Somewhere in the fifth world, northern hemisphere...

Rachel

She stared at the man tied to a chair, choking with his blood.

"Between The Master and the marines, who join the time loop first?" She asked.

"I don't know, I swear," the man cried.

"I believe you," she said.

She put a hand on his head and he stopped moving. His eyes turned blank.

"I pray that you rest in peace despite your deeds," she murmured to herself and then shouted at the door. "Bring the next one."

The door opened and another man was brought in by two men.

"Don't even ask, I won't speak a word to you ever," the man said.

Rachel shrugged. "We'll see about that."

She took a step forward and placed a hand on his head. He stopped struggling. After a couple of seconds, blood started dripping from his nose and ears.

"How long have you been in the time loop?" She asked.

"Five loop years and two days," he answered.

"Who invited you to join?"

"The Master."

"What was your mission?"

"I was asked to watch Loop Master Gardener of the headquarters of the marine."

"How many Loop Masters serve the marines besides Gardener?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know how the marines make a Loop Master?"

"No."

"What do you know about the parallel timeline?"

"Nothing."

"Have you ever seen The Master?"

"No."

"Between the Master and the marines, who join the time loop first?"

"I don't know."

Rachel sighed. It was time.

"I pray that you rest in peace despite your deeds. Bring the next one."

And the process went on and on.

Abbas

What a weird man, Abbas thought.

"Hey, what do you think of the slaves?" The man asked.

"Why are you asking about the slaves? Do you want to buy one?" He asked.

"No," the man said. "I just want to know how people feel about them."

Abbas looked around to make sure there was no one close before he shrugged. "You are probably not going to like what I'm about to say but I'm going to say it anyway. The slaves are no different from us. They are humans just like you and me."

"I agree with your assessment," the man said.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes." The man nodded. "But what about the slave trade?"

Abbas frowned. Another strange question again. "Why?"

"Just humor me," the man said.

Abbas frowned and without answering the question, he picked his books and left the weirdo there. He would make sure not to talk to him in the future.

"Hey, I'm Gaus by the way. Nice to meet you." He heard the man said as he stepped outside.

He came back to his apartment and went to bed. But just when he thought the day was over, he received another weird notification.

The world is about to end. In three hours, the world as you know it will end. There won't be tomorrow when you wake up. Instead, you will relive today. But the problem is you won't remember it.

I offer you the chance to retain your memories and remember everything that's happened today.

Accept Contract? Y/N?

A prank by his classmates, obviously. He could already guess a few that could pull something like this. But they were mistaken if they thought they would scare him by doing this.

He pressed yes. What was the worst that could happen?

Welcome to the time loop.

You are under the authority of Mr. Lake.

Tomorrow shall be a new day.

Abbas rolled his eyes at the name and looked away. He could see two people in his class using such a name. He fell asleep thinking about how to retaliate with a prank of his own.

***

It was 6:00 am. His magiwatch rang in his ears. It was the worst alarm ever.

Urgh.

He woke up and went to the toilet. He brushed his teeth and went out for breakfast. The pilgrimage was over and the school would resume today.

As he stepped into the street, he saw the pilgrims parading. He always liked this part of the pilgrimage. It made everything feel complete.

Wait...

The parade was only done on the day of the pilgrimage. Why were they parading today?

"Hey." He stopped a nearby person and pointed at the pilgrims. "What are they doing?"

"What do you mean 'what are they doing'? It's the holy day," the man said.

"No," Abbas said with a reassuring smile. "It's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it is not."

The man looked at him with concern. "Mister, are you fine?"

"Of course, I'm fine. Are you?" Abbas snapped.

Convinced he was right and the man was wrong, he asked two more people who also told him it was the pilgrimage day. He suddenly remembered that his alarm only rang on the pilgrimage day. It wasn't supposed to ring the day after. And then he remembered the prank about the day repeating itself.

He wasn't convinced, so he went back to his apartment to check things out. The cloth he wore yesterday was back in his drawer, ironed and ready to be worn again. This couldn't be happening. He checked his mana and realized it was full again. Now there was only one thing left to do.

He ran back to the library. The receptionist didn't come to work today, just like yesterday. He checked the record at the entrance and he was never there.

The weird man from yesterday came and asked him the same questions as yesterday.

