Gaus ran to the hall of the dread to check the status of his 'friend'.

Tyren Ayurvada Onis

Time left: 2 days

In two days, everything would be decided. The best thing was to avoid fighting Tyren altogether and stick to the academy (hoping that would prevent Tyren from attacking him) until the next two days were over. But there was no guarantee Tyren wouldn't attack him while he was in the academy. There was just no way to avoid the timid-voice bastard.

If he were to guess then Tyren would try to fight him away from the prying eyes of the academy. It was both in his and Tyren's interest that The Master remained ignorant of their debacle. For him, the consequences were clear, but for Tyren, knowing about another unaffiliated looper and refusing to inform the academy about it would be just as bad.

Tyren didn't make contact in the last three days. Did that mean he couldn't? Unlikely, especially since Tyren had already demonstrated an ability to track him down both in and outside the academy.

Gaus found himself unable to decide how to spend the next two days. What was the chance that Tyren would even wait till the next two days were over? Now that he thought about it, there was just no way for Tyren to sit back and relax, just waiting for his lifespan to expire before doing something about it. But the real question was: what would Tyren do? He would probably refrain from killing him because that would benefit no one. Then what about an interrogation? Tyren might force him to spill how he joined the loop, but that seemed ineffective since Gaus could easily lie, or mix the truth with lies, or outright drag the whole thing until the next two days were over. No, the period of asking questions was over, Tyren would try something more aggressive. An effective way would be to just knock him out and read his mind. Tyren could also steal the Rewind if that was possible.

The first thing tomorrow morning was to find a way to shield his mind, soul, and longevity. He would ask around and check out the library to see if it was even possible to steal someone's watch skill.

***

When the loop restarted, he ran back to the academy as fast as blink could take him. He collected his uniform and sunglasses before he went to his room to prepare for the day. One unlikely possibility he didn't consider yesterday was for Tyren to disappear and refuse to make any contact throughout the next two days. That was as unlikely as it sounded and Gaus wasn't ready to bet on it.

Tyren aside, did he retain his physique from yesterday?

Physique

Speed: 8

Constitution: 5

Strength: 7

It had reverted again, not that he expected it to be any different from yesterday. What exactly was wrong with his physique? Why couldn't he improve it? Was he different from the other loopers?

That aside, today's class would be about mana. Linc would teach them mana sense and mana taming. Gaus was the first to arrive since he'd decided to ignore the cafeteria today. What were the chances that the milk he took on Earth before coming to the multiverse was still in his stomach? It was good milk, if slightly fermented.

Antelina and Ariwen came next. Raya was the last to come. She must be far away to be this late.

Gaus realized the only unoccupied seat in the class was the one beside him, and that was because he'd kept his backpack on it. Antelina had asked him what was in the backpack but he ignored her. Gatan and Bor had also pointed out that as long as his inventory was working properly he didn't need a backpack. Gaus cared very little about their opinion; he needed the backpack and he didn't need to explain himself to anyone.

"Hey," he called out to Raya and pointed at the free seat. "Come and sit here."

"Thank you, class rep." The red-haired girl beamed.

Gaus smiled back as he took his backpack and put it on the floor near his feet.

Linc taught them just as before, including throwing the mana-charged tablets at the students and asking them to dodge. Each student was also asked to demonstrate levitation, sharpening, and spinning using the same mana absorbents. Gaus didn't show his expertise just yet.

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"Sir?" Gaus raised his hand in question.

Linc nodded.

"When are we going to learn how to defend ourselves against the dark arts?"

"Not in the next two loop years," Linc answered with a shrug. "Defense Against the Dark Arts involves a very delicate manipulation of mana. You'll easily cripple your longevity, mind, or soul if you mess it up. That's why the academy makes sure you master the basics before you start learning that."

Gaus should have taken the teacher's word for it, but after the class, he took his backpack and went to the library to do private research on the matter. Five hours later and nothing turned out. The more he dug into the matter the more he realized how impossible it was. One book mentioned mana net - an imaginary mesh created purely from mana - as the simplest and the most basic spell that was used to trap world essence and block world essence attacks. It would take a year to learn it according to the book. His only hope was in the save library. If only he could coax someone into demonstrating it for him. But he wasn't even sure if he could copy it. Yesterday, Ariwen used another skill to block his cord pulling and he couldn't copy it even after the loop had restarted.

