous soldier.

“I wonder what this Time Aura does. Well, skill name isn’t self-explanatory like other skill”

[Well, it isn’t me who named it]

“System can you tell me what time aura do”

[Searching …]

[Time Aura: Skill to manipulating time power as Offense or Defense]

“Wow, can you be vaguer than that?”

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Well, I have a general idea what it does and want to examine it right now, but I don’t think it’s a wise idea when looking at my current time power. I need my time power to time travel too, so I guess the experiment is off the table.

When my time power recovers a little, I closed my eyes tried to concentrate.

[Warning: Your destination is Earth’s mantle. Time Travel Skill canceled]

“F&^@%*!&&%#!*(@&(!#[email protected]$%$%&”

[Whoa, Calm down son]

*Huff* *Huff*

[Hey Nathan, I want to ask from the start but don't have any chances. Why you try to flee to the past, aren't they can still follow you there?]

When I try to calm my breathing and recover my energy, the system asking me something.

“Well, what I say when I don’t think so?. Oh, I don’t think so”

[Why? Wait did you just quoting something I don’t know?]

“It’s just your feeling, anyway answer this question with their perspective. You want to kill your long-life enemy, do you want to kill him in a most advantageous scenario?”

[Of course, I am]

“Now can you think any possible scenario that more advantageous for them than this?”

[Many, actually. Like killing you before you get any power or maybe killing your father and mother before you even born]

“True, but they don’t do that. So, logic 101, it’s either those lunatics don’t want that favorable scenario or they simply can’t do it, and that means the largest possibility they can kill me is here, in this particular time. Which one do you think the most possible here?”

[Your logic is quite sound. You quite smart despite your look]

“Of course, as Kamina says, who the hell do you think I am? Wait, what do you mean despite my look?”

*Huff* *Huff*

[… Seriously, I don’t get your reference. And reduce your talk, your breath is very heavy right now]

“Okay, okay, are you my dad or something”

I closed my eyes, and after calm enough, I try to travel to the past once again.

[Warning: Your destination is Earth’s crust. Time Travel Skill canceled]

I don’t even have the drive to curse when looking into warning in system window. My head more hurt than before and when I check the amount of my time power, it is just 34 point remained.

I look at those fighters, they still searching me in those holes. Well, they can be wasting their time, but I can’t. My wounds are deteriorating, my stamina decreased very quick, and my vision is a little blurry. It's the worst situation for me.

“Calm down, Calm down, Calm down”

I repeatedly chanting that word, attempting comforting myself. After a while, I take one step backward, thinking about how time travel work, and in what stage I failed.

When I think again, it’s quite simple actually, in the first step I need to mark myself as a thing that I want to send to other time, and in the second step, I need to set a place and time as the destination of that thing.

The first step didn’t spend many energy and concentration, because after I finished marked myself for the first time, I don’t need to concentrate on myself again. But the problem is marking the destination, I need to entirely focus in the whole process, it’s like sniping a rabbit with distance 1 km in a storm, and if I miss shooting that rabbit, I will get killed by a nearby lion.

Well, fortunately there a warning window from the system, if there isn’t I probably died on my first try.

I'm looking at those fighters directions, noticing more and more of them come from another time. Not just that, the recent one come is always stronger than before. I don't know how many of them will appear, but the longer I stay here, the more dangerous situation become. But, first of all, to start time travel I must calm my mind.

As I calm down, my priority is still the same as before, recover my time power and go to the past. But my time is quite tight, it’s ironic as a time controller I running out of time.

My mind running fast started to think the way out from this predicament. A few moments later, I got some idea or maybe enlightenment. The tip of my lips curled upward like a thirsty traveler in Sahara desert meet an oasis.

[I feel something terrible from your smirk]

“Don’t say that. It’s a good smile. For me at least”

[Can you at least explain what you want to do]

“Well, there no harm I guess. As you know, there are two step to do time travel, marking thing I want to send through time, and set the destination”

I starting my explanation while experimenting with my speculation.

