"Alright, it's done," said Fredrick.
Gaus frowned. "What's done?"
Fredrick took a step closer and put a hand on his shoulder. He gave him a reassuring smile. "Breaking the soul bond. Wait for just a few seconds and you'll be whole again. Your lost lifespan will be returned to you."
Gaus glared at him. "You didn't tell me you were starting."
Fredrick looked at him, surprised. Why should he?
"You may be penniless now but you don't have to worry about that. You see, I have been looking for an apprentice to do my chores for some time now. How about you work for me for a decade as a payment?" The man was convinced he'd done a great favor to him. In a way, he was right. He had gotten rid of the soulbond and Gaus didn't have to lose 5 MP every time the loop reset. But without it, there would be no second time loop. All the opportunities that came with it were gone.
Sigh.
"In 3... 2... 1. It's done," Fredrick said, proudly. "You can now..."
Gaus's immortality is assessing the severity of soul damage...
You'll be returned to 20 seconds before sustaining damage.
----------------------------------------
ERROR.. skill was interrupted.
Assessing ERROR...
The Error has been evaluated.
You'll be returned to 20 seconds before sustaining damage.
----------------------------------------
ERROR.. skill was interrupted.
***
"Vuiblooour!"
He was back again. Fredrick's 'unauthorized' attempt to rectify the problem didn't work. It did cost him 5 MP though.
Mana: 280/280 (0.5/min)
25 MP less than his original reserve. He must justify this mana loss else everything would be in vain.
After some consideration, he decided to use the next two or three restarts to level up as fast as possible. He would then get rid of the loop.
He spent five hours practicing enchantment. His current project was to create portable explosives that could be controlled remotely. XM9997 gave him the runic syllable (which he learned instantly by using runic tongue) and he had already inscribed it using runic writing. It could even be considered a rune if only unrefined (and unnecessarily big). To make it work, he first had to compress it into a manageable size. The cost of compressing it was 5 MP and at his current level, he could only channel a maximum of 2 MP per inscription. He needed to level up both mana insignia and compression in order to channel enough mana into the inscription.
He turned to levitation. Despite learning how to levitate multiple objects at once and how to throw objects like a catapult, he still couldn't pull out a dagger from the ground. It just required more force than he could wield at the moment. One alternative was to level up levitation which would inevitably raise the range and possibly the weight of the objects affected by the skill. But to level up, he required combat experience. Something he could only gain by killing beings with more experience than himself. He needed a dungeon.
An hour later, Gaus visited the academy's dungeon commission.
"Good evening, senior, my name's Gaus, I came here a few days ago about my..."
The impassive man at the reception sneered at him. "I'll tell you as I told you before, the academy doesn't allow initiates below level 20 to step into the dungeon unless they've got a spirit companion ten levels above them."
"I understand, sir. All I'm saying is..."
"No way." The man cut him off.
He bolted out of the office. Hands clenched into a hard fist.
***
"Abbas, what about the old dungeon?"
"What about it? You aren't planning on going there, are you?" Abbas asked with a frown.
Gaus shrugged. "I'll admit I'm considering it."
Abbas turned around in his seat with a serious expression. "Stop right there." He pointed a finger at him. "The old dungeon is out of bounds for a good reason. The guards there have orders to shoot on sight. It's one hundred percent prohibited. Don't even think about it. Why don't you check out other dungeons in Little Lang or Teht?"
"Well," Gaus said with a sigh. "Those are just sub dungeons and I really don't feel like leaving the holy city for a subdungeon."
"What alternative do you have...?" He paused as he suddenly realized why Gaus was asking about the old dungeon. "No, no, no. You can't be serious."
***
On the outskirts, just beyond the city walls, the old dungeon rested peacefully under the close watch of the marines.
Gaus stood before the black gate. There will be no turning back once he stepped inside. Keep off. Trespassing will attract a strong penalty. Gaus read the words silently. Sure, it was a risk, but if the academy wouldn't give him dungeon then he'd no choice but to come here. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Several marines laid on the ground, lifeless. There was no sign of battle. All of them were dressed in clean white coveralls and black hats with fancy blades and bows in their hands ready to attack. It appeared as if someone (or something) had killed them so fast they couldn't react. Now that he thought about it the place was unnaturally quiet. The gate wasn't supposed to be open as well. And he didn't meet a single scout on his way there. What happened?
After a short debate, he started identifying their swords. He felt bad for raiding corpses but the dead didn't need a blade. One marine had a blue sword that read common; 2% pure. After a short debate, he put the blue sword in his inventory. He picked a few fancy armors and spears and 'fruits' before he fled. He wanted to bury them but someone would eventually find out about this and he didn't want to be there when it happened.
