Zorian's eyes flew open and a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. His whole body twitched, and he resisted the object that fell on him. Suddenly he was completely awake, and there was no trace of sleep in his mind.
"OK--"
"No, it's not," interrupted Zorian. "How could this be a beautiful morning? I got killed again! This time eaten by giant bugs. Waking up like this is really starting to upset me! Doesn't the time loop start a day later or something? Of?"
He looked at his sister expectantly. She stared back at him, her mind confused and maybe a little scared.
"Um what?" she asked hesitantly.
Zorian turned her off the bed without a word. She fell hard to the ground and let out a cry of rage, Zorian quickly jumping to his feet to better prepare for any violence she might decide to retaliate against. Learning from his previous reboot, he immediately headed for the bathroom before she could figure it out.
She soon realized what he was doing, but by then he had locked the door. Her angry screams were like music to his ears, especially when they eventually led to his mother chasing after her to scold her.
Maybe it was a nice morning after all.
. . . . two. . . . .
Trains... Ever since he got caught up in this time loop thing, he began to have a strong dislike for them. Regular train travel is almost as annoying as El jumping on him every time he reboots. He thought about passing the time by talking to Ibéri so that she would be familiar with him when he got a job in the library, but gave up on the idea after a while. Mainly because he decided not to apply for the job in this reboot.
He has a more promising project to work on - mastering all the shaping exercises in Ilsa's book so that he can entice her to take him on as her apprentice. Library magic is useful, but getting rid of Xvim is absolutely priceless.
He also won't be present in Keoria when the invasion occurs. Not in this reboot, or any reboot in the near future. Even if he therefore has to reveal his secret to Zach, he must take the first train out of town on the eve of the summer festival. He knew it would be wise to stay in the city and pay attention to what was going on—how the invasion was progressing, and what steps could be taken to stop it. He knew it, but... it was too much for him. And not just because getting himself involved in this mess always seemed to lead to his death.
"The emergency evacuation was rattling his nerves, but that was just a symptom. He thought for a moment, trying to figure out the source of the problem. Every reason he could think of felt... wrong.
And the only reason he's survived as long as he has is pure luck. . It occurred to him that the manner of his recent death might very well be an allegory for the entire invasion. So you fought off a pack of vicious winter wolves and made it to safety, helped foil a traitor ambush, and now you think the worst is over? No, idiot, a giant insect suddenly jumps out of the ground and bites your head off! How are you supposed to combat something like this?
Just as incredible as Zach becoming a super prodigy in one summer, or Zorian learning all 15 shaping exercises in Ilsa's book in one month, or that time travel is real. What if his theory about the existence of a third time traveler is correct, and someone is the mastermind behind the invasion?
Why hasn't this hostile time traveler dealt with Zack yet? The Lich has proven to be quite capable of harming the likes of Zach and Zorian, and is already working for the invading forces.
Regardless, only after he acquires true magic can he participate in the invasion again. First comes first, and if he died at the start, he wouldn't be able to study the invasion in detail.
Finally the train arrived at Cyo
ia, Zorian began his long journey to the academy. He was not in a hurry this time, because in the last restart, he finally found a spell that could protect him from the rain, and he was eager to try it. Well, he had actually found several protective spells against rain and other inclement weather, but there was only one that he could actually cast. However, it doesn't matter, because the "Rain Barrier" spell is the most suitable, it provides the most complete protection, but at the cost of being very physically consuming to maintain. He understood why the mana cost was a serious problem for someone who wanted to use the spell extensively, but Zorian only needed it to last an hour or two in the extremely mana-rich areas of Kooria.
He's encased in a waterproof invisible sphere, and the barrier actually works against water in general, not just raindrops, so he doesn't even have to worry about stepping into puddles and soaking his shoes.
Once out of the time loop, he would probably never use this spell because the umbrella would be enough and cost no mana.
He shook his head. He really shouldn't daydream about what he'll do after breaking out of the time loop, because it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon. He must focus on the present...
He wanted to admit everything to Zach and they could try to fix this mess together - two heads were better than one, and Zach could be impulsive, but he wouldn't have achieved so much without a clear mind. However, he had a strong suspicion that there was more to Zach than it seemed.
He decided to see how Zach interacted with him in this reboot before making a decision.
. . . . three. . . . . -
"Zorian! This way!"
Zorian glanced at Benicek, who looked happy, and waved to him like a madman, not knowing what he should do. He didn't actually want to talk to him. Benicek may be his closest friend among the student body, but he can also be annoying at times.
He arrives at Cyo
ia is only one day old. Typically, it takes at least a week for everything to go off the rails, and even then, many things can happen again. For example, most teachers followed some kind of set lesson plan, and as far as he knew, Toph always came to him for help with purple creeper ointment,
Now that he thought about it, it suggested that the accident wasn't so accidental. There's something fishy about accidents being so insensitive to change...
"You just arrived in Cyo
ia, right? "As soon as Zorian sat next to Benisek, Benisek urged excitedly.
Zorian nodded hesitantly.
"You're not going to believe this!" Benicek said excitedly. "Do you know Zach? You know, Zach Novida, he's been in class with us these past two years."
