Every time he gets even slightly closer to the source of this chaos, complications arise to thwart his progress. It was incredible... now that he thought about it, it was a little scary that if he'd come to think of the Troll War as a nuisance rather than an existential threat, his views would have completely shifted in the last year.
"Don't do that again," the spider matriarch complained telepathically. [How do those things keep finding us? I made the whole network immune to fortune-telling and stuff like that...]
This wasn't the matriarch's first encounter with a war troll. He and Kyle exchanged a knowing look before the two turned and ran in the direction they came from. Zorian motioned to Spider to follow them.
[We can't outrun them,] the matriarch said as they ran. [Especially us spiders - except for short bursts of speed, we are much slower than humans. ]
[It doesn't matter,] Jorian thought.
[Kyle and I have some surprises in store for the pursuers behind us. They were supposed to slow down the trolls so we could reach the ground. ]
Zorian fidgeted and slowed down, letting the spider catch up to him. They were about to pass the first trap, and he didn't want to seal it away with the spiders and trolls on the other side of the field. [Can't you use your mind magic to calm those things? 】
The war trolls formed a tight mass of green flesh and rounded the corner, howling like madmen and brandishing huge swords and maces, but Zorian was ready by now. He sent a blast of mana to two nearby sigil-covered cubes, and a blast of power sealed the corridor. But a bunch of trolls continue to beat it and it won't last long.
There was a terrible noise behind them, and Zorian happened to glance back at the barrier to see what was going on. The sight that greeted him made him smile - the trolls had apparently failed to control their momentum well and crashed headfirst into the barrier. The narrow corridor did not allow the trolls to advance in a single line, and the trolls behind could not make the trolls in front charge wildly. Maybe they don't know what a force field is?
They were all in a tangled mess on the floor now and would take some time to sort themselves out again. This should give them enough of a head start to escape cleanly as quickly as possible, even with the slow spiders bearing down on them.
He activated two more barrier traps, two cubes containing explosive traps. He wasn't sure if he could activate them without blowing himself up along with his target. Because they are designed to deal with more vulnerable targets.
Zorian had to admit that he had not expected the spider's mind magic to be so...subtle. It seems that he still takes them too lightly.
They finally made it back to the ground, completely safe. hehe.
He didn't expect the whole thing to end so...happily. He fully expected to restart early when he realized a group of trolls were chasing them. But the conversation with the spider was not over yet, and the four of them soon went to a deserted alley to continue talking.
"It's safe enough to talk," the matriarch said in her magical voice. "I can't sense the presence of any thoughts that don't belong here. Not even those damn skull rats."
"What?" Zorian asked.
"We recently had another psychic being share the city with us," the matriarch complained. "They look a lot like regular mice, except that the top of their heads seems to have been sawed off, leaving their brains visible."
"Oh," Zorian said. "I actually saw something similar during the original livestream this month. However, I haven't been to that street in any of the subsequent relaunches."
"Maybe that's for the best," the matriarch said. "They are most likely working for an invading force. They appeared recently and the trolls started harassing us when we tried to eliminate them."
"Are rats smart?" Kyle asked. "You seem to be implying that they are some kind of spies, don't you?"
"They're spiritual," the matriarch said. "Their minds are connected telepathically, forming a collective intelligence. The more they come together, the smarter they become. The stronger their telepathic abilities become. They are small enough to reach anywhere, mice The deaths are inconsequential. Each mouse is a relay of the entire power and wisdom of the entire colony. They are almost perfect spies, even better than us spiders.
As I said, we have to get rid of them before they invade our territory...but we fail to take into account that they are not acting alone. "
"Oops," Zorian said. "With these things running around the city, it's no wonder the intruders are well-informed. They could be extracting information directly from people's minds. They can just find someone who knows sensitive information, and his mind is unprotected, and they can Blow a hole in the whole system.”
"Yes," the matriarch confirmed. "We're too big to move freely through human settlements like the rat, which has access to many places."
Zorian frowned, suddenly realizing something. Since these skull rats are on the loose in the city and working with the invaders, it's impossible for the invasion organizers to be ignorant of each restarted time loop.
Zorian himself didn't publicize his case much, but Zach did. It's pretty obvious, therefore, that whoever controls Rattus knows, at least in some reboots, that Zack is a time traveler...
"Interesting point," the matriarch said, interrupting his thoughts. "I'm starting to understand why you're so reluctant to deal with this Zach publicly. But we're distracted here, dancing around the real issues. You heard my offer, Zorian. I'm very generous with my information, so Far away, but I’m afraid I must stand firm now. I want a straight answer – will you let me send a memory packet through you?”
Really, how could he? In terms of abuse potential, Mind Magic is only slightly better than Soul Magic, simply because Mind Magic has well-established counters while Soul Magic does not.
