u/LiseEclaire

Hello, all!

Recently I watched an author interview online, which touched on an interesting topic: character age.
From what I’ve found several major groups:

Teens - mostly for a younger audience. (Most of the the action animes are like that)
College age (and pre-middle age) - most prevalent in the genres mentioned book-wise.
Second chance (between teens and college age, but acting as old men/women) - abundant, but it’s rare that they act older than their age
Middle age and older - only seen a few examples of this

With that, what age do you prefer for stories in the litrpg/fantasy/prog fantasy genre? Also, what do you think are most widely liked in the genre?

Thank you for your advice! :)

Lise

News of the unusual was all over social media. Theories ranged from a massive prank to a cry for help. According to the school staff, not a single student of Enigma High was capable of such a disturbing act. The building had been secured at all times, they insisted, suggesting that the culprit was highly organized and likely sending a message.

Articles about the sudden blackening of mirrors were everywhere. Unconfirmed reports mentioned other similar cases throughout the city. So far there had been no official explanation on the matter other than that local authorities were still looking into it.

“A reminder to all students,” an announcement echoed through the halls and classrooms. “We remind you to take care of your physical and mental health. There is no shame in seeking help. The school counselor’s door is open at all times. With mid-terms approaching, we think that—”

What a load of crap, Will said to himself.

The school didn’t give a damn about the state of its students, definitely not to this degree. They were probably trying to nip this in the bud, not that it was going to work.

“Bro!” Alex ran up to him. The goofball wasn’t foreign to controversies, though this seemed a bit much even for him. “Did you hear?”

“Let me guess.” Will gave him a sideways look. “It was aliens.”

“For real, bro?” Alex frowned. “That’s so cliché. Nah, it’s a social experiment, like one of those hardcore ones they did in the eighties.”

“Uh-huh.” Will kept on walking towards the entrance.

“Like the one where they had people imprisoned in a school basement and had others guard them. I bet—”

“Alexander!” a high-pitched voice sounded, causing everyone within earshot to freeze.

The owner of the voice was none other than the school’s vice-principal and, much to Alex’s regret, his mother.

“Mister Stone.” The woman walked up to the pair of students, her gaze not leaving the goofball. “Please excuse Alexander until class.”

The statement was clear—Alex was in trouble, so he had to be dragged to her office. That was outright impressive considering that the school day hadn’t even officially started.

“Ooof,” Alex whispered. “Later, bro.”

Never a dull day, Will thought.

Putting on his earbuds, he increased the volume on his phone as he made his way to the first class of the day. The moment he opened the door, a strong stench struck him like a ton of bricks, almost bringing tears to his eyes.

“Stoner!” Jace glared at him. He was not alone. Several more jocks were also there, none of them too pleased. “Did Muffin Boy do this?!”

“No idea, man.” Will shrugged, making his way to his desk. “The Harpy called him, so maybe.”

The response left the jocks conflicted. On one hand they were itching to smack him about for the stench they’d have to endure. On the other, doing it to spite the vice-principal was a noble cause. Ultimately, they begrudgingly let the matter slide, returning to more common topics.

Will opened his backpack. Art wasn’t his favorite subject even if it turned out he was rather good at it. Not that it particularly mattered; it wasn’t something he felt like pursuing.

“Hey,” a female voice said from the front desk.

Will looked up.

“Doing anything after class?” Helen asked.

The boy remained quiet, removing one of his earplugs.

“We’ll be trying out a nearby café after class,” the girl continued. “It’ll be a small group. Me, Danny, a few other friends…” she gave the jocks a glance. “Those guys,” she said with a smile. “It’ll be cool if you join.”

“After class?” Will asked.

In truth, that sounded rather nice. Getting to unwind could be just what he needed.

“We can get Alex as well,” Helen added with some reluctance, mistaking his silence for hesitation.

“I’ll be there,” he said with a chuckle. “Not because of Alex.”

The girl laughed as well.

“Great. Jess will be happy.” She abruptly turned around, indicating that she wouldn’t be answering any further questions. It was her trademarked approach, and one had to admit it was quite effective.

Will looked around the classroom. Less than a quarter of the people were there, but it already felt full. The new coat of paint Danny’s desk had been given already showed signs of wear in the form of scribbles on the side. To this day, it remained a mystery how Danny managed to pull it off so consistently without getting caught.

Suddenly, Will’s phone rang. It was a number he wasn’t familiar with. Still, he answered.

“Hello?” he said, leaning back.

“Hello,” a female voice said. “Who is this?”

“Who are you looking for?” Will countered.

“Sorry. This might seem weird, but I just got a fortune cookie with your number. I thought it might be some marketing stunt.”

“Nope, just a standard number.”

“Oh. Sorry again.”

“No worries.”

“Just in case, thank you. The rest of the fortune was rather nice.” She ended the call.

Will stared at the display on his phone. Nine times out of ten, this would pass as a scam call, yet he knew that it wasn’t. What was more, he knew perfectly well who the caller had been.

The boy stood up.

“Where are you going?” Helen asked. “It’s almost time for class.”

“Bathroom,” he said casually, then left the room.

Flows of people rushed down the corridor. With classes almost starting, teachers and students hurried to get to their respective rooms. Avoiding a few collisions, Will went to the boy’s bathroom.

There were several mirrors in the room, one of them pitch-black. The school administration had discussed changing it for some time, yet since the cost was far greater than leaving things as they were, they had continuously postponed the decision.

Will turned on the tap, then splashed some water on his face and hair. An eternity had passed since he had last been here, and yet, he remembered it all—things that occurred, yet didn’t, a whole string of events that had started long before he had become aware of them. Now, the only place they remained was in his mind.

Had he made the right choice? It was a difficult question to answer, but the boy felt that he had. Things hadn’t ended up as he or anyone expected, and there was a certain charm in that. Now, all he could do was the same as before: keep on moving forward.

The boy reached out to tap one of the reflective mirrors. His hand stopped an inch away. Maybe it would be better if he didn’t. After all, he had plans for after class.

“See you around,” Will said, then hurried out into the corridor.

After he was gone, a set of white letters appeared on the darkened mirror.

 

[Be seeing you]

< Beginning | | Previously... |

News of the unusual was all over social media. Theories ranged from a massive prank to a cry for help. According to the school staff, not a single student of Enigma High was capable of such a disturbing act. The building had been secured at all times, they insisted, suggesting that the culprit was highly organized and likely sending a message.

Articles about the sudden blackening of mirrors were everywhere. Unconfirmed reports mentioned other similar cases throughout the city. So far there had been no official explanation on the matter other than that local authorities were still looking into it.

“A reminder to all students,” an announcement echoed through the halls and classrooms. “We remind you to take care of your physical and mental health. There is no shame in seeking help. The school counselor’s door is open at all times. With mid-terms approaching, we think that—”

What a load of crap, Will said to himself.

The school didn’t give a damn about the state of its students, definitely not to this degree. They were probably trying to nip this in the bud, not that it was going to work.

“Bro!” Alex ran up to him. The goofball wasn’t foreign to controversies, though this seemed a bit much even for him. “Did you hear?”

“Let me guess.” Will gave him a sideways look. “It was aliens.”

“For real, bro?” Alex frowned. “That’s so cliché. Nah, it’s a social experiment, like one of those hardcore ones they did in the eighties.”

“Uh-huh.” Will kept on walking towards the entrance.

“Like the one where they had people imprisoned in a school basement and had others guard them. I bet—”

“Alexander!” a high-pitched voice sounded, causing everyone within earshot to freeze.

The owner of the voice was none other than the school’s vice-principal and, much to Alex’s regret, his mother.

“Mister Stone.” The woman walked up to the pair of students, her gaze not leaving the goofball. “Please excuse Alexander until class.”

The statement was clear—Alex was in trouble, so he had to be dragged to her office. That was outright impressive considering that the school day hadn’t even officially started.

“Ooof,” Alex whispered. “Later, bro.”

Never a dull day, Will thought.

Putting on his earbuds, he increased the volume on his phone as he made his way to the first class of the day. The moment he opened the door, a strong stench struck him like a ton of bricks, almost bringing tears to his eyes.

“Stoner!” Jace glared at him. He was not alone. Several more jocks were also there, none of them too pleased. “Did Muffin Boy do this?!”

“No idea, man.” Will shrugged, making his way to his desk. “The Harpy called him, so maybe.”

The response left the jocks conflicted. On one hand they were itching to smack him about for the stench they’d have to endure. On the other, doing it to spite the vice-principal was a noble cause. Ultimately, they begrudgingly let the matter slide, returning to more common topics.

Will opened his backpack. Art wasn’t his favorite subject even if it turned out he was rather good at it. Not that it particularly mattered; it wasn’t something he felt like pursuing.

“Hey,” a female voice said from the front desk.

Will looked up.

“Doing anything after class?” Helen asked.

The boy remained quiet, removing one of his earplugs.

“We’ll be trying out a nearby café after class,” the girl continued. “It’ll be a small group. Me, Danny, a few other friends…” she gave the jocks a glance. “Those guys,” she said with a smile. “It’ll be cool if you join.”

“After class?” Will asked.

In truth, that sounded rather nice. Getting to unwind could be just what he needed.

“We can get Alex as well,” Helen added with some reluctance, mistaking his silence for hesitation.

“I’ll be there,” he said with a chuckle. “Not because of Alex.”

The girl laughed as well.

“Great. Jess will be happy.” She abruptly turned around, indicating that she wouldn’t be answering any further questions. It was her trademarked approach, and one had to admit it was quite effective.

Will looked around the classroom. Less than a quarter of the people were there, but it already felt full. The new coat of paint Danny’s desk had been given already showed signs of wear in the form of scribbles on the side. To this day, it remained a mystery how Danny managed to pull it off so consistently without getting caught.

Suddenly, Will’s phone rang. It was a number he wasn’t familiar with. Still, he answered.

“Hello?” he said, leaning back.

“Hello,” a female voice said. “Who is this?”

“Who are you looking for?” Will countered.

“Sorry. This might seem weird, but I just got a fortune cookie with your number. I thought it might be some marketing stunt.”

“Nope, just a standard number.”

“Oh. Sorry again.”

“No worries.”

“Just in case, thank you. The rest of the fortune was rather nice.” She ended the call.

Will stared at the display on his phone. Nine times out of ten, this would pass as a scam call, yet he knew that it wasn’t. What was more, he knew perfectly well who the caller had been.

The boy stood up.

“Where are you going?” Helen asked. “It’s almost time for class.”

“Bathroom,” he said casually, then left the room.

Flows of people rushed down the corridor. With classes almost starting, teachers and students hurried to get to their respective rooms. Avoiding a few collisions, Will went to the boy’s bathroom.

There were several mirrors in the room, one of them pitch-black. The school administration had discussed changing it for some time, yet since the cost was far greater than leaving things as they were, they had continuously postponed the decision.

Will turned on the tap, then splashed some water on his face and hair. An eternity had passed since he had last been here, and yet, he remembered it all—things that occurred, yet didn’t, a whole string of events that had started long before he had become aware of them. Now, the only place they remained was in his mind.

Had he made the right choice? It was a difficult question to answer, but the boy felt that he had. Things hadn’t ended up as he or anyone expected, and there was a certain charm in that. Now, all he could do was the same as before: keep on moving forward.

The boy reached out to tap one of the reflective mirrors. His hand stopped an inch away. Maybe it would be better if he didn’t. After all, he had plans for after class.

“See you around,” Will said, then hurried out into the corridor.

After he was gone, a set of white letters appeared on the darkened mirror.

 

[Be seeing you]

< Beginning | | Previously |

All the skeletons froze. Having no will or intelligence whatsoever, they could only follow the commands issued to them, and right now they had two masters. For several seconds, the internal conflict prevented them from doing anything whatsoever. Then, suddenly, they snapped, turning on each other.

Bones shattered bones only to quickly reconstruct and start the process all over again. Drawing a tower shield, Will dashed in the direction of the nearest subway station, smashing enemies along the way.  

The necromancer didn’t take that lying down. Realizing that not only his victory, but his very existence was at stake. Bones emerged from his arm, quickly transforming into a bow.

 

PIERCING RAIN

 

Arrows rained down on Will.

Shattering dozens of skeletons in the vicinity, they went through the rogue’s sacred shield, further piercing through his shield and body.

 

CURSED, PARALYZED, POISONED

 

Will didn’t stop. A moment was enough for him to remove most of the inflicted statuses. The curse remained, but just as before, that wasn’t a concern.

“Light,” he ordered.

The flame vixen emerged high in the sky. Spinning her tails, she flew down.

Sensing her presence, the necromancer aimed straight up. Before he could release a single arrow, the vixen transformed into a ball of flame.

Will felt the wave blast through him, burning clothes and flesh. His regeneration had already kicked in, keeping him from getting vaporized like the surrounding skeletons. Even so, the pain was intense, almost bringing him down to the ground.

 

WOUND

Time till effect: 4:59

 

The paladin’s skill kicked in, soaking up what the regeneration couldn’t.

Will’s sight and sense of hearing were completely gone. The only thing he could smell and taste was burned flesh, but he kept on going. Despite all the limitations, the storyteller skill was active, appearing like a path in the darkness.

No more loops! Will pushed on.

With no one there to stop him, he continued forward for close to half a minute before his vision started to restore. Each step was more confident and larger than the last. His muscles were slowly reconstructed, letting him move with greater ease. Walking turned into running then sprinting.

By the time he had reached the subway entrance, the boy was back to his usual self. A dragon armor appeared, covering his naked body.

Performing a quick self-heal, Will went onto the tracks and into the subway tunnel. At his current speed, even if there were any trains working, they’d be hard-pressed to catch up.

There was still no sign of skeletons. The necromancer was likely still reconstructing.

“Still with me, buddy?” Will asked as he kept on running through the darkness.

You know it, a voice replied from the shadows.

“Keep an eye out.”

As he ran, Will remembered the time when they had been performing merchant quests. Back then, their greatest fear had been wolves or some other insignificant creatures. All those concerns seemed laughable now.

Flashbacks emerged, reminding Will of how it all had started: tapping the mirror in the bathroom, figuring out the loops, learning about Helen, Alex, Jace… He had gone through hundreds of events and dozens of people, failed more times than he had succeeded, never giving up, and all that had brought him here. There was only one question now, the only question that mattered: what would happen next?

The lights of a train appeared in the distance. They were on the other track, so no danger to Will. Even so, he used his hide and conceal skills.

Suddenly, a cluster of skeletons became visible up ahead. The necromancer had probably reconstructed and sent out minions to key spots in the city. It stood to logic that the subway station was part of them.

“Move aside!” Will ordered, using his necromancer skills.

The skeletons obeyed without attacking.

One more tunnel, the boy thought.

After that, he’d be at the subway station where the final mirror was. Rather curious that it was also the place where Danny had been ejected from eternity for the first time, killed by wolves. Up to now, Will hadn’t given the matter any thought, yet now that he did, he could see the issue. There weren’t supposed to be wolves during the reward phase, at least not mirror wolves. Someone else had sent the creatures, possibly the tamer? He and Lucia had formed an alliance during his fight with the necromancer. It was quite possible that they had also done so in the past.  

“Do you sense any wolves?” he asked.

Yes, Shadow replied. On my end.

“If they start coming through, let me know.”

A spot of light emerged at the end of the tunnel—the station was near.

Will felt his pulse double. Moments separated him from eternity’s end… or his own. Theoretically, he had the future echoes to protect him, yet eternity could easily eject him despite them.

“Nice try!” the necromancer appeared, instantly attacking with his permakill sword.

In Will’s mind, time froze. He could see the desperation in the other’s eyes. This was no longer a dreaded all-powerful enemy he was facing, but a fear-stricken excuse of a human that had spent the vast majority of his existence hidden. Too afraid to fight his own battles, yet too paranoid to let his allies and reflections fight the final one for him, he had resorted to the gamble. Will could see the story path branch into three.

Killing the necromancer would be easy. Deprived of his skeletal armies, he only had his unique weapon and a number of class skills at his disposal. The goth was so inexperienced that he couldn’t even properly combine the skills he had, merely switching between those he considered strong. However, if Will were to do that, the reward phase would end.

Ignoring the threat also wasn’t a desirable option. If Will were to evade the strike, he’d be able to reach the platform, yet in a bout of spite the necromancer was going to kill himself. The act would have ejected him from eternity, putting the whole thing on hold until such a time that another participant took his place. Realistically, such a series of events would bring victory to Will, eventually. Maybe it would take a few thousand loops, but in the end, there would come a moment when he’d have a go again.

 

MOMENT IN TIME

 

Will chose the third path. Both he and the necromancer were frozen still as time wound down to a hundredth of its standard speed.  

That won’t help you, Will almost heard the necromancer scream in his mind. If you teleport, it’s over.

A smile emerged on the boy’s face. If he teleported, that would be a problem indeed, but thankfully, he didn’t have to.

Massive jaws emerged from the shadow beneath him, closing in on both his legs. A moment later, he was pulled in. A new darkness surrounded him, full of claws and teeth. Without mercy, they descended on flesh and dragon armor, eager to devour everything they could. Then, the darkness dispersed, spitting Will out onto the tunnel floor.

Twenty feet behind him, the necromancer remained stuck in the air.

“Thanks, buddy.” Will stood up. Now, there was one thing left to do.

Calmly, the boy made his way onto the platform. All people had long fled, leaving the place completely deserted. Dozens of mirror columns could be seen, though no wolves. Keeping his guard up, Will walked up to the final reflective surface and tapped it.

 

Congratulations, ROGUE!

You have completed the REWARD PHASE!

Reward: FRAGMENT OF REALITY (unique single-use permanent) – allows you to create a reality of your own that you can freely shape and modify.

 

Will looked at the message. That had to be the prize—the reward that every participant yearned for. He could see exactly why: having a reality of one’s own was the same as being a living deity. With such an ability, he could create whatever he wanted: a place without eternity, where he could lead a normal life. Alex and the clairvoyant could marry, the vice-principal could regain her son, June and the necromancer could lose their powers… everything Will could imagine would instantly materialize for all eternity. There was no path beyond that, not one the storyteller skill would let him see.

“No thanks.” Will reached into his pocket and took out a lighter. “It’s not enough.”

The boy flicked the lighter, then teleported into the realm of light and fire. Once there, he immediately teleported out.

 

UNEXCEPTED OCCURRENCE

 

Red letters appeared. White flames and darkness swirled, each trying to devour the other. Cracks formed, marking the boundaries between the two.

“You have made progress,” Will said as he struck the nearest crack.

Dozens of skills combined into a single strike. Will’s surroundings shattered, revealing an endlessness of mirrors. This time, Will didn’t stop. Flicking his lighter again, he repeated the process.

 

UNEXCEPTED OCCURRENCE

 

Red messages covered the mirrors.

Reach! Will performed a single strike.

In a single second, infinite mirrors shattered. Yet that was not all. While the hand of reach had let him destroy them, the fist of concealment had simultaneously made him invisible. Eternity could no longer just spit him out, for based on its own rules it could not see where he was.

New mirrors emerged, only to shatter on their own. A cycle of destruction and creation continued, constantly faster and faster, until in the end one single string of letters appeared in the empty space between them.

 

YOU HAVE BROKEN ETERNITY

 

In the blink of an eye, everything vanished. Next thing Will knew, he was standing on top of a hill in a calm, picturesque countryside. A massive throne rose up in front of him, and this time the occupant sitting on it didn’t appear sleeping.

YOU HAVE IMPRESSED ME.

A single message appeared on the glass skin of the entity.

“You?” Will didn’t know what to think.

There could be no doubt. Somehow, he was back in the merchant’s realm.

“You’re the ruler of eternity?” Will asked.

I AM ETERNITY.

Never before had Will imagined that written text could sound so loud.

“All the merchants are eternity?”

Come to think of it, they broke the rules more than anyone else, including Will himself. Out of all beings, only they could grant skills, skill boosts, not to mention items with special qualities.

JUST ME. I AM THE ONE WHO CREATES THE RULES AND OFFERS EXCEPTIONS TO BREAK THEM. THE OTHERS ARE JUST THOSE THAT MANAGED TO IMPRESS ME.

