The arena sat in the western region of the city in a massive crater. The whole thing looked like someone had removed hundreds of layers of earth to create a massive hole in the ground just to build the arena. A giant, black wall encircled everything and served as a gate into the arena. There were two gates: one for the audience and the other for the participants.
Gaus went to the audience entrance and paid fifty ayrids to enter.
From the entrance gate to the arena was a ten-minute walk, excluding the delay caused by a crowd of salesmen and women. The structure was simple: the audience seats surrounded the battle ring at the center like a football field. There was a hundred-meter space between the audience and the ring, a space occupied by small tents and notice boards. Some of the contestants had already arrived and were inside the tents while others checked out the boards.
A young man accompanied by seven mages all dressed in white walked into the arena. The audience cheered, pointing at him with reverence.
"Ah... So it's true!"
"I wouldn't have expected him to be here. This is going to be one hell of a jinzidal."
Beside Gaus, a young boy who looked to be around eleven, asked his father, "Father, I can't see, who is it? Is it prince Ethrek?"
The father turned around and shook his head. "No, son, this is someone from hell, a scion of the old world - Ilun Baya. The people accompanying him are all big names from the third world..." His voice grew quieter as he spoke until it was so low that Gaus couldn't hear anything.
After Ilun Baya, several less impressive groups came before the next wave brought three famous groups. The ground shook as the audience cheered.
"Prince Ethrek!!"
''Oh, my...! That's Abbin of the Equatora."
''That large group in black and white came from Mikrom. They are offering mana potions for their warriors. How extravagant!''
"Yes, it's true. No wonder they have this many contestants. They have a handful of big names amongst them as well, most are mercenaries and bounty hunters but still..."
"It's so like them. Mikrom has never sent their own to the jinzidal, always hiding behind mercenaries. I don't get them."
The cheering continued.
Meanwhile, Gaus was probing someone for information. "Hey, I'm looking for some contestants." He retrieved a paper from his pocket and read the names out loud, "Tyren Onis, Ikenga Bell, and John Dyto."
They were the battle alchemists he was instructed to watch.
The man pointed to the notice boards below the ring. "Have you checked the names there?"
"Nope. Should I?"
"If you are looking for contestants that's where you need to check first. Though I don't think you can now." He pointed at the commotion below the boards.
Gaus thanked the man and headed to the notice boards. He managed to get there but finding the names of the three battle alchemists had proven to be impossible. There were just too many people and too many papers to check. Besides, the matches were about to start.
632 contestants were registered. Of which 105 were in block A, 107 in block B, 103 in block C, 100 in block D, 105 in block E, and 112 in block F. They would fight a battle royal that would produce one winner for each block. Afterward, they would have the elimination rounds.
"We will now start the matches. On my count, one... two... three." The commentator hit the drum as a go-ahead to start.
Gaus was too busy finding the alchemists he forgot to claim his seat. According to his ticket, it would be seat #1224. But crossing the arena at that hour was impossible. He decided to watch the match from there. It was too close to the ring but he had no other choice.
The fights started as utter chaos, as one would expect, but a surprising event occurred shortly after the initial exchange. For block A, a warrior with shining, silver hair transformed into an actual lightning bolt. He exploded in a flash and sent every other contestant on the ring flying. He won.
In block B the situation was similar: one crazy guy flew into the sky like a bird, he clenched his fist and punched the air in the direction of the ring below. A huge fireball materialized around his fist which then transformed into a fire fist that struck down the ring. Fire engulfed everything and by the time it stopped burning, only charred corpses remained.
Group C was somewhat underwhelming: the winner used a simple spear (that could somehow expand and extend at a moment's notice) to push everyone out of the ring. Gaus didn't know how he did it but the spear grew exponentially larger by the second until it was larger than the ring itself, pushing everything else out.
Group D was a really good performance. None of the fights were like it. The winner created some kind of iron golems. He sat on a chair and sipped tea while his fifty or so golems fought his battle for him. The golems were terrifying: they won their battles with inhuman speed and agility and then ate their fallen enemies. Gaus didn't like that last part, but the performance was absolute. No wonder the audience cheered like crazy.