"You ask too many questions," Zorian complained.
"I have a lot to offer," the matriarch retorted. "Besides, I'm taking just as much of a risk here as you are. I can't guarantee that you'll actually find me on every reboot, and I'm taking a leap of faith with you. Is that so wrong? Expect you to do yours too promise?"
There was a brief silence as Zorian processed her words in his mind. He thought there was some truth to what she said, although he didn't entirely believe her. His risk is more immediate than hers.
Oh well. no pain no gain.
"Okay," he said. "I agree to your terms."
. . . . . . Four. . . . .
"You're braver than me," Kyle told him.
Zorian rubbed his forehead absently, not giving him the correct answer. To be honest, after Spider completed the operation, he didn't feel any obvious difference. Kyle worries that the matriarch may have implanted the dormant command spell along with the memory pack, but...
"I actually have reason to think it might not be that dangerous," Zorian said at last.
"Oh?" Kyle prompted.
"Yes. Before we went to talk to the Matriarch, I researched the limitations of mind magic, and if the Matriarch tried to do something truly horrific to me, we would soon know."
"I'm not sure there's much I can do for you,
"It doesn't matter," Zorian said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out one of the two unspent blocks of dynamite. He held the stone in his palm so Kyle could see it. "All I have to do is send a pulse of mana into it, and both the Matriarch and I end up shattered to pieces!"
"Suicide?" Kyle asked, sounding surprised. He shook his head. "You really are braver than me."
"As Zach once told me, time loops distort your view of death," Zorian said, placing the cube back in his pocket. Now that he thought about it, his makeshift security system reminded him of a similar system that protected Zack from the Lich's soul-melding spell. He should probably start carrying something like this all the time, just in case. This is lighter and less noticeable than two large stone cubes.
"Still, it's still possible that she used something less comprehensive than a complete personality rewrite on you," Kyle said after a few seconds.
"I know," Zorian said. "But you heard her last words. The memory pack should last at least a year." Of course, that means it'll be a while before you can ask the matriarch again. She did say that she won't say anything until you pass the memories to her reborn self on your next reboot. "
"The delay is acceptable," Zorian shrugged.
"So... do you want to tell me your master plan for entering this time loop now or later?"
"Let's talk about it later," Kyle complained. "I haven't figured out all the details in my head yet. The stupid spider and her big jaw..."
The rest of the ride passed relatively quietly.
. . . . . five. . . . .
As the start of summer festivals approaches.
He had to see if he could convince Kyle and Imaya to leave with them.
Now he just wanted to eat something and lie down for a while. As soon as you enter the house, the smell of food in the kitchen hits your face.
He walked into the kitchen and was immediately stopped by El.
"Brother, my hand is hurt!" she cried, waving her hand in front of him. "Hurry up, we must cure it!"
Zorian grabbed her wrist to stop her from moving her hand too much and examined the "serious injury." It's a shallow cut - a scratch, actually - that will probably heal on its own by the end of the day. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Imaya trying not to laugh.
He put on a serious expression and slowly moved Kiriel's "injured" hand this way and that, pretending to study it carefully. Finally, after a thoughtful hum, he looked Kiriel straight in the eyes.
"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do, miss. We can only cut it off," he said seriously. Then he turned to Kana, who was sitting at the table and watching the entire conversation carefully, and gave her a deep, meaningful look. "Bring the saw."
Zorian was pretty sure the little girl knew this all too well and was just playing along. Do they have a saw at home?
Regardless, upon hearing his declaration, Al wrenched her wrist out of his grasp and pouted at him.
"Asshole," she yelled, sticking her tongue out at him.
The meal was relatively quiet, save for Al's occasional tantrums. But this is Kiriel (Ki
ielle) - She is a loud person at heart.
After eating, Zorian retreated to his room, Al following behind him. Zorian was in no mood to drive her away, but she seemed to be in a pretty good mood today,
He was now sitting cross-legged, practicing his sculpting skills, while Al was lying on the floor drawing something, with a small pile of paper scattered around him. But eventually, her pen stopped moving and she chewed on the tip. Zorian was familiar enough with her twitches by now to know that his peace would soon be over.
"Zorian?" she asked suddenly.
"Yes?" He sighed.
"Why do you study so hard?" she asked, giving him a curious look. "Although nothing matters anymore when you're trapped in this time loop, you're still working all the time. Don't you want to have some fun every now and then?"
"You are wrong," said Zorian. “First of all, it’s all important. You are what you do and I find learning fun.
There was a brief silence, and Kyriel seemed unwilling to continue the conversation, even though she clearly wanted to say something. Zorian decided to help her. "Why do you ask that?" Is there anything you want to do? "
Kyriel looked back and forth between him and the pile of pictures on the ground several times before finally making a decision. She gathered the papers into a neat pile and immediately placed them in Zorian's lap.
