I, the “Clock User”, Was Kicked Out of the Craftsmen’s Guild for Being Incompetent, but at the Dungeon’s Depths, I Awakened My True Power – Even Though I Was Told to Return Because They Couldn’t Handle the Work, It’s Too Late Now, and I Will Live Freely as an SSS-class Adventurer V10C25

   Translated by Hamster

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### Volume 10: Reunion 

**25: The True Power of the Clock User**

Upon Cyclo's proposal, Olivia looked puzzled and denied it.

"It's impossible. I'm too old now. My body can't handle an adventure."

"What if I could solve that problem?"

Olivia's eyes widened in surprise at those words.

"...Is that possible?"

"Yes, with the true power of my 'Clock User' skill."

As Cyclo explained this to Olivia, he recalled the time when Alice had analyzed his abilities in detail.

"---Big brother, do you know that skills generally have two elements?"

"Two elements?"

This was from a day when Alice gave a lecture on the academic knowledge of skills.

"Yeah. Everyone uses skills without thinking much, but if you look closely, there are lots of strange things about them. For example, the 'Fire Magic' skill can create arrows of flame, fireballs, or even waves of lava for an attack when you get to advanced spells."

Since Alice had an affinity for elemental magic, including fire magic, Cyclo could easily imagine this.

"But, think about it logically, isn't it weird? There's no such thing as solid fire to make an arrow that can pierce someone. It's odd for a flame to maintain a spherical shape without any flammable material. Lava is fundamentally different from fire. Fire is essentially the light from plasma, so if anything, it should conduct electricity well, but I've never heard of fire magic and lightning magic passing through each other."

"Well... isn't it natural because magical fire is different from real fire?"

Alice immediately refuted Cyclo's counterargument.

"If it's different, then anything should be possible, like creating only poisonous flammable gas for an attack. But I've never heard of such a magician. It's different yet somehow similar, which seems intentional and strange, don't you think?"

After Alice pointed this out, Cyclo had to agree somewhat. However, he had always vaguely accepted that magic was inherently the power of gods. But Alice said that wasn't good enough.

"On one hand, you have skills like fire magic that cause all sorts of paradoxical effects, while on the other, skills like 'Strength' only exhibit one clear, straightforward effect. You get stronger. That's it. Although explaining exactly what's happening gets complicated... unlike fire magic, it doesn't cause multiple phenomena that defy logic."

Cyclo tilted his head at this explanation.

"So, are magic skills the only special ones?"

"No. Most skills either do or don't show these effects that defy logic like fire magic, so actually, skills with clear, singular effects like 'Strength' are in the minority."

After this explanation, Alice raised two fingers and continued.

"These are the two elements I mentioned at the start. The function of skills like 'Strength' is called the 'Primary Effect'. The image-driven, logic-defying effects like fire magic are called 'Faith-Based Effects'."

Thus, she circled back to the initial discussion of the two elements.

"By the way, originally, the term 'faith' comes from observing how the effects of holy, light, or healing magic change with the practice of faith over time. But in reality, it's more about collective human consciousness or common understanding, so remember it as 'Faith-Based Effects'."

After adding this detail, Alice continued her explanation.

"---Basically, most skills have both Primary Effects and Faith-Based Effects. It's just that which one is more dominant varies by skill. There are extremely rare cases where even 'Strength' can exhibit faith-based effects."

"So, in summary, skills consist of effects that operate logically without contradiction and effects that depend on the human image, right?"

"Exactly!"

Alice pointed at Cyclo.

"To add to that, the strength of a person's imagination greatly influences Faith-Based Effects --- for example, you could do something like this."

Saying so, Alice cast fire magic in the room, creating a fireball, and suddenly, the room temperature dropped.

"Fire is about plasma. Seeing it as a phenomenon that requires external energy, I made the magic draw heat from the surroundings. ---Although, since this is far from the general image of fire, it consumes an incredible amount of magic power."

After creating this freezing fire, Alice ended the spell. Despite the brief duration of the spell, she exhaled as if somewhat fatigued.

"Now, the most important thing I want to say today is that your skill, 'Clock User,' also has a very strong Faith-Based Effect."

"...Mine?"

Cyclo tilted his head upon hearing this from Alice.

"Big brother, you stop your 'stomach clock' so you don't get hungry, right? I think that's because you're using magic to replace the energy your body needs... but it's only possible because there's this image of 'stopping' the clock. Otherwise, you might not have prevented hunger just by silencing your stomach."

"I see."

Indeed, when put that way, it made sense. However, Cyclo tried to counter.

"But couldn't that effect itself be considered a Primary Effect?"

"If that were true, it wouldn't explain why your hair doesn't grow or why you don't get sleepy anymore. If it were just about not getting hungry... if it were just about replacing energy with magic, those two things wouldn't happen. Probably, because the body's changes show the passage of time, these effects contradict the image of 'stopping'. So, I think these effects come just from stopping the 'stomach clock'."

"I understand." Indeed, there were effects that couldn't be explained by logical phenomena alone. Thus, the effects of Cyclo stopping his 'stomach clock' with 'Clock Manipulation' were undoubtedly Faith-Based Effects.

"And the stronger you get, the broader the range of things you can handle with 'Clock User.' Like how a fire mage can create lava as they improve. The interpretation of 'clock' expands to mechanical structures, including those not typically considered clocks. Regarding the stomach clock, not only can you stop change, but you might freely promote growth or even reverse aging."

"Reverse aging... you mean immortality?"

"Well, the soul itself probably has a lifespan. So, even if your body regains youth, you wouldn't become immortal."

For a moment, Cyclo imagined a terrifying possibility, but Alice quickly denied it, reassuring him.

"Anyway, your skill has that much potential for development. Even now, inefficient machines or magical devices might become easy to create in the future. Eventually, you might even maintain your party members at their physical prime. It's just a matter of possibilities, so keep that in mind, okay?"

"...Yeah, got it."

The idea of an ageless body was both monstrous and frightening, but thinking he might need such resolve to fight gods also crossed his mind.

Reflecting on this past conversation with Alice, Cyclo explained to Olivia the essence and potential of his 'Clock User' skill. In other words, as he grows, he might be able to 'rejuvenate' Olivia.

Upon hearing this, Olivia was left speechless, her expression a mix of confusion and astonishment.

Author's Notes:

   To sum it up:

1. Using magic that goes against common images consumes a lot of magic power.
2. However, as you grow stronger, the range of what's included in the image expands.
3. There are still limits; it's not an 'anything goes' scenario.
4. While you can rejuvenate the body, there's still a lifespan to consider.

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