Alec entered a quickly repeating cycle of sleeping, eating, stopping time, and researching his magic, spell formations, and the Poem. He also looked into the monsters and used his fading sense of disgust and squeamishness to go through their insides and look for clues.

If he had been that easy, though, the secret to monsterification would have long since been unraveled.

Alec also used Scan on the dead monsters. It was a little hard to tell what he was looking at, but he didn't know if it was because the monsters were dead or if it was due to their different physiques.

But he confirmed that Scan was the right direction. The basic spell just wasn't good enough. He needed to learn more runes to figure out how to improve it.

Fortunately, he had success in another area that helped with that, albeit indirectly. There was a limit to how much he could use the Poem of Neverlasting Wisdom. It was once a day.

Instead of only being able to use it once or twice in his life, he could use it as many days as he lived. He could already feel the compounding effects clarify his mind. It was like he had been looking through glasses of mud all this time.

The Aether in the air was much clearer, the mana in his body flowed smoother, his magic circle spun flawlessly, he drew spell formations quicker and sharper, he could withstand his hunger more easily, and he could use [Reader] for much longer without getting a headache.

The proof that it was the Poem was that all that happened without anything but his Resistance and Intelligence stats improving. They had both reached the Stone level, leaving the rest behind.

Maybe that was why he finally noticed the shadow on the ground in front of him, where he sat drawing in the ground.

He slowly looked up and frowned. He had been stopping time for a little bit now. Well over ten minutes. There had not been anything there before he stopped time.

Not even leaves fell when he stopped time. The sun didn't move, either.

It was a ridiculously overpowered ability, even if he couldn't move during it. But that only made him more confused. Nothing could move when he stopped time. But the shadow before him and the source of it were proof of the opposite.

Alec's eyes widened as he stared at the person before him.

He could not see their face or any defining features. He felt like a man, but Alec couldn't be sure. It might just be his prejudice because the person was tall.

"Oh, you noticed me. I did not make an effort to hide, but still, how impressive of you," The person said with a voice that resonated inside Alec's head.

"But then again, you can stop time as a mortal." The person hummed curiously in the world without time and sound and knelt to take a closer look at the seated Alec.

Even if Alec had been able to move, he couldn't. He was frozen in shock. He had long since stopped stopping time, but it still didn't move.

The person before him was stopping time. He was moving during the stopped time. He was talking and humming in frozen time during which not even sound waves could move.

Alec was scared out of his mind.

"There is no need to fear. I just came to check on who or whatever was messing with the flow of time."

'Does that mean…?' Alec was worried. Messing with the flow of time sounded like it would have severe consequences.

"I just told you not to fear, did I not? If you had been causing trouble, I would have erased you. But you are just having fun. Keep doing as you please. As long as I exist, the flow of time will remain incorrupt."

Alec instantly felt like he could trust this person.

But more importantly, he was the type of hidden expert that protagonists relied on to get stronger. They offered treasure, skills, or teachings that brought the protagonist to a new level.

Alec had to cling to his leg.

Alec was pretty sure he heard the person chuckle slightly.

"You are one interesting specimen. Whoever created you has earned some of my respect. Become a King. If you live, we will meet again."

The next instant, the person was gone, and time flowed as it should.

Alec panted like he hadn't breathed for a dozen minutes. The pressure that had hugged his body until just then had been overwhelming.

'Holy shit.' Alec could barely even begin to process what had just happened. Some mysterious entity who referred to Alec as a mortal, implying he wasn't, had said hi because he paused time a lot.

The implications of that person's existence had Alec floored.

'I have a long way to go…'

Before Alec could finish his thoughts, roots sprang out of the ground and wrapped around his body like a cocoon. He couldn't move, but unlike when he stopped time, it was painful. The roots were woody and uneven, with tiny pricks digging into his skin.

He also couldn't see once they closed around his head.

It was a good thing he wasn't claustrophobic. It also helped that his repeated use of the Poem had given him a steady mind. He started casting Simple Barrier almost instantly.

"And…Sleep."

Unfortunately, he was a little too slow. Before his barrier could complete, another spell hit him like a sledge on the back of his head, and he passed out.

But not before he heard that voice. It was familiar.

'Bastard…'

Alec sank into the darkness of unconsciousness, which was somehow even darker than the lightless cocoon.

He had no idea how much time had passed when he woke up. Looking up only gave him a stone ceiling without a hint of the suns or moons.

Thanks to the Poem, his mind was clear despite the headache, and he started looking around to get an idea of what was going on. The first thing he noticed was the monster trapped behind iron bars in one section of the completely square stone chamber.

The second thing he noticed was the shackles around his wrists and ankles.

The third thing he noticed was the person standing over a workbench with what looked like a magnifying glass in hand.

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