The carriage sped across the city. Its interior was dark as a grave. Gaus glanced at Fredrick. The man was troubled but he looked determined when he said "this is beyond me, I'll take you to the head of my Order". They would be meeting whoever Fredrick meant by 'the head of his Order' in a few minutes. One more person would know about his affinity for time magic. He hoped this would get him powerful allies. If not, then he would settle for 'friendly' enemies. Those that would teach him skills with the intention of enslaving him. He would learn the skills and just reset the timeline. That was the beauty of the second loop. He could take risks. Something he couldn't do in the twenty-four-hour loop.

"We're here, Detective," the driver told them.

As they came out of the carriage, a middle-aged man approached them. "You are most welcome. I've been waiting for you."

Fredrick bowed. "Thank you, sir."

"Urgh. Will you drop the formalities and just call me Rays, please?" He sighed exasperatedly. "I got your message. Is that him?" He gestured toward Gaus.

Fredrick nodded.

"Mister Gaus," he smiled at him, "you're welcome to Marine Lodge, division 4. I'm Captain Rays. Come inside."

They walked to the white building at the end of the road. It was huge. Pillars of stone flanked the sides while fist-sized stones floated above the entrance. Each stone carried a letter. Together it read Marine Lodge, division 4.

Rays took them to his office on the second floor. A second-generation tester was waiting at the desk.

"Let's do some testing, shall we?"

He tested Gaus for the first time and he found his affinity for time magic to be 79.1%. Then he used a 'special' tester from his drawer. The results remained the same. Breathing heavily, he dragged Gaus out of the building to a carriage that was waiting for them outside.

"This is beyond me," he told Fredrick. "I'll take him to my superior."

Half an hour later, the three of them arrived at a nearby building. It was similar in design to the previous one but the stones at the entrance read Division 5, Marine Lodge.

They were escorted to an office on the second floor. The office barely had anything in it except for the desk at the center and a couple of seats by the side. No papers on the desk and no paintings on the walls. It looked deserted. A tall, muscular guy with a dark complexion sat behind the desk. He was clad in an immaculate grey robe that well suited the color of his grey beard.

"Captain Rays?" He was surprised to see them.

Rays bowed slightly. "Good morning, Lilian, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, you are not. I just hope you aren't here to drag me into another one of your fruitless campaigns."

"You'll get promoted by my campaign this time around."

"Oh, please, don't. I don't want any part of it. That's what you said the last time you tricked me into it and the time before that. I hate you."

They both laughed.

"This is my field agent Fredrick." Rays motioned toward Frederick. "He called me earlier this morning via the communication stone. According to him, this boy," he pointed at Gaus, "has an affinity for time magic in the archaic range. I wasn't sure what to make of it so I.."

"Do you tested him?" Lilian interrupted.

"I did. It's at 79.1%."

"Your tester was not working as it should. You need to regularly calibrate it. How many times must I tell you that?" Lilian retrieved a different tester from his inventory and approached Gaus. "I'm vice-admiral of the marine. Lilian is my name."

"I'm Gaus."

"Well, mister Gaus, I need you to put your hands here, please."

Gaus didn't object. He followed with the testing. Once Lilian confirmed it, he asked Rays and Fredrick to wait in his office.

"This is beyond me, Rays, I'll take him to my superiors," Lilian declared.

A carriage was waiting for them outside. Each of the higher-ranking marines had their carriage assigned to them.

This time, they went out of the city through the marine exclusive route to a neighboring city called Little Lang. They went through three portals at different locations, eventually arriving on an island somewhere.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Can you at least tell me where we are going and who we are meeting?" Gaus asked.

"We are going to the marine headquarters." Lilian pointed at the tallest building on the island. The building was so large it took half of the island. Hundreds of marines stood guard at its every corner.

"Why can't you just help me out? It's simple: teach me soul magic and I'll pay you back for your efforts. Besides, I've phobia for tall buildings."

"I'm not qualified to decide on this matter. Please, try to understand."

"Even your superiors will probably take me to their superiors. I'm tired of this drama."

Lilian forced a smile on his worried face. "No, they won't. They'll decide on it."

"How do you know?"

Lilian shrugged. "Because they are at the top. They do not have superiors."

Gaus subconsciously checked his explosive cubes to make sure they were intact. His paranoid mind was telling him to end the restart right there, but he didn't want to. The marines had no reason to hurt him. Sure, they would try to enslave him but it wouldn't last. What mattered was the skills they would be willing to teach him if they thought they had him. Plus, he had Gaus's immortality.