Group E and F saw a more gradual victory. Group E winner wielded a sword and some kind of gravitational push. Every swing would send her enemies flying and before long she was the last woman standing.
Group F battle was still going on. It was chaos but there was one man that stood out. He used some weird martial art: weak, from a viewer's perspective, but effective. Anyone he touched with his fist would automatically lose consciousness. His fighting style was as funny as hell. Even the names of his techniques were stupidly funny. 'Goat Strike', 'Ram Horn', 'Toilet Handle'... He was clumsy but funny. He took one hour to win, but he entertained the crowd.
Winners were announced by the commentator.
Group A
Prince Ethrek (level 50)
Allegiance: Nehu empire
Group B
Ilun Baya (level 50)
Allegiance: Doom
Group C
Mikrom Helkis (level 48)
Allegiance: Mikrom empire
Group D
Rafiyan Nazára (level 45)
Allegiance: Lurantino
Group E
Princess Janasal (level 43)
Allegiance: Sea
Group F
Tyren Onis (level 21)
Allegiance: Thaha
There he was, Tyren Onis from Thaha - one of the three battle alchemists he was instructed to watch. Onis was the weakest of all the winners at level 21.
Tyren Onis
Level: 21
Gaus could Identify him, meaning even his longevity was less than 50 years. What did Arna want him to learn by watching Tyren? He retrieved the notebook from his pocket and shortlisted a few points:
1. He has a level that's lower than almost everyone in the tournament.
2. He uses bare hands to fight.
3. His attacks are very deadly and funny.
4. Has a muscular build as well.
To him, the most striking aspect was Tyren's low level compared to other contestants. Did this mean the levels didn't matter when it came to battle? A question for another time. The killing was about to continue.
As soon as the fallen warriors were cleared out of the ring, the commentator called the winners forward. Each was given a leaf with their names on it.
The commentator raised his hand. "Ready, on my mark, 3... 2... 1."
In response, the winners threw the leaves into the air at the same time.
After reaching their max velocity, the leaves returned to the ground. The first two leaves to touch the ground had the names of Rafiyan Nazára (group D winner) and Tyren Onis (group F winner) on them.
"The first match has been decided, we'll see the Chosen of House Rafiya - Rafiyan Nazára - against the dark horse Tyren Onis," the commentator announced.
Gaus was happy when Tyren turned out to be the first match. It was a chance to get a better look at the alchemist.
The match preparation took less than fifteen minutes. Tyren faced the iron golem master, Nazára.
As soon as the whistle was blown, Nazára launched thirty adult golems. Gaus wanted to see how Tyren would deal with the golems. If he were to defeat Nazára, a man at a level twice his own, then Gaus would be learning battle alchemist from him. At that moment when Gaus was full of expectations for his fellow battle alchemist, Tyren admitted defeat.
"What?! Did I hear that right?" The commentator shouted, confused.
"I surrender!" Tyren cowered, edging away from the golems and Nazára.
"What a coward!" It was difficult to know the first person who said it but everyone started calling Tyren a coward. They threw things at him and booed.
Later on, Gaus would look for the other two battle alchemists. His search would be in vain which would force him to come back the next day.
***
When the loop restarted, Gaus was greeted with an unexpected notification.
7 skills detected.
•Swordplay
Rank: ordinary
There are many swordplays across the Multiverse. Some have names and some don't. What they have in common is an increased ability with bladed weapons and better control over the sword they play. Swordplay enhances control over all kinds of swords.
Cost: 0.1MP per minute
Requirement(s): none
Save the skill? Y/N?
•Metalmancer
Ability to shape steel. Turn a minimum of 50g of any metal to any shape.
Rank: Rare 1
Requirements: none
Cost: 1 MP per 50g
Save the skill? Y/N?
•Blader
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Rank: Rare 1
Convert mana to a quality steel sword. This skill allows you to create swords of choice. Quality depends on the mana used and the size of the sword.
-created blades give feedback from attacks.
Requirement(s): none
Cost: up to 10MP
Save the skill? Y/N?
•Fireball
Rank: common
Convert mana to fire.
Requirement(s): fire spirit immortal or a contract.
NB: you haven't reached the requirements and thus you can't save it.