A couple of minutes later, the soil turned black. An array of carefully arranged tunnels ran into the underground. The opening of the tunnels ranged from three to four-meter wide with numbers written boldly on them. According to the scripture, deep into the ground, the tunnels came together to form a massive network of caves that housed the infinite denizens of the old dungeon. A few tunnels went further down into the world below.
A place of peril, the inhabitants called it. Stay away from the old dungeon for the sake of all, the marines warned. One reporter published a story about a city full of sentient corpses in the old dungeon. This and many other tales all spoke about the dreaded old dungeon. But Gaus was determined. As long as the loops existed, he would explore the old dungeon and see what it's made of.
Mana sense activated.
----------------------------------------
Stealth activated.
He retrieved two swords from his inventory and jumped into a nearby tunnel.
Quickly retrieving a torch from his inventory, he looked for something to hold on to. Unfortunately, the walls of the tunnel were smooth and there was nothing to grasp. Luckily the ground was in sight, so he just blinked there to avoid colliding with the hard ground.
Currently, he was standing at a crossroads. Each road extending as far as he could see. They looked the same. The ground was dry sand like a desert and the walls were painted black. At intervals, there were different-sized holes in the wall, looking like they were dug by a squirrel.
Now, which road should he take...?
A blade flashed through his vision. He blinked away just in time to avoid losing a neck, but when he reappeared he was missing a chunk of meat from his right arm. He still couldn't see his attacker. They carefully stayed just outside his range of mana sense. He tried longevity sense but still nothing. It was as if they didn't exist.
He Rewound.
Magiwatch has saved 3 sec.
You've Rewound for 3 secs, effectively erasing everything in the said period. Only you will remember.
----------------------------------------
1 clarity point is used on the memory to turn it into a book.
Ten minutes to recharge CP.
The blade came from behind him. His attacker had three pairs of legs, each ending in a sharp appendage that was made purely out of metal. The rest of the leg although flesh and blood were armored with similar steel. The only part of it that wasn't covered by an armor was its torso - a rounded bulk of flesh and black hair. It was the only weak spot the save library could identify. A pair of big robotic eyes stared at him from behind. The thing somehow looked like an overgrown cockroach.
Construct, level 5
Also according to the save library, the construct didn't teleport to attack him, it was just so fast he couldn't see it. In three seconds, it would attack again. He would blink away and still lose an arm. His only chance was to get it just before it attacked.
In three... two.. one.
He blinked above it just as it attacked him and stabbed its torso from above. The construct didn't dodge, it turned one of its legs around and blocked his sword. Metal screws embedded within the flesh of the leg screeched against the sharp turn. Just what kind of an abomination was this? Not only did it block his attack, but it also used its other legs to attack him. He blinked just in time to avoid the deadly swipe and appear beneath the construct. He stabbed again. Somehow, the construct dodged to the side. Its reaction and speed were so fast it was impossible to even keep up with it.
Magiwatch has saved 2 seconds.
You've Rewound for two seconds, effectively erasing everything in the said period.
He reappeared beneath it again. From his future memories, he knew it would dodge to the left if he attacked from the right, so he threw a sword using javelin from the right, simultaneously attacking from the left to block its escape route.
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The construct blocked the flying sword with one leg and turned around midair to avoid him. At the same time, slashing with its other legs. Everything was just a blur. It didn't matter what he did, the construct was just way faster than anything he'd ever seen. Its armor and appendages were hard enough to defy his swords. Dammit. He was at level 10, why couldn't he trash a level 5 enemy with ease? Levels were important especially for specialization, but looking at it from another perspective they contributed little to the overall strength of a mage. A level 5 construct with higher tier skills in the four schools of magic could defeat a level 100 mage with no skills. The other skills were as important as the primary skill.
Gaus ran around, escaping deadly attacks with Rewind and blink. After trying all his skills and still failed, he realized the only way to beat the thing was to cut through its armor. But his swords couldn't cut through its armor. Although, he did have a blue sword in his inventory.
He Rewound to appear just beneath the construct. Holding the blue sword felt right. He slashed at the construct. It blocked it just like before and even slashed at him with an adjacent leg. Gaus blinked away.
Come on. This should work... Huh?
He caught an amputated leg twitching on the ground. His eyes followed the construct as it carefully pulled back into a corner. It was missing a damn leg. The blue sword had cut through its armor like butter.