The merchant stood up.

YOU ARE THE SECOND PERSON TO HAVE REACHED ME.

Will nodded. “The mentalist was before me,” he admitted. “I didn’t know he could break the rules.”

HE DIDN’T. HE CLIMBED UP THE STEPS TO REACH ME. I WAS AFRAID THAT YOU MIGHT, TOO. THAT’S WHY I DISCOURAGED IT.

“Discouraged it?” Will thought back. “I don’t remember—” he abruptly stopped. “The guide. You’re the guide.”

[Does that surprise you?]

That’s why the guide knew so much. Up to now, Will thought that the guide was a type of familiar, similar to Light and Shadow, only without a physical presence. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Why?”

[Because you impressed me enough to earn it.]

“Why did you start all this? What was the point?”

[You were.]

Will took a step back.

[Twenty-four participants, each with their own path, nature, and desires. What would they do when they’re offered everything? Why? How? I found all of this amusing.]

Amusing? Will felt sick.

There was nothing amusing in watching people become twisted beyond recognition. If he had remained in eternity a few more thousand loops, there was a good chance that he might not be able to resist either. Even now, he saw nothing wrong in killing temps if it meant he’d stop something worse from occurring. Yet, temps weren’t temps. The loop they were part of continued on, keeping the scars of eternity. Maybe in a distant future they’d be forgotten, yet more likely they would linger on.

[No matter how much I explain it, you won’t understand. The difference between you and me is like an ordinary person and a participant.]

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

[I always have.] The massive merchant bent down, until his face was less than a foot away from Will’s. [That is why I’ll give you a choice. You can end this cycle of eternity, or you can join my domain and become part of it.]

“You’ll let me kill you?” Will tensed up. Such a fight was going to be ten times more difficult than anything he’d seen so far. That was, provided he still got to use the skills he had acquired.]

[Ending a cycle isn’t killing me. The start and the end will merge, ignoring anything you choose in-betweens.]

“Anything?”

[Your other choice is to become a merchant and see the events of eternity as I have.]

Chills ran down Will’s spine. He looked at the merchants on the lower levels behind him. Although humanoid, there was nothing human left about them. Both physically and mentally, they had become different beings, more alien that even a participant with all the skills could imagine.

[The mentalist made that choice.]

“I don’t believe you.” Will hissed. “He was broken up into powers. I know, I’ve gathered them.”

[As a price for his choice, he let go of all essence gained while he was a participant.] The giant merchant tilted his head to the side. [That’s what happens to all that choose. It is the cost of admission—a new set of unique skills that future participants get to use.]

Will remained silent.

[You don’t have to take my word for it. You’ve actually met him.]

Even before the next sentence had appeared, Will knew how it would continue. Unable to stop himself, he instinctively glanced at his mirror fragment. Of course it would be him—the first contest merchant that interacted with him. At the time, it had seemed like an incredible bout of luck. No doubt it was, though not in the way Will thought. His behavior had attracted the interest of the mentalist, and he had reached out through a challenge. Maybe it was because the entity still remembered part of its human existence, or maybe he just wanted someone to take him up the steps of the merchant realm. At this point, the truth remained irrelevant.

“You’re offering that I turn into him?”

[You’ve impressed me more, so you’ll be placed on a higher level. The knight suits you. If you choose, you can turn into a rogue knight merchant. You’ll be allowed to interact with any participant you wish. I’ll even let you keep the reality fragment you’ve won. Of course, it has to be your decision.]

Will’s decision… Things seemed a lot simpler while he was struggling to reach this point. If Will were given the option, he’d rather go through all that again than give the merchant an answer. Yet, a choice had to be made, and for better or worse, he had made it.

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >

All the skeletons froze. Having no will or intelligence whatsoever, they could only follow the commands issued to them, and right now they had two masters. For several seconds, the internal conflict prevented them from doing anything whatsoever. Then, suddenly, they snapped, turning on each other.

Bones shattered bones only to quickly reconstruct and start the process all over again. Drawing a tower shield, Will dashed in the direction of the nearest subway station, smashing enemies along the way.  

The necromancer didn’t take that lying down. Realizing that not only his victory, but his very existence was at stake. Bones emerged from his arm, quickly transforming into a bow.

 

PIERCING RAIN

 

Arrows rained down on Will.

Shattering dozens of skeletons in the vicinity, they went through the rogue’s sacred shield, further piercing through his shield and body.

 

CURSED, PARALYZED, POISONED

 

Will didn’t stop. A moment was enough for him to remove most of the inflicted statuses. The curse remained, but just as before, that wasn’t a concern.

“Light,” he ordered.

The flame vixen emerged high in the sky. Spinning her tails, she flew down.

Sensing her presence, the necromancer aimed straight up. Before he could release a single arrow, the vixen transformed into a ball of flame.

Will felt the wave blast through him, burning clothes and flesh. His regeneration had already kicked in, keeping him from getting vaporized like the surrounding skeletons. Even so, the pain was intense, almost bringing him down to the ground.

 

WOUND

Time till effect: 4:59

 

The paladin’s skill kicked in, soaking up what the regeneration couldn’t.

Will’s sight and sense of hearing were completely gone. The only thing he could smell and taste was burned flesh, but he kept on going. Despite all the limitations, the storyteller skill was active, appearing like a path in the darkness.

No more loops! Will pushed on.

With no one there to stop him, he continued forward for close to half a minute before his vision started to restore. Each step was more confident and larger than the last. His muscles were slowly reconstructed, letting him move with greater ease. Walking turned into running then sprinting.

By the time he had reached the subway entrance, the boy was back to his usual self. A dragon armor appeared, covering his naked body.

Performing a quick self-heal, Will went onto the tracks and into the subway tunnel. At his current speed, even if there were any trains working, they’d be hard-pressed to catch up.

There was still no sign of skeletons. The necromancer was likely still reconstructing.

“Still with me, buddy?” Will asked as he kept on running through the darkness.

You know it, a voice replied from the shadows.

“Keep an eye out.”

As he ran, Will remembered the time when they had been performing merchant quests. Back then, their greatest fear had been wolves or some other insignificant creatures. All those concerns seemed laughable now.

Flashbacks emerged, reminding Will of how it all had started: tapping the mirror in the bathroom, figuring out the loops, learning about Helen, Alex, Jace… He had gone through hundreds of events and dozens of people, failed more times than he had succeeded, never giving up, and all that had brought him here. There was only one question now, the only question that mattered: what would happen next?

The lights of a train appeared in the distance. They were on the other track, so no danger to Will. Even so, he used his hide and conceal skills.

Suddenly, a cluster of skeletons became visible up ahead. The necromancer had probably reconstructed and sent out minions to key spots in the city. It stood to logic that the subway station was part of them.

“Move aside!” Will ordered, using his necromancer skills.

The skeletons obeyed without attacking.

One more tunnel, the boy thought.

After that, he’d be at the subway station where the final mirror was. Rather curious that it was also the place where Danny had been ejected from eternity for the first time, killed by wolves. Up to now, Will hadn’t given the matter any thought, yet now that he did, he could see the issue. There weren’t supposed to be wolves during the reward phase, at least not mirror wolves. Someone else had sent the creatures, possibly the tamer? He and Lucia had formed an alliance during his fight with the necromancer. It was quite possible that they had also done so in the past.  

“Do you sense any wolves?” he asked.

Yes, Shadow replied. On my end.

“If they start coming through, let me know.”

A spot of light emerged at the end of the tunnel—the station was near.

Will felt his pulse double. Moments separated him from eternity’s end… or his own. Theoretically, he had the future echoes to protect him, yet eternity could easily eject him despite them.

“Nice try!” the necromancer appeared, instantly attacking with his permakill sword.

In Will’s mind, time froze. He could see the desperation in the other’s eyes. This was no longer a dreaded all-powerful enemy he was facing, but a fear-stricken excuse of a human that had spent the vast majority of his existence hidden. Too afraid to fight his own battles, yet too paranoid to let his allies and reflections fight the final one for him, he had resorted to the gamble. Will could see the story path branch into three.

Killing the necromancer would be easy. Deprived of his skeletal armies, he only had his unique weapon and a number of class skills at his disposal. The goth was so inexperienced that he couldn’t even properly combine the skills he had, merely switching between those he considered strong. However, if Will were to do that, the reward phase would end.

Ignoring the threat also wasn’t a desirable option. If Will were to evade the strike, he’d be able to reach the platform, yet in a bout of spite the necromancer was going to kill himself. The act would have ejected him from eternity, putting the whole thing on hold until such a time that another participant took his place. Realistically, such a series of events would bring victory to Will, eventually. Maybe it would take a few thousand loops, but in the end, there would come a moment when he’d have a go again.

 

MOMENT IN TIME

 

Will chose the third path. Both he and the necromancer were frozen still as time wound down to a hundredth of its standard speed.  

That won’t help you, Will almost heard the necromancer scream in his mind. If you teleport, it’s over.

A smile emerged on the boy’s face. If he teleported, that would be a problem indeed, but thankfully, he didn’t have to.

Massive jaws emerged from the shadow beneath him, closing in on both his legs. A moment later, he was pulled in. A new darkness surrounded him, full of claws and teeth. Without mercy, they descended on flesh and dragon armor, eager to devour everything they could. Then, the darkness dispersed, spitting Will out onto the tunnel floor.

Twenty feet behind him, the necromancer remained stuck in the air.

“Thanks, buddy.” Will stood up. Now, there was one thing left to do.

Calmly, the boy made his way onto the platform. All people had long fled, leaving the place completely deserted. Dozens of mirror columns could be seen, though no wolves. Keeping his guard up, Will walked up to the final reflective surface and tapped it.

 

Congratulations, ROGUE!

You have completed the REWARD PHASE!

Reward: FRAGMENT OF REALITY (unique single-use permanent) – allows you to create a reality of your own that you can freely shape and modify.

 

Will looked at the message. That had to be the prize—the reward that every participant yearned for. He could see exactly why: having a reality of one’s own was the same as being a living deity. With such an ability, he could create whatever he wanted: a place without eternity, where he could lead a normal life. Alex and the clairvoyant could marry, the vice-principal could regain her son, June and the necromancer could lose their powers… everything Will could imagine would instantly materialize for all eternity. There was no path beyond that, not one the storyteller skill would let him see.

“No thanks.” Will reached into his pocket and took out a lighter. “It’s not enough.”

The boy flicked the lighter, then teleported into the realm of light and fire. Once there, he immediately teleported out.

 

UNEXCEPTED OCCURRENCE

 

Red letters appeared. White flames and darkness swirled, each trying to devour the other. Cracks formed, marking the boundaries between the two.

“You have made progress,” Will said as he struck the nearest crack.

Dozens of skills combined into a single strike. Will’s surroundings shattered, revealing an endlessness of mirrors. This time, Will didn’t stop. Flicking his lighter again, he repeated the process.

 

UNEXCEPTED OCCURRENCE

 

Red messages covered the mirrors.

Reach! Will performed a single strike.

In a single second, infinite mirrors shattered. Yet that was not all. While the hand of reach had let him destroy them, the fist of concealment had simultaneously made him invisible. Eternity could no longer just spit him out, for based on its own rules it could not see where he was.

New mirrors emerged, only to shatter on their own. A cycle of destruction and creation continued, constantly faster and faster, until in the end one single string of letters appeared in the empty space between them.

 

YOU HAVE BROKEN ETERNITY

 

In the blink of an eye, everything vanished. Next thing Will knew, he was standing on top of a hill in a calm, picturesque countryside. A massive throne rose up in front of him, and this time the occupant sitting on it didn’t appear sleeping.

YOU HAVE IMPRESSED ME.

A single message appeared on the glass skin of the entity.

“You?” Will didn’t know what to think.

There could be no doubt. Somehow, he was back in the merchant’s realm.

“You’re the ruler of eternity?” Will asked.

I AM ETERNITY.

Never before had Will imagined that written text could sound so loud.

“All the merchants are eternity?”

Come to think of it, they broke the rules more than anyone else, including Will himself. Out of all beings, only they could grant skills, skill boosts, not to mention items with special qualities.

JUST ME. I AM THE ONE WHO CREATES THE RULES AND OFFERS EXCEPTIONS TO BREAK THEM. THE OTHERS ARE JUST THOSE THAT MANAGED TO IMPRESS ME.

The merchant stood up.

YOU ARE THE SECOND PERSON TO HAVE REACHED ME.

Will nodded. “The mentalist was before me,” he admitted. “I didn’t know he could break the rules.”

HE DIDN’T. HE CLIMBED UP THE STEPS TO REACH ME. I WAS AFRAID THAT YOU MIGHT, TOO. THAT’S WHY I DISCOURAGED IT.

“Discouraged it?” Will thought back. “I don’t remember—” he abruptly stopped. “The guide. You’re the guide.”

[Does that surprise you?]

That’s why the guide knew so much. Up to now, Will thought that the guide was a type of familiar, similar to Light and Shadow, only without a physical presence. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Why?”

[Because you impressed me enough to earn it.]

“Why did you start all this? What was the point?”

[You were.]

Will took a step back.

[Twenty-four participants, each with their own path, nature, and desires. What would they do when they’re offered everything? Why? How? I found all of this amusing.]

Amusing? Will felt sick.

There was nothing amusing in watching people become twisted beyond recognition. If he had remained in eternity a few more thousand loops, there was a good chance that he might not be able to resist either. Even now, he saw nothing wrong in killing temps if it meant he’d stop something worse from occurring. Yet, temps weren’t temps. The loop they were part of continued on, keeping the scars of eternity. Maybe in a distant future they’d be forgotten, yet more likely they would linger on.

[No matter how much I explain it, you won’t understand. The difference between you and me is like an ordinary person and a participant.]

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

[I always have.] The massive merchant bent down, until his face was less than a foot away from Will’s. [That is why I’ll give you a choice. You can end this cycle of eternity, or you can join my domain and become part of it.]

“You’ll let me kill you?” Will tensed up. Such a fight was going to be ten times more difficult than anything he’d seen so far. That was, provided he still got to use the skills he had acquired.]

[Ending a cycle isn’t killing me. The start and the end will merge, ignoring anything you choose in-betweens.]

“Anything?”

[Your other choice is to become a merchant and see the events of eternity as I have.]

Chills ran down Will’s spine. He looked at the merchants on the lower levels behind him. Although humanoid, there was nothing human left about them. Both physically and mentally, they had become different beings, more alien that even a participant with all the skills could imagine.

[The mentalist made that choice.]

“I don’t believe you.” Will hissed. “He was broken up into powers. I know, I’ve gathered them.”

[As a price for his choice, he let go of all essence gained while he was a participant.] The giant merchant tilted his head to the side. [That’s what happens to all that choose. It is the cost of admission—a new set of unique skills that future participants get to use.]

Will remained silent.

[You don’t have to take my word for it. You’ve actually met him.]

Even before the next sentence had appeared, Will knew how it would continue. Unable to stop himself, he instinctively glanced at his mirror fragment. Of course it would be him—the first contest merchant that interacted with him. At the time, it had seemed like an incredible bout of luck. No doubt it was, though not in the way Will thought. His behavior had attracted the interest of the mentalist, and he had reached out through a challenge. Maybe it was because the entity still remembered part of its human existence, or maybe he just wanted someone to take him up the steps of the merchant realm. At this point, the truth remained irrelevant.

“You’re offering that I turn into him?”

[You’ve impressed me more, so you’ll be placed on a higher level. The knight suits you. If you choose, you can turn into a rogue knight merchant. You’ll be allowed to interact with any participant you wish. I’ll even let you keep the reality fragment you’ve won. Of course, it has to be your decision.]

Will’s decision… Things seemed a lot simpler while he was struggling to reach this point. If Will were given the option, he’d rather go through all that again than give the merchant an answer. Yet, a choice had to be made, and for better or worse, he had made it.

< Beginning | | Previously |

 

NECROMANCER has left REWARD phase

ROGUE has completed his daily challenge

ROGUE has obtained MAP FRAGMENT

 

Will held his breath.

 

FUTURE ECHOES ended due to end of REWARD PHASE

All your puzzle patterns have been memorized

 

“Fuck!” Will shouted.

This was the nineteenth time he had redone the reward phase, and yet the result always remained the same. He had tried completing more challenges than the necromancer, he had even managed to successfully trap him in a moment of time area, slowing him down until he completed his challenge. The result had always been the same. The necromancer would wait him out, then continue his own loop and snatch one of the reward challenges, ruining the entire plan. Now, it turned out that even killing him wasn’t a solution.

Out of all the skills, Will would never have thought that the stupid tag-along could be so devastating.

The boy resisted the urge to hit anything in the vicinity. Thanks to the skills he had accumulated, even a moderate punch would crack asphalt, break walls, and possibly do worse.

 

FUTURE ECHOES

 

Will restarted the skill out of habit. A moment later, the loop came to an end.

Once again, the contest phase started.

“Just go,” he muttered as he reached to block all class mirrors as before.

Both of his familiars set out to start the elimination process, while Will teleported onto the school roof. He had no desire to speak with anyone, least of all the bard. Going there would start another long conversation about the Storyteller skill, and the truth was that despite all his attempts, Will had yet to master it.

The boy looked at his mirror fragment, hoping he’d get some guidance or instructions. Unfortunately, there were no messages whatsoever.

Figures. The boy sighed.

Technically, the bard was correct that the storyteller skill could be more powerful than all the rest put together. However, in order to adequately use it, one needed near full mastery of the remaining classes plus a bit more. Activating it was like looking through a million strands of  spaghetti at the same time. Thanks to his boosted memory and observation skills, Will could spot the subtle differences and was also aware of the impact they would have, but the most he could change was ten or fifteen minutes ahead. Even the rogue’s path split into more options than he had suspected.

“You don’t make this easy, do you?” Will looked up at the sky.

If he had started with the storytelling skill, he would have been able to see precisely what actions increased the length of his time loop and stretched it out to the point that one could argue he wasn’t part of eternity anymore. Unfortunately, time was the only thing he didn’t need right now.

 

[ACROBAT has left CONTEST PHASE]

[DRUID has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CLERIC has left CONTEST PHASE]

[MARTIAL ARTIST has left CONTEST PHASE]

[SUMMONER has left CONTEST PHASE]

[LANCER has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CRAFTER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

Names emerged on the surface of his mirror fragment as the number of active participants decreased.

With nothing to do until the satellites showed up in the sky, Will decided to go through his inventory. It had increased quite a lot since the time he had started. Currently, he held over three hundred items, a tenth of which he used on a regular basis. Half were only there because he was too stingy to get rid of: weapons and gear with impressive capabilities that had been rendered obsolete due to his current skills. And then, there were those that he kept for sentimental reasons.

“Chain of binding,” Will chuckled. There was a time when that was the most overpowered item in his inventory. Of course, back then defeating an elite was cause for celebration.

The venom dagger was there, the ring blade, Will’s first set of goblin goggles… and a partial map fragment. The last caught his attention, given that killing off the necromancer had also earned him a similar reward.

At first, activating the item revealed nothing much, just an incomplete map of Will’s school. A line went from the front of the school to the gym, then to the fourth floor of the building, finally ending on the roof. Strange that Will didn’t remember seeing that before. Not that he found it any more useful. He was just about to move to another item when it suddenly hit him. The locations weren’t random. They were the steps to the nearest reward challenge from his loop starting point.

“Partial map fragment,” Will said aloud. Now he was angry at himself for not checking out the reward he had gotten from his last fight. In his defense, it wasn’t like he had any time to do so.

A new flicker of hope sparked within the boy, filling him with enthusiasm and determination. He was cautious not to get too excited; he had been down this road before several times, and back then he had been as certain that he was right as he was now.

“Merchant,” he said. “Can I upgrade my re-challenge skill?”

Will’s inventory disappeared, replaced by the familiar figure in colorful clothes. The extended its left hand, revealing a single orange cube of light.

 

RE-CHALLENGE BOOST (single-use permanent): transform the RE-CHALLENGE to RE-TRIGGER (trigger an already completed challenge)

Price: 1 MERCHANT TOKEN

 

There was hardly anything that could bring a wider grin to Will’s face than what he had read just now. Not only was it possible, but he had the means to do it. Who would have thought that his first permanent skill, along with the reward from the hidden pain challenge, would prove to be the key to everything?

