At first, Zorian didn't even notice him. That in itself is noteworthy, as he won't go unnoticed. He loves attention and seems to have a hard time keeping quiet, which remains true even when Zach suddenly transforms into a time traveler.
Today, however, Zach was strangely silent. He also eschewed his usual spot at the back of the classroom and took a seat closer to the front.
Zorian would have probably ignored him if it weren't for his erratic behavior that got people talking.
He was so shocked when he finally showed up in class that he immediately stopped and stood in the middle of the class like an idiot.
His first instinct was to immediately walk over to the boy, drag him to a corner and clean everything up, but Zach's soft appearance gave him pause. Zach's skin was pale and bloodless, and his breathing was a little too fast and shallow for a healthy person. he is sick.
He glanced at the front of the classroom. Zach was sitting very close to Brian. Every seat around Brian was empty. The reason is easy to surmise: people don't want to be near an angry dragon. Although the young fire dragon didn't set anyone on fire, it bit and scratched without hesitation, what could have triggered it? Fortunately, it seemed to tolerate Zorian better than most, and it just plopped down next to Brian,
He glared at the lizard with an annoyed look and the hissing stopped. He stared into the dragon's yellow eyes until it turned its head and stopped disturbing him.
"Wow, you shut him up right away," Brianne said. "I wish I could control him that easily."
The fire dragon savaged the air in front of Brian's face with his mouth, causing the boy to take a step back. Briam snorted in annoyance, how smart is this creature?
Then, trying his best to appear natural, Zorian turned to Zack, who was sitting a little further away from him.
"You look like hell," Zorian said.
Zach yelled, burying his face in his hands. "I feel like hell," he cried. "What did that pile of bones do to me?"
The heartbeat quickened. To Zorian, this was clear confirmation that Zach was also a time traveler.
"A pile of bones?" Zorian asked pretendingly.
Zach opened his mouth to respond, but Ilsa chose to walk into the classroom and Zach gave up.
Zorian glared at her. Couldn't she have waited a few more minutes?
Ilsa, oblivious to Zorian's inner complaints, accepted Akoja's list and began to introduce herself and her class. Zorian had heard this sentence eight times, ignore her, focus on Zach, and ask him for information related to time travel.
Suddenly he found that Ilsa had stopped talking and was looking in his direction. After a moment, he realized she was looking at Zach.
"Sir, you look very sick. Please tell me you didn't come to class hungover."
The class erupted into laughter, and Zach frowned, noticing the undercurrent of uneasiness in Ilsa's question. Regardless, he recovered quickly.
"This isn't a hangover," Zach protested. "I swear, this is how I woke up."
"You think it's a good idea to come to class like this...why?" Ilsa urged.
"Uh...I honestly didn't expect it to last this long. I thought it would be over in an hour or two," Zach said sheepishly.
If the illness was caused by the Lich's spell against them that night, Zach had been absent for so long after all. Why would Zach expect such a serious illness to be over "within an hour or two?"
Why can't there be a simple answer?
"Well, that's not the case," Ilsa concluded. "While I appreciate your dedication to your studies," Zorian could clearly hear Akko snorting derisively in the background, "I have to send you home, preferably to a doctor. You look like you're going to collapse at any moment. .”
Before Zach could speak, Zorian stood up from his seat.
"I'll send him home, teacher," he said. Zach gave him a surprised look, but Ilsa just nodded and dismissed them.
Zorian picked up his bag and left with Zach, very pleased with himself. He found an excuse to talk to Zach privately and got permission to skip class, which he had already attended eight times. Could the victory be more complete? Ha ha.
"You don't have to do this, you know?" Zach said following him. "I can go home on my own. I don't feel that bad."
“But if I didn’t, I’d have to endure 2 hours of boring revision,” he countered.
Zach laughed, but his laughter quickly turned into a painful cough.
"Damn," he gasped. "He did do bad things to me."
"Who is this man you keep mentioning?" Zorian urged.
"It doesn't matter," Zack muttered. He took a deep breath and stared at Zorian thoughtfully. "Hey. Do you want to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat?"
"Do you think your stomach can handle it?" Zorian asked.
"You bet," Zach nodded. "I am so hungry!"
Zorian shrugged and motioned for Zach to lead the way.
"You know, I find this whole situation really funny," Zach said as he munched on his noodles.
"First of all, I'm not skipping class—I'm escorting you home," Zorian pointed out, ignoring Zach's snort. "We're just stopping for a meal so you don't starve." Another sniff.
