Quite a few deadly deaths ago!

"Strange.."

'What the hell is an archetype?' I wondered, the word echoing in the silence of the chamber.

Having a second burger was good, but it's been five deaths since I started trying to figure out what the hell was happening with the paperwork here.

I lowered myself to the floor, settling into a seated meditation posture, my back straight, my hands resting on my knees. It was a position of both vulnerability and strength, a balance between stillness and readiness.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" a guard barked, his voice sharp with irritation. "Get up! Cooperate!"

"Yeah, get up, you freak!" another guard shouted, his voice echoing through the chamber. "You think you're too good for the Empire?!"

The other guards joined in, their voices a chorus of insults and threats. I ignored them, my focus turning inward, my mind quieting as I delved into the depths of my own consciousness.

'Blessing Inventory.'

I sifted through the available blessings, my mind a whirlwind of calculations and possibilities. I gambled and merged the useless blessings, the ones that offered skills I had no use for in this concrete hellhole, and then slotted the newly created blessings into my available slots, all within the allotted ten minutes.

The guards continued their barrage of verbal abuse, their words washing over me like a wave of meaningless noise. My body, however, reacted instinctively, my hands twitching, my muscles coiling, my senses on high alert.

They got impatient.

I had seen a video where a Jeet Kune Do master had redirected a hand while seated.

I might as well try it.

A sword whistled past my shoulder as I shifted sideways and my hand moved, it missed my head by a hair's breadth. I didn't flinch. I didn't even open my eyes. My hand shot out, my fingers clamping around the flat side of the blade, deflecting it with a subtle twist of my wrist.

Another attack came from behind, a spear thrust aimed at my back. I shifted my weight, my body pivoting, the crook of my elbow wrapping around the spear shaft and my other hand slammed into the shaft of the spear, sending it clattering harmlessly to the floor while the back of the spear hit his chin, knocking his head back and snapping his neck.

A cold, sharp sensation pierced through my skull, a searing pain that obliterated all thought, all sensation.

Then, darkness.

Again.

“Strange…”

—

I strode past the Item Secretary's office, a nagging feeling of incompleteness tugging at the edges of my mind. Something wasn't right. Something was… missing.

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I shook my head, dismissing the thought. It was probably just the lingering effects of the last loop, the echo of a memory that hadn't quite faded. Or maybe it was just the sheer absurdity of my situation, the constant cycle of death and rebirth, that was starting to warp my perception.

The corpses littering the corridor barely registered anymore. They were just… there. Part of the scenery. A grim reminder of the path I was walking, the price I was paying for this twisted game of survival.

Favored Enemy Killed: Empire (Weakest) 1110/5000

'Eleven hundred and ten,' I thought, glancing at the notification. 'Three thousand eight hundred and ninety to go.'

The numbers were meaningless at this point.

I pushed open the door to another office, my gaze sweeping across the cluttered space. Desks piled high with documents, shelves overflowing with books and scrolls, a single flickering lamp casting long, distorted shadows across the walls.

'More useless paperwork,' I thought, sighing inwardly. 'Just what I need.'

I settled into a chair, my fingers tracing the faded ink of a report on "Temporal Anomaly Containment Procedures." It was the same bureaucratic jargon I'd encountered countless times before: vague, convoluted, and utterly unhelpful.

'What the hell is the point of all this?' I wondered, my frustration growing. 'Why am I even bothering?'

My gaze drifted towards the skill board, the familiar interface flickering at the edge of my perception.

'Level one hundred,' I muttered, my brow furrowing in thought. 'That's the maximum for a second-evolution skill. But why? And what does it have to do with a "compatible archetype"?'

The system was a maze of interconnected rules and mechanics, a puzzle I was only beginning to piece together. And the deeper I delved, the more I realized how little I actually understood.

I pushed myself to my feet, my muscles stiff from hours of sitting.

'Time to move on,' I thought, heading for the door. 'Maybe there's something useful in one of these other offices.'

I stepped into the corridor, my senses on high alert. The air was thick with a strange tension, a prickling sensation that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Before I could even react, a fist slammed into my face, the impact sending a shockwave of pain through my skull. The world dissolved into a blur of motion, a flash of emerald green hair that surrounded a scowling face, then darkness.

My last thought was wondering if I was starting to become a bit nuts.

“Strange…”

I strode past the Item Secretary's office, my footsteps echoing in the silent corridor. The air hung heavy with the metallic tang of blood, a familiar scent that no longer held any power to shock or disturb me.

'Just another day at the office,' I thought wryly, my gaze sweeping over the carnage I'd left in my wake.

A flicker of movement at the edge of my vision made me pause. I glanced back at the Item Secretary's office, my brow furrowing in confusion.

'Was there always a second door there?'

A faint shimmer, like heat haze rising from the floor, distorted the air around the doorway. I blinked, trying to clear my vision. The shimmer remained, a subtle but undeniable distortion of reality.

'That's… weird,' I thought, a prickle of unease crawling up my spine. 'Maybe I should get my eyes checked.'

I'd just finished devouring another burger from the mess hall, a greasy, satisfying monstrosity that had temporarily quelled the gnawing hunger in my gut.

'Maybe I grabbed something bad,' I mused, rubbing my stomach absently. 'Food poisoning in a time loop… that would be a new level of hell.'

A sudden, explosive pain erupted in the back of my skull, obliterating all thought, all sensation. The world dissolved into a blinding white flash, then… nothingness.

'Damn it,' I thought, my consciousness snapping back into focus as the familiar scent of ozone filled my nostrils. 'Not again.'

I'd maxed out my combat, mind, and movement skills. I could move like a phantom, strike like a viper, and endure pain that would have crippled a lesser man.

And yet, I was still dying. Instantly. Without even a chance to react.

“strange…”

'What the hell is going on?' I wondered, my frustration mounting.

I had gotten everything to the maximum of the 2nd evolution! I was still only able to out-class the ‘weakest’ enemies!

Present?

I strained against the chains. They groaned and creaked, straining to keep me contained.

I felt like they would break with a bit more force.

Archetype:

Legendary (9)/Unique: Massively Mobile Martial Artist. (Base Evol)

Additional Skills hidden.(Expand?)