“I’ll take it,” Will said, then activated the boost. Now, he just had to go through the motions.

The end of the contest phase couldn’t come fast enough. On average, it took seven minutes for all other participants to be killed; less now that he was familiar with the necromancer’s endgame.

Destruction came and went; the city got leveled by satellites, then by Light’s supernova. Will went to the reality of decay and defeated the necromancer. Then, the actual contest began.

Wasting no time, triggered all the class mirrors he could, then he activated his storyteller skill. Once again thousands of paths emerged, yet once Will focused on the task at hand, there was just one.

Bone spikes shot up from the ground, set on skewering Will on the spot. Having gone through this multiple times, Will ignored them without even thinking. It was nice to know that the necromancer hadn’t learned any new tricks.

“Surprised?” the goth appeared a few steps away, performing a vertical slice with his permakill sword.

Hardly. Will countered, then summoned a dagger and thrust it into the necromancer’s stomach. He knew from experience that the attack wasn’t nearly enough to kill the man, but thanks to the sacred strike, it probably hurt like hell.

Sprinting on, the rogue followed the mental series of events that had taken him to the gym. Every step along the path had meaning, causing it to grow further.

 

SCHOOL TRACK CHALLENGE

Tap one mirror in the gym, one mirror on the fourth floor, then go to the school roof within sixty seconds.

Reward: HEALTH EARRING (permanent) – can withstand one wound of any type per loop.

 

Choosing not to teleport, Will turned around and rushed to the next waypoint. There was no sign of the necromancer. More than likely, he had decided to complete a challenge instead of facing Will again. That was good—it gave Will the opportunity to complete the challenge, then fly along the story “path” to where the wild bus was. Unexpectedly, all the people in a one-mile radius dropped dead.

“So, that’s how it is,” a voice said as bony hands ripped through the roof of the bus.

 

HEART STRIKE

 

Will summoned a sword and pierced the bus, aiming for the source of the voice. Skeletons, some still with flesh on them, shattered to bits, yet the necromancer managed to evade.

“You got the bard’s sill,” the goth said, propelling a torrent of bone fragments at Will.

All the projectiles bounced off Will’s sacred shield, flying elsewhere in the area. From this perspective, it would have been easy for him to strike back, but that would be a mistake. The goal wasn’t the necromancer, even if the tag-along skill made it incredibly annoying. From what it seemed, each time Will completed a challenge—even if the loop wasn’t restarted—the necromancer would re-emerge.

Casting a fireball of green flame, Will destroyed the center of the bus, ending the challenge. From there he dashed on to the next.

Time after time the story path extended on, leading to another challenge in a sequence. And each time Will completed one, the loop didn’t end. If Will had to figure this out on his own, there was a good chance he would; after all, he had already noticed that the same challenge would end the loop or not based on the sequence of completion. The one true path had to be the one in which no restarts took place—one full run from start to end.

Temps got constantly in the way, constantly increasing the chaos in the city. Unlike normal loops, they were now in a position to keep track of what he had done, which included a lot of destruction, mostly thanks to the necromancer.

That was the other strange part. For whatever reason, the necromancer was determined to kill him, despite the tag-along skill. More times than not Will would inflict some serious damage, but that only seemed to make the goth more determined. The number of dead and skeletons consistently increased. Every fight added between dozens and hundreds to the already existing mass.

 

[You can’t keep this up forever]

 

A message appeared on the windows of a massive building. Internally, Will smiled. According to the map on his mirror fragment, thirteen challenges remained. Already he had crisscrossed the city several times. Now that he could see it, the pattern seemed almost beautiful: a single series of events that followed the journey of a participant. It was like living through a movie. That was only the surface.

Beneath the layer of flash and glitter lay an eternity of death, pain, and betrayal. Like an anglerfish, it lured in participants with the reward of skills and items, while slowly devouring them until they were digested into itself.

All the participants who had remained for too long—with one exception—had been twisted in some fashion. The necromancer, and even June, were clear examples. And the longer Will remained, the more he ran the risk of ending up the same way.

This ends this loop! He thought.

 

SPOTTER CHALLENGE

Tap the correct mirror within 1 hour

REWARD: unknown

 

There was a certain sense of irony that the challenge which had led Will to learn the true way to complete eternity could potentially end up being the last one.

“Go ahead.” The necromancer emerged, hovering in the air a hundred feet away.

Thousands of skeletal hordes had gathered beneath—the tip of an army.

“No reflections?” Will asked.

“Not for this.” Clearly, the necromancer’s paranoia had reached absurd levels. Then again, given how much each of the reflections despised him, it was no wonder. “I have their skills. That’s what counts.”

“You know I can just teleport and end it, right?”

“No, you can’t.” A wicked smirk formed on the goth’s face. “That isn’t a natural skill. To make it, you’ll have to get there on your own.”

Several rows of skeletons advanced towards Will. Bone armor formed over them, providing several additional layers of protection. None of them would be able to withstand green flames or sacred strikes, although they seemed thick enough to stop a few common attacks.

“Good try, kid. You got further than anyone else, but you just didn’t have it to make it all the way.”

Will straightened up. Ever since he had seen the clash between the tamer and the necromancer, he had pictured this scene in his mind. In his mind, the reflections were also present, but the necromancer seemed to think he was enough to win on his own. Given that he hadn’t lost for thousands of loops, it was logical to reach such a conclusion.

“You’ve already lost,” Will said calmly.

“Why?” the necromancer laughed, pointing his bone cane at him. “Because you’re using future echoes? No matter how many times you repeat this fight, I’ll always be here, one step ahead.”

“No, that’s not the reason.”

 

UNDEAD DOMINION

 

Will used one of his necromancer skills.

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >

 

NECROMANCER has left REWARD phase

ROGUE has completed his daily challenge

ROGUE has obtained MAP FRAGMENT

 

Will held his breath.

 

FUTURE ECHOES ended due to end of REWARD PHASE

All your puzzle patterns have been memorized

 

“Fuck!” Will shouted.

This was the nineteenth time he had redone the reward phase, and yet the result always remained the same. He had tried completing more challenges than the necromancer, he had even managed to successfully trap him in a moment of time area, slowing him down until he completed his challenge. The result had always been the same. The necromancer would wait him out, then continue his own loop and snatch one of the reward challenges, ruining the entire plan. Now, it turned out that even killing him wasn’t a solution.

Out of all the skills, Will would never have thought that the stupid tag-along could be so devastating.

The boy resisted the urge to hit anything in the vicinity. Thanks to the skills he had accumulated, even a moderate punch would crack asphalt, break walls, and possibly do worse.

 

FUTURE ECHOES

 

Will restarted the skill out of habit. A moment later, the loop came to an end.

Once again, the contest phase started.

“Just go,” he muttered as he reached to block all class mirrors as before.

Both of his familiars set out to start the elimination process, while Will teleported onto the school roof. He had no desire to speak with anyone, least of all the bard. Going there would start another long conversation about the Storyteller skill, and the truth was that despite all his attempts, Will had yet to master it.

The boy looked at his mirror fragment, hoping he’d get some guidance or instructions. Unfortunately, there were no messages whatsoever.

Figures. The boy sighed.

Technically, the bard was correct that the storyteller skill could be more powerful than all the rest put together. However, in order to adequately use it, one needed near full mastery of the remaining classes plus a bit more. Activating it was like looking through a million strands of  spaghetti at the same time. Thanks to his boosted memory and observation skills, Will could spot the subtle differences and was also aware of the impact they would have, but the most he could change was ten or fifteen minutes ahead. Even the rogue’s path split into more options than he had suspected.

“You don’t make this easy, do you?” Will looked up at the sky.

If he had started with the storytelling skill, he would have been able to see precisely what actions increased the length of his time loop and stretched it out to the point that one could argue he wasn’t part of eternity anymore. Unfortunately, time was the only thing he didn’t need right now.

 

[ACROBAT has left CONTEST PHASE]

[DRUID has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CLERIC has left CONTEST PHASE]

[MARTIAL ARTIST has left CONTEST PHASE]

[SUMMONER has left CONTEST PHASE]

[LANCER has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CRAFTER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

Names emerged on the surface of his mirror fragment as the number of active participants decreased.

With nothing to do until the satellites showed up in the sky, Will decided to go through his inventory. It had increased quite a lot since the time he had started. Currently, he held over three hundred items, a tenth of which he used on a regular basis. Half were only there because he was too stingy to get rid of: weapons and gear with impressive capabilities that had been rendered obsolete due to his current skills. And then, there were those that he kept for sentimental reasons.

“Chain of binding,” Will chuckled. There was a time when that was the most overpowered item in his inventory. Of course, back then defeating an elite was cause for celebration.

The venom dagger was there, the ring blade, Will’s first set of goblin goggles… and a partial map fragment. The last caught his attention, given that killing off the necromancer had also earned him a similar reward.

At first, activating the item revealed nothing much, just an incomplete map of Will’s school. A line went from the front of the school to the gym, then to the fourth floor of the building, finally ending on the roof. Strange that Will didn’t remember seeing that before. Not that he found it any more useful. He was just about to move to another item when it suddenly hit him. The locations weren’t random. They were the steps to the nearest reward challenge from his loop starting point.

“Partial map fragment,” Will said aloud. Now he was angry at himself for not checking out the reward he had gotten from his last fight. In his defense, it wasn’t like he had any time to do so.

A new flicker of hope sparked within the boy, filling him with enthusiasm and determination. He was cautious not to get too excited; he had been down this road before several times, and back then he had been as certain that he was right as he was now.

“Merchant,” he said. “Can I upgrade my re-challenge skill?”

Will’s inventory disappeared, replaced by the familiar figure in colorful clothes. The extended its left hand, revealing a single orange cube of light.

 

RE-CHALLENGE BOOST (single-use permanent): transform the RE-CHALLENGE to RE-TRIGGER (trigger an already completed challenge)

Price: 1 MERCHANT TOKEN

 

There was hardly anything that could bring a wider grin to Will’s face than what he had read just now. Not only was it possible, but he had the means to do it. Who would have thought that his first permanent skill, along with the reward from the hidden pain challenge, would prove to be the key to everything?

“I’ll take it,” Will said, then activated the boost. Now, he just had to go through the motions.

The end of the contest phase couldn’t come fast enough. On average, it took seven minutes for all other participants to be killed; less now that he was familiar with the necromancer’s endgame.

Destruction came and went; the city got leveled by satellites, then by Light’s supernova. Will went to the reality of decay and defeated the necromancer. Then, the actual contest began.

Wasting no time, triggered all the class mirrors he could, then he activated his storyteller skill. Once again thousands of paths emerged, yet once Will focused on the task at hand, there was just one.

Bone spikes shot up from the ground, set on skewering Will on the spot. Having gone through this multiple times, Will ignored them without even thinking. It was nice to know that the necromancer hadn’t learned any new tricks.

“Surprised?” the goth appeared a few steps away, performing a vertical slice with his permakill sword.

Hardly. Will countered, then summoned a dagger and thrust it into the necromancer’s stomach. He knew from experience that the attack wasn’t nearly enough to kill the man, but thanks to the sacred strike, it probably hurt like hell.

Sprinting on, the rogue followed the mental series of events that had taken him to the gym. Every step along the path had meaning, causing it to grow further.

 

SCHOOL TRACK CHALLENGE

Tap one mirror in the gym, one mirror on the fourth floor, then go to the school roof within sixty seconds.

Reward: HEALTH EARRING (permanent) – can withstand one wound of any type per loop.

 

Choosing not to teleport, Will turned around and rushed to the next waypoint. There was no sign of the necromancer. More than likely, he had decided to complete a challenge instead of facing Will again. That was good—it gave Will the opportunity to complete the challenge, then fly along the story “path” to where the wild bus was. Unexpectedly, all the people in a one-mile radius dropped dead.

“So, that’s how it is,” a voice said as bony hands ripped through the roof of the bus.

 

HEART STRIKE

 

Will summoned a sword and pierced the bus, aiming for the source of the voice. Skeletons, some still with flesh on them, shattered to bits, yet the necromancer managed to evade.

“You got the bard’s sill,” the goth said, propelling a torrent of bone fragments at Will.

All the projectiles bounced off Will’s sacred shield, flying elsewhere in the area. From this perspective, it would have been easy for him to strike back, but that would be a mistake. The goal wasn’t the necromancer, even if the tag-along skill made it incredibly annoying. From what it seemed, each time Will completed a challenge—even if the loop wasn’t restarted—the necromancer would re-emerge.

Casting a fireball of green flame, Will destroyed the center of the bus, ending the challenge. From there he dashed on to the next.

Time after time the story path extended on, leading to another challenge in a sequence. And each time Will completed one, the loop didn’t end. If Will had to figure this out on his own, there was a good chance he would; after all, he had already noticed that the same challenge would end the loop or not based on the sequence of completion. The one true path had to be the one in which no restarts took place—one full run from start to end.

Temps got constantly in the way, constantly increasing the chaos in the city. Unlike normal loops, they were now in a position to keep track of what he had done, which included a lot of destruction, mostly thanks to the necromancer.

That was the other strange part. For whatever reason, the necromancer was determined to kill him, despite the tag-along skill. More times than not Will would inflict some serious damage, but that only seemed to make the goth more determined. The number of dead and skeletons consistently increased. Every fight added between dozens and hundreds to the already existing mass.

 

[You can’t keep this up forever]

 

A message appeared on the windows of a massive building. Internally, Will smiled. According to the map on his mirror fragment, thirteen challenges remained. Already he had crisscrossed the city several times. Now that he could see it, the pattern seemed almost beautiful: a single series of events that followed the journey of a participant. It was like living through a movie. That was only the surface.

Beneath the layer of flash and glitter lay an eternity of death, pain, and betrayal. Like an anglerfish, it lured in participants with the reward of skills and items, while slowly devouring them until they were digested into itself.

All the participants who had remained for too long—with one exception—had been twisted in some fashion. The necromancer, and even June, were clear examples. And the longer Will remained, the more he ran the risk of ending up the same way.

This ends this loop! He thought.

 

SPOTTER CHALLENGE

Tap the correct mirror within 1 hour

REWARD: unknown

 

There was a certain sense of irony that the challenge which had led Will to learn the true way to complete eternity could potentially end up being the last one.

“Go ahead.” The necromancer emerged, hovering in the air a hundred feet away.

Thousands of skeletal hordes had gathered beneath—the tip of an army.

“No reflections?” Will asked.

“Not for this.” Clearly, the necromancer’s paranoia had reached absurd levels. Then again, given how much each of the reflections despised him, it was no wonder. “I have their skills. That’s what counts.”

“You know I can just teleport and end it, right?”

“No, you can’t.” A wicked smirk formed on the goth’s face. “That isn’t a natural skill. To make it, you’ll have to get there on your own.”

Several rows of skeletons advanced towards Will. Bone armor formed over them, providing several additional layers of protection. None of them would be able to withstand green flames or sacred strikes, although they seemed thick enough to stop a few common attacks.

“Good try, kid. You got further than anyone else, but you just didn’t have it to make it all the way.”

Will straightened up. Ever since he had seen the clash between the tamer and the necromancer, he had pictured this scene in his mind. In his mind, the reflections were also present, but the necromancer seemed to think he was enough to win on his own. Given that he hadn’t lost for thousands of loops, it was logical to reach such a conclusion.

“You’ve already lost,” Will said calmly.

“Why?” the necromancer laughed, pointing his bone cane at him. “Because you’re using future echoes? No matter how many times you repeat this fight, I’ll always be here, one step ahead.”

“No, that’s not the reason.”

 

UNDEAD DOMINION

 

Will used one of his necromancer skills.

< Beginning | | Previously |

 

SLOW

 

The necromancer used the sage ability, reducing Will’s actual speed to a tenth. Panic struck in. At any other time, this would have been easily avoided by an instant teleportation elsewhere. One didn’t have to be fast to change location. Right now, though, doubt wrecked the boy. After everything he had done, June and the necromancer had still managed to outwit him. There was no point in struggling anymore. He might as well accept his fate.

The permakill weapon flew right at Will’s chest. He noticed it, but didn’t even bother to budge. Suddenly, the wolf emerged from Will’s shadow.

There was a loud yelp. The sword pierced the creature.

“Shadow?” Will blinked, breaking out of his depression.

It’s been fun, the wolf managed to utter before dissolving into a streak of shadows.

The scene was surreal. This wasn’t the first time the shadow wolf had been seriously injured, but the first in which it had sacrificed itself for Will. At some level, it had to suspect that all this was a future echo, though that didn’t make the death any less permanent. This version of the creature had died, and there was nothing anyone could do to bring it back.

Remove status! Will ordered, the realization allowing him to break through the shell of depression.

That was beyond cunning on the necromancer’s part. For some reason the scribe’s words echoed in his mind: “Do you think you’re the only one to have copycat?”. Clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Will teleported out of the necromancer’s sight, returning his speed to normal.

There was no counterattack. Instead, the goth vanished before Will’s very eyes. That proved that he had the ability to teleport as well.

Wasting no time, Will looked at his mirror fragment. There was no trace of the necromancer’s item. One possibility was for him to have moved to another reality. More likely, he had triggered one of the challenges, in effect making it impossible for Will to claim the prize.

You fucker! Will swore.

Now he was forced to end the echo and start over from scratch. Granted, he had learned quite a few things, but a repetition after being on the verge of success was beyond vexing. Still, two could play at that game. Activating his puzzle pattern skill, Will started a challenge of his own. He had specifically chosen something new in order to give him an advantage during the next echo.

A challenge race ensued. The goal shifted from combat to completing as many challenges as possible. As luck would have it, all the challenges Will engaged in restarted the loop. Looking at the general number of map markers, the boy could at least rest assured that his enemy wasn’t too far ahead.

Occasionally, a brief spar could take place. None of the sides went all out. The clashes only lasted until one of the sides triggered the challenge before the other. In most cases Will had the advantage, although a few times the necromancer had ended up ahead.

When it came time for the final challenge, the boy didn’t even participate. Patiently standing in front of his school, he waited for the phase to end.

 

Restarting eternity.

Do you want to accept future echo events as reality?

 

“No.”

The surroundings changed, bringing Will to a different part of the school. Knowing that he’d have to go through the contest phase again made him regret not starting a new echo later. Then again, if that were the case, he’d have to endure the consequences accumulated during those fights.

“You ok, buddy?” he asked.

I’m always alright, the shadow wolf replied, to Will’s relief.

That was one concern off the rogue’s mind.

“Am I cursed?” he asked his mirror fragment.

 

[No]

 

If nothing else, Will now had confirmation that the necromancer’s curse wouldn’t affect him. He still had to be careful about the permakill weapons, but now that he knew what to expect, things were supposed to be easier.

“Let’s try this again.”

 

Restarting eternity.

 

This time, Will didn’t wait for the satellites to fall, teleporting directly into the airport morgue. Naturally, he made sure to activate all class windows before that, making it easier for Light and Shadow to kill off the rest of his competition.

As expected, there was no sign of the mirror mage. At this time, all the reflections were busy engaging the tamer’s group.

“What are you doing—” an unfortunate temp reacted to Will’s appearance.

One quick knock to the back of the head and the temp collapsed to the ground before finishing his sentence. As Will pulled him to the side, someone else entered the room; someone who was just as surprised to see Will as the boy was to see him.

“You!” Will summoned two blight daggers and threw them right at the arrival’s chest.

Both weapons hit their target.

The man, dressed in a torn pair of black jeans and a Metallica t-shirt, looked down at the knives sticking from his chest, then back at Will.

“You’re early,” he said, then pulled them out.

Blight has no effect? Will wondered. It wasn’t unusual, thinking about it. The necromancer was a class of death and decay, so he could easily have passive protection against blight weapons.

With hesitation, Will followed up with a green torrent of flames, but he had already missed his moment. Bones shot out of the necromancer’s arm, forming a shield. It didn’t have the strength to stop the flames outright, but managed to slow them to such an extent that the man only lost a hand.