“There is no limitation that thing must be me or must in the present. Right now I try marking a duck toy from the past. Next, I will try to send that duck to the present, so be quiet it needs concentration”

I closed my eyes and after a while there a spark of light in my hand, from there appeared a duck toy, and I grabbed it slowly.

“Yes. It works mother flecker”

It looks two things influence the stability of time travel, the mass and time distance between object and destination. So when this toy which has a little mass and not so far from the past, time travel works quite easily compared to send my body to the past. I didn’t even use full concentration there.

I saw a man looking in my direction, look like he is the one with keen perception. He can feel a shift in the fabric of space-time. Well, now isn't time to hide, it is the time for me to go offensive.

“Well, I’m sorry nameless soldiers. I need to kill you to fully recover my time power”

I stand from my seat created from a solid air, feeling the wind hit my back. I can see every direction flat to the ground and many ruins of my neighbor buildings. I’m sure those fighters just kill them anyway, I just can’t imagine they evacuate them first. There is no sad feeling in my heart even though I quite close with many of them. Maybe it is true what people say, one death is a tragedy, but the death of many is just a statistic.

“Or, maybe I really have some psychopaths tendency”

Looking upward I can see the moon clearly this night, it’s like the moon is in my grasp, not just because there is no cloud, but also because I actually closer than usual, I look down meet eyes to eyes with a soldiers who have better perceptions. Like a god I seeing all of them from the sky.

Closing my eyes, this time I entirely concentrating, not like when I marking the duck, now I marking something big. It’s length 3 meter and weight 4.400 kilograms, the Little Boy.

[Warning: Your destination is in the troposphere. Time Travel Skill canceled]

“Is it still near here?”

[Yes]

“Will it fall on me?”

[No]

“Override”

[Time Travel Skill repeated]

I look above and there something black fall. Just kidding, I can’t see that far, but I can see that those fighters making shields and their shield looks strong. It seems some of them is strong enough to face a nuclear bomb directly.

I need to make sure there no survivor, I can’t fight again after this, at least I can’t win in a fight in this state. I'm closing my eyes again and try repeat that over, this time I marking a little area of earth’s inner core just one second in the past.

[Warning: Lack of Concentration, earth’s core won’t be intact at the destination. Time Travel Skill canceled]

“Will one of it fall on me?”

[No]

“Override”

[Time Travel Skill repeated]

Many pieces of Earth’s inner core spread in the sky, with temperature 5.400 Celsius and massive pressures 330 gigapascals, I think it will damage their shield for a bit, if not straight out destroy them.

Now for my last move, I close my eyes once again this time I marking earth’s outer core and once again spreading it in the sky after the Little Boy passing through, it’s quite easy to concentrate because it in liquid form, so I don’t really need to maintain its shape. It isn’t just to make them despair, even though I can’t deny that I want to get revenge for them, but most of it because I can’t win another fight with them.

I activated Time Aura to cover my whole body, it like multilayer of protection. Right now, I can feel my time power decreasing rapidly. I have a general idea of what will happen, but I still don’t know how it’s work yet. If I don’t cover myself with Time Aura, maybe I will die because of this temperature and suffocating.

“Hmm, I’m curious with how this Time Aura even works”

Well, that's not really important right now, what important is the hot temperature before becomes manageable. I look below, and there are glowing fluids as far I can see, I felt the air is boiling even for me who is this far above from that hot liquid.

The night is bright, not because of illuminated by the moon, but because of the glowing liquid covering the ground. It's warm like the fireplace in grandma house. It's beautiful, like tulip gardens in Amsterdam. It's elegant, like authentic Chinese porcelain. It's artistic, like a Van Gogh painting.

It makes me thrilled like it never was.

A few moments later, I hear a sound like a blessing from the heaven.

*Ding*