"Do you remember having this conversation?" He asked.

"No..." the man said. "Should I?"

"No, I... You know what? Forget it."

He bolted out of the library. This couldn't be happening. It was as if yesterday never existed.

Coming back to his apartment, he laid on his bed and closed his eyes. He needed to think. What could be happening?

Now that you have experienced the time loop, would you like to continue? Y/N?

He pressed no.

It's ok. You will have one week to contemplate. If you change your mind, come to Niama at nine o'clock in the morning and ask for Lilat.

"As if I would ever do that..."

Gaus

About recruiting Tyren. Gaus didn't trust or like the guy and quite possibly even recruiting him wouldn't stop him. Tyren would prefer the week-long loop to the twenty-four-hour loop especially since it cost him nothing. Recruiting him might even encourage him to take the Rewind. But still, there was some chance of ending the conflict if he recruited him. He could recruit him in exchange for the secrets of the soulbond and then set him up. But what if Tyren set him up instead?

Sigh.

He decided to maintain his regular schedule for the meantime. The academy was good. Nobody suspected anything. To them, he was still an initiate who had just joined the loop. Rachel continued to train him. He was slowly getting the hang of it. Yesterday, he accidentally stopped a lightning bolt by guessing the right vein. Also, Lilat was right about cleaning the dungeon. He got +3% for the guild every time he cleaned it up.

"You can expand me if you want more," Calif said. "There are dungeons nearby. You can conquer them and take over. There's a small dungeon just half a mile to the north. I can guide you there."

Gaus checked his timer. It was 6 am and he still had 4 hours before he must go to the academy. So he decided to spend a couple of hours in the dungeon. If not for anything he needed the experience.

Walking to the exit, the water field had created a light barrier that prevented the water from flooding the dungeon.

"You can't teleport through it," Calif said. "You can swim to the shore but that will take about 15 minutes in which case you will need the barrier to breathe. It's all in the interface."

The barrier was a thin layer of invisible force that pushed the water away from him thereby creating a space between his skin and the water. It enabled him to breathe in the water and swam for 12 minutes to reach the shore.

Now looking at it from a distance, the entire mountain was buried in water. It was like a small river.

"It will provide the needed protection, for now," Calif said. "Though I have to warn you the presence of water can attract attention. The vapor will help but I would advise giving immunity to your allies before it accumulates."

"In due time," Gaus said. "Let's go."

The said dungeon was half a mile away. On their way, Gaus learned that it used to be the home to a goblin tribe. A year ago some wolves chased them away and took over the dungeon. Like most dungeons, it had abundant nature energy which attracted the beasts.

"How many wolves are we talking about?" Gaus asked.

"Not more than fifteen," Calif said.

Gaus asked him to turn invisible and scout. It turned out there was only one giant wolf. The rest had either been hunted down by adventurers or eaten by the remaining wolf.

Gaus activated his skills and went into the cave.

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You have entered a dungeon.

It was dark and the floor was hard. At one point the way bifurcated into two and the floor turned into rock.

"Right or left?" Gaus said.

"Right," Calif said. "There's another cave at the end. The wolf is there."

With all preparations made, Gaus walked into the last cave. He could hear the sound of movements as he got close. There was a faint glow that got brighter as he got closer. At one point, the glow transformed into the wolf.

Dire wolf

Lvl 18

Mana 0

Vitality: 170/170

He retrieved his recently-made bow from his inventory. Metalmancer was such a good skill.

Arrow double activated.

----------------------------------------

Arrow focus activated.

Arrow nocked, he took a couple of steps forward to bring the wolf into his range, and then he fired. The greenish light coming from the wolf's fur shone brighter. It sidestepped the arrow without even turning around.

His cover blown, the wolf lunged forward and attacked him. He blinked above it to avoid a swipe.

Sword mirage activated.

A blue sword materialized in his hands and he plunged it in its back. He fired two arrows before he blinked away. The wolf howled.

Your eardrum is bleeding.

-1 health per minute for the next 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, the wolf's health was down to 33/170. But it still had enough energy to launch another attack despite the arrows and the sword stuck in its torso. Gaus threw several explosives at the angry wolf and blinked out of the cave.

A minute later when the dust settled, the wolf was still standing. Health down to 11/170. It was no longer capable of dodging his arrows. Two more arrows in the head and he won.