The bone cane appeared in the necromancer’s left hand, after which he disappeared. This time, Will didn’t need to guess where he was going.

“Take care of things here,” he said as he shifted reality.

Knowing what the necromancer would do, and where he’d be, proved to be a tremendous advantage. Will still had to fight accordingly, but a lot of time was saved. Also, he was on guard against nasty surprises. Interestingly enough, the necromancer didn’t resort to his permakill weapon, nor did he teleport. It was almost as if he was deliberately handicapping himself.

 

PUZZLE PATTERN

 

Will activated the ability, then combined his rain of arrows skill with the paladin’s sacred strike. Arrows descended on the necromancer like a wave. Hundreds of skeletons leaped out of the man’s body, acting as shields. The result was similar to blocking a flamethrower by throwing leaves at it—ultimately ineffective, but provided with enough volume, capable of delaying the inevitable for just a bit longer.

“June will betray you!” Will said as he pressed on with the attack. He wasn’t at all worried about the enemy’s curse, vying to stick the sacred grenade into him as quickly as possible.

“Figured it out just now?” the other laughed. “

A blob of bones rose from the ground like a rising sea. The necromancer had no idea what Will was planning, but was intent on striking first.

Will summoned the largest sword in his inventory, then performed a circular strike. Knowing that would only delay his attackers, he threw a ball of green flames at his feet, then cast a flight spell.

Dozens of bone amalgamations burst from the white mass. Some of them were massive centipedes the size of towers, while others were swarms of winged horrors. All rose up into the sky, chasing after the rogue.

The boy held his breath. Every fiber of his being screamed to counter with even larger spells. The nature of a rogue knight told him it was time to be reckless.

Switching his weapon, Will created a sacred grenade. The mass of bones kept on rising even with all the monsters it gave birth to. The important thing was that the necromancer was still visible.

“Light!” Will shouted.

The bleakness of the current reality didn’t allow the familiar to emerge. There were no open flames or rays of light visible for miles. Despite that, the order made the necromancer look away from Will. It only lasted a second, but that proved enough for the boy to teleport to the immediate vicinity of his enemy.

“Enjoy!” he said, smashing the other’s skull with a single punch, then thrusting the grenade into his rib cage.

Bony arms reached from the ground, but Will had already teleported away. A small explosion followed.

 

[NECROMANCER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

The message appeared on Will’s mirror fragment.

“Will he stay dead?”

 

PUZZLE PATTERN UNABLE TO MEMORIZE EVENTS IN THE CURRENT REALITY

 

That wasn’t the response the rogue was hoping for. For the moment, it was enough that the necromancer wasn’t going to be an issue for the rest of the reward phase. Using his mentalist ability, he left the dead realm, returning to Earth. Half the participants had been killed off, if the guide were to be believed. At present, the reflections were engaging the tamer’s dragon. Apparently, their loyalty didn’t vanish with their boss’ destruction. Will had no doubt what the outcome would be. When the satellites hit… again… all major participants would be gone. A few options remained available: Will could join in the fights to gain a bit of experience, or he could wait out the end of the loop and finish them off the next one before the start of the invasion. As he checked the list of active participants, one more option emerged.

Will teleported to the bard’s café.

“Still not using my skill,” the barista said, leaning against the counter. 

“You said you’d only give it after I got all the classes.”

“Beggers aren’t choosers,” the bard sighed. “Just keep in mind I’m not giving it to you just for show.”

The rogue paused. If he knew where the necromancer’s mirror was he would have grabbed it. For a moment, he entertained the idea that it might be in another reality. It was something that the necromancer would try, though not something that eternity would allow. The class mirror had to be on Earth and potentially somewhere the necromancer could keep an eye on.

“The necromancer came back,” Will said after a while.

“That’s what zombies usually do.”

“He came back during the reward phase.”

The bard remained silent for a while, then shook his head.

“Tag-along,” he said. “Was wondering where that went. Didn’t think June would waste it on anyone else.”

“Tag-along?”

“One of the annoying uniques. As long as you’re tagged, he gets to join you in challenges. For the most part, it’s just annoying. June used it to snatch rewards from people he didn’t like. Didn’t expect it to be used in such a way, though. He must have modified it somehow.”

“How do I get rid of it?”

“How does someone get rid of your copycat skill? Use an item to steal it. Oza might have one, but you know that already.”

In this new version of events, Will hadn’t gone out of his way to re-collect the body-part skills. Initially, he did consider recreating his steps as closely as possible, but after enough failures, he had taken a few shortcuts. Oza’s visit was one of them.

Knowing the woman, she’d ask for an arm and a leg in the best of circumstances. Getting her to agree to any deal during a contest phase was virtually impossible.

“Can I still make it with him around?”

“The short answer is no. Definitely not without his class.”

A wave of dread swept through Will at the realization that he might have made a massive mistake.

“Why not? I can just kill him.”

“Probably, but that might trigger the end of the phase. If you don’t, all he needs is to complete one challenge to ruin things. As they say, you’re in a tough situation, which is why I keep telling you to use my skill.”

Will clenched his fists.

“Or you can try to get him to keep still until you complete all the challenges. Use moment in time,” the bard laughed.

The ground shook, causing all the glasses and bottles in the coffee shop to clink. Soon, the satellites were going to hit.

“Speak with Oza next time.” The bard poured himself a glass of pink lemonade.

Thanks for nothing. Will teleported to the airport.

The wave of destruction swept through the city. As the building shook, a thought crossed through the boy’s mind—a concept so absurd that it was virtually impossible to be true. And yet, trying it out didn’t cost him anything. 

“Light,” he said. “Give me ten seconds and nova the airport.”

Why wait? The flame vixen asked, but Will wasn’t listening anymore. Closing his eyes he concentrated on the airport morgue. He had been there several times before, so his memories of the room were still fresh. Using the clairvoyant’s memory, he could visualize every item, every reflective surface, even the slabs in the drawers. Holding his breath, he reached out and tapped all of them. 

You have discovered THE NECROMANCER (number 24).

Use additional mirrors to find out more. Good luck!

“You fucking bastard,” Will laughed. 

A few moments later a giant ball of incandescent white flames consumed the airport, eliminating the last remaining participant. The next reward phase could finally start. There was every chance that this time things would be different.

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >

 

SLOW

 

The necromancer used the sage ability, reducing Will’s actual speed to a tenth. Panic struck in. At any other time, this would have been easily avoided by an instant teleportation elsewhere. One didn’t have to be fast to change location. Right now, though, doubt wrecked the boy. After everything he had done, June and the necromancer had still managed to outwit him. There was no point in struggling anymore. He might as well accept his fate.

The permakill weapon flew right at Will’s chest. He noticed it, but didn’t even bother to budge. Suddenly, the wolf emerged from Will’s shadow.

There was a loud yelp. The sword pierced the creature.

“Shadow?” Will blinked, breaking out of his depression.

It’s been fun, the wolf managed to utter before dissolving into a streak of shadows.

The scene was surreal. This wasn’t the first time the shadow wolf had been seriously injured, but the first in which it had sacrificed itself for Will. At some level, it had to suspect that all this was a future echo, though that didn’t make the death any less permanent. This version of the creature had died, and there was nothing anyone could do to bring it back.

Remove status! Will ordered, the realization allowing him to break through the shell of depression.

That was beyond cunning on the necromancer’s part. For some reason the scribe’s words echoed in his mind: “Do you think you’re the only one to have copycat?”. Clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Will teleported out of the necromancer’s sight, returning his speed to normal.

There was no counterattack. Instead, the goth vanished before Will’s very eyes. That proved that he had the ability to teleport as well.

Wasting no time, Will looked at his mirror fragment. There was no trace of the necromancer’s item. One possibility was for him to have moved to another reality. More likely, he had triggered one of the challenges, in effect making it impossible for Will to claim the prize.

You fucker! Will swore.

Now he was forced to end the echo and start over from scratch. Granted, he had learned quite a few things, but a repetition after being on the verge of success was beyond vexing. Still, two could play at that game. Activating his puzzle pattern skill, Will started a challenge of his own. He had specifically chosen something new in order to give him an advantage during the next echo.

A challenge race ensued. The goal shifted from combat to completing as many challenges as possible. As luck would have it, all the challenges Will engaged in restarted the loop. Looking at the general number of map markers, the boy could at least rest assured that his enemy wasn’t too far ahead.

Occasionally, a brief spar could take place. None of the sides went all out. The clashes only lasted until one of the sides triggered the challenge before the other. In most cases Will had the advantage, although a few times the necromancer had ended up ahead.

When it came time for the final challenge, the boy didn’t even participate. Patiently standing in front of his school, he waited for the phase to end.

 

Restarting eternity.

Do you want to accept future echo events as reality?

 

“No.”

The surroundings changed, bringing Will to a different part of the school. Knowing that he’d have to go through the contest phase again made him regret not starting a new echo later. Then again, if that were the case, he’d have to endure the consequences accumulated during those fights.

“You ok, buddy?” he asked.

I’m always alright, the shadow wolf replied, to Will’s relief.

That was one concern off the rogue’s mind.

“Am I cursed?” he asked his mirror fragment.

 

[No]

 

If nothing else, Will now had confirmation that the necromancer’s curse wouldn’t affect him. He still had to be careful about the permakill weapons, but now that he knew what to expect, things were supposed to be easier.

“Let’s try this again.”

 

Restarting eternity.

 

This time, Will didn’t wait for the satellites to fall, teleporting directly into the airport morgue. Naturally, he made sure to activate all class windows before that, making it easier for Light and Shadow to kill off the rest of his competition.

As expected, there was no sign of the mirror mage. At this time, all the reflections were busy engaging the tamer’s group.

“What are you doing—” an unfortunate temp reacted to Will’s appearance.

One quick knock to the back of the head and the temp collapsed to the ground before finishing his sentence. As Will pulled him to the side, someone else entered the room; someone who was just as surprised to see Will as the boy was to see him.

“You!” Will summoned two blight daggers and threw them right at the arrival’s chest.

Both weapons hit their target.

The man, dressed in a torn pair of black jeans and a Metallica t-shirt, looked down at the knives sticking from his chest, then back at Will.

“You’re early,” he said, then pulled them out.

Blight has no effect? Will wondered. It wasn’t unusual, thinking about it. The necromancer was a class of death and decay, so he could easily have passive protection against blight weapons.

With hesitation, Will followed up with a green torrent of flames, but he had already missed his moment. Bones shot out of the necromancer’s arm, forming a shield. It didn’t have the strength to stop the flames outright, but managed to slow them to such an extent that the man only lost a hand.

The bone cane appeared in the necromancer’s left hand, after which he disappeared. This time, Will didn’t need to guess where he was going.

“Take care of things here,” he said as he shifted reality.

Knowing what the necromancer would do, and where he’d be, proved to be a tremendous advantage. Will still had to fight accordingly, but a lot of time was saved. Also, he was on guard against nasty surprises. Interestingly enough, the necromancer didn’t resort to his permakill weapon, nor did he teleport. It was almost as if he was deliberately handicapping himself.

 

PUZZLE PATTERN

 

Will activated the ability, then combined his rain of arrows skill with the paladin’s sacred strike. Arrows descended on the necromancer like a wave. Hundreds of skeletons leaped out of the man’s body, acting as shields. The result was similar to blocking a flamethrower by throwing leaves at it—ultimately ineffective, but provided with enough volume, capable of delaying the inevitable for just a bit longer.

“June will betray you!” Will said as he pressed on with the attack. He wasn’t at all worried about the enemy’s curse, vying to stick the sacred grenade into him as quickly as possible.

“Figured it out just now?” the other laughed. “

A blob of bones rose from the ground like a rising sea. The necromancer had no idea what Will was planning, but was intent on striking first.

Will summoned the largest sword in his inventory, then performed a circular strike. Knowing that would only delay his attackers, he threw a ball of green flames at his feet, then cast a flight spell.

Dozens of bone amalgamations burst from the white mass. Some of them were massive centipedes the size of towers, while others were swarms of winged horrors. All rose up into the sky, chasing after the rogue.

The boy held his breath. Every fiber of his being screamed to counter with even larger spells. The nature of a rogue knight told him it was time to be reckless.

Switching his weapon, Will created a sacred grenade. The mass of bones kept on rising even with all the monsters it gave birth to. The important thing was that the necromancer was still visible.

“Light!” Will shouted.

The bleakness of the current reality didn’t allow the familiar to emerge. There were no open flames or rays of light visible for miles. Despite that, the order made the necromancer look away from Will. It only lasted a second, but that proved enough for the boy to teleport to the immediate vicinity of his enemy.

“Enjoy!” he said, smashing the other’s skull with a single punch, then thrusting the grenade into his rib cage.

Bony arms reached from the ground, but Will had already teleported away. A small explosion followed.

 

[NECROMANCER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

The message appeared on Will’s mirror fragment.

“Will he stay dead?”

 

PUZZLE PATTERN UNABLE TO MEMORIZE EVENTS IN THE CURRENT REALITY

 

That wasn’t the response the rogue was hoping for. For the moment, it was enough that the necromancer wasn’t going to be an issue for the rest of the reward phase. Using his mentalist ability, he left the dead realm, returning to Earth. Half the participants had been killed off, if the guide were to be believed. At present, the reflections were engaging the tamer’s dragon. Apparently, their loyalty didn’t vanish with their boss’ destruction. Will had no doubt what the outcome would be. When the satellites hit… again… all major participants would be gone. A few options remained available: Will could join in the fights to gain a bit of experience, or he could wait out the end of the loop and finish them off the next one before the start of the invasion. As he checked the list of active participants, one more option emerged.

Will teleported to the bard’s café.

“Still not using my skill,” the barista said, leaning against the counter. 

“You said you’d only give it after I got all the classes.”

“Beggers aren’t choosers,” the bard sighed. “Just keep in mind I’m not giving it to you just for show.”

The rogue paused. If he knew where the necromancer’s mirror was he would have grabbed it. For a moment, he entertained the idea that it might be in another reality. It was something that the necromancer would try, though not something that eternity would allow. The class mirror had to be on Earth and potentially somewhere the necromancer could keep an eye on.

“The necromancer came back,” Will said after a while.

“That’s what zombies usually do.”

“He came back during the reward phase.”

The bard remained silent for a while, then shook his head.

“Tag-along,” he said. “Was wondering where that went. Didn’t think June would waste it on anyone else.”

“Tag-along?”

“One of the annoying uniques. As long as you’re tagged, he gets to join you in challenges. For the most part, it’s just annoying. June used it to snatch rewards from people he didn’t like. Didn’t expect it to be used in such a way, though. He must have modified it somehow.”

“How do I get rid of it?”

“How does someone get rid of your copycat skill? Use an item to steal it. Oza might have one, but you know that already.”

In this new version of events, Will hadn’t gone out of his way to re-collect the body-part skills. Initially, he did consider recreating his steps as closely as possible, but after enough failures, he had taken a few shortcuts. Oza’s visit was one of them.

Knowing the woman, she’d ask for an arm and a leg in the best of circumstances. Getting her to agree to any deal during a contest phase was virtually impossible.

“Can I still make it with him around?”

“The short answer is no. Definitely not without his class.”

A wave of dread swept through Will at the realization that he might have made a massive mistake.

“Why not? I can just kill him.”

“Probably, but that might trigger the end of the phase. If you don’t, all he needs is to complete one challenge to ruin things. As they say, you’re in a tough situation, which is why I keep telling you to use my skill.”

Will clenched his fists.

“Or you can try to get him to keep still until you complete all the challenges. Use moment in time,” the bard laughed.

The ground shook, causing all the glasses and bottles in the coffee shop to clink. Soon, the satellites were going to hit.

“Speak with Oza next time.” The bard poured himself a glass of pink lemonade.

Thanks for nothing. Will teleported to the airport.

The wave of destruction swept through the city. As the building shook, a thought crossed through the boy’s mind—a concept so absurd that it was virtually impossible to be true. And yet, trying it out didn’t cost him anything. 

“Light,” he said. “Give me ten seconds and nova the airport.”

Why wait? The flame vixen asked, but Will wasn’t listening anymore. Closing his eyes he concentrated on the airport morgue. He had been there several times before, so his memories of the room were still fresh. Using the clairvoyant’s memory, he could visualize every item, every reflective surface, even the slabs in the drawers. Holding his breath, he reached out and tapped all of them. 

You have discovered THE NECROMANCER (number 24).

Use additional mirrors to find out more. Good luck!

“You fucking bastard,” Will laughed. 

A few moments later a giant ball of incandescent white flames consumed the airport, eliminating the last remaining participant. The next reward phase could finally start. There was every chance that this time things would be different.

< Beginning | | Previously |

A white ball of incandescent flame expanded in the air, taking a large segment of the city with it. The entire airport was instantly consumed, after which the merciless flames continued in every direction. If there had been people in this reality, millions would have been vaporized. The hope was that at least one person had been.

Encapsuled by several shields of protection, Will waited. The spell hadn’t proved strong enough to fully reduce the nova’s destructive effects, not even close. The entire reason for them was to protect him from any attacks that followed.

Once the flames were gone, a massive crater loomed below, as if someone had dropped the world’s largest bowling ball onto the city. Sadly, there was no reason to rejoice—there was no message that the necromancer had left the phase.

Where are you? Will checked his mirror fragment.

If his enemy was still alive, he’d surely have the reality swap item with him. Could it be that he had escaped elsewhere prior to the blast?

The glass covering the crater’s bottom suddenly shattered. Hundreds of bone centipedes, each the size of a skyscraper, stretched upwards, aiming for the boy.

Green flames! Will thought, casting a torrent of fire at the closest ones.

The moment the flames came into contact, all bone instantly melted away. That wasn’t enough to destroy all the creatures, though. Like piranhas sensing blood, the rest converged on his location. Bones shattered, splintering off in all directions as they crashed into one another at the point of contact. By then, Will was no longer there.

Teleporting a few miles away, he hovered in the air. A single eternal item was visible on his fragment map.

Got you! Will teleported again.

The object, to no surprise, was located in the city cemetery nearest to the airport. It was impressive that the necromancer had managed to cross the distance at such speed. Even so, he was no match for Will’s skill.

Will summoned a bow, then shot dozens of arrows straight down. Each of the first wave of arrows was surrounded by green flames; each of the following ones splintered the first, causing a wave of burning slivers to rain down. In less than a second, the entire ground was ablaze.

Skeletons attempted to emerge, as the rogue suspected, only to melt down the moment they did. It was like watching wax figurines march into a furnace. Then, the ground opened up. Dressed in his usual black suit, the necromancer finally made an appearance.

“Is he the real one?” Will asked, glancing at his mirror fragment. The guide did not answer.

Surrounded by a sphere of ash, the necromancer rose into the air. He seemed a lot younger than all the versions Will had seen before, probably no more than ten years older than the boy himself. Long, greasy hair flowed down, covering a pale face with lots of mascara.

A goth? Will wondered. It was too much of a cliché to be real. Then again, there was no telling whether the necromancer had started that way. Will knew quite well what an effect the classes had on participants. Being forced to live the life of the class could easily have changed anyone into the creature that was there now.

“You never quit,” the necromancer said in a raspy voice.

Now! Will thought.

His wolf emerged from the necromancer’s shadow, ripping off one of the participant’s legs, then vanished again into the realm of darkness.  

There was no blood, no reaction, the necromancer didn’t even flinch, pointing his bone cane at Will. A pair of bone darts flew out of it. With unexpected ease they went through the boy’s sacred shield, though they were fortunately caught by his defense spells.

Seeing this was no time for conversation, Will pressed on with his attack.

A new rain of arrows descended upon the man, shattering his body to pieces. Yet, each hole was reconstructed just as fast. Even the clothes reformed to their original state. Apparently, the necromancer couldn’t be killed either. Two participants, each practically immortal, faced each other. Will knew that if it came to hand-to-hand combat, he was likely to win. At the same time, he also remembered the curse the necromancer could put on him. This entire battle had turned into a clash of strategies. Will needed a quick win in order to continue with the reward phase. The necromancer, on the other hand, was willing to play the long game. As long as he inflicted Will with the same curse he had placed on the tamer, all he had to do was wait the boy out, then pick up the pieces.

