It was ten in the evening when a growl from his stomach told him he hadn't eaten anything the whole day.

-0.2% health per minute until you eat.

He wouldn't die from it but the pain in his stomach wasn't something he would like to endure for the rest of the day. He helped himself to a basket of fruits in the kitchen.

With that taken care of, he came back to the bedroom and took a general look at the room. It was plain at best. One small bed and a desk. There was no mirror. A painting of a child playing on a beach rested on the opposite wall. Nothing more.

Abbas didn't strike him as someone anybody would want to kill. But you would never know. It could have been a robbery that went wrong.

Gaus identified the things in the room using dragon pupils. There was nothing that even remotely connected to any murder.

Sigh.

Nothing left but to wait.

The loop reset and Gaus immediately returned to the apartment. It was 3:19 am when he arrived. Hopefully whoever killed Abbas yesterday wasn't there yet.

Silence greeted him as he stepped inside. He ran into the bedroom where the lifeless body of the boy laid on the bed. He ran outside, hoping to find something or someone responsible, but there was nothing. Everything looked just like yesterday, except of course for the lack of the alarm which could start at any time. So either someone had killed Abbas in the few minutes before he arrived and had managed to escape without leaving any trace behind, or Abbas had suffered a heart attack and died. The idea of someone killing the boy and escaping all in less than fifteen minutes just didn't sound plausible to Gaus. Who would be so determined to kill the boy? And none of these should even happen. The ordinary man should repeat his actions and his day should be the same as it had been. Abbas was never killed in the previous loops and he didn't have any heart attack before. So why would he have them now?

Then, maybe Abbas died two days ago when Tyren attacked. That would explain why Rachel didn't reply to him, assuming she was also killed at the same time, but it didn't explain why Abbas would still be dead. No matter the damage he received, he would always be fine when the loop reset. That's how the loop worked, right?

Identify showed:

Abbas, lvl 6.

Dragon pupils showed:

Name: Abbas

Race: human

Level: 6

Mana: 120/173 (untamed)

Affinity: time 0.1%, soul 0.9%, mind 1.2%

If a person was dead, it would be 'deceased'. So according to the two skills, Abbas was still alive. Then why was he still unconscious? Did someone force the boy into the loop and then hurt him? Nobody asked Gaus for his permission when he was dragged into the academy. Someone could just force you into the loop and then kill you, or in Abbas's case make sure you stay unconscious.

Your awareness of the loop has increased.

+33% Loop knowledge

Total: 164.5%

Well, that went without saying that The Master could just use this to his advantage. If his beloved loopers died in battle, he could just erase them from the loop and then returned them later on after they were reborn in another loop. Of course, all their skills and levels would be lost but they would still be alive and ready to try again. That was one hell of a power-up for The Master.

Another possibility was whatever happened to the boy was related to his magiwatch. Even if his soul and mind were always renewed at the end of the loop, his magiwatch - specifically the skill aspect that connected him to Gaus - was spared. That was how the boy could remember the loop.

Anyway, whatever happened to Abbas must have happened to Lilat, but what about Rachel? She wasn't in the loop in any way. The only thing that allowed her to remember it was the memory package. She shouldn't be dead. But if she was then she would be starting the loop dead just like Abbas. She would be stuck where she started the loop - the hideout. He had no option but to check it out.

He went to the library.

"Excuse me, sir," he said to the guard at the entrance. "Where's the receptionist?"

"She's late," the guard said. "You can wait for her if you want. I just sent staff to her home to see if everything is fine."

Good. That was what he was looking for.

"Is it far?" Gaus asked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"02 Emilton avenue," The guard said dismissively.

Gaus booked a carriage and went to the place. The staff was done with the house by the time he was there. The man left the exit door wide open after breaking the doors to the bedroom and kitchen in his 'attempt' to get in. Just what kind of relationship did Rachel have with her colleagues? It seemed everyone hated her.

Sigh.

The house was empty and ordinary. You wouldn't believe the owner of the apartment ran hideouts and shady anti-government organizations.

Gaus still didn't want to go to the hideout directly, so he went to a guild and paid two adventurers to check it out for him. It turned out the place was deserted.

