Was wondering if there are any novels where the MC uses the power of time, and only the power of time. As time is one of the two absolute elements (time and space), it is quite a bit harder to balance than other elements like fire or ice. Thus, I am interested if there is a decent novel where the author attempts this. Preferably, the mc only has the power of time as his specialty, but if not, it has to be the main element and other elements are not as commonly used. The power should be obtained very early and not picked up at the end like most novels do and it should be used in battle, and not as an auxiliary/support element. It is alright if the mc's method of attacking uses a weapon or something, but that should not be the reason the mc is powerful. No system novels please and thank you. Wrong Examples: Heavenly Jewel Change - Not commonly used in battle, also not the main element the mc relies on but is one of a group. Reverend Insanity - Not used in battle The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor - Is commonly used and is primary, but picked pretty late
Man I can only ever recall one example and it was isekai were the protagonist primary power was the ability to stop time for a few seconds at a time. Although the time increased a little as he leveled up. When you said system did you mean the whole leveling and having stats and attributes? Cause in that case you won't like this example. Not that it matters because it is abandoned the author gave up on it after like 10 or 20 chapters. (can't remember I read it like five years ago)
Part of it yes. Basically, I would like to be more like real life where the character's goals are decided by themselves and they don't like follow a certain route set by a system. For a better understanding, just writing system into webnovel.com should give you a good idea of the genre
There is a manga where the mc stop time with kinda like a game pause button. The pause has no time limit so he does kinda ecchi things during time stop.
SSS-Class Suicide Hunter, the MCs main power is to revive one day in the past after he dies (he actually suicides a lot so he can make use of it) The Live, it's actually a manhwa but I think you'll like it. The MC gets a journal from his future self so it's technically not time travel but later on he gets a power to slow down time that he uses fairly frequently. It's not exactly what you wanted but it is one of my personal favourites so I hope you like it anyway (∩_∩) Power and Wealth, I haven't read this one yet but it's been in my reading list for a while and it looks like the MC uses his powers a lot- at least from the synopsis it does The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass, the MC in this one uses her power to turn back time a bit too often in my opinion. She becomes reliant on it at one point but it does match your requirements so I put it in, it's not my favourite though I hope you enjoy these~
There is an ongoing isekai called An Unbound Soul where the MC has time, space, body and soul affinities, he gets spells of every branch early on and its on the process of ranking up, h began by taking the class of body mage first tho, but he already purchased time spells and uses them together most of the time https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/38292/an-unbound-soul
Probably not wht you're looking for, but... The MC in The Mage Will Master Magic Efficiently In His Second Life uses time magic to launch multiple magic attacks simultaneously. Novel has barely updated in a long time though.
I made a list based on time manipulation. Here's if you wanna check out: https://dragneelclub.com/top-12-time-manipulation-novels/
There was this novel/manga, where mc could see a few seconds in the future. I am not sure if I am confusing it for the MC in Mushoku Tensei, where MC gets a left eye with future sight.
You should definitely give “Master of Time” a read! It’s on Webnovel and it’s initially set in modern earth with technology, but as the story advances, other realms and dimensions are brought up. I also like how the Mc is actually smart when using his time power. For example, he would tell someone to study a certain topic and then go into the future, bring the information to the past and repeat to get the most information he can.
1. The Rude Time Stopler https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/717/the-rude-time-stopper 2. Time Travel https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/18619/timetravel 3. Top Quality Beauty Cultivation System
Re:zero , RBD essentially boils down to that. And the only other power he has used is darkness magic like twice which left him seriously injured. There is also Kurumi from Date A Live, and although she is not the mc in main series, she is in "Date A Live Fragments: Date A Bullet"