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With a sigh, she shook her head a bit.
— Well, then it can't be helped.
With that, a light fills my vision.
— Morning has come, Master.
What's wrong with this buggy game?
Chapter 5. Skills and Abilities / Potential
Blowing up a city or two — Easy
Opening a locked chest or a door without a key — Impossible
Game conventions
That elf is crazy. She didn't even try to listen to me. She just shot me! Is that all the thanks I get for helping her? Getting shot? There is definitely something wrong with her head. I mean, during the first time she helped me get to the infirmary. She was actually friendly, but now she didn't even listen to me. She just shot me! If that's what I get for helping, then I am certainly not helping her again. Let her deal with those hellhounds by herself for all I care.
Huuh-haah. Inhale, exhale. Calm down...
At least it's not only bad news. It seems I returned to the beginning again. This means that it was not a one-time occurrence. This also means that it is not a vision of some kind. Either I return to the save point, in case this is a game, or I get transported back in time, in case this is a reality. The question is how many more retries do I have? It's not uncommon for players to have limited amount of lives (retries) in the game. I don't really feel any different from the last two times. If anything, I actually feel better than the first time I woke up. I don't really know what it means, but probably nothing bad.
I would want to assume that the amount of retries is unlimited, or at the very least this is not the last one, but I can't do that. There is no guarantee I will get thrown back again in case of my demise. If at all possible, I want to avoid dying. It's really unhealthy to assume oneself to be invincible.
— I have to inform Master that all challengers are required to assemble in the Main Hall in one hour's time.
Whoops! It seems that I was raging at that elf for too long. I need to hurry up if I don't want to be late.
I quickly put on my clothes go to the hall where the announcement is made. Same as the last time, it is filled with different humanoids. This time I don't bother listening to the announcement. I already heard the announcement twice, so thinking about what to do next is more reasonable.
Although there is something seriously wrong with that elf, she isn't my main problem. I still need to find a way to survive the fight with the angel. My hope was for the elf to help me train and get stronger. With that plan going down the drain, I need to find some other way to get stronger.
Training by myself is always an option, but not a very good one. Even if I do get stronger, I don't think it will be enough to survive this tournament or even beat that angel. To illustrate my point: I have troubles dealing with a few hellhounds, while at the same time the elf can kill a dozen of them without even looking at them. Even if I manage to defeat the angel, eventually I will either have to fight the elf or somebody who is stronger than her. The idea that a normal guy with no skills or combat experience, such as myself, can defeat those guys with only a few days of training is absurd.
What are my options? Is there any fast and reasonable way to get stronger? For example isn't there some kind of time compression capsule? Normally such an unrealistic idea wouldn't visit my mind, but since either this is a game or I'm stuck in a time loop, it's not unreasonable to assume that there is a way to slow the time down. Actually, if I remember correctly, Rue even confirmed that something like that exists here. She did say that it won't be easy to get access to that, but if it's not impossible, it's worth to try getting an access to it at some point.
Is there anything else that can be done? If I can't get the elf to help me, is there anybody else that can teach me? Other competitors are unlikely to be cooperative. With no persuasive arguments to make them help me, there is no point in approaching them. It would be just a waste of time.
Is there anybody else, besides the other competitors, who could help me get stronger? Rue is the first one that comes to mind, but she is closer to the encyclopedia than a teacher. She can give me some advice, but it's not what I need. I need somebody to show me how it's done and coach me. I need somebody like that....
Meh...
Seems that there is no choice. I really didn't want for it to come to that, but the only one who fits that role is the spirit in the library. I foresee a lot of my nerve-cells dying, but unfortunately he is the only one I can think of. He said that I should come to him when I "know that I'm ready". Well, I don't know whether or not I'm ready, but I did develop my ability like he told me to, so there shouldn't be any issues. Plus, he won't remember about our last talk, so for him it would be our first meeting. That, indeed, seems to be the most reasonable course of action I can take. I will just ask him for advice and hope that he won't be as annoying as the last time.
For now I have to witness the nauseating finale of this bloody spectacle.
— Oh! Visiting me so soon? You living beings are so impatient. Now... What should I make you do? — Grinned the spirit in the library.
The way the spirit in the library greeted me, left me speechless. Without giving me the opportunity to recover from his shocking statement, the spirit continues:
— What? A cat got your tongue?
— Forget about cats for a minute! More importantly, what do you mean by "so soon"!?
— I mean what I said. Didn't you visit me a few days ago?
— Then, can you explain what is happening to me?
— Huh? What do you mean?
— You said that I visited you a few days ago. How can you remember that? I died two times after that. Did I get transported back in time? If so, why do you remember it?
— Not a very bright one are you? — The spirit spirit sighs and shakes his head. — To die twice in a span of a four days.
— Can you stop it with your mockery and properly explain what is happening to me and why do you remember my last visit?
— Is that the reason for your visit? Is that the question you want me to answer.
I wanted to say yes, but some feeling inside told me that I shouldn't do that. I really want to know what is happening here, but getting this spirit to coach me is more important. The weird timeloop-phenomena is strange, but not lethal. The knowledge of what is happening to me is important, but won't help me survive the fight in three days is.
— ... No. I do want to know the answer to that question, but it is not the reason I came here.
— Oh? Is that so? Very well then... — The spirit holds a small pause. — Am I correct to assume that you want me to coach you? You want to learn new skills, so that you can survive the upcoming fight?
— How do you even know that?
— Is that the question you want answered? — Came spirits's immediate reply.
A not so subtle hint to shut up and be patient. Why does he not want to answer my questions? Why does he want to avoid them so much? A mystery that I will have to leave for a later time.
— No. Your previous assessment was correct. I want to get strong enough to survive the fight in three days.
