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Anyways, with the talk out of the way, I safely arrived at the training complex, where I entered the training arena in the shape of the forest. Let's start training.
Firstly I need to test whether I can really increase my strength and speed. Focus the Ether in my fist. Swing and release.
Boom!
Wow! I just swung my fist in the air, and it actually produced a shockwave. This is cool! It's one thing when you are told that you can perform some abstract magic, but it's different when you feel that you actually possess the power. Even though there is a slight recoil, it still feels really good.
Let's continue with the experiments. The Flash Step, as the spirit called it, is a technique where I need to focus the Ether into my feet and then as I jump, I need to release it. So, I focus Ether into my feet, start the jump forward, release Ether and... Whoa!
— Morning has come, Master.
You've gotta be kidding me!
Let me review my memories. I tried to focusing Ether into my fists and releasing it. That went well. Next I tried doing the same thing with my feet. The next thing I remember is a trunk of a tree filling my whole field of vision.
Seems I got too careless. I really need to be more careful with all this. The fact that I could do things, doesn't mean I should do them. The spirit even warned me that it could be dangerous and that I should be careful, but I ignored him. He was correct to call me an idiot. To die not twice, but thrice in the span of four days is stupid. I need to snap out of it and start taking things more seriously.
With this renewed resolution I leave the bed, put the clothes on and go to the usual assembly. Ignoring everybody else, I just listen to the mandatory part and leave for training complex immediately after that.
Firstly I visit the infirmary to get myself a weapon:
— Good morning. What is it that troubles you?
— It seems I have two Ether Links or something like that... Could you please give me the device that would allow me to use the Chlymea?
Like the last time, the spirit appeared to be quite troubled.
— Is that so? Quite a fascinating condition. Would you mind if I scanned you?
Well, I already know I can't avoid this, so in resignation I replied:
— Go ahead.
After getting the Chlymea, I went to the familiar training arena and started practising.
For the course of three days I practically secluded myself in the training complex. For three days straight I trained focusing Ether and releasing it, as well as practiced with my special ability. The results of these three days weren't phenomenal, but they weren't insignificant either. Unfortunately, there are some bad news as well.
With my inventory-ability I can finally move objects like daggers and knives into my inventory mid-flight. It still takes too long to move bigger objects like swords and staffs, so I can't leave my opponent weaponless. Though, I can defend myself from projectiles if they aren't too big. Another slight improvement is with the Flash Step. I don't die from using it. It's not hard to perform it, what comes after that is the problem. I just can't handle this speed properly. It's basically like jumping out of the moving car. Even with minimal Ether, the best I can do is just land on all fours and roll around for a bit. So right now it's not at the stage where I can use it in actual combat, but it might come in handy for escaping.
Lastly there is the issue with the Chlymea. It turns out that the bracelet that I got in the infirmary drains around half of my Ether. I haven't noticed it in the beginning, but yesterday, when I decided to do a bit of training with a weapon, I noticed that I need to concentrate harder on the techniques. After a bit of testing I realized that the issue is in the bracelet. Initially, when I couldn't properly do anything, half of the Ether didn't really mean much, but now it's really inconvenient. It's really unpleasant, but there is no time to do anything about it this retry. I should grow the crystal like the doctor originally suggested. Though, in my situation, the weapon is more important than doubled Ether consumption.
This is the result of secluding myself to train for the time I was given. Now is the time to see the results of my preparation. Motivating myself with these thoughts I wake up to Rue's reminder that my match is to be held at 9.30. As I quickly dress up and eat my breakfast I try to calm myself down before the big event. I start moving towards the training complex, but before I am even able to leave the living complex, I am interrupted by a cute fox-eared girl with nine tails.
— Excuse me, do you have a moment to spare? — She asks me.
— I am in a real hurry right now. My match is about to start.
— Don't worry, I know. I won't take much of your time.
'I know'? Does that mean that she was waiting for me?
— Alright, you have piqued my interest. What is your business?
— Let me ask you one question first. Are you confident in your ability to win this tournament?
— No, I don't. But it's not like I have any choice in the matter, do I?
— What if I presented with the alternative?
Oh, that sounds interesting.
— Please do tell.
— There is one person here, let's call him Mr.D, who has quite a peculiar ability: Soul Transfer.
The name of the ability sounds quite ominous. I can vaguely guess what she wants to suggest, but I better confirm this.
— Unfortunately the name doesn't tell me much.
— As the name implies it is ability to move souls. What I am proposing is that you take this gem with you.
She takes out the pendant with a red emerald.
— In the event that you die, the emerald will catch your soul and will automatically get transported to Mr.D.
— And why would I want that?
— Mr.D will then plant this soul into another body. This will give you a second chance at life if you die here.
Pretty close to what I had imagined.
— Why would he do that? What's in it for him?
— There are two conditions. You will have to absorb souls of the enemies you defeat into this crystal and if you end up fighting Mr.D, you would have to give up. Of course you will get additional compensation if either of that happens.
For a weakling like me, this would normally sound really tempting.
— Rue can you confirm for me. What does this crystal do. — I point to the medallion in the girl's hand.
— It has the teleportation function and another one which I can't discern. It is quite possible that it is meant to store souls.
— Are there any guarantees?
— If you so desire, we can sign a magically binding contract.
Hm. I am pretty sure that I would have definitely agreed to this proposal if this were my first time through. Though, with this being the fourth time through, I am cautious about this. There is a chance that this might interfere with the time-looping I am experiencing. I don't want to risk that. Additional insurance is good, but there is currently no point in that if it breaks the one I already have. It's not reliable, since I don't know how it works, but it has nonetheless saved me three times already. There is no point in trading it for something else.
— I am sorry, but even though your proposal sounds tempting, I cannot accept it.