Will calculated the odds. Going in close gave him the greatest chance for victory, though it didn’t guarantee it. On the other hand, getting cursed also didn’t matter since the curse would undoubtedly end the moment eternity was over.

I want it all. Will flew forward as greed prevailed.

Dozens of skeletal hands shot out of the necromancer’s body, each grabbing at Will as the boy got closer.

Will switched weapons, then slashed through them with a series of stabs and horizontal slices, adding some healing to the mix. The bony limbs withered away like dust, only to be replaced by new ones. At that point, the necromancer also joined in the fight. Strikes and blows were exchanged at an ever-increasing speed. Both sides had a specific goal in mind and refused to back down before achieving it.

Teleporting to the other side of the necromancer, Will summoned a spear which he thrust into his enemy’s back. The weapon pierced through, effectively impaling the man in black. Instead of a victory message, though, a horde of skeletons burst out from the area of the “wound” grasping at the rogue.

The shadow wolf emerged, biting through half of them while protecting its owner. At the same time, the boy teleported further away. There could be no doubt that this was an annoying fight. So far, the necromancer hadn’t displayed any terrifying skills. If anything, without the element of surprise and the reflections under his command, he appeared remarkably weak. No wonder none of the participants had ever taken him seriously. He probably was seen as a joke up to the point at which he had captured his first reflection. From there on, he had likely built up his strength, collecting more and stronger puppets. How did one proceed to kill him, though?

Will released a wave of green flames, melting three-quarters of the necromancer. The quarter that remained was quick to fly away, regenerating in the process.

Just like mold, Will thought. As long as a single piece remained, his opponent had the power to regrow the rest.

 

SACRED STRIKE

Damage increased by 500%

 

The upper half of the necromancer’s head flew off. This time it didn’t reconstruct. Holding his breath, Will thrust the sword into his opponent’s chest.

 

UPGRADE

Knight’s sword has been transformed into grenade.

Potential damage capacity x20.

 

MODIFICATION

Grenade has been modified into sacred grenade.

Status enhancement added—SACRED DAMAGE

 

The boy pulled back his hand, leaving the grenade in the other’s rib cage. Then, he teleported a few hundred feet away.

Precisely two seconds later, the grenade exploded. A fine silver glow surrounded the flames, preventing the bone pieces from reconstructing. Was it enough, though? To be on the safe side, Will cast another green flame spell, melting everything he could see in the area.

 

[NECROMANCER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

Will stared at his mirror fragment. Was it really over? It almost seemed too easy to be true. His enemy had used bone puppets too many times in the past for him to be certain.

Just a minute remained until eight. The intensity of the fight had made it feel that hours had passed.

“Am I the only one left?” Will asked.

 

[No]

 

At first, Will froze, his pulse spiking out of control. It took him several seconds to ask the second most important question.

“Am I the only one left from Earth?”

 

[Yes]

 

A massive weight was lifted off Will’s shoulders, letting him breathe again. A few seconds later, his doubts returned. His mind struggled to find loopholes and exceptions with almost the same ferocity it discounted them. Ultimately, there was only one thing to do: wait.  

 

Restarting eternity

 

No praise came from eternity as the loop ended. One could almost say that the outcome had been expected from the outset. Maybe it really was a case of having the right skills. Cautiously, Will followed his real-life routine. At no point was there an attack. His friends were nothing more than temps with their memories erased. Looking at them revealed no skills whatsoever, as if they had never joined eternity. Even the bard appeared to be back to being a mere barista,at least at first glance.

“You won’t get a chance when the contest starts,” the barista said all of a sudden.

Will looked up confused..

“The necromancer class?” the bard reminded.

That class mirror. In the heat of the fight WIll had forgotten about that. 

“I didn’t get it,” he looked the bard in the eyes. “But he’s gone, so it doesn’t matter.”

“You need all twenty-four. It only works if—”

“Guess I’ll take my chances.” Will replied and teleported back to school.

Going along the beaten path, Will extended the length of his loop. There always was the option to buy an extension from his merchant, but given the overall attitude in the merchant’s realm the boy decided not to rely on them.

For half a day, eternity reverted to its calm, familiar state before Will had engaged in the tutorial. Every class, every walk along the corridor looked the same. Conversations and actions he had seen hundreds of times before took place in the same time and order as they had before. Occasionally, the boy would use his teleport ability when no one was looking, but even that was a rarity; despite their overpowered nature, body part abilities didn’t help with extending his loop.

Finally, noon arrived. Thousands of mirrors appeared in the city, followed by participants from multiple other realities. Unfortunately for them, Will was ready. Hundreds of mirror copies had been created and sent to key points in the city. The moment anything non-local appeared, Will would swap out with the respective copy and kill off his target. Now and again, Light and Shadow would act on their own accord, devouring or incinerating the unfortunate participant.

The good news was that no elves had decided to invade this time. The bad—that it required several loops for Will to kill off enough participants to end the phase. As he found out, after the initial wave of carnage, the really strong veterans were instantly capable of seeing the difference in power levels, causing them to effectively flee rather than take a stand. The even smarter ones were quick to trigger challenges and avoid the fighting part altogether. At the end of the day, even that didn’t prove sufficient.

 

You have been selected as one of the REWARD phase participants.

(1/7)

 

The familiar cluster of messages appeared. Will was just about to read through them when a bone spike shot up from the ground, ripping through his foot.

Immediately, Will teleported away to the top of the school, but it was already too late.

 

CURSED

 

“The fuck?!” the boy shouted.

“Knew you’d let your guard down,” a raspy cackle came from below.

Will looked over the edge to see the familiar form of the necromancer.

“No,” the rogue muttered. “I—”

“Killed me?” an identical voice asked, this one only a few steps away.

Will summoned a sword, then performed a horizontal slash. The figure of the necromancer shattered into pieces.

“I knew you’d make a mistake the moment I saw you.” A new mirror copy appeared. “He was right about you. So focused on the big picture that you missed all the details.”

“He?” Will’s mind raced to assemble all the pieces of information. “June helped you?”

“The smug bastard has been helping me from the start. Who do you think gave me all the trinkets?”

Looking back, it made perfect sense. June had warned him what would happen if Will refused his proposal. At the time, Will suspected that he’d try to find a way to eject him from eternity and find a new replacement. He should have assumed that he might have gotten someone from another class to work for him. Danny, for one, had initially been a thief. If so, why not assume that he’d pick the weakest participant in the group and transform him into the strongest force there was.

“He’ll betray you, like he did the rest.”

“Think I don’t know that? He’s really good at lying, isn’t he? Even those who knew get sucked in. But he’s even bad at math. He won’t swap us out before we’ve gotten what he wants, but if I claim eternity, all his trinkets won’t be worth shit.”

The mirror copy swapped with the original necromancer, who then drew a sword.

Thanks to his third eye ability, Will could see that the weapon had a perm-kill status on it.

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >

A white ball of incandescent flame expanded in the air, taking a large segment of the city with it. The entire airport was instantly consumed, after which the merciless flames continued in every direction. If there had been people in this reality, millions would have been vaporized. The hope was that at least one person had been.

Encapsuled by several shields of protection, Will waited. The spell hadn’t proved strong enough to fully reduce the nova’s destructive effects, not even close. The entire reason for them was to protect him from any attacks that followed.

Once the flames were gone, a massive crater loomed below, as if someone had dropped the world’s largest bowling ball onto the city. Sadly, there was no reason to rejoice—there was no message that the necromancer had left the phase.

Where are you? Will checked his mirror fragment.

If his enemy was still alive, he’d surely have the reality swap item with him. Could it be that he had escaped elsewhere prior to the blast?

The glass covering the crater’s bottom suddenly shattered. Hundreds of bone centipedes, each the size of a skyscraper, stretched upwards, aiming for the boy.

Green flames! Will thought, casting a torrent of fire at the closest ones.

The moment the flames came into contact, all bone instantly melted away. That wasn’t enough to destroy all the creatures, though. Like piranhas sensing blood, the rest converged on his location. Bones shattered, splintering off in all directions as they crashed into one another at the point of contact. By then, Will was no longer there.

Teleporting a few miles away, he hovered in the air. A single eternal item was visible on his fragment map.

Got you! Will teleported again.

The object, to no surprise, was located in the city cemetery nearest to the airport. It was impressive that the necromancer had managed to cross the distance at such speed. Even so, he was no match for Will’s skill.

Will summoned a bow, then shot dozens of arrows straight down. Each of the first wave of arrows was surrounded by green flames; each of the following ones splintered the first, causing a wave of burning slivers to rain down. In less than a second, the entire ground was ablaze.

Skeletons attempted to emerge, as the rogue suspected, only to melt down the moment they did. It was like watching wax figurines march into a furnace. Then, the ground opened up. Dressed in his usual black suit, the necromancer finally made an appearance.

“Is he the real one?” Will asked, glancing at his mirror fragment. The guide did not answer.

Surrounded by a sphere of ash, the necromancer rose into the air. He seemed a lot younger than all the versions Will had seen before, probably no more than ten years older than the boy himself. Long, greasy hair flowed down, covering a pale face with lots of mascara.

A goth? Will wondered. It was too much of a cliché to be real. Then again, there was no telling whether the necromancer had started that way. Will knew quite well what an effect the classes had on participants. Being forced to live the life of the class could easily have changed anyone into the creature that was there now.

“You never quit,” the necromancer said in a raspy voice.

Now! Will thought.

His wolf emerged from the necromancer’s shadow, ripping off one of the participant’s legs, then vanished again into the realm of darkness.  

There was no blood, no reaction, the necromancer didn’t even flinch, pointing his bone cane at Will. A pair of bone darts flew out of it. With unexpected ease they went through the boy’s sacred shield, though they were fortunately caught by his defense spells.

Seeing this was no time for conversation, Will pressed on with his attack.

A new rain of arrows descended upon the man, shattering his body to pieces. Yet, each hole was reconstructed just as fast. Even the clothes reformed to their original state. Apparently, the necromancer couldn’t be killed either. Two participants, each practically immortal, faced each other. Will knew that if it came to hand-to-hand combat, he was likely to win. At the same time, he also remembered the curse the necromancer could put on him. This entire battle had turned into a clash of strategies. Will needed a quick win in order to continue with the reward phase. The necromancer, on the other hand, was willing to play the long game. As long as he inflicted Will with the same curse he had placed on the tamer, all he had to do was wait the boy out, then pick up the pieces.

Will calculated the odds. Going in close gave him the greatest chance for victory, though it didn’t guarantee it. On the other hand, getting cursed also didn’t matter since the curse would undoubtedly end the moment eternity was over.

I want it all. Will flew forward as greed prevailed.

Dozens of skeletal hands shot out of the necromancer’s body, each grabbing at Will as the boy got closer.

Will switched weapons, then slashed through them with a series of stabs and horizontal slices, adding some healing to the mix. The bony limbs withered away like dust, only to be replaced by new ones. At that point, the necromancer also joined in the fight. Strikes and blows were exchanged at an ever-increasing speed. Both sides had a specific goal in mind and refused to back down before achieving it.

Teleporting to the other side of the necromancer, Will summoned a spear which he thrust into his enemy’s back. The weapon pierced through, effectively impaling the man in black. Instead of a victory message, though, a horde of skeletons burst out from the area of the “wound” grasping at the rogue.

The shadow wolf emerged, biting through half of them while protecting its owner. At the same time, the boy teleported further away. There could be no doubt that this was an annoying fight. So far, the necromancer hadn’t displayed any terrifying skills. If anything, without the element of surprise and the reflections under his command, he appeared remarkably weak. No wonder none of the participants had ever taken him seriously. He probably was seen as a joke up to the point at which he had captured his first reflection. From there on, he had likely built up his strength, collecting more and stronger puppets. How did one proceed to kill him, though?

Will released a wave of green flames, melting three-quarters of the necromancer. The quarter that remained was quick to fly away, regenerating in the process.

Just like mold, Will thought. As long as a single piece remained, his opponent had the power to regrow the rest.

 

SACRED STRIKE

Damage increased by 500%

 

The upper half of the necromancer’s head flew off. This time it didn’t reconstruct. Holding his breath, Will thrust the sword into his opponent’s chest.

 

UPGRADE

Knight’s sword has been transformed into grenade.

Potential damage capacity x20.

 

MODIFICATION

Grenade has been modified into sacred grenade.

Status enhancement added—SACRED DAMAGE

 

The boy pulled back his hand, leaving the grenade in the other’s rib cage. Then, he teleported a few hundred feet away.

Precisely two seconds later, the grenade exploded. A fine silver glow surrounded the flames, preventing the bone pieces from reconstructing. Was it enough, though? To be on the safe side, Will cast another green flame spell, melting everything he could see in the area.

 

[NECROMANCER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

Will stared at his mirror fragment. Was it really over? It almost seemed too easy to be true. His enemy had used bone puppets too many times in the past for him to be certain.

Just a minute remained until eight. The intensity of the fight had made it feel that hours had passed.

“Am I the only one left?” Will asked.

 

[No]

 

At first, Will froze, his pulse spiking out of control. It took him several seconds to ask the second most important question.

“Am I the only one left from Earth?”

 

[Yes]

 

A massive weight was lifted off Will’s shoulders, letting him breathe again. A few seconds later, his doubts returned. His mind struggled to find loopholes and exceptions with almost the same ferocity it discounted them. Ultimately, there was only one thing to do: wait.  

 

Restarting eternity

 

No praise came from eternity as the loop ended. One could almost say that the outcome had been expected from the outset. Maybe it really was a case of having the right skills. Cautiously, Will followed his real-life routine. At no point was there an attack. His friends were nothing more than temps with their memories erased. Looking at them revealed no skills whatsoever, as if they had never joined eternity. Even the bard appeared to be back to being a mere barista,at least at first glance.

“You won’t get a chance when the contest starts,” the barista said all of a sudden.

Will looked up confused..

“The necromancer class?” the bard reminded.

That class mirror. In the heat of the fight WIll had forgotten about that. 

“I didn’t get it,” he looked the bard in the eyes. “But he’s gone, so it doesn’t matter.”

“You need all twenty-four. It only works if—”

“Guess I’ll take my chances.” Will replied and teleported back to school.

Going along the beaten path, Will extended the length of his loop. There always was the option to buy an extension from his merchant, but given the overall attitude in the merchant’s realm the boy decided not to rely on them.

For half a day, eternity reverted to its calm, familiar state before Will had engaged in the tutorial. Every class, every walk along the corridor looked the same. Conversations and actions he had seen hundreds of times before took place in the same time and order as they had before. Occasionally, the boy would use his teleport ability when no one was looking, but even that was a rarity; despite their overpowered nature, body part abilities didn’t help with extending his loop.

Finally, noon arrived. Thousands of mirrors appeared in the city, followed by participants from multiple other realities. Unfortunately for them, Will was ready. Hundreds of mirror copies had been created and sent to key points in the city. The moment anything non-local appeared, Will would swap out with the respective copy and kill off his target. Now and again, Light and Shadow would act on their own accord, devouring or incinerating the unfortunate participant.

The good news was that no elves had decided to invade this time. The bad—that it required several loops for Will to kill off enough participants to end the phase. As he found out, after the initial wave of carnage, the really strong veterans were instantly capable of seeing the difference in power levels, causing them to effectively flee rather than take a stand. The even smarter ones were quick to trigger challenges and avoid the fighting part altogether. At the end of the day, even that didn’t prove sufficient.

 

You have been selected as one of the REWARD phase participants.

(1/7)

 

The familiar cluster of messages appeared. Will was just about to read through them when a bone spike shot up from the ground, ripping through his foot.

Immediately, Will teleported away to the top of the school, but it was already too late.

 

CURSED

 

“The fuck?!” the boy shouted.

“Knew you’d let your guard down,” a raspy cackle came from below.

Will looked over the edge to see the familiar form of the necromancer.

“No,” the rogue muttered. “I—”

“Killed me?” an identical voice asked, this one only a few steps away.

Will summoned a sword, then performed a horizontal slash. The figure of the necromancer shattered into pieces.

“I knew you’d make a mistake the moment I saw you.” A new mirror copy appeared. “He was right about you. So focused on the big picture that you missed all the details.”

“He?” Will’s mind raced to assemble all the pieces of information. “June helped you?”

“The smug bastard has been helping me from the start. Who do you think gave me all the trinkets?”

Looking back, it made perfect sense. June had warned him what would happen if Will refused his proposal. At the time, Will suspected that he’d try to find a way to eject him from eternity and find a new replacement. He should have assumed that he might have gotten someone from another class to work for him. Danny, for one, had initially been a thief. If so, why not assume that he’d pick the weakest participant in the group and transform him into the strongest force there was.

“He’ll betray you, like he did the rest.”

“Think I don’t know that? He’s really good at lying, isn’t he? Even those who knew get sucked in. But he’s even bad at math. He won’t swap us out before we’ve gotten what he wants, but if I claim eternity, all his trinkets won’t be worth shit.”

The mirror copy swapped with the original necromancer, who then drew a sword.

Thanks to his third eye ability, Will could see that the weapon had a perm-kill status on it.

< Beginning | | Previously |

Will watched parts of his body regrow. As anyone else, he had only seen orbital bombardment on sci-fi shows. After today, he could safely claim he had experienced one firsthand. It wasn’t about the flames or explosions, but rather being hit by multiple projectiles at the same time. In all honesty, he was astonished that his regeneration abilities had withstood the blast. Displaying some basic sanity, he had teleported to what he thought would be a safe underground location. His estimates proved to be completely off the mark. The wave of falling satellites had not only flattened the vast majority of the city, but had also caused underground basements to collapse. If there was a next time, Will planned to teleport into a sturdy bank vault. In contrast, the airport had hardly been touched.

Figures, Will thought, looking at the only high structures as far as the eye could see.

“Is anyone else nearby?” Will whispered, waiting for his body to fully heal.

Reflections. The wolf snarled from the shadows.

It would have been too nice for the blast to have killed them off as well.

Suddenly, a dismembered corpse not too far from Will raised its head. The unfortunate person had been thoroughly crushed. Even if revived, there was no way he would be a threat. That wasn’t what the necromancer was using him for, though. This and all the other recently dead were merely living cameras, letting their master know what was going on throughout the city.

Will quickly cast a lightning bolt and blasted the corpse's head off, but it was already too late. The necromancer knew that he was still alive.

Gritting his teeth, Will teleported straight to the airport lobby bathroom. New pain and wounds were added as he went through the domain of shadow. Several of the open wounds grew as his regenerating ability was briefly overwhelmed. Still, that was preferable to the alternative.

Minutes remained until the end of the boy’s original loop. Of all the initial Earth participants, only three remained: Will, the necromancer, and the engineer. Clearly, his opponent planned on using the satellite crash in all future loops. Not a bad strategy, though it had its flaws. Now that Will had lived through it once, he knew exactly how to escape it in the future.

Third eye, he thought, looking at the map on his mirror fragment.

The final body part ability let him see the location of all eternal items. The only exception was when they were in their owner’s inventory. Currently, there were several hundred markers visible. Some of them—like the remains of Gabriel’s stash, and all those amassed at his school—Will was familiar with. Several he didn’t remember seeing before. One cluster was at the ruins of the radio tower. No doubt Oza had been a bit careless. The thought of snatching them passed through the boy’s mind, but he didn’t have time to waste on pettiness. Another, lesser cluster was composed entirely of healing items.

“There,” Will said, tapping on the location. “Check it.”

Barely had he finished his sentence when the number of items decreased before his very eyes. Three became two, then one, then nothing.

 

[ENGINEER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

That was one. From here on, only the necromancer remained.

Will dragged himself a few steps to the bathroom mirror and broke it with one punch. Dozens of shards flew everywhere, transforming into mirror copies before they could touch the sink.

“Morgue,” Will voiced what they already knew.

The copies concealed themselves, then rushed outside. Unlike Will’s previous airport visits, panic had avoided the building. No doubt they were aware of the catastrophe that had befallen the city, just as they were relieved not to be part of it. Most were probably busy phoning friends and family, hoping to find them among the living. Sadly for them, there wasn’t anyone to answer. Sadder still, in a few moments the airport was also going to transform into a battlefield.

