Chapter 14: Breakfast at Christian’s
[Loop Count: 5]
I woke up with the Déjà vu system’s message hovering above me.
I’d already died four times, yet I had no memory of any of those times...It was a curse and a blessing all at the same time.
I glanced at the system menu.
[Déjà vu System: Level 4]
[Loop Count: 5]
[Experience Points (XP): 216 / 1300]
“…inventory…” I suddenly heard.
I jumped form the bed, looking around, searching for the source of the voice but couldn’t find anything. Then, the realization finally hit me.
Echo Sense.
The voice I heard was from a previous run of mine. Likely my own. It was barely audible, which made sense considering the low level of the skill at the moment, but I had definitely said Inventory.
Instinctively, I opened my second inventory.
[Inventory #2]
* Lesser Health Potion x1
* Gold Coins x15
* Gethril Root (Consumable) x1
Interesting…It looks like my past self had left me a weak healing potion, some spare change, and a Gethril Root?
Gethril Root was an anti-poisoning consumable. Was this my way of warning myself about enemies who could inflict poison? Yes. That’s definitely something I would do.
Where did I get it, though? Did I find it along the way during the quest? Had someone given it to me? I couldn’t remember how any of the items in my second inventory made it there.
One thing I did know was that before we leave, I should pay a visit to a friend.
***
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Yana came to pick me up.
Before we made our way to Gaelith’s Tomb, I decided to take a detour and visit Christian – my guildmaster.
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“Explain again why we need to visit Christian?” Yana asked as we walked toward the westernmost house in Sandrest, Christian’s house, and my guild’s base of operations.
I instantly recalled how Yana used to tease me about Christian being my guild master, as he was a…unique person, and couldn’t help but crack a laugh. “I need some items. I feel like I’m going on this quest naked.”
“Items? What, like healing potions and stuff?” Yana asked, confused. “I thought I already told you my guild provides all of these as the main organizers of the quest.”
She did tell me about this, and normally I would’ve agreed with her, but finding a single Gethril Root in my inventory got me thinking: if the items Yana’s guild provides are as abundant as she makes it sound, why did my previous self only get one single Gethril Root from there? It would’ve made more sense to take at least two. The simplest answer to that would be that I never got it from there. Which raises a different question: why not?
Did they not have a Gethril Root in the stash? Highly unlikely on a quest of such magnitude.
Did they not bring enough of it? Again, unlikely.
Did I take only one? No way, I’m way too greedy, and a hoarder to boot.
Does the quest become so dicey at some point that we lose access to the stash? Now, that’s the most likely answer.
And if that’s the case, where did I get it from? Christian himself could’ve been a possible option. I might’ve begun the previous runs by visiting him as well. Except that likely wasn’t the case.
Think about it: I only got the urge to visit him after I found the Gethril Root in the second inventory. Let’s say I got it from Christian in the previous run. For me to visit him in the previous run, I had to find the Gethril Root in my inventory that morning as well, and so on in a crazy game of what came first: the chicken or the egg? In my case, it was the chicken, a.k.a. the tomb.
I could’ve visited Christian in previous runs. And the items I’d gotten from him might’ve proved useless, and maybe all of this was just a waste of time. But something was telling me that this was the first time I came here since I got stuck in this time loop. Or maybe I should call it the lack of something? I had no sense of Déjà vu. Not even the slightest nudge inside during our walk here and conversation.
“You told me.” I nodded and replied simply. “But I’d rather have some of my own stuff on me.”
She looked thoughtful. “I don’t remember you being so paranoid.”
I had died four times already, and I didn’t feel like I’d gotten any closer to ending this time loop. Of course I’m paranoid, Yana.
“There’s nothing wrong with being prepared.” I protested, trying to keep my tone light to make her think I was just joking, even though I wasn’t.
“If you say so.” She shrugged. “I’m just worried we’re gonna be late. Lady Mikaela really likes me, and I don’t want to ruin the good impression I’ve made.”
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“We won’t be late, I promise. I’ll race you there.” I reassured her just as we reached Christian’s door.
She smiled. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”
I smiled back and knocked on the door, hoping Christian was awake.
The door creaked open almost immediately, revealing Christian in a set of pink pajamas, his dark hair messy as if he had just woken up, and a mug with pitch-black coffee in his right hand. He looked at me, his expression tired, annoyed, and disgusted all at the same time.
“What did you do?” he asked before I could even greet him, his voice as tired as he looked.
I exchanged a glance with Yana before raising an eyebrow. “What?”
“Last time I checked, this was my house, not the Tomb of Gaelith.” He said as he sipped on the coffee, keeping eye contact with me.
“How about a good morning first, Chris?” I said, smiling at him.
He sighed. “Good morning, Aidan.” He took another sip of the coffee. “So? Did they disqualify you or something? Should I prepare a formal apology letter and get ready for a bunch of bureaucratic paperwork?”
“Of course not!” I protested. “When did I ever make any trouble for you?”
He raised both eyebrows in surprise, a stark contrast to his tired look. “Oh, I can think of at least twenty times just from the top of my mind.”
Yana chuckled at his words and turned away so I couldn't see her laughing at me.
