Zorian woke up and Kiriel wished him good morning again in her charming way. Ha, it’s once again, it’s been a long time since I’ve had it, and I’m still a little used to it.
He was annoyed with himself for not paying more attention to his surroundings, and annoyed with the unknown assailant who attacked him. He thought he could survive all the close calls and near-death situations, only to be killed by a simple sneak attack.
While riding the train, he sketched out blueprints for magical items in his notebook. Most of them are trivial things, like plates that keep meals at a constant temperature, or explosion traps that trigger themselves when certain conditions are met, but he's considering designing a practice dummy. He found a combination of altering spells that allowed him to build a dummy out of sawdust and dirt. Then, even if he succeeded, he'd have to devise a protection scheme to etch the dummy's surface so it wouldn't disintegrate when he started throwing spells at it... possibly in an explosion that showered him with splinters of wood and shrapnel. Maybe he should at least add a self-healing function,
He didn't expect that this reboot would complete the project.
This time Zorian immediately contacted Spider. After entering the room, he spent an hour making a magic missile stick for self-defense, and then quickly walked towards the nearest entrance to the instance.
He tried to sense their thoughts using his new psychic perception. Sadly, he felt nothing but the occasional rat presence, and—
He stopped and felt an unusually strong willpower exuding from a rat in front of him. He mentally ordered the floating light to intensify for a moment, only to watch disturbingly as a rat disappeared from above his head.
For a full second, Zorian and the Rat stood motionless, looking uncertainly at each other as the Rat stretched out its telepathic probe toward him, trying to burrow into his brain. For a moment, Zorian considered trying telepathy, but then dismissed the idea as foolish and risky. He had absolutely no training in telepathic combat, and the rat was a head rat. So he pulled out his brand new magic wand and fired a magic missile at it.
The huge impact hit the little creature with a loud bang, shattering its bones into mush.
This one is a lone scout,
By the time he decided to move on, the skull rat's pulpy body was surrounded by a green, transparent mass of crawling gel. Ooze? They were less dangerous and less aggressive than their wild counterparts, and he avoided them. . Acid burns are difficult to cure, even with magic
When the matriarch finally showed up, he hoped that the matriarch would be able to refine her memory package into something that could convince her past self more quickly than last time. The matriarch is a bit pushy and egotistical, but it's nice to have someone to talk to about time loops.
And, in fact, aside from accumulating magical skills, there is little he can do to solve the mysteries of the time loop without Alanai's help.
- rest -
He carefully fires magic missiles at the target in front of him, making them as mana-efficient as possible. He hoped Taivin would offer to help when he saw him practicing, and he wasn't disappointed. She did, however, attach a condition to her offer.
"So, all in all, I can receive your guidance for free for a month, and in exchange, I can join you in this sewer?" Zorian asked.
"Yes!" Taiwen said happily, very satisfied. Zorian could guess why - she had simply found a way to force him to accompany her, and all it took was a promise to do something with her. Something you are willing to do.
"I guess that's okay," Zorian said, wondering how he should handle the situation. Of course, he could simply stalk them and let them fumble for a while - that's what Tevin expected him to do, and he was pretty sure the spiders wouldn't "attack" in his presence. But after careful consideration, he decided to take another path. "But I have a request. I'm talking to a group of sentient spiders that live in the sewers, and I suspect they are the ones who took the watch. Before you go in and burn something, I'd like to talk to them."
Taiwen glanced at him curiously. "Are you friends with a bunch of giant spiders that live in the sewers?"
"Pretty much," Zorian agreed with her. He would describe the spider as an acquaintance and convenient ally rather than a friend, but she didn't have to know that. "Can keep this secret"
"Don't worry, I'm not a snitch." Taiwen said contemptuously. "Oh, great magicians. Do you think they would give us their watches if we asked?"
"I don't see what they want a pocket watch for. But anyway, before you do anything, I have a request."
"Oh? What?
"Teach me a fire spell more destructive than fire bombs," Zorian said.
"How big are your mana reserves?" Taiwen asked immediately, unfazed by the request.