Of course Zach. He really should know.
"Of course I know him," Zorian said. "He was... very memorable."
"Zach escaped from his family mansion yesterday."
"Uh, what?" Zorian asked in disbelief. "What does 'escape' mean? He
"That's the problem?" Benicek said. "Apparently he got into an argument with his guardian, which ended up being a magical duel. A duel, get this, and Zach won! Half of the mansion was destroyed, and Zach escaped into the city and has still not been found. They're looking for him everywhere!"
"Well, wow," Zorian said, honestly speechless. So what's going on?
"You said it," Benicek agreed. "I'm not sure I believe the official story, though. I mean, there's no way Zach could take on his Guardian in a magical duel!
However, the Novida mansion must have been destroyed by something..."
"How do you know this?" Zorian asked.
“It was all over the newspapers,” Benicek said. "Besides, everyone is talking about it. I can't believe one of our classmates would be involved in something like this. What do you think, Zorian?"
"Ben…honestly, I don't know," Zorian said.
That's exactly what he thought. He had no doubt Zac could defeat his Guardians, Seventh Circle or not - as far as Zorian knew, the man was a statesman, not a battle mage - but why would he?
"Then he won't come to class this time," Zorian said loudly. Then again, he didn't think Zach would walk into the classroom these days as if nothing happened.
“I doubt it,” Benicek laughed.
"Has he killed anyone?" Zorian asked. negative. "So basically he didn't do anything serious. If he turns himself in, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Well, Tesson is definitely not happy with him right now, and he's too influential, even for a guy like Zach," Benicek said. "Assaulting one of the Edmar Elders is actually a pretty serious crime, and if Tessen was inclined to pursue gratification, he could really destroy Zack. I don't think he would do that, as it would just make more Multiple people are paying attention to what happened. The whole thing is a huge political scandal for him. My guess is that Zach will come back in a month or so after he has calmed down, and Theson will be 'magnanimous' and forgive him everything."
Zorian was silent.
After about a week, the newspapers stopped reporting the story and the rumor died away. He threw himself into the exercises in Ilsa's book. He ignored almost everything else, often skipping class when he thought he could get away with it. Akoja is angry because he apparently ruined the class's attendance record and tells Ilsa to corner him one day for it. Fortunately, despite Zorian's spotty attendance, he was able to score high on every test, and he assured her that the project would be completed within a month and that he would resume regular classes after the summer vacation. She made him promise to show her what he was doing when he was done, and he enthusiastically agreed with her
Results - By the end of the restart he had mastered vertical and fixed position levitation. He didn't bother showing Xvim these advanced skills, and nothing seemed to make the guy happy.
Of course, he was not in town when the invasion occurred. Without Zack's ring, he's even more useless in combat than he was in the last reboot, so it's doubtful he'll be able to last very long in all this, practicing the battle calls he learned from Zack every day in hopes of grinding them out Practice the same reflex state that Zach did. It took years of practice, but that just meant he'd better get started as soon as possible.
He did not leave directly by train as usual, but walked to a hill overlooking the city and observed the city from there.
Watching the invasion unfold from such a high vantage not only relaxed Zorian's nerves more than being inside it, but it also provided considerable information. It's interesting to see how the invasion works in a broad sense. There seem to be several stages, the first of which is of course the disguised artillery magic barrage. Explosives targeted three key areas: City Hall, a local military base and an unknown group of buildings. The academy does not appear to be a primary target, possibly because the invaders wanted it intact. In addition to the explosion, a large amount of fire elements were produced in the impact zone. Fortunately, many buildings in Cooria have modest fire protection measures.
Monsters will emerge from the sewers, and after rampaging through the city, the spellcasters finally arrive.
When the clock finally struck two o'clock at midnight, the battle was still raging and everything suddenly fell into darkness.
All things considered, the monster horde is the least destructive part of Invasion - and it's worth checking out when he finally masters some skills.
The next three games are essentially the same, until Zack duels his guardian and escapes into the night:.
Why is he in Ilsa's office now, let's see if he can get something from her.
"Mr. Kaczynski, what can I do for you?" Ilsa asked.
"Well, I'm a little worried about the plan you outlined in that first lesson," Zorian said. "I'm not sure what I'm going to get out of this, since I already have a solid grasp on all the topics you mentioned."
"I understand," she said after a second of silence. "Do you mind if I run you some quick tests to confirm this?"
Believing he could handle anything she tested him for, he agreed. Ilsa continued rummaging through the box and pulled out two different tests. Zorian completed the test in 10 minutes, purely from memory. The other is unfairly rare and is an advanced topic that doesn't come up at all in class. Zorian only finished a quarter of the questions before time ran out, and he was fairly certain that not all of his answers were correct.
Ilsa glanced at it quickly;
"Your knowledge is rather spotty," Ilsa sighed dramatically, "Here... I'll give you a list of additional reading to study in your free time."
Two minutes later, Zorian found himself almost pushed out of the door, holding a piece of paper with hasty writing on it. He likes the variety of flame exercises. But he didn't. He won't be defeated so easily! He could definitely read a few theory manuals. He will be back.