Swapping between copies, Will kept a constant eye on their development.

Finding the morgue was faster than expected. One inquiry at the information desk was all it took. After that, the boy just waited patiently for his copies to amass there. The plan was to catch the necromancer off guard before the end of the loop. Unfortunately, the person waiting for them inside ended up being someone else.

“Hi,” the mirror mage said, releasing a torrent of crimson fire from both his hands.

The flames instantly filled the confined space, then broke out, moving along hallways and corridors as if they were a river.

Mirror copies shattered by the dozens, depriving Will of the meager advantage he had. It was naive to think otherwise. The rogue had no illusions that it would be an easy battle. His opponent hadn’t become the most feared participant by accident.

 

[You don’t need to fight him]

 

Messages appeared on the remaining bathroom mirrors.

It was always difficult to tell whether the guide was being literal or actually cared. Either way, Will disagreed. The only way to determine his strength was through direct confrontation. No matter the outcome, he was going to get experience, and that was what he needed most right now.

People rushed into the bathroom, seeking safety from the horrors outside. The flames had spread further, filling every empty space. Fire extinguishers and water sprinklers had proven useless.

Summoning a sword, Will vanished from the bathroom, reappearing in the middle of the vast arrivals lobby. Most of the people had rushed out of the area, leaving it to the flames.

 

UNRAVEL

 

Will broke the magic strands that maintained the fire. In one single instant, flames that filled up half a square mile suddenly disappeared. That was the problem with mass spells—they had a very easy, weak point. Of course, one had to know magic in order to take advantage. The rogue's ability to see weak spots didn’t hurt, either.

“You’ve been practicing,” the familiar voice of the mirror mage said.

The moment Will heard it, he leaped to the side. It was unlike the reflection to be chatty. This could only be a diversion, giving someone else an opportunity to attack. Initially, Will thought that this was Gabriel’s cue to join in. When a massive tree burst through the floor, shooting up to the ceiling, he knew exactly who it was.

Crap!

The druid was one of the classes he had constantly neglected. As every other, it had more than enough useful abilities, but there came a point at which keeping track was difficult. Still, there was one valuable piece of advice Will had learned from the scribe: when in doubt, copy.

Bending down, the rogue placed his hand on the floor. Moments later, a second tree emerged, rivaling the first. Dryads poured out of the first tree.

One charged at Will, her hand changing into a wooden sword. A few feet from him, the shadow beneath her feet grew teeth and pulled her into the darkness.

Thanks, buddy. Will thought as he unleashed his own set of dryads.

That was going to balance things out for a moment, yet the boy didn’t have time to rejoice. The mage was still there, not to mention two more reflections that hadn’t joined in. With the odds clearly against him, Will did the only reasonable thing: teleport to the airport morgue.

Ignoring the many puddles of melted glass and plastic, the room remained in remarkably good condition. There were no people, of course. The few temps that had been there were probably killed by the mirror mage even before he had set loose his devouring flames.

“Light, get ready to nova the building.” Will rushed past the administrative section to the body drawers. There was a time in his forgotten past as a temp, when he would have been disturbed at the sight of a corpse. Seeing millions get killed in front of his eyes had long cured his squeamishness.

There was no body in the first drawer he pulled. Or the second. That wasn’t overly surprising. Even at large airports, it was rare for the facility to be in frequent use. When three of the four columns proved to be empty, Will suspected something was off. The bard was too precise to make mistakes. If he had told him that the necromancer was here, he had to be here.

One by one, the remaining morgue drawers were pulled out. Still nothing.

What the hell? Will stared at the empty slab.

It was a given that several future echoes would be spent learning the necromancer’s tactics, but Will expected he’d at least be able to start the fight. Instead, it seemed that the necromancer was intent on playing hide and seek while his reflections dealt with everything else.

Calm down, he told himself, focusing on the paladin class’ nature.

There always was the option to face off against the mirror mage, forcing the end of the future echo. Then he would be able to ask the bard precisely what he meant. Alternatively, he could try to reason his way to a solution.

From what he knew so far, the necromancer remained hidden. The only time he consistently came out was during the reward phase, although even then, he preferred to use bone puppets to act as proxies.

Assuming the bard was correct, he had to be on Earth at the time of the message. That would further explain why the mirror mage was protecting the morgue. Going by that logic, the fire’s main purpose was to act as a distraction, rather than a means of destruction. Green flames would have been a lot more suitable for the purpose. They would have easily melted the building to the ground in seconds.

Will froze. It had just hit him. If all his reasoning so far was correct, the mage couldn’t use green flames: they risked destroying the necromancer and, more importantly, a possession of his. Back when Gabriel had engaged in a friendly chat, he had shared that the necromancer initially hid his reflections in different realities. He had also mentioned that he himself did the same unless his presence was absolutely needed.

“So that’s what you meant,” Will whispered. The necromancer remained in the morgue even now, yet it wasn’t this morgue. “Ready or not,” Will uttered and pulled himself into another reality.

There was a faint pop in his ears, as if he had landed from a flight. The basic layout of the room remained the same, but everything else was different.

“Smagu?” A green goblin in a leather outfit stared at him.

Not the place. Will changed realities again.

The room transformed into a chamber composed entirely of wood and stone. Orange trunks interwoven with polished stones of grey granite. A layer of living mercury covered one of the walls, reflecting everything in the room.

Metal fragments ripped the air, heading straight for Will’s neck. A few feet away, they bounced off the sacred shield surrounding the boy.

Will turned in the direction of the attack. He expected to see one of the necromancer’s minions. Instead, he saw a pair of elves. Both were young, part of their bodies covered in metal slivers. Once glance was enough for Will to tell that they were terrified of him.

Scared elves? He wondered.

Keeping his guard up, he glanced at the layer of quicksilver.

 

WILLIAM STONE THE COPYCAT

(Terra Faction)

Victory reward: COPYCAT SKILL

 

Great. Will sighed. I’ve turned into a hidden boss.

The boy summoned a class token from his inventory, then tossed it on the ground. At least now they had a slightly better chance during the contest phase. Then, he changed reality once more.

At first, it seemed that he was back to where he had started from. The dimensions and contents of the morgue seemed identical. There were only two major differences: the puddles of glass and plastic were gone. Also, a thick layer of decay was present on the walls and corners of the room.

“Found you,” Will said and summoned a lighter. “Light, go supernova.” He flicked his lighter.

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >

Will watched parts of his body regrow. As anyone else, he had only seen orbital bombardment on sci-fi shows. After today, he could safely claim he had experienced one firsthand. It wasn’t about the flames or explosions, but rather being hit by multiple projectiles at the same time. In all honesty, he was astonished that his regeneration abilities had withstood the blast. Displaying some basic sanity, he had teleported to what he thought would be a safe underground location. His estimates proved to be completely off the mark. The wave of falling satellites had not only flattened the vast majority of the city, but had also caused underground basements to collapse. If there was a next time, Will planned to teleport into a sturdy bank vault. In contrast, the airport had hardly been touched.

Figures, Will thought, looking at the only high structures as far as the eye could see.

“Is anyone else nearby?” Will whispered, waiting for his body to fully heal.

Reflections. The wolf snarled from the shadows.

It would have been too nice for the blast to have killed them off as well.

Suddenly, a dismembered corpse not too far from Will raised its head. The unfortunate person had been thoroughly crushed. Even if revived, there was no way he would be a threat. That wasn’t what the necromancer was using him for, though. This and all the other recently dead were merely living cameras, letting their master know what was going on throughout the city.

Will quickly cast a lightning bolt and blasted the corpse's head off, but it was already too late. The necromancer knew that he was still alive.

Gritting his teeth, Will teleported straight to the airport lobby bathroom. New pain and wounds were added as he went through the domain of shadow. Several of the open wounds grew as his regenerating ability was briefly overwhelmed. Still, that was preferable to the alternative.

Minutes remained until the end of the boy’s original loop. Of all the initial Earth participants, only three remained: Will, the necromancer, and the engineer. Clearly, his opponent planned on using the satellite crash in all future loops. Not a bad strategy, though it had its flaws. Now that Will had lived through it once, he knew exactly how to escape it in the future.

Third eye, he thought, looking at the map on his mirror fragment.

The final body part ability let him see the location of all eternal items. The only exception was when they were in their owner’s inventory. Currently, there were several hundred markers visible. Some of them—like the remains of Gabriel’s stash, and all those amassed at his school—Will was familiar with. Several he didn’t remember seeing before. One cluster was at the ruins of the radio tower. No doubt Oza had been a bit careless. The thought of snatching them passed through the boy’s mind, but he didn’t have time to waste on pettiness. Another, lesser cluster was composed entirely of healing items.

“There,” Will said, tapping on the location. “Check it.”

Barely had he finished his sentence when the number of items decreased before his very eyes. Three became two, then one, then nothing.

 

[ENGINEER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

That was one. From here on, only the necromancer remained.

Will dragged himself a few steps to the bathroom mirror and broke it with one punch. Dozens of shards flew everywhere, transforming into mirror copies before they could touch the sink.

“Morgue,” Will voiced what they already knew.

The copies concealed themselves, then rushed outside. Unlike Will’s previous airport visits, panic had avoided the building. No doubt they were aware of the catastrophe that had befallen the city, just as they were relieved not to be part of it. Most were probably busy phoning friends and family, hoping to find them among the living. Sadly for them, there wasn’t anyone to answer. Sadder still, in a few moments the airport was also going to transform into a battlefield.

Swapping between copies, Will kept a constant eye on their development.

Finding the morgue was faster than expected. One inquiry at the information desk was all it took. After that, the boy just waited patiently for his copies to amass there. The plan was to catch the necromancer off guard before the end of the loop. Unfortunately, the person waiting for them inside ended up being someone else.

“Hi,” the mirror mage said, releasing a torrent of crimson fire from both his hands.

The flames instantly filled the confined space, then broke out, moving along hallways and corridors as if they were a river.

Mirror copies shattered by the dozens, depriving Will of the meager advantage he had. It was naive to think otherwise. The rogue had no illusions that it would be an easy battle. His opponent hadn’t become the most feared participant by accident.

 

[You don’t need to fight him]

 

Messages appeared on the remaining bathroom mirrors.

It was always difficult to tell whether the guide was being literal or actually cared. Either way, Will disagreed. The only way to determine his strength was through direct confrontation. No matter the outcome, he was going to get experience, and that was what he needed most right now.

People rushed into the bathroom, seeking safety from the horrors outside. The flames had spread further, filling every empty space. Fire extinguishers and water sprinklers had proven useless.

Summoning a sword, Will vanished from the bathroom, reappearing in the middle of the vast arrivals lobby. Most of the people had rushed out of the area, leaving it to the flames.

 

UNRAVEL

 

Will broke the magic strands that maintained the fire. In one single instant, flames that filled up half a square mile suddenly disappeared. That was the problem with mass spells—they had a very easy, weak point. Of course, one had to know magic in order to take advantage. The rogue's ability to see weak spots didn’t hurt, either.

“You’ve been practicing,” the familiar voice of the mirror mage said.

The moment Will heard it, he leaped to the side. It was unlike the reflection to be chatty. This could only be a diversion, giving someone else an opportunity to attack. Initially, Will thought that this was Gabriel’s cue to join in. When a massive tree burst through the floor, shooting up to the ceiling, he knew exactly who it was.

Crap!

The druid was one of the classes he had constantly neglected. As every other, it had more than enough useful abilities, but there came a point at which keeping track was difficult. Still, there was one valuable piece of advice Will had learned from the scribe: when in doubt, copy.

Bending down, the rogue placed his hand on the floor. Moments later, a second tree emerged, rivaling the first. Dryads poured out of the first tree.

One charged at Will, her hand changing into a wooden sword. A few feet from him, the shadow beneath her feet grew teeth and pulled her into the darkness.

Thanks, buddy. Will thought as he unleashed his own set of dryads.

That was going to balance things out for a moment, yet the boy didn’t have time to rejoice. The mage was still there, not to mention two more reflections that hadn’t joined in. With the odds clearly against him, Will did the only reasonable thing: teleport to the airport morgue.

Ignoring the many puddles of melted glass and plastic, the room remained in remarkably good condition. There were no people, of course. The few temps that had been there were probably killed by the mirror mage even before he had set loose his devouring flames.

“Light, get ready to nova the building.” Will rushed past the administrative section to the body drawers. There was a time in his forgotten past as a temp, when he would have been disturbed at the sight of a corpse. Seeing millions get killed in front of his eyes had long cured his squeamishness.

There was no body in the first drawer he pulled. Or the second. That wasn’t overly surprising. Even at large airports, it was rare for the facility to be in frequent use. When three of the four columns proved to be empty, Will suspected something was off. The bard was too precise to make mistakes. If he had told him that the necromancer was here, he had to be here.

One by one, the remaining morgue drawers were pulled out. Still nothing.

What the hell? Will stared at the empty slab.

It was a given that several future echoes would be spent learning the necromancer’s tactics, but Will expected he’d at least be able to start the fight. Instead, it seemed that the necromancer was intent on playing hide and seek while his reflections dealt with everything else.

Calm down, he told himself, focusing on the paladin class’ nature.

There always was the option to face off against the mirror mage, forcing the end of the future echo. Then he would be able to ask the bard precisely what he meant. Alternatively, he could try to reason his way to a solution.

From what he knew so far, the necromancer remained hidden. The only time he consistently came out was during the reward phase, although even then, he preferred to use bone puppets to act as proxies.

Assuming the bard was correct, he had to be on Earth at the time of the message. That would further explain why the mirror mage was protecting the morgue. Going by that logic, the fire’s main purpose was to act as a distraction, rather than a means of destruction. Green flames would have been a lot more suitable for the purpose. They would have easily melted the building to the ground in seconds.

Will froze. It had just hit him. If all his reasoning so far was correct, the mage couldn’t use green flames: they risked destroying the necromancer and, more importantly, a possession of his. Back when Gabriel had engaged in a friendly chat, he had shared that the necromancer initially hid his reflections in different realities. He had also mentioned that he himself did the same unless his presence was absolutely needed.

“So that’s what you meant,” Will whispered. The necromancer remained in the morgue even now, yet it wasn’t this morgue. “Ready or not,” Will uttered and pulled himself into another reality.

There was a faint pop in his ears, as if he had landed from a flight. The basic layout of the room remained the same, but everything else was different.

“Smagu?” A green goblin in a leather outfit stared at him.

Not the place. Will changed realities again.

The room transformed into a chamber composed entirely of wood and stone. Orange trunks interwoven with polished stones of grey granite. A layer of living mercury covered one of the walls, reflecting everything in the room.

Metal fragments ripped the air, heading straight for Will’s neck. A few feet away, they bounced off the sacred shield surrounding the boy.

Will turned in the direction of the attack. He expected to see one of the necromancer’s minions. Instead, he saw a pair of elves. Both were young, part of their bodies covered in metal slivers. Once glance was enough for Will to tell that they were terrified of him.

Scared elves? He wondered.

Keeping his guard up, he glanced at the layer of quicksilver.

 

WILLIAM STONE THE COPYCAT

(Terra Faction)

Victory reward: COPYCAT SKILL

 

Great. Will sighed. I’ve turned into a hidden boss.

The boy summoned a class token from his inventory, then tossed it on the ground. At least now they had a slightly better chance during the contest phase. Then, he changed reality once more.

At first, it seemed that he was back to where he had started from. The dimensions and contents of the morgue seemed identical. There were only two major differences: the puddles of glass and plastic were gone. Also, a thick layer of decay was present on the walls and corners of the room.

“Found you,” Will said and summoned a lighter. “Light, go supernova.” He flicked his lighter.

< Beginning | | Previously |

There was only one certainty in eternity—that the loops would last forever. Now, even that was under question.

In a couple of loops, Will would engage in his final fight. After that, win or lose, eternity wouldn’t be the same. Naturally, he planned on winning.

The rogue checked his mirror fragment for messages. The board was remarkably quiet. Everyone could feel something in the air and was bracing for the storm that would follow the calm. Some knew exactly what was going to take place, others didn’t, but all of them were preparing in their own ways. According to the bard, there was a chance that even Oza and the clairvoyant joined in the fight. That wasn’t what worried Will. Thanks to his future echoes, he had all the time in the world to fix his mistakes, or at least until his headaches became too strong to ignore.

 

Survive till the end

 

He sent a message to Alex. If things went downhill, he’d need the goofball to recuperate.

 

Don’t forget to use storytelling

 

A message came from the bard.

Yeah, yeah, Will thought. If he had more time, he would have spent hundreds of loops perfecting all the skills he had amassed. Sadly, the moment had passed. Now he had to face the necromancer with what he had. Before that, though, there was one final thing he needed to do.

 

MERCHANT REALM CHALLENGE

Are you sure you want to enter?

 

“Yes,” Will whispered.

Reality changed once more, bringing him to the minute world of the merchants. Unlike before, things had changed. None of them were engaged in any activity. From the first floor to the eighth, all had stopped their usual entertainment, clustering as close to the flight of stairs as physically possible. All had turned to look at Will. A single message flowed along their glass-like skin: you have not impressed me.

“I want to buy the title for the next floor,” Will said.

The messages on the merchants intensified, though the words didn’t change.

“I’ll challenge whoever I have to,” Will added.

The reaction remained the same. This was the first time since he’d entered eternity that a merchant had refused a challenge in such a fashion.

“I want to trade, then,” the boy said, determined. If nothing else, he planned to spend his divine token before his final showdown.

 

You have not impressed me.

[There’s nothing you could do here, better go]

 

What the hell? Will cursed inside. Apparently, his fight against eternity had also started.

“Why now?” he asked.

 

[Nothing will change. Come back later]

 

Will wasn’t surprised at the guide’s reaction. He was only annoyed by the timing of it. It wasn’t as if he had counted on using the token for an advantage, but it would have been nice to have one. Now, he learned that he couldn’t even trade? Not that it mattered particularly, the crafter and engineer skills let him create pretty much any weapon he wished, though a few more pouches of mirror beads would always be welcome.

“I guess it’s goodbye, then,” he said. One way or another, he didn’t plan on returning here ever again. “Have fun.”

 

CHALLENGE PUT ON HOLD

Restarting eternity

 

One loop remained. Helen, Jace, and even Alex spent it prepping for the fights to come. Elsewhere, participants were gearing up, setting up alliances, and coordinating plans in the hopes of making it to the reward phase. For all of them, this was a golden opportunity to obtain some new, rare skills and items in order to rise up on the power pyramid. Will did nothing of the sort. He was smart enough to know that no further preparations would be of any help. If anything, they could only stress him out further. Instead, he spent the whole of the loop walking aimlessly around school.

I’ll always be there with you, his wolf whispered from the shadows.

“I know, buddy,” Will replied. A long time ago, on the second floor, he had faced his first mirror wolf. A lot had changed since then, but the rogue still remembered the sensation he had felt back then.

You’ll be completely lost without me, Light also chimed in as Will walked by a window. So, I won’t forgive you if you keep me on the sidelines.

“Sure.” The flame vixen never changed.

One minute before eight, Will teleported to one of the secure mirror locations in the city.

 

FUTURE ECHOES

 

A moment later, the contest phase had begun.

Normally, little happened during the first loop of the phase. Earth participants lay low in wait, while those of other realities were still waiting for their invasion window.

Will’s phone pinged.

 

Stoner? What’s the plan?

 

Will had forgotten this part. Last time, he had organized a complicated series of arrangements and alliances with the aim of getting his entire group to the reward phase. This time, his goal was the exact opposite.

“Sorry, Jace,” Will whispered, then reached out with his ability and claimed all the classes he could. In the vast majority of cases, the classes were claimed, rendering a vast number of participants powerless. “Go, guys,” he gave the order.

Both Light and Shadow teleported to the most appropriate locations. Normally, a well-equipped participant would be able to handle them with little issue. Taken off guard and lacking a number of vital skills made things different.

Will had to admit that he had been extremely lucky that the tamer’s attention was focused on the necromancer. If not, wolf attacks would have made his advancement impossible.