"Level 12," Zorian said.
"Well, it's a little lower than I thought, but I guess it's not bad," Tevin said.
"Preferably something that kills the troll in one blow," Zorian said.
Taivin looked at him like he was crazy. "What? Roach, you're too new to go around fighting trolls. What the hell are you doing?"
"Just let me, Taivin," Zorian sighed. "Also, this is purely self-defense, I won't fight anything."
"Huh," Taiwen shrugged. "You'll need some more powerful spells. I hope an explanation for this will come soon, though."
"After the summer festival." Zorian agreed smoothly.
"I'll hold on," Taivin said, poking his chest painfully. "Now, there are two spells that fit your criteria, although they will only kill a troll if you can hit the troll in the face with them - Fire Bolt and Incinerate Ray. The bolt can be aimed at the target, and in It's cheaper mana-wise. The ray is more damaging, but it's also more mana-intensive and you need to worry about your target."
"Teach me two," Zorian said. The lightning seemed more useful to someone like him, but he also needed raw power.
"Are you sure you have the shaping skills for this, Roach?" Taiwen asked. "Because even if you fail, the spell doesn't go away - it explodes in your face."
Zorian snorted contemptuously. "Believe me, shaping skills are not something I lack," he said. He raised his arms in the air, palms pointing toward the ground, and used force of will to cause some dust and dirt to rise toward the ground. The dry, loose material covering the training ground slowly rose toward his hand in the form of spreading pillars, condensing into a rough sphere once it reached his palm.
Once the sphere was of sufficient size, he pointed his palm at one of the targets and used his willpower to quickly move the ball of dirt forward, flicking it towards the target. Unfortunately, part of the effect was ruined as the makeshift structure was too flimsy and disintegrated into dust on the way to its target.
However, this didn't impress Taiwen with the feat.
"Damn, that's impressive," Tevin said. "How could you do that? I don't think I could do that... Sure, it's possible to lift a rock off the ground, but a diffuse material like soil? It's a pretty advanced exercise. Well, if If your shaping skills are so good, I think I can teach you some spells..."
Zorian smiled. This is definitely a good idea.
- rest -
Over the next few days, Zorian got a crash course in combat magic. She chose to teach him as many different spells as possible rather than have him practice a few until he had a firm grasp on them. She claimed that he already had a core of spells that he was proficient in, and that Zorian's modeling skills were better than hers; every spell she could cast, he could cast too.
Not all of the typical offensive spells she taught him. Some of these, like the "Spider Climb" spell that allows him to cling to steep walls and other stable surfaces, the "Featherfall" spell that allows him to survive falls from great heights, or the various attenuating extreme temperatures and other environmental conditions Comfort spells, which can be classified as survival spells.
Still, Tevin insists that sometimes the environment itself can be just as dangerous to the mage as his living opponents, and if he's going to waltz through dungeons and the like, he needs to know the spells.
She was also rather shocked at his lack of defensive spells. It wasn't just the lack of a more substantial defensive barrier than a basic shield, although she wasn't satisfied with that either—
Taiwen claims that they are absolutely essential for mages who wish to participate in battle. Knowing you'll be in combat soon, you can at least cast some basic wards to increase your spell resistance and counter enemy spells.
However, most of the spells she taught him were various offensive and defensive energy projections, mainly fire and force, and there were also some spells based on cold and electricity. On top of that, Zorian can now cast his famous fireball spell... exactly twice before he runs out of mana. To be honest, it's not very useful, but Taiwen claims that the spell's effectiveness naturally increases with his mana reserves.
"Is there any way to speed up the growth of mana reserves?" Zorian asked. "I know artificial growth has bad side effects, but is there some kind of training method that can speed up natural growth?"
Taiwen looked at him with worry on his face. "Please don't do this. I never would, and you know I'm not the most responsible girl. Can't you just wait a few years and let them grow on their own?
“There’s always a trade-off between control and power,” Tevin said.
"Wait, you're saying that as my mana reserves increase, I will lose the ability to cast skill-based spells?" Zorian asked in horror.
