Return Of The Strongest Player

The element of time was widely regarded as untouchable. 

It was an aspect of reality suspended from what mortals could utilize to their advantage, much like space. Although all four of Plato's elements were usable through regular means, space was entirely different.

Although mortals could detach certain spaces from other spaces, not a single mortal could understand the profound concepts behind space and freely manipulate it to their liking.

Time was the same.

Time was abstract. It could not be influenced, and followed a predetermined order through the course of existence, unwilling to halt for anyone. 

However, what if one could manipulate both time and space? 

What if one could influence the perception of time in a detached space? 

Such an ability would be hidden, and offered solely to the most powerful, right? 

Wrong. 

As Arthur delved into a world of darkness, he was faced with the squalid scent of rotten eggs. The area was quite compact, walled in each direction with only a narrow crevice to navigate through.

Arthur employed [Divine Sense] in order to percept his surroundings.

He was inside a narrow tunnel. The sound of rushing water reached his ears, while [Divine Sense] sensed the existence of algae and other micro-organisms, yet there didn't seem to be anything else.

Bending forward, Arthur silently traversed through the tunnel, refusing to trust [Divine Sense].

'Even such a skill can't perceive the thing I'm trying to find,' the crimson-eyed man muttered internally, groaning. The object he was attempting to locate was a hidden feature of the twelfth floor.

One of Arthur's subjects had discovered the feature in his past life, with the information being withheld by Heaven's Challengers until the crimson-eyed man's eventual death.

The hidden feature of the twelfth floor–unlike many other floors–was something that played with the laws of the tower. Arthur wasn't certain why such a broken feature was designed, but it was one of the reasons he acted so calm while interacting with Kyler.

He was not limited by time.

[00:02:15]

[00:02:16]

Ignoring the countdown atop a translucent, blue screen that remained beside him, Arthur continued to travel, eventually encountering a "phi" symbol belonging to the Greek Alphabet. The symbol was engraved into a damp wall overrun by algae.

Arthur stared at the symbol, uncertain of what it denoted.

'It's supposed to be an irrational mathematical constant… 1.618, I believe. It's the Golden Ratio, too.'

Scratching his head in confusion, Arthur intently attempted to decipher the symbol. He felt an inexplicable attraction to the symbol, while it felt as if disobeying it would result in devastation. It was complicated.

Yet it also seemed to describe a pattern.

An order.

Arthur suddenly noticed another peculiarity. Spotting a piece of text, Arthur brushed his palm against the rocks practically destroyed by erosion over hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. However, this engraving seemed to have survived.

'The text is in another language, but I can read it…'

"#### the breakage ## balance is ########...

re#n#n#y rema#ns."

'Most of the text is blurred,' Arthur clicked his tongue, feeling a sense of dissatisfaction and irritation, the reason for which he couldn't explain. Pulling away from the text and symbol, Arthur continued walking forward.

'As far as I remember, the pathway leads to a chamber, in which a stone hand holds the item.'

Arthur continued through the tunnel, passing a miniature waterfall that seemed to push clear, fresh water into a crater. He eventually arrived before a wall that had a rectangular shape engraved onto it.

Within the rectangle was the engravement of an hourglass.

'It's moving…' Arthur muttered internally, using [Divine Sense] to observe the falling particles of sand. The crimson-eyed man formed an expression of amusement. The engravement was actually shifting.

'What is this mechanism.'

In curiosity, Arthur traced his finger along the engravement. 

Click!

At that moment, a clicking sound resounded across the compact space in which Arthur stood. 'Oh… it's a button.'

Arthur pushed the rectangle with his palm, forcing it into the wall.

*

As Arthur traversed through the tunnel, he came across a wall with a peculiar symbol of "phi." It was a Greek Alphabet that denoted the "Golden Ratio," or in mathematical terms, the number 1.618.

'This is interesting…'

Arthur quickly noticed the words etched upon the wall beside the symbol, brushing his palm as he removed the eroded rock particles and dust hiding the text. 

"Time ## ### ## ## ma#########...

only r##na#c# ### #### ##."

'Fuck… Everything is blurred,' Arthur muttered internally. As he continued down the tunnel, he came across a waterfall, which he briefly observed before continuing.

Finally, he encountered a wall with a rectangular shape engraved upon it. Noticing the hourglass between the shape was moving, Arthur traced his fingers along the engravement before pressing on it like a button.

*

"Is this the phi symbol?" Arthur muttered as he observed the symbol. He recalled it denoted the number 1.618 and the Golden Ration. However, for some reason, the symbol seemed incredibly familiar.

It was as if he'd witnessed the same symbol several times.

But how could that be possible?

Only a minute ago, Arthur was fighting random players, and before that, he was conversing with Kyler while traversing through the cave. He couldn't recall an instance in which he had come across such a symbol in his life, either.

Except in the Academy, where he learned it.

'Am I just overthinking?'

'Yeah, that's probably it.'

Arthur brushed aside the dust, viewing the text. He then rushed across the tunnel, admiring a waterfall before pushing the button.

*

"This seems so familiar…" Arthur muttered yet again, punching the cold, hard floor in irritation as he racked his brain. However, no memories came to mind. It was as if someone or something were messing with his brain.

It was weird.

Argh…

As he approached the button yet again, he instinctively knew he couldn't press it.

"I shouldn't…"

Suddenly, the entrance to the compact space shattered. Many pieces of debris obstructed the exit, and although Arthur attempted to summon his mana, it didn't seem to work.

'What…'

Suddenly, memories of the times he traversed across the same tunnel surfaced.

'A time loop…'