"Ah. A hypocritical person." Zach said, with a sour expression on his face. "Stop it. At least you're male so she won't try to pair us up."
"Well, I also have a 9-year-old sister..."
"No illusions," Zach warned.
"Okay," Zorian agreed.
. "Then can you tell me who roughed you up?"
"Your off-the-cuff comment wasn't as roundabout as you thought," Zorian said.
"Whatever," Zack scoffed. "I just inhaled some weird fumes while fiddling with my alchemy suit yesterday, that's all."
Ah, the "alchemical accident" excuse. Cliche, but so effective.
Zorian himself had used it many times. No matter what, he was not willing to let go so easily. He decided to take a chance and try to provoke a reaction from the boy.
"Must be some very strange smoke - the aftereffects are almost like soul magic being exposed," Zorian speculated aloud.
Zach immediately sat up straight in his seat, eyes widening in realization. "Of course! That's why I'm still affected even after recovery! This bastard was targeting the very thing that was sent back - my soul!"
There was an eerie silence in the cafeteria, as everyone stared at this madman talking nonsense. Zack slowly lowered his hands and muttered an apology, too quiet for anyone but Zorian to hear.
The students gathered burst into laughter, and eventually everything returned to normal.
"Uh..." Zach started. "Maybe we should continue this at the fountain, huh?"
Zack muttered. "I'm kind of excited...not everyone is an ice cube like you."
"Ice?" Zorian asked, an undercurrent of warning in his voice.
Still, Zach's little outburst answered his question. So what was sent back was not his memory, not even his sanity, but his soul. This would certainly explain why his spell and shape abilities don't disappear every time he restarts.
Magic and the soul are closely related, even if no one really knows the exact mechanism of their interaction.
When they finally reached the fountain, Zach seemed lost in thought,
So Zorian studied the colorful fish swimming in the fountain basin. He actually felt sorry for the poor things since they were unlikely to last long. The fountain fell into disrepair over the years and was only restored during the summer festival.
How likely is it that the college will continue to survive after this event is over? The fishboys' days are numbered.
"Zorian..." Zach urged.
"Um?"
"Tell me...what do you know about time travel?"
Zorian blinked. Excellent. That's straight forward.
"Time travel?" Zorian asked, trying his best to feign confusion. "I don't think much about it. Does it matter?"
"Uh, okay..." Zach stammered, scratching his chin nervously. "You might think I'm crazy, but I'm a time traveler."
Wow, Zach really doesn't have a subtle bone in his body, does he?
"You don't look too old," Zorian said. "If you're from the future, it's not that far away."
"No, no, it's more like...the whole world reset on the night of the Summer Festival, and I'm the only one who remembers what happened."
It's an interesting way to explain it, although the idea of a spell that affects the entire world is more ridiculous than the idea of using time travel magic.
"I've been through this for a month...gosh, at least 200 times now," Zach continued. “Honestly, I’m starting to lose count.”
"Wait, you talk about this as if you couldn't stop it," Zorian said, his voice panicked.
"That's it, I don't know if I can stop it!" Zach yelled before realizing what he was doing and then quieted down to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. "I was hit by this spell in a previous return, and its effects didn't completely wear off when I went back in time."
Zorian frowned. 'Previous recovery'? What about the other 7 times? Did Zach somehow skip these, or does he simply not remember them? It occurred to Zorian that the after-effects of the Lich's spell might be worse than what he was seeing now - what if Zach had been in a coma for the past seven restarts? But it begs the question: why his guardians reported him missing instead of bringing in a therapist.
"I think this is indeed the soul magic you mentioned." Zach continued. "I need to keep an eye on those people from now on. Anyway, at first I thought it was just some serious illness that would pass, and to a certain extent I was right. I already feel better than I did this morning. Just affected It’s not just my body, my mind has been a little unstable since I woke up.”
Oh no…
"I don't remember how I started this time loop," Zach concluded, confirming Zorian's fears. "Or I started it in the first place. My memory is filled with that void at the moment. I wish it all came back to me, but..."
Zorian stared at the other boy expressionlessly. Basically, they're all stuck.
However, Zach's interpretation seems to be somewhat different.
"You don't believe me," he concluded.
"That's quite far-fetched," Zorian said. If he hadn't experienced it, he wouldn't believe him, no. "But I'm a very open-minded person. Let's assume you're right for now. What does this have to do with me?"
"Yeah," he said. "You are really different from your other self."
"Another self?" Zorian asked curiously.
"Yeah," Zach nodded. "My memory of some things may be a little fuzzy, but I definitely remember you. Mainly because you died as soon as you attacked..."