•Lightning bolt
Rank: common
Convert mana to lightning.
Requirement(s): lightning spirit immortal or a contract
NB: you haven't reached the requirements for this skill and thus you can't save it.
•Raging tiger
Channel mana into your fist to temporarily enhance your speed and strength.
Requirement: strength 30, constitution 30.
NB: You haven't reached the requirements.
•Iron Sand
Convert mana to sand and sand to iron.
Requirement: earth spirit immortal or a contract
NB: You haven't reached the requirements.
Seven skills were copied effortlessly without the consent or the knowledge of the users. Gaus heaved a sigh of relief. He might have been defenseless before but not anymore.
He'd four skills to activate, including skywalk, metalmancer, blader, and swordplay, and 12 CP in his reserve.
Skill book
{save library} {blink} {stealth} {mana sense} {blader} {metalmancer} {swordplay} {skywalk}
*
Exp waiting to be assigned: 33
Stealth lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Mana sense lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Blader lvl 1/30 (0/100)
Metalmancer lvl 1/30 (0/100)
Swordplay lvl 1/10 (0/100)
Save library lvl 3/100 (0/500)
Blink lvl 3/30 (0/300)
Skill ranks were ordinary, common, rare 1 to 5, and finally archaic 1 to 3. Ordinary skills could only level up to level 10. Common could level up to level 20. Rare could level up to level 70: rare 1 to level 30, rare 2 to level 40, rare 3 to level 50, rare 4 to level 60, and rare 5 to level 70. Archaic could level up to level 100: archaic 1 to level 80, archaic 2 to level 90, and archaic 3 to level 100.
In retrospect, he had probably learned swordplay, metalmancer, and blader from the woman who won block E battle royal. But she didn't use it against him, he was just standing close by when she used it. Probably, the copied skill didn't have to be used directly against him. He could copy it by just being close enough to the caster. That would explain the fireball, the iron sand, and the lightning bolt. He vividly remembered some people using these attacks from the arena. What he didn't know was the extent of the skills he could copy. Were there any limitations besides the requirements imposed by his poor affinity? A question for another day.
For 10MP, a double-edged, short sword appeared in his hand. It was heavy but it felt right in his hand. When he swung it sideways, it came naturally despite it being the first time he wielded any sword.
His longevity allowed him to identify most items.
Ordinary sword
Wt: 1kg
Purified to 1%
Sword is connected to your Mana reserve and hence it can give feedback on attacks.
Ordinary? He shook his head as nothing sounded ordinary about it.
He slashed the ground in front of him.
The target is at least 94.3% harder than the sword used on it. It would be nigh impossible to create an opening.
Probability of success .00012%
No weak spot is identified.
Feedback, huh?
He channeled 1MP to the skill. What he got was the same sword but dull on both edges and much lighter.
Ordinary sword
Wt: 0.1kg
Purified to 0.1%
Sword is connected to your Mana reserve and hence it can give feedback on attacks and you will have an increased ability with it.
In other words, he couldn't channel less mana and expect the same results.
He retrieved the smaller sword and used metalmancer to turn it, or at least half of it, into a spear, creating something of a sword-spear abomination - the hilt and the first half of the shaft had turned into a thin spear while the rest of it remained the same. Metalmancer could shape steel into any shape but the weight had to be less than 50g. But the sword was 100g, hence only half of it was shaped.
Both blader and metalmancer were invaluable skills and even more so since they complemented each other. With high enough levels he could turn his swords into any weapons.
Another thing was how easily he could wield the swords. He suspected it was from the so-called 'feedback' from blader, but it could also be from swordplay. He needed an actual opponent to confirm it.
Next was stealth. He'd probably received the skill from the mustache woman when they sneaked on him. He hadn't used it before.
Stealth lvl 1
Muffle sound? Y/N?
Become invisible? Y/N?
Hide mana? Y/N?
He pressed yes for all.
Stealth lvl 1
Footsteps and any sounds from you have been muffled by 3%.
10% invisibility cloak activated.
Mana presence is suppressed by 0.3%.