Smiling, he blinked above it and slashed again. The construct blocked his attack but at the expense of another leg. Gaus blinked to the side to avoid another swipe from the frustrated construct. He took another leg again. In a few seconds, all the legs were gone. The construct sat there on the ground, listlessly looking at Gaus.
Blinking above it, he stabbed two swords in its torso. Green blood splashed on the sand. The construct screeched and threw Gaus off. Its many stumps trying to remove the blades but to no avail.
It took a full minute to stop moving. And then it... exploded. Flashes of red and blue filled his vision before everything went blank.
***
At first light, Gaus woke up with a resounding scream. His body trembled under his sweat-soaked underwear.
Damn it! He died from the explosion. Either the construct was sentient enough to commit suicide in order to take Gaus with it, or it was set to explode when it died. Either way, he'd lost a whole day to the explosion. Six days left before the next rest.
One hour later...
Gaus headed to the great wall around the old dungeon. Suddenly an arrow flew by the side of his face.
"You stop right there or you die," the scout lying on top of the wall said.
Gaus raised his hands in surrender.
"What are you doing here?" Another marine he hadn't noticed until now snapped.
"I.. lost my way. I'm a pilgrim," he stuttered.
"You'll turn around and go back to the city and never come back. Do you understand?"
Gaus nodded. "Yes, sir."
It was four o'clock in the morning. Gaus walked away from the scene but he found a nice spot and hid where he could see the gate. He waited there. From his future memories, all the marines would die and he would have a chance to peacefully enter the dungeon.
A few minutes past three o'clock in the evening, a woman flew to the front gate. She didn't have wings but she was flying nonetheless. For some reason, she was constantly looking over her shoulders as if expecting someone (or something).
"Stop right there!" The scout thundered.
She didn't listen despite the warning shot that barely missed her silver hair. She dashed to the front gate, pushed it open, and stepped inside. Several arrows flew out from behind the wall but they all missed her. Oddly enough, everything went silent as soon as the woman stepped inside. A minute later, she opened the gate from inside and looked around nervously. When she couldn't find anything, she went back inside and disappeared.
Gaus looked at the woman, speechless. She was the library receptionist who was accused of attacking the police headquarters. She had somehow escaped from police custody and now she was here.
Gaus was silent for several minutes before he came out of hiding and walked to the front gate. Whatever was going on between the police and this woman was none of his concern. He would do well to avoid both parties.
Now back in the dungeon, he fought the level 5 construct again and cut its legs with the blue sword and impaled it with another. But unlike yesterday, he fled toward the exit before it blew up.
He won.
A near miss victory!
Level 5 construct x 1
+ 8430 exp
He considered Rewinding back to the beginning so he could have a flawless victory but he decided against it. He would need to Rewind for at least thirty seconds which would take most of his remaining mana, and he wasn't even sure he could win the battle flawlessly even if he Rewound. This was good enough, for now.
He leveled up blader from lvl 3 to lvl 10. Mana insignia and compression from lvl 1 to lvl 5.
Blader has reached level 10/10 (10,000 exp).
Up to 20 MP.
Mana insignia has reached level 5/10 (500).
Up to 5 MP.
Compression has reached level 5/10 (500).
He created another sword with 20 MP.
Ordinary sword.
Purity 10%.
Wt: 1kg
He sharpened it to increase the purity to 100%. A much fancier sword appeared. Its razor-sharp edge was covered in blue dots that reflected the light in the cave. He wondered what the blue dots were.
He retrieved a meter wide practice stone from his inventory and inscribed a massive rune on it. He channeled mana into it via mana insignia to turn it into a rune. He then compressed it to 10 inches at the center of the practice stone and cut out only the part of the stone with the rune on it. After re-tracing the runes and making sure everything was fine, he put the stone on the ground and took several steps back.
Breathing heavily, he sent raw mana into it and... boom. It exploded. It wasn't as eye-catching as the construct's suicidal attack but it was enough to rip him to shreds if he was carrying the stone on his person. He wondered how XM9997 would react. She would be so impressed that she would beg him to become her apprentice.
He decided to level up levitation with his remaining experience.
Levitation has reached level 7.
Up to 0.7 MP per second (range up to 800 cm and up to 800g).
He created a small dagger and stabbed the ground.
Levitation activated.
He put his palm a meter above it and tried to pull it out with levitation.
The dagger shook for several seconds before it flew out of the ground and hovered in the air just above his palm. Linc should see this.
Feeling satisfied with himself, he walked toward the exit.
On his way out, three-level 5 constructs came at him. He blinked behind the last construct and cut two of its legs before the others could turn around. With two of its legs missing, it would naturally be slower than the others. Gaus led the other two away from it only to come back and took its remaining legs. He left it there without delivering the finishing blow.