Before I could retaliate, a young boy, Christian’s eldest, approached the door and tugged on his father’s shirt. “Dad, can you help me lace my boots? Also, mom told me to call you.” He then noticed Yana and me. “Oh, hey.”
We smiled and waved to him. "Hey."
“Tell her I have guests.” Christian said. “And you already know how to tie your own boots, Landon.”
The kid sighed before leaving. “Whatever.”
“Kids these days…” Christian sighed and sipped more of his coffee, then turned to us, specifically to Yana.
Meeting his gaze, Yana attempted an introduction. “Hello, my name is – “
“Yana.” He cut her off. “I know.”
“You know?” she asked, confused. “How?”
“This guy.” He replied, pointing his mug at me. “Or I might be psychic. Whichever answer you prefer…”
“Dad!” Landon called from inside. “Mom said come over right now!”
“Tell her I have guests!” he shouted back.
“I did!” the boy replied. “She said she doesn’t care!”
Christian sighed and rolled his eyes. “Tell her it’s Aidan!”
There was a brief silence before we heard Landon again. “She said that as long as it’s Aidan, then it’s okay if you don’t come right away.”
“Great!” Christian shouted back before turning to us, muttering under his breath. “Figures,” and taking another sip from his mug.
I exchanged another glance with Yana, who seemed on the verge of bursting out laughing. As for me? It was just another day at Christian’s. I have no idea why his wife liked me so much.
“So, why are you here?” Christian asked, stepping outside and closing the door behind him.
I cleared my throat, carefully formulating my next words. The last thing I wanted was Yana suspecting that I was hiding something.
“Call it cold feet, but I woke up feeling totally underprepared for this quest, so I’d like to take some items from the guild’s stock.” I said.
“Aren’t the Burning Suns providing everything for this quest?” he asked, looking at Yana.
“We are.” Yana replied, straightening her posture.
Christian turned to me. “So…?”
“Well, I’d rather have my own stuff.” I replied.
Christian raised an eyebrow, turning to Yana again. When she shrugged, he turned back to me. “Why?”
“Has overpreparing ever hurt anyone?” I asked, trying to sound genuine.
“Well, no…” Christian replied. “But I was kinda hoping to win on two fronts here: get paid for your participation in the quest and also not waste anything from our own stock.”
I chuckled. “Well, sorry to break your dreams, Christian, but here I am.”
He narrowed his gaze at me. “Well, as the only active member in our guild, you’re the only one using this stuff anyway.” He sighed, gesturing for us to follow him. “Come on.”
He led us to the small storage shed left of the house, muttered the enchantment that kept it locked, then pried the rusty door open and pointed inside. “Go crazy, kid.”
“I’ll wait here. Get ready for our race and all that.” Yana said, smiling at me.
“It’s not going to help you win.” I chuckled before entering the shed.
To say this shed was a huge pile of mess would be true, but it would also understate its charm. ‘It’s an organized mess,’ as Christian always called it, and over time, I’d really come to see it that way.
The bottom shelf on the left side was lined with dozens of small vials containing liquids of different colors: red, blue, and yellow, in no particular order. I grabbed a few of each and added them to my second inventory.
[Item Acquired: Lesser Health Potion x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
[Item Acquired: Lesser Mana Elixir x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
[Item Acquired: Lesser Stamina Elixir x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
The shelf just above it held a variety of consumables: Emberleaf Extract for fire resistance, Lumindew for night vision, Skyroot powder for quicker stamina regeneration, and many others, including some Gehtril Roots.
Unsure of what else we might encounter in that tomb, I debated what to take, knowing that taking too many items might confuse my future selves. More Gethril Roots seemed like a safe bet, considering the clue I left myself, so I took two of those.
[Item Acquired: Gethril Root (Consumable) x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
But what else? I needed something useful that wouldn’t mislead me…I sighed, grabbing a few different items, hoping they would be enough.
[Item Acquired: Lumindew (Consumable) x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
[Item Acquired: Skyroot Powder (Consumable) x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
[Item Acquired: Ironbark Brew (Consumable) x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
[Item Acquired: Heartspore Tonic (Consumable) x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
I also grabbed a few offensive items as well. I had no idea we were about to face, but some fiery explosives can definitely help.
[Item Acquired: Ember Flask x3 – Added to Inventory #2]
[Item Acquired: Oil Flask x2 – Added to Inventory #2]
[Item Acquired: Spark Bomb x3 – Added to Inventory #2]
Turning to the right side of the shed, to the mess of weapons strewn across the shelves, I wondered if there was anything here that I could take. There was a bit of everything there, though most of the gear was unimpressive and better suited to adventurers much weaker than even me. Yet, in the middle of it all, leaning against the shelves like a broom, almost comically, was the Astral Spear - our guild’s greatest possession. It could only be wielded by someone at least level 90 and had belonged to Christian’s grandfather, a legendary adventurer in his own right.
Many times, I’d dreamed of wielding this weapon. I’d even trained and fought with a spear in the past before I obtained Nightfall and switched to the sword. But this spear was far beyond my reach. Forty levels too far.
I smiled weakly at it and sighed. Then, I took a deep breath and sprinted outside the shed, shouting. “Last one to the tomb owes the other lunch!”
“You dirty little cheat!” I heard Yana yell, her footsteps quickening behind me.