"Can you look at my painting and tell me what you think?" she asked excitedly.
Damn it.
Zori watched and listened quietly while El vividly displayed the fruits of her labor and explained what the pictures represented. Not that she needed to, because the pictures were horrifyingly real. Not only was she great, she was brilliant. Zorian could have sworn he was looking at a painting by a professional artist and not some childish drawing of his sister's. One of the drawings was a very detailed scene of the cityscape of Theoria, so full of small details that Zorian was shocked that El had the patience to put them on paper.
"It's great," he said honestly.
“What’s a mom supposed to brag about that her daughter is a budding artist?”
El shifted uncomfortably in his lap. "My mother didn't allow me to draw. She wouldn't buy me any supplies and she would yell at me whenever she caught me drawing."
Zorian looked at her with confusion. What? Why on earth would she do this? The mother was closed-minded and status-conscious, but not malicious or anything. He picked up a stack of Kirill's drawings and thumbed through them again, stopping in front of a very beautiful portrait of Bourne, the boy he and Kirill had interacted with on the train to Cooria. El never even saw the boy again after that day, but she was able to recreate him very faithfully, presumably from memory alone.
"Wait," he said suddenly. "Is this why you keep stealing my notebooks and pens?"
"Ah! I thought you didn't even notice," she admitted. "Because you never complained to mom. Thank you, by the way."
Well, he didn't say anything.
"What about those books? I guess she doesn't like those books either?" Zorian guessed.
"Yes," El said, clutching her drawing tightly to her chest. "She wouldn't buy me anything. She said ladies shouldn't waste their time on things like this."
To be honest, he did expect it. His mother didn't like him spending time reading, so he thought she wouldn't be too happy to see her beloved daughter taking up such a hobby. But still no explanation why she didn't want El to draw.
"Well, that's your mother," Zorian said.
"Don't worry, I was like this at the beginning,"
"This is different!" Kyriel suddenly snapped at him.
what to do?
"Kili..."
"You don't understand! It's different because you're away most of the year and she can't do anything to you while you're gone! You're here with Daimen and Fortoff, learning magic and doing things You can do whatever you want, I can never do it!" She buried her head in Zorian's chest, and her little fingers dug into his arms painfully. "It's different because I'm a girl..."
Zorian realized as he put his arms around Kiriel and rocked her gently to calm her down. Traditionalists in Silin often believe that educating girls is a waste of time and money. Mage academies tend to be quite expensive, even...
"They won't send you to the Mage Academy..." Zorian concluded loudly.
Al shook his head, his face still buried in his chest.
"They said I didn't need it," she said, sniffing sadly. "They had already arranged a marriage for me when I was 15."
"Wouldn't it be nice for them?" Zorian said coldly. "You know what, Kiri? You're right. This is different. I had to stand up to my parents alone...and you, had me."
El pulled her face away from his chest and looked at him appraisingly.
"You've never wanted to help me before," she accused. "Every time I ask you to teach me magic, you fail me."
"I don't know what you're dealing with," Zorian shrugged. "I thought you were just impatient. Don't worry, if your parents don't change their minds over the years, you will always have a teacher in my heart."
She stared at him for a few seconds, then took one of his arms by the wrist and held it in a sworn gesture.
"Promise?" she asked.
Zorian squeezed her hand tighter, causing her to scream.
"Promise," he confirmed.
. . . . . six. . . . . .
With two days left before the Summer Festival, Kyle finally told Zorian his plan. It was much more specific than the Matriarch's, and basically involved talking to some people who Kyle thought might know something about soul magic or time travel.
The end of the reboot was entirely uneventful - he, El, Kyle, and Cana boarded a train from Cooria on the night of the festival and spent the remaining hours playing card games to pass the time. Imaya refused to go with them, which was not surprising given the suddenness of their request.
Then, as usual, Zorian wakes up in Sirin, and El wishes him a good morning. He didn't take her with him this time, which turned out to be a good idea because Zach did come to class on that restart. Another time traveler tries to accost him, but Zorian is determined to avoid him and gives him the cold shoulder. After a few days, Zach seemed to admit defeat and give up, but Zorian could see the other boy watching him more closely than most.
The whole reboot went like this. There's another one. It took a total of six reboots before Zach stopped approaching him and otherwise noticed him at the beginning of each reboot. Still, Zorian was satisfied with what he had accomplished.
In three of the six reboots, Nora Bull learned from the enthusiastic and became sufficiently adept at the spell formula to create a lighter, less impressive version of the explosive suicide switch. It's still a cube, albeit a much smaller one, made of wood and stone - he now makes two cubes every time he reboots, and attaches them to the key so they look Like decorations.
The seventh restart saw Zach still in class, but he seemed to finally give up on Zorian because he had failed. It's time to get down to business.