"They seemed to have left in a hurry," the adventurer said and even showed him some of the things he'd taken for himself from the leftovers at the camp. "The tents are still there, untouched."

Now, that was weird. Why would they leave? He decided it was time to take a look at the hideout and see for himself.

He walked into the forest. The archers weren't in their normal positions, so he blinked above the trees from which they used to shoot him and took a closer look. There was no one there but that was fine. Rachel could have moved them after receiving his warning, assuming she didn't die.

He carefully walked to the tents. Everything was there except for a few tents that were displaced or missing.

Either Rachel and Lilat were dead and the slaves living in the hideout fled because of that, or Lilat was dead but Rachel was still alive (which was quite possible considering that Rachel wasn't formally introduced to the loop in any way and she would be even more difficult to kill than Lilat) and she decided to move the camp in response to Lilat's death. The latter was more likely because unlike Lilat and Abbas who could be affected by the changes in their magiwatch, Rachel was completely insulated. Unless The Master himself was involved in her death (say he forced her into the loop before they killed her) then there was no explanation for her death.

Either way, Rachel wouldn't be replying to any message if Lilat was dead.

He had a pretty good idea of what happened now. Tyren must have told the marines about Rachel. He told them she had the Rewind. The black-eyed and his friends must have come for the Rewind when they killed him.

That aside, what was the fate of the soul-pillars? Without the pillars, Tyren would activate the soulbond and Gaus's immortality would react by resetting the second loop. Or maybe it wasn't an immediate response and the soulbond was reactivated already but it needed time (the usual seven days) to fully come back to life and make Gaus's immortality react. If that was the case then the loop would reset in the next three days since it had been four days already since Rachel died. But what if it didn't? That would bring a new realm of possibilities. Maybe Rachel was still alive? Maybe she was dead and the pillars were still active? Maybe the soulbond was already broken before she died? Gaus didn't want to get ahead of himself and decided to wait for the next three days.

In the meantime, he would make sure he found out about the slaves and why they were running away.

Now back at the hotel, he opened his interface again.

Are you sure you want to accept the friend request from Tyren? Y/N?

He pressed yes.

Hey, long time no see!

That was the first message he saw. He decided to just ignore it.

I know you are angry about what happened to your friends but you forced my hands. It was either their lives or mine. I chose mine. Would you have done anything differently?

Gaus didn't answer him. There was nothing to say.

Tyren: Alright, I will just get this out of the way so we can avoid it in the future. You asked Minorita for help and I ask the admirals. We are even now.

Gaus: is she dead?

Tyren: Minorita? Yes. So are the other girl and the boy who was hiding with her in the dungeon.

Gaus: how?

Tyren: the boy and girl had their magiwatch snapped. You added them to the loop by connecting to their magiwatch, right? But that's their weakness. Anything that connects you to the loop can be used to kill you in the loop. It's a simple rule.

Gaus: Minorita wasn't connected to it in any way. How can she die?

Tyren: hold on a minute, if I tell you that then you will get loop knowledge. Are you ready to trade for it?

Gaus: what do you want?

Tyren: tell me how you can add people into the loop.

Gaus: I won't tell you that. But I can add you if agree to my terms.

Tyren: what? Do you think I'll give up the second loop for a twenty-four-hour loop? That's retarded. Why would I do that? And I'll have to serve you then. I think I'll pass. Just tell me how you do it and I'll find a way to do it myself in the next iteration. What do you have to lose? If you tell me how you add people into the loop, I'll get loop knowledge, and if I tell you how they killed your friend, you'll get loop knowledge. It's a fair trade.

Gaus: I'll pass.

Gaus blocked him. Even if Tyren was ready to talk there was no guarantee he would tell the truth. And it was clear he wasn't going to give up on the second loop until Gaus was dead.

Your reputation with Tyren has further decreased to enmity.

The next day he received another message from LA.

You have not attended your classes for four consecutive days.

Penalty: you have been expelled from the academy. You'll no longer remember your experience in the loop. You have been stripped of all the skills in your skill book.

Damn it. One bad news after another.

He returned to the hideout. It was early and the slaves didn't leave yet. It appeared Tyren was right about Rachel and Lilat. They were both dead. The slaves found them dead in their sleep. Now the only thing left to do was to wait and see if the second loop would reset.