Ordinary victory.

You have killed the boss of a D rank dungeon.

+16,903 experience.

+2 physique points.

Defeated boss has dropped a skill crystal. Claim? Y/N?

He had the urge to Rewind the whole fight so he could get a better victory but he decided against it. He needed his mana now more than ever.

He pressed yes. A small bracelet appeared in front of his face, floating in the air.

Bracelet allows the bearer to glow in dark places. It can be used as a lamp.

Put the bracelet on your wrist to activate the skill.

He didn't expect to get a lamp from killing a level 18 boss. Anyway, it was better than nothing. He stuffed it in his inventory.

Calif is asking for permission to join the D rank dungeon at the cost of 85 MP. Grant permission? Y/N?

He pressed yes.

Calif has joined another dungeon. An underground tunnel has been created to join the two dungeons.

By expanding your base, the guild has raised to 112%.

+2 global reputation.

Afterward, they trekked back to the dungeon. Gaus was startled when the river suddenly appeared in front of him. He couldn't see it until it was just 100m away.

"Can we take it?" Gaus asked.

"I won't advise it," Calif said. "You can drink from it but it won't quench your thirst. Who knows what other negative effects it will have?"

The sound of distant conversation caught his attention. Two people argued as they walked toward them.

"This is the place!" The woman said

"No, it is not," the young man said. "We would have found it otherwise."

The woman was Lilat and the young man was Abbas. They didn't see him.

"Hey," Gaus called out but they didn't seem to hear him. He walked closer to them but they still couldn't see him.

"Let's just go back and get the bearings again," Lilat said.

"Finally, she is admitting it! We are lost." Abbas said.

Gaus grabbed their hands and suddenly they could see him. It was the vapor from the water field. It wasn't poisonous but it caused an irresistible urge that bordered on a compulsion to go away from the area.

Gaus granted them immunity and they swam to the entrance beneath. According to Calif, even if someone withstood the vapor, they couldn't swim to the entrance without immunity. Partly because they would have to hold their breath for 15 minutes. He didn't think a human could do that.

Now inside the confines of the dungeon, Abbas regained his senses and faced him.

"I know you from the library. Wait, are you part of this loop thing?" Abbas asked.

"...yes."

"So you were just toying with me the other day?"

"No, I wasn't. I will explain everything in the evening. I promise."

"I just lost the ability to control lightning element. I can't wait till evening," Abbas said.

"How did that happen and why is that my fault?" Gaus asked.

"He," Lilat said, referring to Abbas. "Lost his ability to use the lightning element because of the negative reputation he received for joining us. Most of his combat skills are lightning-based so I can understand his frustration. But he can wait for you to come back, can't you, Abbas?" Lilat explained.

"Wait," Gaus said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. But what if he leaves now? Will he get his reputation back?" Gaus asked.

Lilat nodded. "Yes, I think he will."

"Then, my friend, you should do a little risk-benefit analysis," Gaus said with a shrug. "Is it the loop or the lightning, which one is more valuable to you?"

Abbas narrowed his eyes in surprise. He looked from Gaus to Lilat inquisitively. "So... I'm not a captive here. I can go if I want to."

Gaus chuckled. He had never imagined himself taking someone captive. "Of course, you can go. I can escort you if you want."

"Er... I think what Gaus is trying to say is you have a choice," Lilat said. "If you stay with us you get to remain in the loop. We will keep you safe in exchange for your services. And even you can see the loop is more important than the ability to control lightning."

"Can you keep him safe?" Gaus asked. "No. Don't say anything if you don't mean it. As much as we would like him to stay we should tell him what he's getting himself into." Gaus put his hand on Abbas' shoulder. "I want you to stay. But you should know that being in the time loop doesn't make you immortal. You can die. Anyone can die. We are already in danger because there are others in the loop hunting us. But if you stay, we will support and protect each other. That I promise you."

"Why me?" Abbas said. "Of all the people in the city, why did you choose me?"

"Well," Gaus said thoughtfully. "You were the first person that came to mind when I was given the chance to invite others to join the loop. You were kind to me when I first came to this city and I wanted to repay your kindness to all the food you have given me."

"What?" Abbas frowned. "So you have been scamming me every loop."

