-----------------10 Years Old ------------------------
Avior looked at himself in the reflection of his washbasin. He was now ten and allowed himself to act far more mature than before. He had continued to step up his physical exercise as his body became more developed while at the same time continuing to use every drop of his mana the second it replenished to continue building his foundation as a mage. It was a regiment he had developed after many lifetimes and surpassed any other similar method by miles. After all, it had been created by none other than the genius warrior mage Aurora. His one and only love, a fact that had remained true no matter the number of lifetimes he lived.
Of course, even teaching every single human on earth this method during one of his regressions had amounted to failure as most were too lazy to put in the effort required, and the pain. Yes, it did have an unfortunate drawback of being a particularly painful method of exerting every last ounce of mana and vigor from the body repeatedly until barely conscious then continuing to expend any excess energy or mana the second it begins to return. For those unfamiliar with the sensation, they would find it hard to focus through the searing pain of their mana exhaustion while at the same time dealing with the ever-compounding fatigue derived from their endlessly overexerted bodies. Combined the willpower required to simply stay conscious becomes a task that even out of the most promising candidates only a handful were ever able to succeed.
Avior of course had literal lifetimes of practice and so was able to function normally despite his constant state of exhaustion. Today, however, Avior wasn’t expending his mana. He was letting it build a little as he planned to create a new servant.
Since he hadn’t heard from Luxia he assumed she was doing her best to carve out a small foothold. Similarly, Avior hoped Bastian’s silence was also a good sign. But Avior didn’t want to take any chances earth would remain at peace during his adolescents so just to be on the safe side he decided to create someone to increase humanity's difficulty a little.
Avior expended a tiny amount of mana to scan his surroundings and confirm his mother was in her garden focused on weeding. He could expand a great deal more mana and scan the entire Central continent with his current abilities and techniques, but it would be a true waste of mana that could have been used to further strengthen himself. After all, no matter how well he prepares the rest of humanity Avoir knows he’ll be the one to lead the charge come the apocalypse. Besides he’d lived many lifetimes already he already knew what was happening in the outside world from his previous loops. It's not like his servants would be able to create too much of a splash, at least not yet.
Closing the door to his room Avior expended his mana coalescing it into a tall well-muscled fiery-haired young man. After building his brain his bare-chested creation opened their blazing red eyes.
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“My Lord what is it you wish of me.” His voice transmission was a deep baritone.
“Establish a kingdom on the Eastern continent. Build it up quickly and hold an aggressive stance. Seek conflict with your neighbors. Your goal is to engulf the region in war.” Avior then sent a wave of mana into his new servant's mind branding some information onto him. His servant let out a grunt in response to the pain but managed to bear it as information flooded into him. “In addition to the relevant information I’ve given you, you’ll find information on a few select individuals. If encountered you are not to kill them although you should make them suffer hardships and if possible even invent a few rivals for them.”
Avoir, looking at the bare-chested man kneeling stoically, couldn’t help but think of Bastian. Ensuring this one wouldn't end up the same way he decided to outline it once more as clearly as possible. “I simply want you to spark development through conflict.”
“Yes my Lord.” The transmission came back just as deep as before.
“And remember this. You’re my third servant and your name is Arden. Once you’ve finished your task to a level acceptable you can return to me and I’ll assign you another task.”
“Thank you my lord and I will do as you say.” The fiery muscle hunk then left in a rush of flames.
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The next day Avior felt so good about his decision of unleashing Arden that he decided to create another servant. Using his mana he formed a water elemental body and fitted it with a brain. When creating this body Avior had some fun and made it nothing more than an elemental heart leaving the body to be made up of only mana, a living being lacking true flesh and bones.
Avior engraved a few methods for taking different shapes onto the lifeform and soon he had a pair of blue eyes looking up at his own. A blue-haired harmless-looking six-year-old girl was now kneeling before him. After allowing his newest creation to pick its own form… it chose the form of a little girl. Well at least for now.
“You’re my fourth servant and your name is Fluma. Go to the Western Isles and cause a calamity that requires the region to unite against you.” Avior branded the relevant information to which Fluma gritted her teeth to bear with the pain. “Don’t kill those whose information I sent you but instead make sure they face some hardships they can overcome to help spur their growth. Oh and maybe think of taking on a form a bit scarier when doing so.” Avior tacked on that last bit without thinking too much about it.
“Yes Lord.” A soft childlike voice resounded inside Avior's head as the girl evaporated into a mist and quietly flew away.
With Fluma gone Avior thought back to a previous friend of his who's method Avior had borrowed as the basis for creating Fluma's body. In his twelfth life, the great artificer Jiordone had invented the technique while the two of them were stranded on an island surrounded by monsters after an unfortunate betrayal. Creating a seventh rank water golem despite only being at the sixth rank, a feat unheared of at the time, Jiordone's creation carried them both to freedom and a golden age of golems began. Of course Jiordone's method didn't include a true brain nor did it include jumping quite as many ranks as Avior had, but it had still been the jumping off point Avior had improved upon to make Fluma.
Avior was filled with a renewed belief in his decision to fill the world will strife.
Even if Bastian and Luxia failed to build a foundation for an organization and I have to do it all myself as long as Arden and Fluma are loose, the world's difficulty should increase rapidly. With those tribulations humanity’s abilities will have to be at least somewhat sharpened. By the time It arrives I will have already ground humanity into the sharpest blade that blasted apocalypse has ever seen.
But first I should really finish my chores. Avior thought as he went downstairs to help his mother with lunch.