Zorian pretended not to hear.
"You've changed," Zach concluded. "You're much calmer. More laid back."
It's necessary. After going through something like this, it's hard not to change. Not to mention that it has been more than 8 months since I restarted the game.
"So, wait...why did I change?" Zorian asked. "Didn't you say that the whole world will be reset?"
"Don't know," Zach shrugged, then gave him a confused look. "Come to think of it, you were there too, weren't you?"
"No, you probably don't remember," Zack sighed. "Have you been feeling any different lately?"
"Come to think of it...yes," Zorian confirmed. “I took different electives than I expected and I’ve done a lot of other weird things since I came to Cooria.”
Zorian had two motives for saying this. First, he wanted to see how Zach would react to the idea of another person going through the time loop with him. Secondly, he wanted to provide an explanation for why he behaved differently on each reboot, in case Zach didn't tell his own story.
"Weird," was all Zach said.
"Yes," Zorian agreed. "So...does the time traveler have any advice for a mortal like me? Maybe an awesome secret spell?"
"To be honest, all I know are combat spells." Zack admitted. "I'm pretty good at combat magic because there's...something I'm trying to prevent."
"Is there any mysterious opponent causing you trouble?"
Zorian said.
"Do you at least remember how that happened?"
"Uh," Zack muttered. "I distinctly remember you being there, but you were probably dead at the start of the battle - no offense to Zorian, but you're not a warrior - and I foolishly charged in thinking I was invulnerable."
"Why do you think that?" Zorian asked, honestly confused. "I mean, you're invulnerable. Don't you think it's dangerously arrogant to think you're invincible?"
"Do you know how many times I've died?" Zach protested. "My memory is failing again, but it's a big impact. I'll have to be careful with necromancy next time, right?"
"It's not just necromancy." Zorian sighed heavily. "There's also psychic magic to worry about. Mental slaves, you may also have multiple gaps in your memory - your entire brain may go blank.
As far as I know, it also bonds with the soul. Some creatures, like ghosts, eat souls—something to worry about. There are several ways to seal a mage's magical abilities, which will most likely stay with you when you... 'recover'. "
Zach was silent, and his face became paler as he listened to Zorian speak.
"These are just a few bullet points off the top of my head," Zorian concluded. "I'm just an academy student, I don't know anything. Obviously, uh, you're not invulnerable?"
Zorian swallowed hard. That's close.
"Wow, you sound like you care," Zach finally smiled nervously. "You really believe I'm a time traveler now, don't you?"
Zorian shrugged. "I'm not entirely convinced that if you say you're a time traveler, then we'll pretend you're a time traveler. Ha."
. . . . . two. . . . . .
Zorian finally returned to his room, he immediately locked the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He finally had time to think about today's events.
Zach believes he will be better tomorrow and his memory will return. Zorian was less confident. There was a seven-month gap in Zach's memory, suggesting something very serious had happened to him. Why didn't Zorian suffer something similar? Well... maybe he does. He felt unusually tired when he first started over, but he dismissed it as mental stress. Maybe he was just caught on the edge of the spell and suffered only minor damage.
The strange time travel effects he and Zack were subjected to basically turned them into spirit entities. A lich is also essentially a soul entity. They are mages who ritually commit suicide and bind their soul to an object - their phylactery - before it can pass into the afterlife.
If their current form is destroyed, they quickly return to their phylactery and can possess someone.
Zach foolishly said the same thing to the Lich at the end of the battle! "I will not die forever," indeed! The Lich may not know what Zach actually is, but such a statement strongly suggests that he is either the Lich himself or some kind of possessing entity.
The real question is: What does he do now? Even if Zach regains his memory (highly doubtful, ha), he will undoubtedly want to keep the time loop going until he finds a way to defeat the Lich. It might have taken a while if the boy had had an argument with the undead mage before. This starts with the assumption that Zach is the originator of the spell. If it happens once, it can happen twice. He had a sneaking suspicion that Zach might be a stowaway like Zorian. Is there a third looper running around?
Suddenly, he wasn't as desperate to get out of this thing as he had been in the beginning. Getting out doesn't necessarily mean a return to normal.
This invasion is clearly not just a random terrorist attack, something big is going on, and Zorian is just a very small fish. Thai charmingly said, a cockroach. In the time loop, he has a chance to secure his future. Beyond that, he's just another victim.
Once upon a time, as a young man, Zorian dreamed of becoming a great mage. It's the kind of legend that completely changed the entire field of magic on its own.