"No, no, I'm talking about your natural mana reserves - your innate abilities before you start increasing it through regular spellcasting. You're only 12, so still within the expected range. Oh my gosh, I heard there's a special The 15th level mage becomes a great magician, so it doesn’t matter if you fall a little.”
It does make him curious about Zach, who seems to have a huge amount of influence under 60 years old.
"What about those very high-level people?" Zorian asked. "How high can you get before skill-based spells become impossible?"
"I've never seen the exact number, but I'd guess around level 20 or so," Taiven shrugged.
"What about very high numbers?" Zorian asked. "About level 60?"
Taiwen blinked, seeming confused by the question. "That's really inhumane!" Anyone with such a reserve of mana would have to spend years longer than their peers to achieve the basic proficiency expected of a certified mage. It could even be as long as ten years. "
Zorian frowned as he thought about Zach's relative failure before the time loop. He thought Zach was just a lazy slacker, but maybe there was more to it? But then again, he felt like Zach was a special case. He has inhuman reserves of mana that are simply beyond the scope of human beings. He could find no record of such a person in any book, except in mythology. But he did manage to get certified.
Maybe it's part of the Novida family lineage? Perhaps this gave their family huge reserves without a serious loss of control.
Taiwen said, "But if you are really eager for a short-term mana boost, then the speed at which you absorb the surrounding mana must be accelerated. I believe you also know its shortcomings..."
Personal mana and environmental mana from the underworld. Personal mana is something that all living things possess in varying amounts, attuned to the person who produced it—environmental mana, on the other hand, is both difficult to control and toxic to living things. A single use is not enough to kill the mage, but any extensive, prolonged use can cause disease and insanity.
Ancient mages believed that the magic around them was tainted by the World Dragon's hatred of humanity and avoided using it, but modern mages have discovered some techniques for using it. One is to use it to power items that do not cause corruption of the mind or illness of the body. The other is to absorb the surrounding mana into a personal reserve, eliminating its toxicity. While the assimilation process was too slow to power actual spells, being able to replenish one's personal reserves more quickly was useful enough that the skill spread widely.
Today, every student of magic is taught how to use magic and other basics of spellcasting. Being able to restore one's personal reserves more quickly was so useful that the skill became widespread. Today, every student of magic is taught how to use magic and other basics of spellcasting.
"I'm going to be sick," Zorian said. "If I kept using it, I might get angry."
"Okay," Taiwen said. "It's pretty stupid to use raw mana on a regular basis, but if you're really in trouble... well, it's better to stay in bed with a fever for a few days than to die."
"You've used it before," Zorian guessed.
Taiwen looked at him in surprise, as if he didn't expect him to think of this. "Um, maybe once? Or twice?" She shifted, looking uncomfortable. "But keep quiet about it, okay? Most battle mages have done it a few times in their lives, but guild inspectors don't accept 'everyone does it' as an excuse."
"Let's get back to class, great teacher," Zorian said. "Since you are so keen on teaching me the intensive fire magic, how about I heard that you can cast that flame vortex..."
- rest -
When the time came, Taiven and her two friends asked Zorian to lead the way to the spider territory.
[We meet again, Zorian Kaczynski,] The matriarch spoke to him telepathically. There are 6 honor guards surrounding her, but only 2 of them are actually visible, while the other 4 are hanging from the ceiling under some kind of invisibility spell. Zorian knew they were there because he could sense their thoughts. [You bring more guests again. This time there were three people. If this pattern continues, we'll have to find a roomier area to accommodate them after a few reboots. ha]
[Interesting,] Zorian sent it back. [But actually, this was the group I was in when I first saw Spider. We were looking for a watch that was supposedly yours, just as we are now. Sound familiar? ]
Before Zorian could speak, the matriarch began waving her front four legs in the air before speaking.
"What's going on with the watch?" she asked, turning her two largest, forward-facing eyes to Taiwen.
"Oh, now I remember," she said. "While the man was certainly not an innocent passer-by, and the 'watch' was no simple timing device - he attacked our net along with several other thugs, and eventually his gadget fell off as we chased them .”