Lilian took him to a small hall. It was dark inside which was surprising since it was daytime and all the windows were open and facing the sun. Men clad in black sat around a table at the center of the hall. A woman sat at one end of the table facing an empty chair at the other end of the table. The floor, the walls, and the roof were all pitch black. Someone had gone to a great length of trouble to set the hall like that. It wasn't by accident and that disturbed him.

"You're late, Lilian," one of the men sitting around the table said. With how still they all were and how dark the room was, it was difficult to know who said it.

"Your men said you're always late," the voice added.

"That was probably why he's stuck as a vice admiral," another said.

The woman at the end of the table raised her slender hand. "Silence." Her voice was so soft like a whisper coming from underneath the table.

"Lilian?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lilian bowed his head.

"You can go now."

"Thank you, ma'am." Lilian hurriedly left the room, leaving Gaus there alone.

The woman walked toward him. Her steps were unassuming. She cycled around him three times before she stopped in front of him. Her face was a few inches away from him. She was missing an ear and the remaining ear had a grey earring on it that reflected the little light left in the room.

"Finally," she said, sniffing. "You are one elusive guy, aren't you?"

Gaus frowned in confusion. He had never seen the woman before. Not even in his dreams.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please, don't. Save your breath."

There was some silence before she stared right into his eyes. He quickly averted his eyes. Looking into her eyes burned. He could feel it on his skin and he could even smell it.

"Why did you help our enemies?" She stabbed her right foot on the ground for emphasis. "We've never done anything to harm you, have we?"

Alright. This was getting ridiculous.

"Hey, look, I don't even know you. So I'm sure you have the wrong person."

"You wish I had. Look, you can play dumb all you want but your scent is more than familiar. You've been diverting our sentinels. Do you think we wouldn't notice? Those sentinels are made from expensive clones. They are invaluable to us. The cost of making just one of them will feed a battalion for two days. And they no longer do their jobs because of you."

Okay. That was one hell of an accusation.

"The only reason you are still alive is you've helped us find Minorita. Why? Why did you help us?"

"M... Minorita?"

"The library receptionist - Minorita Salesal. You led two of our sentinels to her. For two years we've looked for her. We couldn't find her until you came."

So that was what happened.

"How did you know Minorita was in the library? She could have been anywhere in the seven worlds?"

"Believe me, I have no idea I was diverting your clones. I don't even know they were following me, and I don't know any Minorita."

The woman ground her teeth. She was probably debating whether to punch him.

"His mana is untamed," a thundering voice came from the walls. Gaus turned around and focused on the shadows around the walls but he couldn't see anyone.

The voice went on, "he might have been doing it without his knowledge."

It was coming from the area around the window but there was no one there. Gaus stared at the area. After what felt like a very long time, the shadow moved and a middle-aged man appeared. He was wearing an all-black outfit. His long black hair shining even in the dark.

As he got closer, Gaus realized his eyes were different. They weren't blue or black or green, there was no demarcation between his iris and sclera, everything was just homogeneous black. It gave a sharp contrast against his critically pale skin. His earrings, like the one on the woman, were reflecting the little light in the room and occasionally changing color.

"He's from Loopers Academy. I can feel that man's energy in him," the man said.

The woman furrowed her brows. "Do you think the academy sent him to hunt down the sentinels?"

The man shook his head. "I don't think so. They wouldn't set him against us without proper training. He needs to at least tame his mana and have a decent classification before they give him a mission like this. Something isn't right here."

They stared at Gaus in silence.

"What do we do with him now?" The woman finally asked. "We can't let that man or anyone else have him. They'll just use him to control our sentinels. Imagine how much damage they'll cause."

Confirmed. This restart was another waste. He wished he could Rewind the whole day and just abort the mission.

The man sighed. "It's a shame. I would have copied his classification."

The woman shrugged. "You don't need it. How many more classifications and skills do you need to copy?"

"As much as I can get."

"Oh, come on, Red, even you should understand the gravity of the situation. We should finish him off when we still have the chance. I don't want to repeat another Rachel situation."

Just mentioning the name Rachel changed the man's mood. He looked dangerous as a black dagger. For some reason, even the room got darker.

The woman shook her head with a sigh. "Okay, I'm sorry for bringing that up. But it's too risky. We don't even know where this boy starts his loop and he's seen our faces. Let's just copy his affinity and skills and burn his soul to a crisp. Period."

The man narrowed his eyes in thought. He was debating.

"Young man," he said with a gasp as if forcing the words out of his mouth. "You're a weapon too strong. We can't allow you to be in our enemy's hands. In the name of absolute justice, I sentence you to..."

"Hold on, it's true I'm from LA but I don't have any attachment to the academy. We can reach an agreement and I'll gladly come over to your side." Gaus said hurriedly.