Over time, the dream faded and it became clear he didn't have the talent to make it happen. He is just a civilian-born student who is slightly above average and has no special advantages. but now? He's had plenty of time to establish an edge over his peers and become truly great. Bigger than Daimen.
It's a bit ahead of its time. ha. He needs something more concrete to guide him - a clear set of courses of action to achieve a goal. The only thing he could think of now was to ask Zach for some hints, go to the library to find more spells, and keep improving his alchemical skills.
The library was full of spells, but anything "serious" (that is, anything that could be used in combat, crime, or espionage) was restricted, and he knew from talking to upperclassmen, Sensei They are really stingy with licensing. . Even Toph didn't manage to get one.
Grinding Alchemy is definitely an option. Serious alchemical research requires a lot of money - alchemical raw materials are very expensive. However, the money problem was solved as his savings account spontaneously replenished funds after each reboot
Honestly, it's not much. He needed a better plan. Zorian sighed again, pulled out his trusty notebook, and began planning.
. . . . Four. . . . .
"What can I do for you, son?" Karen asked. "get out of class is over."
"Well, I just wanted to talk to you about something," Zorian said. Karen motioned for him to continue. "I hope you don't find this insulting, but the plan you're talking about seems a bit... simple. Practicing magic missiles for a month doesn't seem to make much sense to me anymore, I've got them pretty good."
"I hope you don't find this insulting, kid, but you just don't have enough power to be a true battle mage," Kyron finished. "Your sculpting skills are pretty impressive for your age, but you're tired after only 10 shots. None of that works in a fight."
"Yeah, I know," Zorian admitted. His reserves are slightly higher than when he first took the course, so 10 shots is actually an improvement. "By the way, is there anything I can do?"
"Of course, as your magical proficiency increases, your mana reserves increase, but so do the mana reserves of others. Against naturally powerful opponents, most professional battle mages, you are always at a disadvantage. Of course, , I can't prohibit you from pursuing the profession of a battle mage, but I definitely advise you not to do so. In many magical disciplines, excellent shaping skills are an asset, but battle magic is primarily about strength."
"I see," Zorian said. He didn't plan on becoming a battle mage, but he had a feeling that whether he liked it or not, he needed some battle magic. At least be able to deal with his winter wolves or trolls during the invasion. "
"Hmph." Karen snorted. "Are you trying to blackmail me, son?"
"Well……"
"It's okay, I don't mind. I do understand your point of view..." Karen rubbed her chin, thinking about something in her mind. "Wait here."
Fifteen minutes later, Karen returned with another spell stick, a booklet, and four ceramic plates. He threw the plates at Zorian, who caught them before they shattered on the ground.
"The response was quick." Karen praised. "They're actually reinforced, so you don't have to worry." He took a magic wand and held it firmly in his hand. "Let me show you something. Throw one of the plates to my left."
Zorian did so immediately, and Karen wordlessly pointed the rod at the plate and fired. He missed his target and the force actually hit the plate, bending in the air to intercept it. The plate shattered into dust and sharp shards.
"Do it again," Karen snapped.
Zorian threw another plate, and another blast of power flew towards it. This one, however, was different—it was longer and thinner, like an oversized needle. It hit the plate, but instead of smashing it to smithereens, it went right through it, punching a hole in the center before dissipating.
"Put those last two together," Karen instructed.
The two plates flew into the air, and Karen pointed the scepter in their general direction again. Zorian waited for the lightning bolt of power, but it didn't come. Instead, two plates were suddenly cut in half by some invisible blade.
Karen lowered her hands and began to speak.
"The reason I spend so much time on Magic Missile is because it's such a versatile spell," Karen said. "In its simplest form, it is a shining beam of force that travels in a straight line, sending a shock wave to anything it strikes. Crusher, it is a very simple and effective spell. However, a skilled mage can do much more with it Lots of things to do. You can use animated magic to make it lock onto a target. You can grind it into a point that can pierce objects, or a line that can cut them - a piercer and a cutter respectively. You can fire multiple missiles , rather than one - or even a swarm of missiles, if you have the reserves and skills to pull it off. Of course, you can also make the projectiles invisible."
"Invisible?" Zorian asked.
"Yes," Karen agreed. "A perfectly cast Power spell is completely transparent. Those light shows are magic leaks caused by the spell's boundaries. The sheer amount of mana poured into the structure can easily distort or unravel some of the pieces."