— I see. Quite a pity. — She sighs resignedly. — You can talk to me if you change your mind.
She seems to be disappointed, but still acts friendly.
— I will, but now I have to go. Bye.
Without waiting for the reply, I dash towards the training complex. I'm not yet being late, but it's getting close. Luckily, there are no more obstructions and I am able to arrive at the training complex before the round is scheduled to start.
Actually, it's pretty sad to realize that I survived until the actual match only once. This is my fourth loop, but only second time getting to the third day. This is only my second time participating in the actual fight at the tournament. I feel myself really stupid. These are my thoughts as I stare at the humanoids I am meant to fight.
A confident looking young man with purple cape, short brown hair and a staff in his left hand. A big humanoid-looking grey haired wolf with a scar over his, he wears blue jeans and a black jacket. And last, but not least, there is a black haired woman in maid's clothes with expressionless look on her face.
In other I don't know any of them. These guys are completely different from the ones I fought during my first time. No murderous angel or mystery-swordsman. Just a mage, a werewolf and a maid. What's wrong with you people? Do you know of the term 'consistency'? I am supposed to be in some kind of the time loop, and yet you keep throwing at me these random new situations that are completely different from the ones that originally occurred. I would understand if I did something, but I haven't done anything! I just secluded myself at the training arena for three days. Why is there such a difference compared to the first time? This is just too irritating, and the worst part is that I can't do anything about it.
The voice from the ceiling interrupts my train of thought.
— Participants. Please enter the preparation rooms.
As I enter the room, I notice that none of the participants seem worried at all. The mage exhibits self-confidence, the werewolf bloodlust and the maid just doesn't care. Great, this promises to be more fun than the last time.
Like the last time, as soon as I enter the teleportation chamber, I get transported into another room.
— Round starts in three minutes. At that time you will be transported to the arena. Please make your preparations.
Like the last time, I am alone in this room and there is a big square screen that is in front of me. The difference is that instead of the ruins in the desert, there is a small tropical island on the screen. The middle of the island seems to resemble volcano crater with a small lake. From this lake four rivers flow down into the ocean. These lakes effectively split the island into four sectors and the green dot that signifies my position is in the middle of the right segment.
Well, it's not like I have much to prepare. I turn the Chlymea into the sword. And wait for the countdown.
— Three... Two... One...
With a flash of light and I get transported into the forest. The choice I have now basically comes down to choosing between two options: avoid others or seek others out. Best course of action is to hide myself until only one other participant remains and strike him down. Unfortunately this did not work last time and I have no reason to assume it should work this time either. And that is not even the biggest of my troubles.
The problem right now is not with my ability to kill. There is a more fundamental issue. I just do not possess any stealth skills. In this world of magic and supernatural abilities, I am bound to be found out and killed immediately. Any plan that relies on my ability to hide is bound to fail. I need to come up with something else. Though, there is a chance that I won't get noticed if other participants concentrate on fighting among themselves, so there is no point in loudly announcing my whereabouts either.
The option of avoiding the others has many flaws, but even so, it still is tempting because it would enable me to survive longer. If my goal were to survive for a few minutes longer, I would have done that, but my goal, in the end, is to win this round. For that to happen, one way or another, I need to deal with other participants. To do that I need to know what they are capable of. So, I need to seek others out and see how they fight. Even in the worst case scenario, I will be able to utilise that information in the future retries. Of course that is only in case I have retries left, but given the fact that it happened four times already I feel it's not about 'there is no reason for it to happen again' and more about 'there is no reason for this not to happen again'. In other words 'if this happened four times without visible differences, then why wouldn't it happen again'?
If my goal is to actually meet with other participants, then there is only one place for that on this island. I got to go to that lake. It's the only noticeable place here, so others will probably gather there. With the destination decided, I start walking there... Is what I would want to say, but since I'm in the middle of the forest, I have no idea what direction will take me to the lake. Seems I just have to pick randomly...
Hiding is definitely out of the question. After ten minutes of walking I feel myself as a bull in a china shop. It feels as if my every movement produces so much sound that whole island should know where I am. In addition to that the forest isn't exactly dry, so my boots are soaked.
I think I came upon a third option regarding my course of action: I can just get lost in the forest. No responsibility and no ability to affect the course of the battle in any meaningful way. Just great. What do I do now? Wait...
What is that light between the trees? I quickly sprint to where the light is and arrive at the riverbank. Finally. Before me is a river of about thirty meters in width, surrounded by trees and bushes. At least now I have a definite direction to follow. As long as I go upstream, I can arrive at my destination. I wasted enough time, so I have no time to loiter around, but I am thirsty. I want to drink a bit before I leave. I squat down to bring my face closer to water.
As I squat, I feel something familiar. I can't put my finger on this feeling. It's as if 'something that should be here isn't', but not exactly. I turn around to survey my surroundings. Nope. There is nobody else here. I turn back to the river.
I'm about to drink, when this strange feeling engulfs me again. Suddenly, the right side of my neck starts itching and I get nervous. I can't calm myself down and turn around again. Still nobody there. I should probably leave this place. As I turn back to stand up, I see a sudden movement in the periphery of my vision. Spurned by my paranoia, I jump forward with Flash Step.
Flying through the air I see that on the place I was before, a werewolf is now standing. He is not standing there alone. Running at him from behind is a maid. On the periphery of my consciousness I note that even after running through this forest the apron maid is wearing is clean and doesn't have any cuts. All these thoughts fade into background as I focus on my own predicament.
As I said earlier, invoking Flash Step is easy, but landing is a problem. Since I was scared, I put more force than I should have. As a result, I am now speeding through the air above the river, towards trees on the opposite beach. Luckily I seem to be flying more towards the branches than the trunks, so I will probably survive this, but landing in water would have been much less painful.
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