 

[ACROBAT has left CONTEST PHASE]

[DRUID has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CLERIC has left CONTEST PHASE]

[MARTIAL ARTIST has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

Messages appeared on Will’s mirror fragment.

Oza? He looked in surprise. Up to a moment ago, he was planning on dealing with her himself. Likely, Alex and his future wife had joined the fray. At this stage of the game, there was no point in holding back. The cat was out of the bag, and the goofball had realized it first.

 

[SUMMONER has left CONTEST PHASE]

[LANCER has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CRAFTER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

Jace, Will thought. It was obvious that it would happen, though he didn’t think that it would be so soon.

In the blink of an eye, Will teleported to the first-floor girl’s bathroom. Helen wasn’t there. That was unexpected. Using his ability, the boy appeared in the art classroom.

“I always knew you had a plan,” the girl said, sitting calmly at her desk. One of the windows was open. Near it, lying on the floor, lay Jace’s lifeless body. “Rogues always have a plan,” she looked at him.

“I’m sorry, Helen,” Will managed to say. Despite everything he had been through, despite the current stakes, eternity hadn't fully managed to render him numb.

“Did you know?”

“About Danny?” he asked. It was a sound assumption. Seeing the girl nod confirmed it for him. “Yes,” he said. “You want to get him back. And I tried to help you.”

“Tried?”

“Future echoes,” he said, and went up to her desk.

“Oh.” The girl looked away. “How many times have we been through this?”

“This is the second,” Will said. Technically, it was a lie, though in the spirit of the truth.

“And what happened?”

“I can’t tell you.” Not that you’d believe me if I did. “I gave you a loop rewinder. You wanted to start a paradox loop and go back to save him.”

“Yes, I guess I did.” She let out a sad chuckle. “Funny, isn’t it? The first time you told me you were a participant, I killed you in this very room. Now, you’re here to kill me.”

“The rules of eternity,” Will said. “Only one person can win the reward phase.”

“Only one person… Danny used to say that. He used to promise me that he’d kill me last. He was lying, of course. Rogues always lie. And still, knights do everything in their power to protect them despite it.”

That much was true. Part of Will still wondered if, given a choice, she would protect him or Danny. At present, it didn’t matter.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked.

“Kill everyone before the reward phase,” the rogue replied. With everything going on, it was no longer a secret.

 

[SAGE has left CONTEST PHASE]

[MENTALIST has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CLAIRVOYANT has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

That made ten participants gone. Naturally, the tamer and necromancer groups remained largely intact. The clairvoyant had probably seen that, so she had let herself be killed along with the mentalist, leaving only Alex behind. Interesting that the scribe was still persisting. Apparently, the boy was stronger than Will thought.

“Kill anyone from Earth,” Will added.

“That way you’ll be the only one entering the reward phase.”

“That’s the point.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to end it.”

“Do you even know what that means?”

The truth was that Will didn’t. No one did. All he had were the speculations of veteran participants and visions of a distant future done by the clairvoyant.

“Hopefully, everything will return to normal. We’ll have class, and this time the loop won’t end when the clock hits eight.”

“I see… And we pretend that this never happened?”

“Maybe we won’t have to. Most former participants forget about eternity. Maybe when it’s over, everyone will forget as well.”

Will was about to add more when a sword suddenly appeared in Helen’s hand. Faster than he could react, she swung it, aiming at the boy’s head.

 

HEART STRIKE

 

Will shattered into pieces. Even with the skill of regeneration and wound avoidance, he knew better than to put his life at risk without safeguards. Before taking the first step towards her desk, he had created an invisible mirror copy, then swapped out. Despite it all, he had hoped that Helen wouldn’t have tried to stop him.

Several more mirror copies appeared, piercing the girl from several sides.

Helen didn’t resist. She didn’t even react, merely smiling as their blades ripped through clothes and flesh.

“It’s easier this way,” she said before collapsing onto the desk.

 

[KNIGHT has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

I know. Will thought.

Had she done it for his benefit? Or had she really tried to stop him? No, she couldn’t have stopped him. The moment he had told her about future echoes, the girl probably knew that she had no chance of winning.

“The knight always protects the rogue,” Will whispered over her dead body. “Even when they can’t.”

Outside, explosions shook the city. Witnessing the rapid depletion of participants, the tamer and necromancer had rushed the timeline, starting their clash sooner than planned.

Will went to one of the closed windows and opened it. The sporadic sound of distant sirens could be heard as the radio tower was consumed by green flames. Soon the destruction would spread until it consumed the entire city. In fact, it could be said that the city was already gone. Hundreds of satellites had already started an unscheduled forced descent, and nothing could stop them. Before that, a dragon would briefly emerge to cause a bit more chaos, while the necromancer’s reflections faced it off.

 

[PALADIN has left CONTEST PHASE]

[WARRIOR has left CONTEST PHASE]

[ENCHANTER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

“There goes your flawless run,” Will muttered, thinking about Lucas.

Only ten participants remained. Back during the first days of eternity, this was the moment at which the contest phase came to an end. Now, it would continue until the majority of invaders were dealt with as well.

Will looked at the sky. Thanks to his skills, he could see the satellites approaching like small orange dots. The sun did a good job hiding them to a large extent, leaving the inhabitants of the city blissfully unaware. Somewhere around the country, people behind screens were probably freaking out, but even they were helpless.

 

He’s in the airport morgue

Wait till only the two of you are left then go there

Good luck

 

A string of messages appeared on Will’s mirror fragment.

 

[BARD has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

“You couldn’t even go out with a bang.” Will forced a smile. “Thanks for all the mousse.”

The destruction in the distance raged on. The tamer’s dragon had emerged, adding his flames to those created by the two mages. The city shook several more times as exceedingly greater forces clashed against one another. Then, everything was engulfed in flames.

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >

There was only one certainty in eternity—that the loops would last forever. Now, even that was under question.

In a couple of loops, Will would engage in his final fight. After that, win or lose, eternity wouldn’t be the same. Naturally, he planned on winning.

The rogue checked his mirror fragment for messages. The board was remarkably quiet. Everyone could feel something in the air and was bracing for the storm that would follow the calm. Some knew exactly what was going to take place, others didn’t, but all of them were preparing in their own ways. According to the bard, there was a chance that even Oza and the clairvoyant joined in the fight. That wasn’t what worried Will. Thanks to his future echoes, he had all the time in the world to fix his mistakes, or at least until his headaches became too strong to ignore.

 

Survive till the end

 

He sent a message to Alex. If things went downhill, he’d need the goofball to recuperate.

 

Don’t forget to use storytelling

 

A message came from the bard.

Yeah, yeah, Will thought. If he had more time, he would have spent hundreds of loops perfecting all the skills he had amassed. Sadly, the moment had passed. Now he had to face the necromancer with what he had. Before that, though, there was one final thing he needed to do.

 

MERCHANT REALM CHALLENGE

Are you sure you want to enter?

 

“Yes,” Will whispered.

Reality changed once more, bringing him to the minute world of the merchants. Unlike before, things had changed. None of them were engaged in any activity. From the first floor to the eighth, all had stopped their usual entertainment, clustering as close to the flight of stairs as physically possible. All had turned to look at Will. A single message flowed along their glass-like skin: you have not impressed me.

“I want to buy the title for the next floor,” Will said.

The messages on the merchants intensified, though the words didn’t change.

“I’ll challenge whoever I have to,” Will added.

The reaction remained the same. This was the first time since he’d entered eternity that a merchant had refused a challenge in such a fashion.

“I want to trade, then,” the boy said, determined. If nothing else, he planned to spend his divine token before his final showdown.

 

You have not impressed me.

[There’s nothing you could do here, better go]

 

What the hell? Will cursed inside. Apparently, his fight against eternity had also started.

“Why now?” he asked.

 

[Nothing will change. Come back later]

 

Will wasn’t surprised at the guide’s reaction. He was only annoyed by the timing of it. It wasn’t as if he had counted on using the token for an advantage, but it would have been nice to have one. Now, he learned that he couldn’t even trade? Not that it mattered particularly, the crafter and engineer skills let him create pretty much any weapon he wished, though a few more pouches of mirror beads would always be welcome.

“I guess it’s goodbye, then,” he said. One way or another, he didn’t plan on returning here ever again. “Have fun.”

 

CHALLENGE PUT ON HOLD

Restarting eternity

 

One loop remained. Helen, Jace, and even Alex spent it prepping for the fights to come. Elsewhere, participants were gearing up, setting up alliances, and coordinating plans in the hopes of making it to the reward phase. For all of them, this was a golden opportunity to obtain some new, rare skills and items in order to rise up on the power pyramid. Will did nothing of the sort. He was smart enough to know that no further preparations would be of any help. If anything, they could only stress him out further. Instead, he spent the whole of the loop walking aimlessly around school.

I’ll always be there with you, his wolf whispered from the shadows.

“I know, buddy,” Will replied. A long time ago, on the second floor, he had faced his first mirror wolf. A lot had changed since then, but the rogue still remembered the sensation he had felt back then.

You’ll be completely lost without me, Light also chimed in as Will walked by a window. So, I won’t forgive you if you keep me on the sidelines.

“Sure.” The flame vixen never changed.

One minute before eight, Will teleported to one of the secure mirror locations in the city.

 

FUTURE ECHOES

 

A moment later, the contest phase had begun.

Normally, little happened during the first loop of the phase. Earth participants lay low in wait, while those of other realities were still waiting for their invasion window.

Will’s phone pinged.

 

Stoner? What’s the plan?

 

Will had forgotten this part. Last time, he had organized a complicated series of arrangements and alliances with the aim of getting his entire group to the reward phase. This time, his goal was the exact opposite.

“Sorry, Jace,” Will whispered, then reached out with his ability and claimed all the classes he could. In the vast majority of cases, the classes were claimed, rendering a vast number of participants powerless. “Go, guys,” he gave the order.

Both Light and Shadow teleported to the most appropriate locations. Normally, a well-equipped participant would be able to handle them with little issue. Taken off guard and lacking a number of vital skills made things different.

Will had to admit that he had been extremely lucky that the tamer’s attention was focused on the necromancer. If not, wolf attacks would have made his advancement impossible.

 

[ACROBAT has left CONTEST PHASE]

[DRUID has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CLERIC has left CONTEST PHASE]

[MARTIAL ARTIST has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

Messages appeared on Will’s mirror fragment.

Oza? He looked in surprise. Up to a moment ago, he was planning on dealing with her himself. Likely, Alex and his future wife had joined the fray. At this stage of the game, there was no point in holding back. The cat was out of the bag, and the goofball had realized it first.

 

[SUMMONER has left CONTEST PHASE]

[LANCER has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CRAFTER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

Jace, Will thought. It was obvious that it would happen, though he didn’t think that it would be so soon.

In the blink of an eye, Will teleported to the first-floor girl’s bathroom. Helen wasn’t there. That was unexpected. Using his ability, the boy appeared in the art classroom.

“I always knew you had a plan,” the girl said, sitting calmly at her desk. One of the windows was open. Near it, lying on the floor, lay Jace’s lifeless body. “Rogues always have a plan,” she looked at him.

“I’m sorry, Helen,” Will managed to say. Despite everything he had been through, despite the current stakes, eternity hadn't fully managed to render him numb.

“Did you know?”

“About Danny?” he asked. It was a sound assumption. Seeing the girl nod confirmed it for him. “Yes,” he said. “You want to get him back. And I tried to help you.”

“Tried?”

“Future echoes,” he said, and went up to her desk.

“Oh.” The girl looked away. “How many times have we been through this?”

“This is the second,” Will said. Technically, it was a lie, though in the spirit of the truth.

“And what happened?”

“I can’t tell you.” Not that you’d believe me if I did. “I gave you a loop rewinder. You wanted to start a paradox loop and go back to save him.”

“Yes, I guess I did.” She let out a sad chuckle. “Funny, isn’t it? The first time you told me you were a participant, I killed you in this very room. Now, you’re here to kill me.”

“The rules of eternity,” Will said. “Only one person can win the reward phase.”

“Only one person… Danny used to say that. He used to promise me that he’d kill me last. He was lying, of course. Rogues always lie. And still, knights do everything in their power to protect them despite it.”

That much was true. Part of Will still wondered if, given a choice, she would protect him or Danny. At present, it didn’t matter.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked.

“Kill everyone before the reward phase,” the rogue replied. With everything going on, it was no longer a secret.

 

[SAGE has left CONTEST PHASE]

[MENTALIST has left CONTEST PHASE]

[CLAIRVOYANT has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

That made ten participants gone. Naturally, the tamer and necromancer groups remained largely intact. The clairvoyant had probably seen that, so she had let herself be killed along with the mentalist, leaving only Alex behind. Interesting that the scribe was still persisting. Apparently, the boy was stronger than Will thought.

“Kill anyone from Earth,” Will added.

“That way you’ll be the only one entering the reward phase.”

“That’s the point.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to end it.”

“Do you even know what that means?”

The truth was that Will didn’t. No one did. All he had were the speculations of veteran participants and visions of a distant future done by the clairvoyant.

“Hopefully, everything will return to normal. We’ll have class, and this time the loop won’t end when the clock hits eight.”

“I see… And we pretend that this never happened?”

“Maybe we won’t have to. Most former participants forget about eternity. Maybe when it’s over, everyone will forget as well.”

Will was about to add more when a sword suddenly appeared in Helen’s hand. Faster than he could react, she swung it, aiming at the boy’s head.

 

HEART STRIKE

 

Will shattered into pieces. Even with the skill of regeneration and wound avoidance, he knew better than to put his life at risk without safeguards. Before taking the first step towards her desk, he had created an invisible mirror copy, then swapped out. Despite it all, he had hoped that Helen wouldn’t have tried to stop him.

Several more mirror copies appeared, piercing the girl from several sides.

Helen didn’t resist. She didn’t even react, merely smiling as their blades ripped through clothes and flesh.

“It’s easier this way,” she said before collapsing onto the desk.

 

[KNIGHT has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

I know. Will thought.

Had she done it for his benefit? Or had she really tried to stop him? No, she couldn’t have stopped him. The moment he had told her about future echoes, the girl probably knew that she had no chance of winning.

“The knight always protects the rogue,” Will whispered over her dead body. “Even when they can’t.”

Outside, explosions shook the city. Witnessing the rapid depletion of participants, the tamer and necromancer had rushed the timeline, starting their clash sooner than planned.

Will went to one of the closed windows and opened it. The sporadic sound of distant sirens could be heard as the radio tower was consumed by green flames. Soon the destruction would spread until it consumed the entire city. In fact, it could be said that the city was already gone. Hundreds of satellites had already started an unscheduled forced descent, and nothing could stop them. Before that, a dragon would briefly emerge to cause a bit more chaos, while the necromancer’s reflections faced it off.

 

[PALADIN has left CONTEST PHASE]

[WARRIOR has left CONTEST PHASE]

[ENCHANTER has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

“There goes your flawless run,” Will muttered, thinking about Lucas.

Only ten participants remained. Back during the first days of eternity, this was the moment at which the contest phase came to an end. Now, it would continue until the majority of invaders were dealt with as well.

Will looked at the sky. Thanks to his skills, he could see the satellites approaching like small orange dots. The sun did a good job hiding them to a large extent, leaving the inhabitants of the city blissfully unaware. Somewhere around the country, people behind screens were probably freaking out, but even they were helpless.

 

He’s in the airport morgue

Wait till only the two of you are left then go there

Good luck

 

A string of messages appeared on Will’s mirror fragment.

 

[BARD has left CONTEST PHASE]

 

“You couldn’t even go out with a bang.” Will forced a smile. “Thanks for all the mousse.”

The destruction in the distance raged on. The tamer’s dragon had emerged, adding his flames to those created by the two mages. The city shook several more times as exceedingly greater forces clashed against one another. Then, everything was engulfed in flames.

< Beginning | | Previously |

If anyone had told Will that it would take him forty-three attempts to relive his first paradox loop correctly, the boy would have laughed. As it turned out, catching lightning in a bottle was a lot more difficult than it sounded. Ironically, the issue wasn’t that Will was weak, but rather that he was too strong, while also being inexperienced.

The problems started with the hidden challenge. Facing fully boosted failures was more than difficult; it made it impossible for Will to hide his power level, and that caused issues. The main reason that the archer and her brother had resorted to allying with him, other than him being the rogue, was that he was an easy to manipulate rookie.

Twice, Will was killed by the failures; six times by the archer upon witnessing his power level. It was only on the ninth attempt that the rogue managed to claim the prize without any repercussions. From there, things got progressively more difficult.

As tempting as it was to eject Danny from eternity the moment Will appeared, that prevented a new mage from appearing on the scene and the rise of the tamer. On the surface, that seemed not too bad, but without the clash between two of the most aggressive participants, the desire to end eternity had vastly waned. Furthermore, Enigma High’s vice principal was far less inclined to help, leading to Will being swapped out by June.

Another dozen times, the tamer was the problem. Seeing Will’s taming abilities had quickly put him on the radar, quickly escalating into a massive battle. Wolves flooded the mirror realm, all in an effort to push Will out into the world, where a clash tore the city to shreds. The confidence the rogue had gained from killing a dragon rider during the challenge phase had quickly vanished upon seeing a real master in action. There was no doubt in the boy’s mind that if the tamer hadn’t been affected by the decaying curse, there would have been a lot more battles between him and the necromancer.

After the tamer came the engineer. No doubt he was acting on the necromancer’s behalf, but it was annoying facing someone who transformed parts of the city into a cybernetic hellscape. To make matters worse, just like the necromancer, the engineer didn’t fight his battles himself.

It had become obvious that the solution wasn’t to fight, even if it provided Will with experience in using his newfound skills. More specifically, the solution was to fight himself. There was a thin line between messing things up and attracting attention, but with enough persistence it was possible to follow it to the point he needed.

“You look like hell,” the bard said.

This wasn’t the first time the boy had appeared in the shop, yet the dullness in his eyes made it clear he had been through a lot.

Humming a tune, the barista got a cup of chocolate mousse and placed it on the table in front of Will.

“On the house.”

Will looked at the customary desert, then looked away. He didn’t feel like food. What he wanted to do was lie down and sleep for the rest of eternity.

“You didn’t use my skill, did you?” he asked.

“Tried.” Will leaned back. “Too complicated right now.”

“There’s a reason I only get one skill. You should get to know it better.”

“Yeah.”

There were many things that Will needed to do. One of them was to end his current future echo and start a new one. After everything he’d been through, he didn’t have the nerve to go through everything again.

“Why didn’t you stop the necromancer?” the boy asked. “You’ve been around, you could’ve snatched all the skills.”

“All the skills,” the bard chuckled. “I’ll need to remember that one. I’m sure lots of people have told you about the special peculiarities concerning your class.”

“I know.” Will sighed. “I can break the rules.”

“Consciously or not,” the barista added.

“Huh?”

“Consciously or not. Everyone thinks that it takes a conscious decision to break rules. There’s a whole legal and philosophical debate that could be held, but when it comes to eternity, it’s false. Have you ever noticed how easily things happen for you?”

“Easy?” Will snorted. “It wasn’t easy. And I had half the power players backing me all the way.”

“No. We back you up because you break the rules, whether you know it or not. The same goes for skills. Eternity blocked you from advancing the clairvoyant, didn’t it?”

This piqued Will’s interest. Forgetting his mental exhaustion, he leaned forward.

“Eternity gives a lot, but it takes a special class to get everything—your class. I can see the past, the clairvoyant can see the future, the scribe can copy bits and pieces, but only you can do all of it together.” He took another chocolate mousse and scooped a spoonful. “I never got to see the future. I relied on someone to tell me about it… and he lied to me big time.” The bard ate another spoonful of mousse. “Worst thing was, before I could get mad he went insane and dumped his class onto his daughter. Sometimes you just gotta love the game.” He shook his head, letting out a sad laugh. “Use the skill. If it wasn’t useful, eternity wouldn’t have given it out.”

That much was true. From what Will had experienced so far, even the impractical skills had their uses. The combination of foresight and the ability to steer events was beyond broken to a degree far greater than anything Will had obtained so far.  