"It wasn't a scam," Gaus countered. "I didn't have any money and you seemed to be capable and within reach. Besides, I always watch your books for you in exchange."

Abbas ground his teeth. "How long have you been doing it?"

"It wasn't that long, really," Gaus said.

"How long?"

"It wasn't that long..."

Abbas glared at him.

"Okay. Just thirty to forty loops, many a little bit more."

"You are paying for it," Abbas declared.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Alright," Lilat said. "I understand you have a history. But Gaus has to go now. You can catch up later."

His schedule was simple. He would be in the guild from the beginning of the loop to eight o'clock in the morning. Then the academy from eight to four in the evening. And then from there, he would continue his training with Rachel.

"I didn't scam anyone. We'll continue this discussion when I come back."

"Yes, and you will pay all of it."

Gaus reluctantly left for the academy. Abbas was serious about taking compensation from him. He shouldn't have told him about the food.

***

It was time for another school of spirits lecture with Badwin.

"All preparations have been made," Badwin said. "We will be visiting the spirit realm tomorrow morning. I want every one of you to be here by eight o'clock in the morning."

During their first class, the teacher told them they would be visiting the spirit realm in a week. Now that he thought about it, the only reason they didn't do that was because of the week-long loops.

"And don't forget to revise your books for all the dangers of the realm and how to avoid them," Badwin added.

The next class was enchantment. Despite the rough start, the students seemed to be doing just fine. More than half of the class could draw a rune at this point. XM9997 wasn't all that happy though. She was always pushing for more.

Gaus visited Linc after class, hoping to get a skill or two from him but Linc insisted on taming his mana first. He wanted to see his classification so badly.

"You can postpone it all you want," Linc said. "But I won't teach you a thing without it."

Well, that was one good thing about the academy. He had many options.

Next, he followed XM9997 to her office and demonstrated his 'expertise' in enchantment. He'd already mastered compression and advanced compression. She should have something new for him.

"This is not enough!" She said, staring at him as if daring him to object.

After a minute of silence, she picked a practice stone from her drawer and threw it at him.

"Inspect it and tell me how many runes are engraved in it," she said.

Gaus inspected the stone. There were no visible runes on it but even he could make runes invisible with advanced compression. How about a little test then?

He drew the same rune for compression but in reverse. He then imbued it with mana using mana insignia. The stone glowed and suddenly several runes became visible on both surfaces.

Congratulations, you have learned reverse compression.

Reverse compression is a variation of compression that allows you to undo any compression.

Cost: 5 MP (depends on the mana used originally for compression).

----------------------------------------

Reverse variation is closely related to the skill: decompression.

The system has awarded you with the runic syllable for decompression.

Keep enchanting.

With the runic syllable, he just used runic writing and mana insignia to learn the skill.

Congratulations, you have learned the skill: decompression.

Rank: rare 1

Decompression allows you to make invisible runes visible and small runes big.

Cost: up to 5 MP (depends on the mana originally used for compression).

----------------------------------------

There are seven basic skills to enchantment: runic writing, mana insignia, runic tongue, compression, advanced compression, reverse compression, and decompression. You have learned them all.

The system has recognized your talent in enchantment.

You can specialize in any of the following branches:

1. Skill formulas? Y/N?

2. Enhancement? Y/N?

3. Elemental magic? Y/N?

4. Alterations? Y/N?

He realized the main reason he couldn't copy enchantments was they were just like advanced levitation - made from composite skills. Every rune came from a combination of the runic syllable, mana insignia, and runic writing, plus or minus compression and advanced compression.

"Not bad," the teacher said. "You can now specialize. How many branches do you have?"

"Four."

He listed them.

For just a second the teacher's eyes went wide.

"Alteration?" She said. "That's the one. You must take it."

"I don't even know what it is," Gaus said. "I was planning to take skill formulas."

Skill formulas had a special place in his heart because of his magiwatch skill.

"No." She shook her head. "That would be a waste. Alteration allows you to change the very nature of things. You can turn metal into a rubber and vise versa. You can even change elements from fire to water and from water to fire. Your runes will be so expensive very few people can afford them. Skill formulas are awesome. You can make money. But they are common. There is over one hundred skill formula specialist in the academy. But only Nostalgia has the alteration skill in the entire academy. If you take it then I'll introduce you to her."