— Hm. So, you have learned how to use your ability a bit and know the basics on how to make an Ether barrier?
Exasperated sigh is my only answer. How does he know all that? If I am in the time loop, then there shouldn't be any way for him to know that. Does this mean that this is a game after all? Oh, how tempted I am to believe it to be so.
— Yes, that is so. Though, I still don't really understand how my Ether barrier works.
— That is of no concern to me. I can show you how the techniques are done or what you are doing wrong, but learning how your ability works is for you to discover. Got that?
— Yeah.
— Good. In that case, let's move on. Before I teach you anything, let me explain a bit more of what the Ether is. As you previously know, each living being possesses the Ether Link which is the connection this being has with the world he was born in. Energy can be drawn through that link and used. The issue is that this energy is too pure for living beings to handle. As such living beings have to convert it to something they can use. As this happens the energy takes the form that the body requires. This requirement depends on physiological factor as much psychological. To provide you with an understandable example, let's take the En'gi'al you are familiar with. Because the males of those species are nearly always front-line close-quarter combatants, the ability that is most often encountered in them is "regeneration" and variations of that. Are you with me so far?
— Just barely.
— Well, what I want to explain to you is that the ability you get from Ether Link is either something you consciously or subconsciously crave for. The only thing that limits that ability is your imagination. You have only trained with it for three days. That's not even scraping the surface! I am not saying you shouldn't learn other techniques, I am just reminding you that you shouldn't forget that your ability is much more than what it appears to be.
— I will keep that in mind, but what I need right now is a way to get stronger really fast. If I don't do that, I won't have the chance to "explore my ability".
— Oh youth, you are always hurrying somewhere. If you just tried to stand still and listen you would learn so much.
— That advice sounds really unconvincing from somebody who is dead.
— Ha-ha-ha! — The spirit started to laugh suddenly. — You got me there. But if you want to be able to cast spells, your control over Ether needs to be much better than it is right now. This will take you noticeably more than two or three days.
— So, what you are saying is that you won't teach me anything useful?
— I didn't say that. There are a few simple Ether manipulation techniques that are useful on their own and help to train one's control over Ether. In fact you already know one such technique.
The only skills that I know are Wind-blade and Ether Barrier. If I take into consideration the fact that Wind-blade is generated from my sword...
— Are you talking about Ether Barrier?
— Yes. Not only is it a useful skill in it's own right, it is also a good way to train the control over Ether. It is one of the basic skills that beginner mages learn: focusing Ether at one point. Barrier is not the only thing that can be result of this. For example: by focusing Ether inside your body you can endure damage easier and heal faster.
Huh? I thought that by adding mana to attacks it makes them stronger. That's how it usually works in games. Why does it only increase endurance and recovery here?
— Wait a minute. What about making me punches stronger? Can't I do that with Ether.
— If you wouldn't have interrupted me, I was about to move on to that. There are two basic techniques to Ether manipulation: Focus and Burst. The one I described earlier is Focus. What you are talking about is Burst. Releasing the Ether focused at one point to gain a stronger immediate effect. An example would be, as you previously described, strengthening punches or a technique called Flash Step. Though, it's slightly harder to do and is more dangerous. That's why we will start with Focus.
I spent a few hours in the library, where the spirit taught me how to properly focus Ether. It wasn't really hard. I just had to focus Ether in different parts of my body and take care that it didn't spread or dissipate. Kinda like it was with the infusion of Ether, but now there was more things to keep track of.
The spirit also corrected a few mistakes I was making with Ether Barrier. Nothing serious, but having a proper teacher really helps. If nothing else it saves some time on finding the mistakes you make.
Surprisingly, Ether manipulation was much easier than the previous times I tried it. Though now I had the tendency to focus too much Ether, so I had to restrain the amount. Is this thanks to the training and due to the fact that I am getting accustomed to Ether manipulation, or is there something else to it?
— So with basics about focusing out of the way, can you teach me how to strengthen the punches and move faster?
— Well, there is nothing much to teach and I don't really want you to practice it here. You see, I'm quite fond of this place and don't want you to destroy it.
— What do you mean?
— You will see. Go practice somewhere else. I already explained how it's done, so you now know what you have to do. Just practice on your own, and come to me again when you can control your power properly.
This sounds really similar to how he said goodbye last time. Well, fine by me. I already learned quite a bit, so it's really down to practicing it. And, like the spirit said, having a proper training arena is better than this place. Though I'm slightly puzzled as to why there is such a separation. Additionally, why isn't there a coach in the training facility? I think I'm missing something... Oh well. As long as I have somebody to coach me and a place to train, it's enough for me. At least for now.
— Thank you and goodbye.
— See ya later, kiddo.
As I was walking towards the training complex, I asked Rue the question that bothered me since the beginning of my conversation with the spirit:
— Rue, I want to ask you something.
— Yes Master?
— When was the first time we met?
— This morning, Master.
Hm. What if I try a different approach.
— And for how long do you serve me?
— Since this morning, so it makes approximately four hours.
— What did you do before that?
— I was being kept in the storage. This is my first activation.
Okay. So, if Rue doesn't lie, then I she really doesn't remember the previous iterations of this loop. Still, this doesn't bring me any closer to discovering the truth behind these retries. What causes them? How many do I have left? How do they work? I still don't know anything about them. The people around don't seem to be experiencing the same phenomena, but at the same time the spirit from the library seems to remember my visits from previous retries. Is this a game after all? If so, then what is the point in erasing my memories of getting into the game?
My concern is that only proofs I have of this being a game are existence of magic and this time loop I'm stuck in. Considering the realism of the situation and the fact that time loop can be exaplained by magic, this being a game is less plausible.
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