[He was one of the intruders,] the matriarch told him telepathically, so only he could hear.
The matriarch is able to participate in two separate conversations at the same time, speaking loudly to Taiven and her two friends while talking telepathically to Zorian. Zorian himself didn't have the same blessing, spending most of his time ignoring her explanations to Taiwen in order to mentally absorb what she was telling him. Eventually, she seemed to realize this and shortened her telepathic communication with him, allowing him to focus on what she'd been saying to Taiwen.
"...so I'm not sure what this device is for, but it's obviously some sort of magical item," the matriarch exclaimed. "That won't be of much use to us spiders, but we're familiar with trade. Exchange something we can actually use."
"Uh..." Taiwen fumbled and looked at him uncertainly. "Roach...is it okay? Are you...?"
"Yes, I'm happy with that," Zorian shrugged. Although for him, he didn't really owe the matriarch any favors in this matter.
"Victory Fang will retrieve that gadget," the matriarch shouted, one suddenly darting into the darkness.
"Why did he attack you?" Taiwen asked. "You seem good enough to me."
"It's a little more complicated than that," the matriarch said. "Humans have conflicts with other sentient races, that's true, but that's because most of them are very territorial, ferocious, view humans as food, or all three. There are a few. Dragon species coexist peacefully with humans. The lizard people of Blantyre have long been trading partners of human countries. Many separatist countries bordering the wilderness have signed secret contracts with various tribes of spirits and monsters. In their name, Within the boundaries.”
"Although not widely known, we have been interacting peacefully with humans for a long time,"
said the matriarch. "Spiders have always lived deeper in the dungeon. When the foundation was laid, several battles were launched against local areas of the dungeon to clear out the threats lurking within. The power vacuum also allowed vulnerable races like spiders to enter this place. You may Know that the dungeons surrounding the cave are prime habitat for magical creatures, and competition is fierce. Fortunately, while we spiders lack the magical abilities of some of our competitors, we prefer to cooperate with humans for mutual benefit. Contact us "We found a few humans who were willing to cooperate with us and provided them with information about our common enemy - their strengths and weaknesses, addresses, etc. Information gathering has always been our specialty."
"Providing information to humans has served them well, and in return they have taught you your magic and helped us adapt it. Armed with our own structured magic system, the Alanians have the power and versatility Their growing sexual power consolidated their control over the region,
We are the fifth web to occupy this location, and while our position is currently secure, any weakness could cause neighboring webs to become... uneasy. "
"Yeah," Zorian said. "So, hypothetically, what if you were wiped out by someone and your numbers were severely reduced?"
“Our neighbors will launch at least a few test attacks,” the matriarch said. "But anyway, my point is that humans and spiders are not and have never been enemies. I hope one day spiders will be able to walk the streets above in broad daylight like other citizens. Ha"
"Is this your recruitment promotion?" Taiwen asked. "Do you want to turn us into your agents?"
“It’s always good to have more exposure,” the matriarch said. "But no, I wasn't trying to recruit you. I just sensed that you were worried about Zorian's relationship with us and wanted to allay your fears a little.
Anyway, Victory Fang will be back with gadgets, so stop it.”
Sure enough, the watch will come back soon. Will she bite the watch with her fangs when she comes back? .
Actually wearing some kind of leather sling filled with bags, one of which contained a watch. For a moment, Zorian wondered how they did it, they had no manpower, but then realized he was being a little stupid. The leader has said that they exchanged many things with humans - this was certainly one of them.
They quickly said goodbye to the spider and set off back with their prize.
Zorian stayed mostly out of the conversation, studying the device they had retrieved from the spider, shaped like a pocket watch but not quite. The hands don’t move, and the screw that’s supposed to allow people to wind the clock is so integrated into the case that it looks like just a decorative bump, meant to make the illusion appear superficially convincing. He tried to channel mana into it, but that was fruitless - the device likely required the user to channel mana in a very specific way.