Killing the remaining two constructs at the same time proved to be difficult, so he Rewound and picked the point where they were as far apart from each other as possible and he attacked the one closest to him, cutting its legs. Which reduced its speed, making it an easy target. He cut all its legs and left it there. The last one was easy.
Three constructs on the ground with no legs to move. He put them a few meters apart and delivered the finishing blow. He was almost at the exit when all three of them exploded, shaking the entire tunnel.
Level 5 constructs x 3
Ordinary victory.
+9052 exp.
Just near the exit, ten constructs appeared and blocked the tunnel.
It was chaos. There was always one trying to sneak up on him from behind. He ran back and forth through the tunnel, cutting legs and leaving a trail of immobilized constructs on the ground. He killed them all and carried them one-by-one out of the tunnel. Even if the explosion from killing all ten didn't collapse the tunnel it would attract unwanted attention and probably more constructs. So he decided to kill them outside the tunnel.
Outside the tunnel, there was a long road that seemed to have no end. It was flanked by discrete buildings at intervals. Behind the buildings was a small forest with sparsely distributed trees. The sky was a homogeneous white with dark clouds and a barely visible moon. No enemy in sight.
He quickly delivered the finishing blow, one by one until he was done.
Level 5 constructs x 10
Ordinary victory.
+1200 exp.
Killing any more level 5 wouldn't yield any experience. It was time to challenge a higher level opponent. How much MP did he has left?
147/280 (0.5/min)
Most of it was spent on a series of teleportations and Rewinds during the fights.
He was winning and that was because the blade in his hands could cut through the armor of the constructs, but he'd only one of it. What if it broke? He could level up blader and see if it was possible to create a similar sword. He also needed to level up blink to reduce its cost. His main skill - Rewind - as well. There were many skills and too few experience to share.
Biodata Name: Gaus Tribe: ???? Race: ???? Guild: LA guild Reputation: -2 (you can't enter any marine facility; you're banned from attending any awareness course organized by the marine). Account: 1233a
Stats HP: 100%
MP: 147/280 (0.5/min)
Longevity: 51 years
Magiwatch Skill: Rewind Level: 10 Ability: None
Physique Strength: 7 Speed: 8 Constitution: 5
Schools of magic Runic tongue lvl 1/80, Runic writing lvl 1/20, Mana insignia 5/20; Compression lvl 5/20; Focus lvl 1/10; Stealth lvl 1/10; Metalmancer lvl 3/30; Swordplay lvl 3/20; Blader 10/40
Mana Manipulation Mana sense lvl 1/20; Spinning lvl 3/20; Levitation lvl 8/20; Sharpening lvl 3/20
The Dark Arts Longevity sense lvl 1/?; Cord pulling lvl 1/?
Variants
Multiple levitation lvl 8; advanced compression lvl 5; javelin lvl 3
After deliberating for some time, he channeled more experience to blader and leveled it up one more time. The other skills could wait.
Blader has reached level 11.
Up to 22 MP.
He created another blade with 22 MP.
Common blade.
Purity 1%.
Wt: 1kg.
The blue dots on the edge slowly disappeared and the whole steel turned blue, exactly like the marine's. Holding it felt much better. He sharpened it to raise the purity to 10%. As purity increased, the glow increased as well. Now even someone from the distance could see it.
He put the marine's sword away. His own was way better.
After resting for a few minutes, he walked to the first building. It was empty. He tried the next building and it was also empty. What the houses had in common was missing doors and the remains of bones and metal scraps. There were marks of explosions on the entrance and the walls. A bloody war was fought there with no survivors left to tell the tale.
After going through ten empty houses, he came across a building with several constructs. They were just lying there on the ground covered in cobwebs. One was 'standing' on its hind legs like a real guard. The floor was covered in piles of dust. It had been a long time since anyone was there.
Taking a closer look, the constructs were the same as the ones he'd just defeated. But with darker armors. The one standing had complete body armor, including its legs and torso. The armor, unlike that of the others, was a mix of silver and gold with streaks of black. Each streak was glowing with runes. Judging from the thick cobwebs covering the constructs, it had been years since they moved an inch. But the runes on their armors were still active. How much mana would it take to create a rune that would last for a year? As a basic rule, every rune derived its energy from the mana imbued in it during its creation. 1 MP would only take a day or two to dissipate. Even mana insignia at level 100 couldn't provide enough mana to fuel a rune for two years. Just who created these runes?
It would be unwise to wake up the sleeping beasts. But he really wanted to study the runes and see if he could come up with something.