This was the first time XM9997 had spoken this long. She was always economic with words. As if she didn't want to waste them on him.

"I will consider it," he said. "And who's Nostalgia?"

"I'll tell you if you choose alteration," she said.

And the meeting was over. He grabbed something from the cafeteria and went to his room. He still had a couple of hours before his next training session with Rachel.

Nadin

The red-haired girl stared at the glowing runes. Tyren sat at the center of the circle surrounded by four floating stones. The fist-sized stones would age and turn to dust but new ones would replace them. There was no indication as to where the stones kept coming from but there seemed to be no end to it.

"How much do I have left?" Tyren asked.

Assessing expression...

Fear: 83%

Defeat: 33%

She should better choose her words correctly.

"Twelve days," she said. "Maybe thirteen, I don't know. It's best if we just stick to twelve."

Tyren walked out of the circle and kicked the nearest stone. "Dammit! I was so close before this damn woman showed up. I would have taken his soul and he wouldn't even notice it. It would be pain-free. I wanted to let him go in peace." He paced around the room for several minutes while she watched him in silence. "Even with the soul-pillars, it wasn't supposed to degrade this fast. I was expecting the whole thing to favor us."

"Normal soul-pillars aren't supposed to break the soulbond," Nadin said. "Yes, they can delay it but not break it. How did it happen?"

"But Minorita isn't normal," he said. "She must have done something to the soul-pillars. I won't put it past her to enhance them with the Will of Immortality."

"Now what do we do?" Nadin asked. "In twelve days, the soul bond would be degraded completely. You won't even remember the time loop if that happens."

"That's not the real concern," Tyren said. "Twelve days is a lot of time. But Minorita is getting closer to the truth. What if she realizes she just needs to wait for the next twelve days and I would go away for good?"

Nadin sighed softly. If half of what the world said about Minorita was true then she would find out about it before the end.

"I will just use my trump card," Tyren said.

"The... trump card?!" Her eyes went wide with fear. "No, my lord, you can't. You said you wouldn't use it unless it's necessary."

"And now it is," he said.

"Wait, wait," she said, trying to catch her breath. "That would start a war. A lot of people will die. People we care about. There must be some other way. Just give me one day and I'll come up with something."

"Nadin!" He thundered. "Get it together. People will die. I'll mourn. But it's a small price to pay for my life."

"What about giving the Council another day or two? Please." She said.

"It has been three days since I told the Council about her," Tyren said. "It seems even they are hesitant to attack her. I need to give them a stronger stimulus if I want them to act faster and with more aggression. Look, if Gaus has stayed away from her then I wouldn't have to do this."

"But, my lord, I..."

"It's okay. If I win I will get rid of my enemies, if I lose I'll die. It's this simple. It has to be."

Gaus

He spent thirty minutes from the academy to the forest. And from the forest to the guild was two hours even with the help of blink. He'd like to learn some long-distance teleportation like Rachel. Luckily, the way was clear. The biggest obstacle he'd encountered was a level 10 domestic fox. He mostly just blinked past them.

On his arrival, he saw Rachel standing in front of the water field.

"I just hope the mighty Minorita wasn't trapped by the vapor," he said.

"Maybe," she said.

"Alright. I'll grant you immunity. By my authority as the rightful owner of this dungeon, I..."

"You don't have to waste a slot on me. I was waiting for you."

She sounded unusually rough. He pretended it was fine and went on with the conversation.

"Is there any limitations to the people I can give immunity to?"

"Yes, there is. Calif didn't tell you?"

"No, it didn't."

"Just like him. He would probably tell you it was obvious and he thought you could figure it out."

"You keep referring to it as 'he', I wonder why?"

"Well, that's another thing you should learn about Calif. He gets angry when you refer to him as 'it'. You should also know he's listening to this conversation right now. He can hear you and even communicate anywhere within the two miles radius of the water field."

That's new.

"I will take note of that. I don't mean to pry but you seem... not like yourself. Does it have anything to do with why you are waiting for me?"

She stared at him for an extended period, occasionally sighing and frowning.

"Just stop," Gaus snapped. "You are scaring the hell out of me. What's going on?"

"I didn't want it to be true so I stop myself from telling you," she said.

"What are you talking about?" Gaus asked. He could hear his voice shook.

"Er... There's something you need to know about the time loop."