. . . . . Four. . . . .
"Good morning brother! Good morning, good morning, good morning!!!"
"Good morning, Kili," Zorian said cheerfully. "Thank you for waking me up."
Kiriel stared at him for a few seconds, then grunted in disappointment at his lack of response and got off him alone.
"You're not funny," she accused.
Zorian just nodded in agreement.
"Mom wants to talk to you," Kiriel said. "Can you show me some magic before you leave? Please don't worry?
Well...why not? He quickly cast the 'Floating Lamp' spell, and a ball of light suddenly appeared above his palm. He sent the orbs flying around the room while repeating the spell two more times, each time producing orbs of a different color.
The same variation of the glowing exercise that allowed him to color light also allowed him to change the color of the glowing orbs produced by the floating lantern spell. …such as fire-related exercises that improve fire and heat-based invocations, and levitation-based techniques that rely on telekinesis to enhance spells.
"More! More!" Qili asked.
Zorian distracted Kiri with a few more balls, and before Kiri realized what was happening,
Unfortunately, when Ilsa comes to visit, he kind of forgets that his entire room is filled with colorful orbs of light, so he doesn't think about inviting her into his room. He hurriedly swept his hands in front of him, making them disappear in the blink of an eye, but it was too late - Ella had already seen them and was looking at him curiously.
"It's not a second-year spell," Ilsa said, her eyes boring into his.
"Daimen, you can make a pretty good teacher." Zorian said with a cheeky smile. But if anything has been learned, it's that Daimen can get away with anything.
"And you know how to produce something other than white light," Ilsa pointed out. "Touching. I thought this should be easy for you."
She handed him a very familiar scroll, and Zorian was about to infuse it with magic to break the seal, when he realized something was wrong. Ilsa studied him like a hawk, expectant and wary. She had never shown so much interest in him opening a scroll, what was so special about this time? He stared at the scroll for a few seconds, unable to see any difference from the scrolls he was used to. Even the symbols on the seal are the same. wait...
After a while, he remembered where he saw the symbols engraved on the seal, and immediately wanted to bang his head against the wall or something. How...why...those sneaky little things...
He's been doing it wrong all along! All the while he was simply pouring mana into the seal to break it, when in reality he had to pour mana into it in a very specific way so that he could peel it off intact! That's what it says, right at the damn seal! This requires more mana control than simply flooding the seal with mana, but it's not something he wasn't capable of, even before the time loop. He had always thought that the symbols on the seal were purely decorative, but in fact they were not, they were instructions. The instructions are written in a somewhat obscure form, but still. How could he miss it?
He directed the mana to flow along the sides of the seal, causing the seal to pop open without any resistance.
"Well done," Ilsa said, smiling. "There are not many students who can master magic so firmly at this stage. I see some people following in Daimen's footsteps."
Zorian smiled politely back. He can't frown, he can't frown...
"Unfortunately, I'm a little anxious, so we'll have to continue this conversation later," Ilsa said. "When you arrive in Keoria, come visit me in my office. Now about your electives..."
Ilsa stared at him. He glanced back. She glanced at the two filled test papers on the table, then turned her gaze to him again, this time with a thoughtful expression. Zorian remained silent.
"When I called you to see me, I did not expect such a high level of knowledge and shaping skills," Ilsa said thoughtfully. "The second test I give you is the test I give my students at the end of their third year
She tapped her pen on the table, lost in thought.
"Remove me from Xvim so you can teach such a promising student?" Zorian tried.
She laughed at him.
"Sorry," she said. "You're good, but not that good. Besides….with your amazing sculpting skills and all."
"You'd be surprised how little it affects him," Zorian sighed.
"Oh, come on, Mr. Kaczynski, you didn't even have a meeting with him," Ilsa scolded. "I'm sure any rumors you've heard are grossly exaggerated."
"Okay," Zorian said, rolling his eyes. "Can you at least give me written permission not to take your classes? You said yourself there is nothing to learn."
While he's in a time loop (he can skip lessons if he needs more free time).
"No," said Ilsa. "I need you in class, if only to inspire the other students to work harder. Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't get bored in class."
nonsense. Maybe he shouldn't ask her this question...
"In the meantime, I'll do you a favor," Ilsa continued. "While I am personally too busy to teach you, I will see if I can find a teacher willing to give you private instruction. Is there an area of magic that you are particularly interested in? Personally, I would recommend that you study Divination, but it’s your choice.”
"The spell formula," Zorian said firmly.
"Oh? Ambitious," Ilsa pointed out. "This is a difficult topic. Your shaping skills won't help you."
"I'm sure," Zorian confirmed. Spell formulas had fascinated him ever since he started learning magic, and he absolutely couldn't waste an opportunity like this.
"Very well," Ilsa shrugged. "Under the circumstances, I do not anticipate any problems. I am sure Miss Bull will be ecstatic to have such a talented and determined student."
"Miss Bull"? Like Nora Burr, the orange-haired madman who wants them to read 12 books in a week and gives them a 60-question "progress test" every other class?
Zorian resisted the urge. Why couldn't he have a normal mentor?