"Did I mess up the spell?" Zorian concluded, thinking of the sparkling projectiles he always got when he used his wand. "Wait, your missiles usually glow too. That's it-"
Karen laughed. "Like I said at the beginning - in many magical disciplines, excellent shaping skills are the foundation, and battle magic is primarily about strength. Most battle mages can't even make a simple magic missile transparent, let alone Advanced power spells.
Karen pushed the spell wand and pamphlet into Zorian's hands.
"You're right, you're the only one who'll really get the hang of it for the next month or so. So read this booklet, find some practice targets, and make sure you have a friend nearby while you practice so you can catch it if you mess up get help when needed.
Oh, don't hurt anyone with the stick I loaned you, or I'll get angry. Come back to me in two weeks and let me see how you're getting on. "
"Okay, this is going better than he thought.
"Now get lost," Karen pointed to the door. "You've already wasted my coffee time."
. . . . . Four. . . . .
The magic missile variant that Kai had him practice on gave him enough problems. The problem, as Karen said at the beginning of the lecture, is that it has to be done in an instant and requires a huge amount of his mana. This is easy when you just want a bolt that travels in a straight line and shatters objects, but completes the spell in less than a second. Not to mention making the bolts transparent.
He managed a perfect penetration. progress!
"You're very evil," Ibéri said beside him, placing a book on the shelf. I assume you worked in a library, right? "
"Well, yes," Zorian agreed. "It's... organizationally strikingly similar to this."
"That's not surprising," Kiri said after him, making him jump in surprise. "All state libraries use the same organizational system. It's the standard enforced by the Association of Librarians. Hell, even the systems in other secession states are similar."
"Because they all once belonged to the same country?" Zorian guessed.
"Yes, as part of the old union, the Great Secession inherited much of its legacy, including the library system."
"Hey!" shouted a familiar voice. "Is Zorian here?"
"Stop yelling in the library, Zack," Zorian sighed. "Now that you're back to your usual energy, are you okay now?"
"Yes!" Zach said happily, patting his chest. "As healthy as an oak tree. Want to get something to eat?"
"I'm working now," Zorian protested.
Zorian followed Zach out. Not flirting with intellectual women here, haha.
"You're by far the funniest person I know and the only person besides Neo who believes in me about time travel," Zach said.
"Neo?" Zorian asked in disbelief.
“She was an avid reader of mysteries and suspense novels and was very imaginative and open-minded,” Zach said. "Her father would say that she was a naive dreamer. It was surprisingly easy to convince her that I was really a time traveler. She wanted to believe it was all true."
"Ah," said Zorian. He thought he knew now why the first time Zach experienced this month, Neo was involved. Still, he had no idea who the other girl was or how to get her to join the conversation.
"Anyway, how many people have you tried to convince to believe in infinite loop time travel?" Zorian asked.
"All our classmates and teachers, the principal, and the heads of the police stations across the city. Several nobles and other influential people."
How... persistent? !
"Not very successful, I guess," Zorian guessed.
"Be polite,"
Why is Zack trying to convince all these people that he's a time traveler? That doesn't sound like something a time traveler specifically coming to stop an invasion would do.
"Zach," Zorian said carefully, "What about those blank spaces in your memory? Are they..."
"They're still there," Zach frowned. "But I'm pretty sure there won't be any more, thank the gods."
"Yeah," Zorian agreed. "Then don't you know how this time-travel magic is achieved? I checked and it should be impossible, you know? In fact, it's as impossible as drawing a square or triangle."
"Well, no way, right?" Zach retorted. "But no, I don't know how I did it."
"Uh-huh..." Zach smiled nervously. "You're probably right. I used to be really bad at the whole mage thing, didn't I? But enough of this depressing talk, because I have good news for you!"
"Oh?" Zorian asked curiously.
"Yes," Zach confirmed. "I heard that you have been working hard to learn combat magic."
"Eh!? Where did you hear that?" Zorian protested.
"Karen told other teachers, teachers told administrators, administrators told janitors and other low-wage workers, they told students, and students told me," Zach concluded. "What does it matter? What matters is that, thanks to my recovery, I'm very good at combat magic, and I decided to teach you. Think of it as a reward for trusting me."
Zorian gave Zach a look of disbelief. Will he volunteer to help him? that's all?
"What?" Zach protested. "Yeah, I'm really good at combat magic! In fact, that's what I'm best at!"
Oh, now that’s a wonderful opening…
"How on earth do you get so good at combat magic?" Zorian asked. "I mean, mages are really stingy about sharing combat magic. Even with these...restorations...
"Yeah. But you have me, so that's it. I was born to do this"
Zorian silently wondered what he was getting into and followed him.
