Calvin POV

I leaned against a nearby post as I watched David survey the area, calculating how he'd approach eliminating the Lingers. He could go after them one by one, sure, but that was hardly the best option. Tracking them down individually would only scatter them...and while he might kill a few, the rest would just slip away and hide, waiting to return once we'd left. No, he needed a strategy that would end it here and now.

David turned and called to the gathered villagers.

"I need everyone to look away. This will be bright." he shouted to which the villagers followed.

At that, I reached into my spatial storage and pulled out a pair of tinted goggles, fitting them over Duke's face first, then slipping on a pair for myself. Duke shook his head once, adjusting, then gave a contented snort as he settled, already accustomed to our routine.

David raised his hands and I could see a faint, growing light as his mana began to take form. Slowly, a large barrier of pure light encircled the area, trapping the six Lingers within. The barrier glowed brighter, a radiant, almost blinding aura pulsing from within. Duke watched intently, his ears pricked as he sat beside me.

Then, gradually, David started shrinking the barrier, pressing it inward. The light intensified, becoming almost solid, condensing in on itself as it pushed the ghosts together as the Lingers had no shadows left to travel with.

As David's barrier tightened around the Lingers, their forms flickered into a near-transparency form, recoiling from the intense light. Like my maidenless readers, Lingers despised any brightness; it was their one weakness. When exposed to bright light, they couldn't maintain their shape, vanishing momentarily as if retreating into the darkness itself. But if given the chance, they'd just return, finding a new shadow to slip right back into their quiet, stealthy feeding.

David kept his focus, shrinking the barrier until the area of light was barely large enough to contain them all. It was a smart move. Satisfied that they were effectively contained, David stepped forward, calmly walking through the barrier as if it were water. With glowing hands, he used his magic to flash and incinerate the Lingers one by one. The ghosts then exploded into plasma, which his magic then also erased. David let out a breath, and with a snap of his fingers, the barrier dissolved, taking the blinding light with it.

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"Good, you passed again."

"That's a test too?" he responded in surprise.

"Kidding, but it's a good thing that you didn't follow the academy's methods, those academies wouldn't teach you to do what you just did. They'd call it a waste of mana, too much flash for too little return. They'd have you chase the ghosts off instead, thinking that's enough."

"But they can just come back if you don't finish them, right?"

"Yep, what you did just now was a little mana-heavy by their stupid standards, sure, but it's the only way to be sure they're gone for good. You didn't just chase them off; you eliminated them. Academies skip over that part because they're too focused on efficiency. They don't think about how ghosts can slip right back in once the light's gone."

"Yeah, they only teach you to eliminate a few and hope the rest are scared off, unless it's a C-rank or higher, where you usually can't chase them off, or they'll let you destroy the spot and don't compensate the victims for damages whatsoever with the justification of you destroying the ghosts for them...can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead, you talk a lot anyway."

"Tch...you said you won't risk your life for anyone, but knowing what I know...and how you travel around helping people like this for close to free of charge...why?"

"Well, I like helping people, it feels good, and gives me a good name. Not only that, they'll help vouch for me when promotion becomes possible. But that doesn't mean I'll sacrifice myself for them, my strength is needed in a lot of situations, it's-"

"So you see yourself as a person with a much higher value?"

"Yup. Spot on."

"Why?"

"Why not? You won't sacrifice a man who fights like 1000 people for the lives of 1000, would you?"

"I...I don't know."

"Think about it, one person worth a thousand means less food, less space, less equipment. Even if gearing them up with expensive equipment, the overall cost to supply and sustain is far less. Quality over quantity, right? In the end, that one person is more valuable than an army in my opinion, and I am that man who is worth a thousand lives."

Besides, you wouldn't take a thousand regular soldiers to fight a demon, would you? They don't have the durability for that. Think of it like a video game, if that helps. Say the enemy's attack is 100, and it's an AOE attack If each of your thousand men has only 100 HP, that's a one-hit knockout. But if you have one person with higher endurance and strength? That's someone who can stand their ground, actually, deal some damage, and maybe even come out of it in one piece. In the end, a single skilled fighter is more valuable than a thousand soldiers.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

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After the Lingers were taken care of, I spent a good hour or so spraying down the town and the edges of the nearby forest with mana-infused water. It should keep them out for a while.

By the time I got back to the room that we were provided with, I made quick work of brushing Duke down, then settled in for the night. Tomorrow, we'd head for my new house.

The next morning, we continued our ride and made our way to Powder Bay. The city was small, but it had a steady flow of merchants and travelers, thanks to its well-known spice trade. It sat right along the coast, and the bay was peaceful in general. It wasn't big enough to attract many exorcists, though. Mostly merchants and traders passed through here, which meant my services would likely be in demand.

