"While the initiates are dealing with LA syndrome," the teacher went on. "They are also subjected to heavy physique modeling that will raise their strength, constitution, and speed to at least twenty each. Anybody you see in this class has at least twenty in each figure, except you, of course. Not only is your strength less than 13, but it's also not focused. Watch carefully." He went to the punch bag, clenched his fist, and punched. The force passed through the glass to appear on the board. "Did you notice any difference?"
Gaus thought carefully. The whole process looked the same to him, only the results differ. "Your punch generated half a meter sphere on the board, unlike mine."
Linc shook his head. "Focus on the force. The force from your punch is not focused. That's why instead of generating a condensed sphere, you have dots all around. Most people have this skill before coming here but you probably don't have it."
Probably, he said. Gaus listened in silence.
On the other hand, Ariwen was just playing with her pen while Antelina was frowning and furrowing her brows just like the teacher.
"Granted. You'll have one extra class every five days," said Linc after a moment's consideration. He then wrote an address on a paper and gave it to Ariwen. "Meet me in that place at 9 pm. Don't be late. Class rep, will you please show them around, we wouldn't want people getting lost and eaten by a wandering snake or something?"
The teacher left them at the mercy of the class rep. Antelina seemed like the simple-minded, power-grabbing type, but Ariwen was just...
"I think I already know my way around. But thank you." Ariwen bowed and left.
Huh? That was unexpected. If she came yesterday then how did she know her way around?
Ariwen aside, as soon as the teacher stepped out of the class, everything erupted into gibberish. The floor, the walls, the board, the chairs, and even the damn desk were all talking and shouting different languages of nonsense.
"Why is every damn thing alive in this place?" Gaus asked with exasperation.
"I thought you wouldn't talk about it. People panic when they first come here, not you. You move and talk confidently and even your gestures are unusually calm for a newcomer. You didn't even fidget when the chairs started talking; you are just like 'hey, Antelina, why's everything talking?', like it was just an annoyance to you. Tell me, are you starting today?"
Now, this was becoming a problem. He could try not to stand out but there was no way he could fake panic for several days, or even weeks.
"Or maybe you're just naturally stoic."
That might be it.
He kicked the chair in front of him. "Can you tell me why this chair is talking like it was the most normal thing?"
Antelina frowned at his shameless attempt to change the topic but she let him. "There was once a looper with an archaic 3 sound skill. Legend says this person blessed the academy and since then things have been like this."
Weird. Very weird.
"Trust me," she went on, pointing at the chair he just kicked. "We should leave before they start cursing you for 'abusing' one of them." Antelina ran out of the class with Gaus in tow.
A few minutes later, Gaus and Antelina arrived in a small hall full of glowing names. So many names it was dizzying.
"The hall of the dread, they call it," Antelina said. "It features the temporary loopers who were erased, or are in the process of being erased."
"The dread?" Gaus asked.
"Yeah, the dread." She led him out of earshot before she explained. "Once you become a temporary looper, you'll receive a name. In that name, you'll have a number that will determine how long you'll live. But even if you live out your days you can easily apply for more time and The Master will generously grant you more. Although, you have to impress him. If you haven't impressed him in any way your application may be rejected. Once you're rejected your name will appear on this list." She jerked her head in the direction of the names. "It's a Rubicon: a sign that The Master has given up on you. But 'the dread' don't take it lightly: they are commonly prone to self-destructive behaviors, suicide, and even murder. Nobody in the loop is more dangerous than them. In their final days, some have wiped out an entire village and used their souls in a bloody ritual, some have caused apocalypse-level destructions, and some have even tried to create ways to remain in the loop against The Master's wishes. It ends in vain, of course, but they do it nonetheless. This is why the world has come to see them as a calamity, a dread. I don't know who first coined the term but everyone calls them as such."
She took in a breath and cleared her throat before she pointed at the first three names on the list. "Dorian the dread is the first one. He reportedly climbed thirty floors of the water dungeon before he was erased. According to some rumors, he tried to specialize in a class against The Master's advice. His most notable act was fighting Javier Minorita face-to-face in the Battle of Mlor. The second one is Albinoz the dread. She was a vice-captain in the assassin's league. Legend says she was only erased because she contracted an incurable illness and The Master didn't want her to infect the rest of the academy. Even more dangerous was the third one - Elivja the dread. He challenged XM9999 to a duel. He lost but even just challenging that monster was a great feat. What a waste."
"So all these names were once in the loop?" Gaus asked rhetorically. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would they build such a massive force and then just discard them?"
"Isn't it obvious? Anyone here has done something against The Master's wishes. They may not say it out loud but it's the truth. I've heard temporary loopers talk about it," she whispered.
Gaus was starting to see how it worked.
"That aside, tell me how this XM thing works. I've seen XM0033 and I can't help but feel sorry for the guy. Despite surviving the harsh training and becoming a temporary looper, he only has thirty-three days to live."
"Come, I'll explain it on our way."
She took him to the sub-dungeons reserved for initiates. They sat on the eastern edge of the academy at the base of a discrete mountain. All thirty-eight of them were arranged in a row, looking like traditional shops with giant gates as an entrance.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"XM0000 is an initiate who has not yet become a temporary looper, just like us. XM0001 to XM9999 are all temporary loopers," she explained.
"So there is XM0001?" Gaus asked in surprise.
"Haha. Everyone wants to know about XM0001. I think she's more popular than the upper echelon."
"I can't blame them. The number is curious. Do you know her?"
"Yes, I know her. She's the little girl at the entrance."
Huh? That one? But it still didn't make any sense. She had one day to live, so she had to constantly apply for more time, making her no different from the XM0000s.