Now, that was unexpected. He could even turn invisible if he leveled it up. As he thought about it, the importance of exp weighed on him. He needed it and it seemed the loop was just going to help him with that.
One final thing was a gun. Firearms were the most powerful and destructive weapons on Earth. Any earthling would try to recreate them. The problem was Gaus didn't know much about guns besides their general structure and that they were used to fire a bullet at a speed that could punch a hole in any bone, no matter how sturdy. He didn't know much about guns but he could just create his type of gun, he just needed a shell strong enough to fire a bullet at a high speed, that's all. It would take some time and resources but he would do it.
Every idea needed a starting point. His starting point was...
He created a hundred-gram sword using blader and he used metalmancer to turn it into a small sphere of metallic projectile that looked just like a bullet. A bullet might be small but it was a start. One day, he would be strong enough to mold a whole pistol.
***
The loop restarted and by 9 am Gaus was back at the arena, looking for the other two battle alchemists. It would be three more hours before the arena was crowded, so he had all the time in the world to look through the 632 names on the notice boards for them.
He found them.
Group B
Ikenga Bell (Level 18)
Allegiance: Little Duke
Group B
John Dyta (Level 20)
Allegiance: Brenudan
One thing that was common among the three battle alchemists was their low levels compared to the other contestants. Tyren was at level 21, John was at 20, and Ikenga was at 18, whereas more than eighty percent of the names on the list were above level 40. Also, the fact that both contestants were in block B meant he wouldn't be seeing their battles. They would both die at the beginning of the battle royal, burned to a crisp by some fire maniac. He wouldn't get anything from them in this restart and he wouldn't be getting anything more from Tyren as well. The coward would just surrender.
Gaus decided to wait until the battle royal was over. He would go to La Magia in the evening and start his lesson on battle alchemy.
The battle royal went on just like yesterday. The six winners were asked to throw leaves and the first two leaves to touch the ground were selected to be the first match.
"The first match has been decided. We'll see the Chosen Rafiyan Nazára against the dark horse Tyren Onis," the commentator announced.
It would have been an interesting match if Tyren hadn't spoiled it by surrendering.
Nazára launched his golems. In response, Tyren roared and attacked.
"And now the first match has begun. This is a match to remember. Nazara has launched his trusty golems but Tyren is not backing down," the commentator narrated the match with a high-pitched voice, gesticulating extensively.
"Wait... This... why is he not surrendering?" Gaus murmured. Tyren should surrender; he certainly shouldn't roar and attack. His actions should be the same as yesterday unless... Gaus frowned. There were only two things that could make Tyren continue the match: either he was aware of the loop or someone in the loop was making him do it. If Tyren was aware of the loop, then he could either be the person Rewinding the day or he could be someone like Gaus who was using a skill to retain their memories.
The commentary continued, "Tyren has dodged five golems in a row. He's aiming for an attack. What nerve! He wants to attack Nazara head-on despite being several levels lower than him."
Gaus just stared at the unassuming man. One golem hit him on the head and sent him flying.
"Oh my, Tyren has received a hit. Can he stand against the might of this Chosen child from Rafiya?"
Tyren attacked again. But this time he didn't dodge the golems, he punched them out of his way.
Gaus identified him just to make sure he was the guy from yesterday.
Tyren Onis
Level: 22
The man was at level 21 yesterday and now he was at level 22, which all but confirmed him as a looper. Gaus hadn't looked into it but from common sense, non-loopers couldn't level up. Otherwise, there would be questions about it. People would just be leveling up without remembering how it happened.
Tyren tripped and one golem severed his right arm with its razor-sharp claws.
"Is he dead? He's not moving. Oh my Dais, that would be cruel even for a match this big. Healers come forward, Tyren may just be out. I'll count ten and if he is still down after that, we will consider it a win for the golem boss. One, two, three, four...."
Magiwatch has saved 20 seconds.
What?
Time turned back. The golem was about to crush Tyren but he dodged at the last minute.
"Definitely a looper," Gaus murmured.
"I surrender!" Tyren called out 15 minutes into the match.
"I can't believe it. Tyren has given up. Oh my, he was doing just fine," the commentator lamented.
Tyren left the ring and went into the tents surrounding the ring.