When we arrived at my new house, David looked around. It was a spacious house with four bedrooms. As I unlocked the door and let him inside, he glanced around, clearly impressed.

"So, uh...I've been here before, but I have to ask...how're you this rich, anyway?" David asked, scratching his head, "I always wondered, back then."

"Got a rich wife. Anyway, help me arrange and decorate the place, my wives are coming in 2 days."

"Wait...you're actually married?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Wives?"

"Yes."

"Why would you never tell me who they are? I was your student!"

"I probably had a good reason to hide them then...and I can think of one reason."

"What is it?"

"I ain't telling you yet. I like my privacy."

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I leaned back on the couch with Duke, watching as David lugged another stack of boxes across the living room, muttering something under his breath as he provided me with free labor while I supervised. But as I sat there, a thought crept into my mind, one that'd been scratching at the edges since David showed up saying I'd die in the future.

That I'd sacrifice myself for some fight, some cause so big that I'd supposedly throw my life away. Ridiculous. Completely absurd. What would possess me to do that? Sure, I've fought hard battles before, but I've never fought one I wasn't prepared to win. And I'd certainly never risk my life, my family, or my future, knowing I couldn't walk away from it. I would have run away if I'd known I'd lose and was losing...The idea of me sacrificing myself was nonsense.

I'd run, I'd regroup, I'd come up with something smarter than that.

My gaze shifted back to David as he fumbled with a heavy vase, looking like he was trying his best to balance it without dropping it. He'd been putting in work, I'd give him that, but he himself said that all his resetting so far delayed Noctaron's rise by only a few months at best and he at least gave himself a headstart...but...Problem was, that effort only stretched things out, it didn't change the inevitable. At best, he was buying humanity a little more time. A few years at most, wasn't going to stop Noctaron from eventually breaking free.

"Calvin, there's something else. The other two heroes...the ones who fought with me in the last timeline. They're both alive right now, studying at their academies." he called out as he was setting up the curtains.

"I remember. And you want to prioritize meeting them first?"

"Well, yes, but...maybe no. It's complicated. They got a lot stronger thanks to the training they received at their academies, and in the past, they both said that being there was what helped them grow. If we reach out now, maybe we'd speed things up or we could also possibly slow them down, it's a risk."

"Is that god inside of you still communicating with you?"

"No, in the beginning, I could hear a few words or so and piece them together, but recently none, and it's probably going to remain that way."

"So you want me to find them but also think I shouldn't."

"I know it sounds strange, but I want to leave that choice to you. They became powerful in part because of the experiences they had at their academies, the way they were pushed to grow on their own. If we interfere too early, they might not reach the same potential, or worse, they might rely too much on us."

"It's just one more year till their graduation, right? We can wait."

"But they can be stronger under you."

"Or worse...unlike the Calvin you know, I can't teach, I can probably understand how that version of me would have taught you, but I'm still very insufficient...I think...for now, we should focus on getting the cursed swords."

"Why not use the holy swords? It's better."

The thought of the cursed blades always tugged at the back of my mind. Silent Night, the original cursed blade, forged long ago for the god of war was used to eliminate living beings while the holy blade, United Hope, was used on spiritual beings like ghosts and demons. But somewhere along the line, those two blades had split. Silent Night had fractured, scattered into cursed blades scattered across the world. How many? We don't know.

I found 6 so far, and it has merged into the blade that I'm currently using, but I can feel it, the sword is still incomplete. The holy sword had gone the same way, split into pieces of its own, though it was far more sought after.

"I...I can't use the holy blade."

"Why?" David questioned with a puzzled expression, "I used it just fine."

"Do you have one now?"

"No...the swords were always better off with the other 2...you found one?"

"Yeah, it's currently with grandfather-in-law. He has no use for it."

"What does that... never mind that, what do you mean that you can't use one of the holy blades? Is it because you wielded a cursed blade first?"

"Maybe...but I got another reason why, but I can't be sure...what does the day and night sword do by the way?"

"One makes you stronger during the day, and the other at night. They're at the Spade Empire's Royal Academy and Clubs United Academy, where each of the heroes are, we can either sneak in for the blades...or get to it formally."

"Are there any ghosts that they need to eliminate in exchange for the sword? Or a tournament?"

"No, maybe if you have something precious to exchange it for..." he then trailed off and give me a look of it being obvious.

"The holy blade...but I only got one of them...wait, you should know where the others are."

"I don't, I only got it when they...wait...I might know one is."

"Alright, we'll get the 2 holy blades and exchange them for the cursed blades. Let's wait for my wives first, they can help us get the first one."