"XM0001 to XM0100 have automatic clearance for three months every time they renew unless they break some rules. XM0101 to XM0499 manage smaller quests both within and outside the academy. Most of them are sleepers that are monitoring other people's activities in the cities. Any number above 0499 is big. They are the so-called upper echelon and they handle both the teaching in the academy and any other white-collar quests outside the academy. It's just a rough classification and sometimes there are overlaps because only He has the total authority to assign quests."
They took two more hours to see the rest of the academy. She even showed him the locations of the higher-tier dungeons reserved for temporary loopers.
An hour after their meeting, Gaus decided to go back to the hall of the dread. There was a certain name he had to check.
"Evening," he greeted the man in charge. "I'm looking for a name. I... can't go through all these names. Can you help me out?"
"Just say the name," the man said with a smile.
"Tyren Onis."
For a moment, he considered a possibility: what if the name wasn't on the list? It was just wishful thinking but still...
The man spent a whole minute flipping through the hardcover on the desk.
"We have a match," he said. "Check the 1022nd name on that wall."
Gaus visibly deflated. The temporary looper was there under his full name.
Tyren Ayurvada Onis
Time left: 4 days
He would be erased in four days just as he'd told him.
Gaus hurriedly went back to his room and opened the save library.
Save library
You have two books and four skills waiting to be activated.
You have 9 CP. Use them to activate skills? Y/N?
•Levitation
Rank: ordinary
A branch of mana tame that allows you to temporarily suspend objects on air and make them float. Skill may vary depending on the gravitational effect of the area and weight of the object.
Cost: 0.1MP per second (cost will rise with leveling up thereby allowing you to control larger objects).
Activate skill? Y/N?
•Sharpening
Rank: ordinary
Imbue weapons with mana to increase their penetrating capacity. Every layer of mana increases the sharpness of weapons by 10%.
1 layer per level.
Cost: 1MP per layer.
Activate skill? Y/N?
•Spinning
Rank: ordinary
Ability to move objects without actually touching them. It has a minimum range and is mostly used to enhance the control of bladed weapons.
Range: 10mm from the anchor (+10mm per level)
Cost: 0.1MP per second
Activate skill? Y/N?
•Focus
Rank: ordinary
When you punch or kick, your strength, constitution and speed react on a cellular level to create a force to smash your target. But this force is distributed equally to different parts of your body and most of it is wasted. Enhance your body with focus to direct the force of your punches and kicks in the desired directions.
Range: up to 100 cm (force is increased every time you minimize the range; -10 cm per level).
Cost: 1MP (reduce by 0.1 MP every level)
Activate skill? Y/N?
He activated the four skills at the cost of 4 CP.
Skill book
{Loopers book} {save library} {blink} {stealth} {mana sense} {skywalk} {blader} {metalmancer} {swordplay} {Sharpening} {levitation} {spinning} {focus}
*
Exp waiting to be assigned: 0
Sharpening lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Levitation lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Focus lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Spinning lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Stealth lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Mana sense lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Skywalk lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Blader lvl 1/30 (0/100)
Metalmancer lvl 1/30 (0/100)
Blink lvl 1/30 (0/100)
Swordplay lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Save library lvl 5/100 (0/400)
He retrieved a sword from his inventory.
Sharpening activated.
Unlike the dagger he used in class, the sword couldn't absorb mana, making it several times more difficult, but he hoped to bypass that step by using sharpening.
He sensed the heat in his body known as mana, forced it to his hand holding the sword, and then channeled it to the sword.
A thin layer of reddish smoke lined the edge of the sword. It remained there only for a second before it disappeared. And just like the teacher's, it remained physically the same. But when he stabbed the floor of the room, half of the knife disappeared inside. He had to use both hands to pull it out.
Levitation activated.
His grip on the sword immediately improved; it became fluid, like moving his fingers. However, the sword didn't levitate. When he activated the skill, he'd expected the sword to raise into air and float in the same way it was mentioned in the skill, but it didn't. He tried spinning but it didn't work either. What did the job was reducing the weight to 50g. He later realized that until he leveled up he couldn't just float any objects around. But still, levitation and spinning had improved his control on the sword. He just needed an actual opponent to test it.
Next was the skywalk. It was a skill designed to raise physique. Yes, the Rewind allowed him to rewind time and save skills irrespective of the loop. But it didn't save his physique or any changes in his biodata, forcing him to lose them every time the loop reset. The students in the academy were different. They could save their skills and physique over the loops. It was expected he would do the same now that he joined the academy.
Skywalking level 1 has been activated around you.
The air is now your opponent.
The air solidified instantly. To move, he needed to press against the sudden resistance of the atmosphere. He pressed against the air resistance as if he was pushing against a wall.
+1 speed
He tried to jump and he was rewarded again.
+1 strength
Even when he couldn't move anymore and the pressure crushed down on him, he was rewarded.
+1 constitution
He turned off the skill to breathe some air and to clean the blood that had dripped from his nose. Then he went over it again.
He did it again and again recklessly until he received:
You have reached the limit of skywalk level 1.
He opened his physique.
Physique
Speed: 11
Strength: 13
Constitution: 11
He spent several minutes fondling the watch. It was the first thing he came in contact with when he arrived in the Multiverse but he still couldn't get enough of it.
Sigh.
He closed the tabs and laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling in thought. The day was still young and he already had four more skills and a better physique. Perhaps coming to the academy wasn't so bad after all.
He ordered food from the cafeteria, cleaned up, and headed to the eastern section of the academy. It was time to raid some dungeons.