In retrospect, Gaus hadn't expected to be the only person remembering the loops. But he also didn't expect to see someone like him there or so soon. Was it just Tyren and him, or were there others like them?
To find out about that, he looked through the save library and picked a memory of the arena from 2:15:30 to 2:15:35 pm. He waited until it was the same hour as the memory and then he Rewound for 5 seconds.
Magiwatch has saved 5 seconds.
You have Rewound for 5 seconds, effectively erasing everything in the said period. Only you will remember.
He compared what he just saved to the previous memory. One memory was taken today and the other was taken yesterday.
He played everything in slow motion in his head. For every second, he listed all the people in the arena at that particular time. Then he compared it with the memory of the corresponding second from yesterday. In the end, he found six anomalies - unusual occurrences which happened in only one of the two loops.
Anomaly #1 decided to leave the arena earlier. Anomaly #2 & #3 weren't even in the arena yesterday and they just appeared today. Gaus could only considered them loopers like him. Anomaly #4 to #6 decided to change their seats. It might have been ripples caused by a single individual - Tyren or someone - but it still meant one thing: Gaus wasn't alone in the loop.
The new realization forced Gaus to delay his alchemy lessons. Arna recommended Tyren to him. Did that mean she was also aware of the loop? He doubted it. If she was then she already knew about him. And it didn't seem like that at all when he talked to her. The woman had never acted differently ever since he met her, not even once. But still, he would stay away for now.
For the next three days, he repeated the same thing with the auction hall and some other crowded places in the city. It turned out there were several small changes done to the loop on daily basis. He concluded that either there were hundreds of people aware of the loop, or there were only a few very active people aware of it who were causing multiple changes that affected other people who weren't aware of the loop.
Maybe Tyren and all the others were just like him, not responsible for the loop and just enjoying the ride, but would it matter if one of the others was the person responsible? He certainly wouldn't go around looking for them.
For now, he would just stick to the plan - stay low and copy some skills. But he would have to be careful of all the loopers around him. He wouldn't want to accidentally expose himself.
Tyren
Tyren strode into the teaching hall of La Magia with his sweat-soaked robe. "I'm sorry, Arna, I know I'm late. It won't happen again."
"No problem," the woman said with a sigh as she picked her bag. "After participating in the tournament I wasn't expecting you to come in. Anyway, you are a lifesaver. Your friend insisted that I cover for you in case you don't show up."
Tyren made a face. "I should have just stayed then. Am I allowed to leave now?"
Arna stuck her tongue out as she ran to the exit.
Once she was gone, Nadin turned to her master. "I don't believe it. Just how many times are you going to force me to listen to that conversation? It's torture."
"As many times as it takes," Tyren said without looking at her. "The divination compass is always pointing to this facility. We need to keep looking." He paused to glance at her as if doubting her understanding of divination. "Get me the registers," he finally said.
The woman walked to the drawers and bring two huge books. She took one and gave him the other. The last few pages of the books had the name of everyone that had come to the facility on that day.
"It's always the same names," Nadin complained. "We probably need to change tactics. I know, divination compass and all, but it's not about being a Dread or something. You know what I mean..."
"Gaus Lake," he interrupted. "There's a new name. Gaus Lake. It's not here yesterday or the day before it."
"Huh? Are you sure? Then he must be from LA?"
Tyren narrowed his eyes in thought. "Maybe, but let's check it out. I'll check LA, you will go to the marines and have a look at all their recruits. It may just be our lucky day."
Gaus
Several loops later...
Gaus went to a restaurant in the center of the city called Niama. Looking at his surroundings, he couldn't help but praise the owner of the restaurant. It was exquisite. The smell of roasted meat and fruits coupled with the cool breeze from the river behind the wall made it all the more appealing.
People rushed in and out but Gaus sat there in silence, occasionally sipping the lemon juice in his almost empty glass and carefully watching the two loopers sitting in the corner opposite him. Living in the city had become difficult ever since he found out about the loopers. He would have left already if it wasn't for the loopers he had been seeing around the gate and just outside the city.
"Hey, is this seat taken?" A certain timid voice from the side suddenly asked.
Gaus turned in the direction of the speaker.