The stairs were narrow, steep, and wrapped in darkness.
Yoo Jinhyuk moved down them without hesitation. His steps made no sound. His breathing was calm. The fight upstairs had only made him feel more alive.
Light disappeared completely after the first ten meters, but his eyes adjusted fast. He didn't need perfect vision—he moved by instinct. The system gave him enhanced perception at his speed level. He could sense motion, danger, even temperature shifts with eerie clarity.
At the bottom of the stairwell, the space opened into a vast underground chamber.
Massive gears lined the walls. Iron chains swung from the ceiling. Ancient machinery ticked softly in the background, like the heartbeat of some forgotten god.
A new message appeared.
[Dungeon Progress: 1/3 Complete]Area: Chamber of Echoing TimeMain Threat: Timebound Executioners (x3)Warning: This level adjusts enemy speed dynamically.Special Condition: "No Stopping." If player stands still for more than 5 seconds, Executioners gain +100% speed.
Jinhyuk raised an eyebrow.
"A no-stop dungeon? That's new."
He walked into the chamber, eyes scanning every surface. The moment he crossed the center line, the air shifted. Shadows on the far end of the chamber thickened—and moved.
They didn't walk. They slid across the floor, silently, like puppets with broken strings. They wore tattered armor and long crimson cloaks, and carried axes that shimmered with unstable energy.
[Executioners Approaching.]
The countdown began.
54321
They charged.
But Jinhyuk was already gone.
He shot left, bounced off the wall, and curved behind them like a blur of wind. His body flickered. He launched a Phantom Trace to confuse the middle one, then dashed upward, flipping midair to avoid a horizontal swing.
The system lit up.
[Speed Advantage: +300% Evasion Rate][Skill Chain Bonus: Dash → Flick Step → Phantom Trace = +Critical Chance][Critical Hit!]
He didn't even use a weapon this time.
Instead, he dragged a broken gear off the ground mid-move and spun it like a discus. It slammed into one Executioner's head, knocking it into another. The third one tried to teleport behind him.
Bad idea.
He turned his body mid-air with microsecond timing and unleashed a low sweep kick that looked almost casual—until the enemy exploded into silver fragments.
[Executioner Defeated: EXP +880]
But the system didn't chime "Clear."
Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes. Two more Executioners stood up again.
"Regenerating enemies? Of course."
Then he saw it: their cores. Small, glowing orbs floating inside their chests, visible only at the height of movement. That was the trick.
Keep running. Time your strikes. Hit only when it counts.
So he ran.
He moved in circles—faster, tighter, building rhythm. His shoes sparked against the metal floor. His heart matched the dungeon's tempo. And when the moment came—when the enemy made the smallest mistake—he struck.
One. Two. Three glowing cores shattered.
[Clear.]
[2/3 Complete.]
[Bonus Reward Unlocked: Stat Modifier Token – Speed × 1.1]
Jinhyuk blinked. "Wait… more speed?"
He checked his system.
Speed: 9999 → 10,998 (Overclocked - Temporary Bonus Applied)Warning: Overclock Mode may cause system strain. Proceed with caution.
His body shivered slightly. Muscles tightened. The air around him seemed to slow down. Or maybe he was just moving faster than time itself.
It wasn't a good feeling. It was too much.
His thoughts started racing. His breath felt cold and sharp. Every movement became too responsive, like a machine ready to burn itself out.
Then, another message popped up.
[Final Chamber Unlocked: The Arena of Broken Time]
[Optional Boss Detected: ??? – "The Rewinded One"][First Clear Bonus: Hidden Title + Unique Class Eligibility]
Jinhyuk stared at the screen.
"Unique class?"
His jaw tightened.
Classes were everything in this world. Without one, you were always behind. You couldn't unlock advanced skills. Couldn't enter guilds. Couldn't challenge official towers. Jinhyuk had been stuck at "None" for over a year.
This could be his one chance.
The arena was a vast circle of cracked marble floating in a time-locked space. Around it, countless gears turned in reverse. Lights flickered like blinking stars. Gravity felt thinner, and each step left a trail of light behind.
And in the center stood the boss.
It looked human.
Male, maybe mid-20s, wearing a long coat made of cloth and clockwork. His eyes glowed faint gold, and behind his back floated four clocks, each ticking in a different rhythm.
[Boss: The Rewinded One – Speed-Type Nemesis][Warning: This enemy is designed to counter your dominant stat.][Class: Chrono Duelist][Behavior: Predictive AI Combat | Stat Reversal Mechanism | High-Speed Reaction]
Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes.
"So that's how this is going to be."
A test.
The boss stepped forward.
"You're fast," it said, voice echoing unnaturally. "But what happens when someone else sees every move before you make it?"
Without waiting, it attacked.
Jinhyuk dodged on instinct—but the boss followed perfectly. Their bodies blurred. Each attack matched a dodge. Each feint met a counter.
For the first time in months, Jinhyuk was losing ground.
He wasn't slower. He was being read. The boss was tracking his moves frame by frame, using time prediction to stay one step ahead.
Then he smiled.
"Good," he whispered. "It means I get to try something new."
He cut Phantom Trace mid-dash and activated Flick Step—but added a twist. He reversed his direction at the exact frame the enemy attacked. The boss predicted a right-side evasion, but Jinhyuk went left, breaking the loop.
[Perfect Dodge Achieved.]
[Weak Spot Exposed.]
He struck—not with a weapon, but with pure speed. His palm moved so fast it looked like a flash of light.
The boss staggered.
Jinhyuk pressed forward. Every second, he changed tempo. Slowed down slightly. Paused a breath too long. Broke rhythm. He forced the predictive system to fail.
"You read patterns," he said aloud, "but I'm not a pattern."
One final dash. His speed broke the Overclock cap.
[Speed Surge Triggered – 12,400]
[System Error – Rewind Protocol Interrupted.]
He slammed into the boss's core.
The world shattered.
[Boss Defeated.][Unique Title Earned: Ghost of Velocity][Class Eligibility Updated: Path of the Untouchable][Special Skill Acquired: Time Fracture]
Jinhyuk dropped to one knee, gasping.
The dungeon began to fade around him. As the space dissolved, the system offered him a choice:
Would you like to accept Class: Path of the Untouchable?Y/N
He stared at it.
His whole life, the system had refused to recognize him. Now, after all the rejections and silence, it was offering him something… unique. Something made just for him.
He tapped Y.
[Class Acquired: Path of the Untouchable]
You are beyond reach.
You cannot be caught.
Speed is no longer a number. It is your law.
[Class Skill Tree Unlocked.][Special Passive Gained: Untouchable Frame – Immune to first strike in any encounter.]
Jinhyuk smiled, slowly.
Not a bruiser. Not a mage. Not a tank.
But something different.
Something no one else could ever match.
He stepped out of the dungeon and into the city night.
The wind rushed by as if welcoming him back.