He decided to try something... experimental. He squeezed a cloud of mana from his hand, like he would when picking a lock, and guided it into the interior of the device through gaps and misaligned seams. The information he received, although vague, told him that the interior was filled with brass gears and crystals. They probably shouldn't be pried open. So how about…
Ah, that's the trick! The hands of the clock are not just static - images painted on the glass cover. Zorian pressed his fingers against the glass cover and pushed it into the housing. There was a soft clicking sound from inside, and when Zorian released the pressure, the lid immediately flew open, revealing a complex interface full of dials and symbols. Very complex interface...
He took the thing apart to see how it would work in future reboots.
- rest -
The job was successfully completed. Zorian chose not to place a tracking charm on the device because he didn't know how sensitive it was and didn't want to destroy it. This proved to be a good choice because as soon as Zorian handed the device to the man, the man immediately cast several diagnostic spells on the device, one of which Zorian knew was a spell designed to detect a simple tracking spell . After the deal was completed, Zorian insisted that they shake hands, claiming that in his village it was tradition to shake hands after a successful business deal.
The man rolled his eyes and muttered something redneck, but humored him. mission completed.
After they had a drink together at a nearby tavern,
The group separated. Zorian immediately descended into the sewers again, back to Aranea.
[You mean the ward reader? ] asked the matriarch. [That makes sense. He and his friends have been hanging out on the edge of our property for a while, trying to stay hidden. I'm surprised he hired a bunch of students to get it, though. ]
"Yeah, I'm not sure what he was thinking," Zorian said. "It seems like a stupid idea to me."
[If all goes well, we'll find out in a few days,] the matriarch said. [That said, we have other things we must discuss. I believe I told you in a previous reboot that I stumbled upon some very important information. ]
Zorian agreed. "I wonder what that is."
[This is about the intruder. First of all, your guess is correct - they are indeed from Urkun Ibasa. ]
"I knew it," Zorian frowned. "How was it before? Were they seeking revenge or were they just opportunistic?"
[A little bit of both,] said the matriarch. [They resented you for your exile, they thought you were weak, and now the Schism War and Cry have wiped out most of your battle mages. But that's not the important part. The important part involves a question so basic that I'm honestly not sure why neither of us thought of it. That is, why did the invaders think they could conquer Westernia in the first place? ]
Zorian opened his mouth to answer "With the time loop, eh", but quickly closed it again. According to the Matriarch, the invasion had been brewing long before the time loop began. Obviously, someone involved with the invasion eventually got pulled into the time loop and started feeding them information, becoming very effective, but before that? Without knowing the exact location of Keoria's defenses, their initial bombardment would have been much less damaging than it was.
Without knowing the academy's ward plans and how to circumvent it, their attack on the place was virtually doomed from the start. Most importantly, the matriarch claims that Alanya successfully kept the intruders at bay before the time loop.
"Maybe they didn't," Zorian said. "I mean, want to conquer it. Theoria is very important to Eldmar, but it's not the capital and it's not the center of its industry.
It is home to the Edmar Mages' Guild and the most prestigious mages' college in the world, neither of which are likely to cooperate with the invaders. Most likely, they just want to cause as much damage as possible. Keep Edmar's magical powers active while they invade other lands with their armies. "
[Very close,] said the matriarch. [But it’s more than simple distraction. Apparently, the dates of summer festivals have very magical significance. It's the weakest day of the year, and this year's Summer Festival is even more special than usual. I'm afraid we spider folk don't know much about astronomy since we live mostly underground, but apparently this year's summer festival includes some sort of... "planetary alignment"? ]
A shiver ran down Zorian's spine.
This year's planar alignment, marked by several planets aligning with their own, occurs once every 400 years. The last time such an event occurred, a mage city used the opportunity to teleport an entire city from Miasina to the southern coast of Artazia, completing the largest cross-continental teleportation feat in history.
If anyone wanted to tinker with space and time on a large scale, now would be the time to do it.
"Yes, that explains a lot," Zorian said at last. "Like why the time loop starts now, of all time. But wait, how does that help them cause more damage to the city? Are they trying to teleport the city to the sea or something?"