After another hour of fruitless research, he went to see Antelina and Raya. The two practiced mana sense in the same garden as yesterday.

"Class rep, what's up?" The Red-haired girl asked as soon as she saw him.

"Sorry to disturb you but..."

Antelina frowned. "I'm still compiling the list, it won't be until tomorrow."

The list? Oh, he asked her to give him some information about their classmates. But that wasn't why he was there.

"Is it possible to steal someone's watch skill?" He asked.

The two girls exchanged an amusing look. "Class rep, who are you trying to ruin?" They asked in unison.

Gaus smirked. "I'm just curious."

"There's no record of it ever happening," Antelina said thoughtfully. She turned to Raya. "You?"

The red-haired girl shook her head. "It hasn't happened on the Fifth World as long as the records are concerned. Why are you even asking about it?"

"I'm just asking. Don't mind me," Gaus said in a low tone. Now that he'd somehow excluded the possibility of someone stealing the Rewind from him, he only had to worry about defending himself. He'd two days left.

"Thank you for reserving a seat for me today in the class," Raya said, smiling.

"Don't mention it."

***

Now back in his room, he practiced with the inventory. He wanted to see if he could retrieve a sword right into his palm instead of it appearing half a meter away from his face. The few seconds it took to grab the sword would be the difference between life and death during a battle.

After thirty minutes of practicing, he successfully retrieved the sword right into his palm. He even put some clothes in the inventory and tried to make them appear on his body, not a meter away. He later undressed and tried to dress directly from the inventory. It took some time but he did it around midnight. Since he couldn't sleep, he went to the bard living next door and ask him if he could help him with the Defense Against the Dark Arts. The man told him to 'fuck off', but not before asking him to entertain his birds.

"Why don't you sit and talk with my birds instead? They are nice and easygoing, you know," the man had said.

Gaus turned down the offer immediately.

Desperation pushed him to come back to Nascentos.

"Honored keeper, my name is..."

"Gaus Lake," the unassuming man snapped. "We all know who you are. Why are you here?"

Gaus flinched at the sharp response. "Look, I need to use your dungeon, please."

"No way."

Gaus smiled apologetically. "I'll be careful this time around. What happened that day will never happen again. I'm so sorry."

"Over my dead body."

What?

"I need to get some exp..."

"Why can't you go to the academy dungeon beneath the surface? We've already sent your name for the full registration. I'm sure it's ready now," the keeper explained angrily. It wouldn't be surprising if he started throwing fireballs at Gaus.

"I went there two times already, but with my levels and physique they will only allow me to enter if I have a spirit companion," Gaus explained in exasperation. He'd been trying to secure access to the dungeon beneath the surface ever since the keepers of the sub-dungeons collectively banned him from entering their dungeons.

The keeper shrugged. "Then why don't you have a spirit companion?"

"We have not yet visited the realm. It will take another week at least and I need exp now."

At this point, the keeper ignored him and started humming one annoying melody. Gaus had to leave before he punched him.

The whole day was wasted like that. He'd no exp to level up and no skills to copy.

***

The loop restarted. Now sitting in the hall of the dread and staring at the name that had hunted his dreams for days.

Tyren Ayurvada Onis

Time left: 1 day

Tyren would come today; there was no doubt about it. Gaus had expected the man to attack him on his way to the academy, but he didn't and his journey was mostly uneventful.

He went to the cafeteria and took something for breakfast, not that he was hungry. The collective effect of the adrenaline and the undigested milk in his stomach had negated any feeling of hunger in him.

Now sitting in the class with his backpack resting on the seat beside him, he entertained several scenarios where Tyren bumped into the classroom and started throwing fireballs and lightning bolts. Or maybe flying an otherworldly, fire-breathing dragon or something and attacking him right in the middle of the academy. His mana sense would be up all day long and there was already a set of ten high-quality swords waiting for his command in his inventory. His Rewind was fully charged at 76 seconds. Every skill he'd learned in the last few days was up and running in the background. Even the ultimate Gaus's immortality was there.

Today, he would go to war. He would attack Tyren with everything he'd got, consequences be damned.

Raya was the last to arrive as usual and she sat next to him where he kept his backpack.