Finn spent days trying to figure out how his power system worked.
At first, he thought it would be simple. Something permanent. Something that grew stronger the more he used it, like leveling up in a game. That idea died quickly. His power was not stable, not reliable, and definitely not permanent. It was random.
Powers activated only when he died. Every single time, death was the trigger. When he woke up again, reborn in the same body, something new followed. A new ability. Sometimes 1 power. Sometimes 2. Never the same combination. Never predictable. And none of them lasted.
Finn learned that lesson the hard way. One moment he could move faster than his own shadow. The next, he was just a normal human again. No warning. No gradual fade. No pain or signal to tell him it was ending. The power simply stopped existing.
He would be standing there, heart racing, adrenaline still high, only to realize his body felt heavy again. Once the time ran out, he reverted completely. Normal human.
He had found a pocket watch in his father's study. An old thing. Heavy, with a scratched surface and a ticking sound that felt louder in quiet rooms. Finn asked for permission before taking it. His father barely questioned him. That alone told Finn how much the old Baron trusted him now.
Finn used the watch to study his time, every death, every rebirth and every power.
He recorded it all in his mind. The pattern revealed itself slowly, but once it did, it was impossible to ignore. Each ability lasted exactly six hours. Not five hours and fifty minutes. Not six hours and a few seconds. Exactly six hours. The countdown always started the moment he woke up from the dead.
Finn wanted to test more powers. He wanted to understand the limits. What else could he gain. What else could he lose. But dying was the hardest part. That was the real barrier. He could not kill himself.
No matter how many times he tried to think of a clean way, his body refused. His mind froze. His hands shook. He always stopped at the last second.
When he chose violence instead, things only got worse.
Every attempt left him bloody.
People noticed, questions followed him everywhere. One time, his father saw him. Finn had come home late, clothes soaked in blood and he was unscratched. Baron Jakob had stared at him, eyes wide, heart clearly stopping for a moment. Finn had brushed it off quickly, saying he had been helping at the butcher's..The excuse sounded weak even to his own ears, but his father believed it.
Baron Jakob had been stunned. Not angry. Not suspicious. Stunned. He had even praised Finn, muttering something about his son finally understanding the value of labor and helping the lowborns..That praise made Finn feel worse. Tired of lying, lies that often did not even make sense anymore, and exhausted from dying bloody deaths over and over, Finn remembered something. A thought that had been sitting in the back of his mind for days. It might help. He was not sure it would work. There was no guarantee. But it was an option, and right now, it was the only one he had left.
Trying it meant facing something he had been avoiding.
Still, if he wanted to learn what other superpowers he could gain for six hours, if he wanted to use them for something worthwhile, he had no choice.He had to try.
"Father, I have a request."
The words felt heavier than they should have.
"What is it, son?"
Finn stood in front of his father in the study. The room smelled of old paper and ink. Shelves lined the walls, filled with ledgers, records, and documents that told the story of a barony slowly being drained dry.
His father sat at the desk, reading and recording numbers. The way his pen moved told Finn this was not just reading. It was accounting..Counting losses..Finn took a deep breath.
"I need money. I know we're broke, no coins, but can I have a few? I need them for something," Finn said.
The pen stopped moving. His father looked up at him, eyes sharp but not angry. Then, slowly, the Baron dropped his pen onto the table.
"You have never asked me for coin, son. This… this is most unusual."
Finn swallowed. "Well, Dad, I need money so I can get us out of this state we're in. I may not remember my past, but I can tell we were never like this. Short staffed. Prices rising monthly. Commoners leaving town to other neighborhoods to seek shelter," Finn said. His voice stayed steady, even though his heart was pounding. "I promise to make you one of the wealthiest Barons in all of Everground. Our name will be unforgettable. You will be the most powerful Baron."
Finn was not lying. He had thought about it more than once. Using his newly found powers to help his father, anything he could do just to make him rich, it will not only help his father but also maybe reduce taxes.
His father leaned back slightly, studying him.
"Finn, in this kingdom, power comes before wealth. Having power makes one acquire all the wealth one could ever desire," his father said calmly. The words clicked into place.
"So you're saying the reason we're broke is because we don't have power?" Finn asked.
His father did not answer immediately. He just kept staring at him.
After some discussion in the library, Finn helped his father with the tax accounting. The Baron needed to submit his monthly tax to the viscount, then count would then take it to the Duke. And from there, it would reach the King.
Finn looked at the numbers. They were a mess. Using accounting methods from his past life, methods this world had not even begun to imagine, Finn reorganized the records. He calculated faster. Cleaner. More accurately. What would have taken his father days was finished in hours.
Baron Jakob watched in silence. Amazed by his son's suddenly skil.
When it was done, his father stood up, walked to a small locked box, and opened it. Inside were coins. Not many, but enough. He handed them to Finn. Finn's face lit up. Finally.
With plenty of coins in hand, he could go where he wanted. And do what needed to be done.