[No. First, they plan to summon a large number of high-level demons to help invade. That's why this attack was carried out, demons, especially high level demons, are almost immune to psychic attacks and highly resistant to magic. Alanya will soon be slaughtered, and the mages will be too busy fighting for their lives to help the city's ordinary defenders. These defenders will fight trolls and fire elementals that are immune to firearms, and will be backed up by winter wolves and ironbeaks. ]
"That...that's terrible," Zorian said after a second of digestion. "Why don't they do it now?"
[They can't, remember? Nothing is summoned in the time loop. The entire physical plane has been cut off from the spiritual plane,] the matriarch reminded him.
"Oh, yes," Zorian said. "
[They probably will,] the matriarch said. [The Demons are ultimately a distraction, just like the rest of their troops. The invasion leadership actually didn't think they were doing enough to weaken Keoria, they wanted it to be wiped off the map entirely. No, the real target is the area around the hole. While the defenders are busy trying to save their lives, a group of mages will guard the place and hold a grand summoning ceremony. ]
"Uh," Zorian muttered. "Let me guess: a very big demon."
[No. They want to summon a primordial spirit. ]
The color immediately disappeared from Zorian's face. "What!? But...in that case, the entire city will become a lifeless crater! Where is their own power!?"
[Consumables,] the matriarch told him bluntly. [Everyone important enough is ready to teleport away at the first hint of successful summoning, and you'll find that the actual force of the invasion is really light on the human mages. Only a minimal amount of Ibasan mages are needed to maintain some control over various demons and monsters. In fact, your prediction of losses is quite optimistic.
It would rampage through Altazia until it finally ran out of power, or until the Altazians managed to organize a group of mages powerful enough to drive it away. Once it's gone, Urkun Ibasa can swoop in and eliminate the demoralized survivors. ]
It’s crazy, they won’t work. Where did they find the ritual that summoned the beginning of all creation? But despite this, he had witnessed the invaders breaking through Kooria's defenses many times and could not take them lightly. If they think the plan works, it will.
"Where did they find so many summoned mages?" Zorian asked. "They would have been killed by the primitive man's rage before escaping, being so close to it."
[The summoning will be conducted by the Celestial Dragon Mystery Cult...you may know its name as the "World Dragon Cult". Apparently, they were willing to die to summon a "child of the Great Mother." They are presumably internal agents of the general intruders; we must penetrate deeper into their organization to gain more information.
Anyway, not wanting to take any chances, the Ibasans suddenly decided it wanted to visit their island and flew over. ]
"I bet," Zorian said. "No matter how scary an invasion trapped inside a time loop is, an invasion outside of it will be even scarier. They'll have additional demonic support on top of everything they already have, and we're going to have to spend some Time to stop the primal summoning. I'd like to say those cultists are completely insane to be able to summon a crippled imp, let alone a damn primal creature, but the odds are so catastrophic we can't risk it."
The matriarch agreed. [My original plan was to continue to prevent the invasion from progressing until the third time the travelers were forced to reveal themselves, either through hastiness or frustration; to find a perfect counter to counter multiple restarts of the invasion; and finally, to find a way to break the time loop. method to truly deal with intruders. The part about dealing with a third time traveler still seems feasible, but finding a perfect counter when we're inside a time loop is obviously impossible...]
I'm a little disturbed that the Matriarch talks about destroying people's minds, but he has to admit that he doesn't know any other way to deal with the third time traveler. The only other way is to destroy his soul, which is probably more morally reprehensible.
"Okay," Zorian sighed tiredly. "What a great day. Do you have any other bombshells to drop on me?"
[One of the giant lizards accompanying the matriarch was petite and twitching all over. It seemed that it was difficult to stay still. It suddenly jumped down from the ceiling and landed in front of the matriarch.
[Hello! I'm a keen seeker of novelty, and I'm totally going to be your teacher this month! I know you humans have trouble with our names, so you can call me Novelty. I do not mind! ]
[Does she have an off button? ] he asked telepathically.
The matriarch simply responded with a mixture of amusement and satisfaction.