“Yeah,” Will said. “Thanks.”

“Get some rest.” The bard put the half-eaten mousse on the counter. “The sooner, the better.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Will waved his hand dismissively.

He knew the bard was right. Soon he was going to face the necromancer again, not to mention eternity itself, and he didn’t seem prepared in the least. Right now, he envied the ego of all those who wanted to rule eternity. The mentalist, the necromancer, even the tamer, were certain they could pull it off. Not June, though. Knowing what he had done, Will could see that the first rogue was a coward. Similar to the bard, he was too afraid to experiment himself, tricking others to do it for him. Yet, unlike the bard, June had access to everything eternity had to offer, just refused to use it.

“See you around,” Will went back to his standard loop cycle.

The boy re-experienced the arrival of the new mage, the forming of sides, all building up to the monumental clash that was to follow. Everything seemed so different. Knowledge and skills allowed him to see the tangled web of plots, deals, and alliances all around: animals and invisible copies spying all over the city, clusters of fate threads, not to mention all the electronic devices the modern world took for granted. In the past, he had barely taken any notice, constantly on the move, using the latest broken ability he had obtained to push ahead. Now, he could see the pieces, making him all the more aware of the extent to which he had been controlled.

Three loops from the contest challenge, Will’s attitude changed. This was the point of no return. Once the threshold was crossed, everything was up for grabs: either he was going to reach the end of eternity or be obliterated just like the mentalist.

“I say we try the five-star challenge,” Will suggested as he and the rest of his group were having breakfast at the bard’s café. The scribe wasn’t there—based on the original flow of events, he was going to be brought in after the end of the following reward phase.

“You high, Stoner?” Jace grumbled. “We’re not talking goblins here.”

“Bro’s right,” Alex backed the jock up. “That’s a pretty big ooof.”

“Does it matter? We need all the help we can get. If we fail, we lose nothing, but if we win…”

“Yeah, count me out.” Jace was adamant. “Want to risk your sanity? Do it on your own.”

The reaction was surprising. Last time everyone had agreed to the attempt. Although they had been a lot stronger back then, not to mention the scribe had been part of the team. Even so, this wasn’t an issue of concern. With the right fate thread, Will could easily manipulate a person to do pretty much anything he wanted.

“Bro.” Alex grabbed Will by the shoulder. Next thing, everything but the two of them had frozen. “Not a good idea, bro.”

Will remained calm. Alex was acting out of character, which could only mean one thing.

“What do you mean?” the rogue asked.

“The clairvoyant’s been keeping an eye on you.”

There was no point in pretending anymore.

“What did she tell you?” Will asked.

“A lot of impossible things. She said she can’t see you, which means you’ve gotten some very rare item or are using future echoes.” The goofball paused for a few seconds, all emotion draining from his face. “I’ve been watching you, so I know both should be impossible… unless something else happened.”

Shit! Leave it to Alex to figure things out at the worst possible moment. Worst of all, Will had himself to blame for not making use of the bard’s skill. As a thief, Will knew that all his lies would be detected; as a rogue, though, he knew there was enough to manipulate his friend.

“I know the grand scheme,” he said. “I know what you’re doing… both of you.”

The comment instantly got Alex’s attention. It wasn’t anything he did, his expression remained frozen as before. Rather, it was the lack of reaction that indicated the goofball was paying attention. This was a good opportunity to get him on Will’s side.

“And I’ll get us there.” Or try to, at least. “In five loops, give or take.”

“Five loops? That means…” Alex didn’t finish his sentence.

“I need to take everyone out before the reward phase, and that includes the necromancer,” Will spelled it out just to be certain. “That’s why I need all the help I can get.”

“When were you going to tell the rest?”

That was a rather uncomfortable question.

“I wasn’t.”

“You’ve gotten a lot closer to eternity, bro. How many times have you done this?”

There was no good answer to the question, so Will remained silent. In spite of everything, eternity had managed to sink its claws into the rogue. Apparently, it was the same for everyone—all was a matter of time.

“I’ll check with her,” Alex said. “If she says it’s okay, we’ll help you out.”

“Just the Earth participants.”

“Okay. I won’t go on your dragon challenge. You want that, you go on your own.”

It made sense. No one would want their opponents to get a sudden boost before a fight.

“Fine.”

Alex removed his hand, bringing time back to normal.

“We’re not at that level,” Helen turned to Will. “No one has completed that challenge. There’s a reason for that.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Still, wouldn’t it have been something? All of us taking down a dragon.”

The conversation devolved into casual banter. Three of the four people needed to enter the reward phase. Will had promised both Jace and Helen that he’d get them there. He had done so already once, yet this time it was a promise he would end up breaking. It was the way of eternity—sometimes even certainties got unraveled.

Finishing their snack, the group left the coffee shop, setting off to do a few more challenges before the start of the contest phase. Will waited a few minutes, then triggered the dragon challenge.

 

CHALLENGE MEMORIZED

Do you want to autocomplete it? Rewards gained will be the identical to those gained while using the puzzle pattern skill.

 

“Yes,” Will whispered.

 

DRAGON CHALLENGE REWARD (set)

Reward: 1 DIVINE TOKEN

 

You have made progress!

Restarting eternity

 

Events of Will’s past actions flashed before his eyes. He experienced all the actions he had done in the past, including killing the poison-spitting dragon. Strangely enough, although none of his friends were fighting along with him, the dragon behaved in exactly the same way as before. It was almost as if Will was watching a movie with elements cut out.

Two loops, he told himself. Two loops, then it ends.

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >

If anyone had told Will that it would take him forty-three attempts to relive his first paradox loop correctly, the boy would have laughed. As it turned out, catching lightning in a bottle was a lot more difficult than it sounded. Ironically, the issue wasn’t that Will was weak, but rather that he was too strong, while also being inexperienced.

The problems started with the hidden challenge. Facing fully boosted failures was more than difficult; it made it impossible for Will to hide his power level, and that caused issues. The main reason that the archer and her brother had resorted to allying with him, other than him being the rogue, was that he was an easy to manipulate rookie.

Twice, Will was killed by the failures; six times by the archer upon witnessing his power level. It was only on the ninth attempt that the rogue managed to claim the prize without any repercussions. From there, things got progressively more difficult.

As tempting as it was to eject Danny from eternity the moment Will appeared, that prevented a new mage from appearing on the scene and the rise of the tamer. On the surface, that seemed not too bad, but without the clash between two of the most aggressive participants, the desire to end eternity had vastly waned. Furthermore, Enigma High’s vice principal was far less inclined to help, leading to Will being swapped out by June.

Another dozen times, the tamer was the problem. Seeing Will’s taming abilities had quickly put him on the radar, quickly escalating into a massive battle. Wolves flooded the mirror realm, all in an effort to push Will out into the world, where a clash tore the city to shreds. The confidence the rogue had gained from killing a dragon rider during the challenge phase had quickly vanished upon seeing a real master in action. There was no doubt in the boy’s mind that if the tamer hadn’t been affected by the decaying curse, there would have been a lot more battles between him and the necromancer.

After the tamer came the engineer. No doubt he was acting on the necromancer’s behalf, but it was annoying facing someone who transformed parts of the city into a cybernetic hellscape. To make matters worse, just like the necromancer, the engineer didn’t fight his battles himself.

It had become obvious that the solution wasn’t to fight, even if it provided Will with experience in using his newfound skills. More specifically, the solution was to fight himself. There was a thin line between messing things up and attracting attention, but with enough persistence it was possible to follow it to the point he needed.

“You look like hell,” the bard said.

This wasn’t the first time the boy had appeared in the shop, yet the dullness in his eyes made it clear he had been through a lot.

Humming a tune, the barista got a cup of chocolate mousse and placed it on the table in front of Will.

“On the house.”

Will looked at the customary desert, then looked away. He didn’t feel like food. What he wanted to do was lie down and sleep for the rest of eternity.

“You didn’t use my skill, did you?” he asked.

“Tried.” Will leaned back. “Too complicated right now.”

“There’s a reason I only get one skill. You should get to know it better.”

“Yeah.”

There were many things that Will needed to do. One of them was to end his current future echo and start a new one. After everything he’d been through, he didn’t have the nerve to go through everything again.

“Why didn’t you stop the necromancer?” the boy asked. “You’ve been around, you could’ve snatched all the skills.”

“All the skills,” the bard chuckled. “I’ll need to remember that one. I’m sure lots of people have told you about the special peculiarities concerning your class.”

“I know.” Will sighed. “I can break the rules.”

“Consciously or not,” the barista added.

“Huh?”

“Consciously or not. Everyone thinks that it takes a conscious decision to break rules. There’s a whole legal and philosophical debate that could be held, but when it comes to eternity, it’s false. Have you ever noticed how easily things happen for you?”

“Easy?” Will snorted. “It wasn’t easy. And I had half the power players backing me all the way.”

“No. We back you up because you break the rules, whether you know it or not. The same goes for skills. Eternity blocked you from advancing the clairvoyant, didn’t it?”

This piqued Will’s interest. Forgetting his mental exhaustion, he leaned forward.

“Eternity gives a lot, but it takes a special class to get everything—your class. I can see the past, the clairvoyant can see the future, the scribe can copy bits and pieces, but only you can do all of it together.” He took another chocolate mousse and scooped a spoonful. “I never got to see the future. I relied on someone to tell me about it… and he lied to me big time.” The bard ate another spoonful of mousse. “Worst thing was, before I could get mad he went insane and dumped his class onto his daughter. Sometimes you just gotta love the game.” He shook his head, letting out a sad laugh. “Use the skill. If it wasn’t useful, eternity wouldn’t have given it out.”

That much was true. From what Will had experienced so far, even the impractical skills had their uses. The combination of foresight and the ability to steer events was beyond broken to a degree far greater than anything Will had obtained so far.  

“Yeah,” Will said. “Thanks.”

“Get some rest.” The bard put the half-eaten mousse on the counter. “The sooner, the better.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Will waved his hand dismissively.

He knew the bard was right. Soon he was going to face the necromancer again, not to mention eternity itself, and he didn’t seem prepared in the least. Right now, he envied the ego of all those who wanted to rule eternity. The mentalist, the necromancer, even the tamer, were certain they could pull it off. Not June, though. Knowing what he had done, Will could see that the first rogue was a coward. Similar to the bard, he was too afraid to experiment himself, tricking others to do it for him. Yet, unlike the bard, June had access to everything eternity had to offer, just refused to use it.

“See you around,” Will went back to his standard loop cycle.

The boy re-experienced the arrival of the new mage, the forming of sides, all building up to the monumental clash that was to follow. Everything seemed so different. Knowledge and skills allowed him to see the tangled web of plots, deals, and alliances all around: animals and invisible copies spying all over the city, clusters of fate threads, not to mention all the electronic devices the modern world took for granted. In the past, he had barely taken any notice, constantly on the move, using the latest broken ability he had obtained to push ahead. Now, he could see the pieces, making him all the more aware of the extent to which he had been controlled.

Three loops from the contest challenge, Will’s attitude changed. This was the point of no return. Once the threshold was crossed, everything was up for grabs: either he was going to reach the end of eternity or be obliterated just like the mentalist.

“I say we try the five-star challenge,” Will suggested as he and the rest of his group were having breakfast at the bard’s café. The scribe wasn’t there—based on the original flow of events, he was going to be brought in after the end of the following reward phase.

“You high, Stoner?” Jace grumbled. “We’re not talking goblins here.”

“Bro’s right,” Alex backed the jock up. “That’s a pretty big ooof.”

“Does it matter? We need all the help we can get. If we fail, we lose nothing, but if we win…”

“Yeah, count me out.” Jace was adamant. “Want to risk your sanity? Do it on your own.”

The reaction was surprising. Last time everyone had agreed to the attempt. Although they had been a lot stronger back then, not to mention the scribe had been part of the team. Even so, this wasn’t an issue of concern. With the right fate thread, Will could easily manipulate a person to do pretty much anything he wanted.

“Bro.” Alex grabbed Will by the shoulder. Next thing, everything but the two of them had frozen. “Not a good idea, bro.”

Will remained calm. Alex was acting out of character, which could only mean one thing.

“What do you mean?” the rogue asked.

“The clairvoyant’s been keeping an eye on you.”

There was no point in pretending anymore.

“What did she tell you?” Will asked.

“A lot of impossible things. She said she can’t see you, which means you’ve gotten some very rare item or are using future echoes.” The goofball paused for a few seconds, all emotion draining from his face. “I’ve been watching you, so I know both should be impossible… unless something else happened.”

Shit! Leave it to Alex to figure things out at the worst possible moment. Worst of all, Will had himself to blame for not making use of the bard’s skill. As a thief, Will knew that all his lies would be detected; as a rogue, though, he knew there was enough to manipulate his friend.

“I know the grand scheme,” he said. “I know what you’re doing… both of you.”

The comment instantly got Alex’s attention. It wasn’t anything he did, his expression remained frozen as before. Rather, it was the lack of reaction that indicated the goofball was paying attention. This was a good opportunity to get him on Will’s side.

“And I’ll get us there.” Or try to, at least. “In five loops, give or take.”

“Five loops? That means…” Alex didn’t finish his sentence.

“I need to take everyone out before the reward phase, and that includes the necromancer,” Will spelled it out just to be certain. “That’s why I need all the help I can get.”

“When were you going to tell the rest?”

That was a rather uncomfortable question.

“I wasn’t.”

“You’ve gotten a lot closer to eternity, bro. How many times have you done this?”

There was no good answer to the question, so Will remained silent. In spite of everything, eternity had managed to sink its claws into the rogue. Apparently, it was the same for everyone—all was a matter of time.

“I’ll check with her,” Alex said. “If she says it’s okay, we’ll help you out.”

“Just the Earth participants.”

“Okay. I won’t go on your dragon challenge. You want that, you go on your own.”

It made sense. No one would want their opponents to get a sudden boost before a fight.

“Fine.”

Alex removed his hand, bringing time back to normal.

“We’re not at that level,” Helen turned to Will. “No one has completed that challenge. There’s a reason for that.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Still, wouldn’t it have been something? All of us taking down a dragon.”

The conversation devolved into casual banter. Three of the four people needed to enter the reward phase. Will had promised both Jace and Helen that he’d get them there. He had done so already once, yet this time it was a promise he would end up breaking. It was the way of eternity—sometimes even certainties got unraveled.

Finishing their snack, the group left the coffee shop, setting off to do a few more challenges before the start of the contest phase. Will waited a few minutes, then triggered the dragon challenge.

 

CHALLENGE MEMORIZED

Do you want to autocomplete it? Rewards gained will be the identical to those gained while using the puzzle pattern skill.

 

“Yes,” Will whispered.

 

DRAGON CHALLENGE REWARD (set)

Reward: 1 DIVINE TOKEN

 

You have made progress!

Restarting eternity

 

Events of Will’s past actions flashed before his eyes. He experienced all the actions he had done in the past, including killing the poison-spitting dragon. Strangely enough, although none of his friends were fighting along with him, the dragon behaved in exactly the same way as before. It was almost as if Will was watching a movie with elements cut out.

Two loops, he told himself. Two loops, then it ends.

< Beginning | | Previously | | Next >

Knowing Oza, there was a one-in-three chance that she would change the conditions to any deal. The remaining two times she would simply take what Will was offering with nothing in return. The moment Will sensed the faint smell of gas in the elevator cabin, he knew what approach the cleric had taken.

So, it’s like this?

If she was going to be confrontational from the start, that was alright with him. Attracting attention this early wasn’t ideal. He still had the archer to face, but given the clairvoyant’s involvement, one could hope that she had seen things through. Also, looking pragmatically at things, the woman had done him a favor. True, she might have nudged Oza to forego the usual trade haggling and go for his head instead, but she had also managed to bring the elementalist to the radio tower.

In a flash, Will teleported to Oza’s office. The woman was, as always, sitting behind her fancy desk, focused on her computer screen. That was all and good, but the person the rogue wanted to find wasn’t to be seen.

Not wasting a moment, Will teleported again, this time into the corridor outside. Several temps lay on the floor unconscious. Gas filled the entire space. Apparently, Oza wanted Will unconscious—otherwise she wouldn’t be able to get the wrist strap off him.

A short distance away, right at the elevator’s entrance, stood the person Will had come to meet. He was unimposing in a sort of average way. In many regards, he resembled the lancer, only a decade younger. It was almost as if all mercenaries had a distinct look.

The moment Will made a step forward his foot sank in. The floor gripped him like quicksand, trapping him in place. The elementalist noticed and turned around. His hand darted to come into contact with the floor.

 

REALITY SHIFT

 

The people in the corridor vanished. The cheap furniture and wall decorations vanished, replaced by white concrete walls. The doors were all polished steel with no names or numbers, as if they were part of a military bunker.

A loud slap echoed as the elementalist’s hand came into contact with the floor. An instant later it turned to lava.

Will teleported before the heat could have any effect. When he appeared again, he had his knife up to the elementalist’s neck.

“Don’t,” Will said, standing on the wall itself. In such circumstances, the foot of stability came quite in handy. “Just don’t.”

No threats were needed. Will’s tone said it all, showing exactly how much pain he was willing to inflict.

“You’re no newbie,” the elementalist said, remaining perfectly still.

“I am, and if you say otherwise, I’ll cause you more grief than the mentalist did.”

This, in turn, was a very specific threat. It was a gamble whether the man had witnessed the mentalist’s actions, but given the rumors and the degree to which the mere mention of the class terrified participants, it was a safe bet that he’d be more responsive to Will’s follow-up.

“Is the mirror on you?” the boy asked.

The man nodded.

“We go through the deal. I get the class for the rest of the loop, and you get my wrist strap. I don’t care what you tell Oza.”

“You just want the class?”

Clearly, the man was unaware of Will’s copycat skill. That was a nice relief.

The knife vanished from Will’s hand. The boy took out the strap and removed his mirror fragment from it.

“Here.”

As the elementalist stood up, the floor turned to stone once more. Carefully, he took the item and examined it.

“How did you get this?” he asked.

“Does it matter?” Will asked on reflex. “Favors. Now, your part?”

If there was a point at which the elementalist would try to run, this was it. Then again, there was nowhere he could run. The reality Will had taken him to was an empty world. Naturally, he could always wait for his loop to end, then go to see Oza. Even now, the man was calculating the risks and benefits.

“Alright,” he said after a while. There was no upside to crossing a mentalist.

Reaching into his back pocket, the mentalist took out a small metal flask—the type one used to store alcohol in old movies. The man opened it and poured the substance onto the floor. Silvery liquid trickled down, forming a small puddle.

“Mercury?” Will asked. That explained why no one was able to find this mirror. Not only did the man always have it on him, but he had also used his abilities to change its state to liquid.

“Go ahead,” the elementalist said.

“Doesn’t it have to harden?” Will asked, fascinated by what he was looking at.

 

[You can use it]

 

Letters appeared, confirming that the silver puddle was the real deal. That was all Will needed to mentally activate it.

 

You have discovered THE ELEMENTALIST (number 9).

Use additional mirrors to find out more. Good luck!

 

That was it. The corridor was instantly returned to reality with the sole difference that Will wasn’t there any longer. Instead, he proceeded straight to complete the class’ solo challenge.

Under normal circumstances, passing the first floor would have been impossible. Elementalists had the power to control elements, which meant modifying the state of matter as they saw fit, not to mention creating golems. Even so, they were dreadfully slow.

The first four floors Will didn’t have to use anything other than daggers. After that, he picked things up a notch and used a machine gun. It was the first time he had used one of the weapons he had created as an engineer. After relying on hands, magic, and medieval weapons for so long, firearms felt outright unnatural. They did the job, giving the mannequins no chance. Only on the final floor did the opponents pose somewhat of a challenge, but a few teleportations and it was quickly over.

 

You have made progress!

Restarting eternity.

 

“You sure you aren’t supposed to be in class?” the barista asked as Will and Helen entered the coffee shop.

“We’ll be there second period,” Helen said with a straight face. “Until then, we’ll have some of your mousse.”

“Cool.” The man was hesitant, but seeing as they had cash, he didn’t protest for much longer.

Will placed his phone on the table. Seven minutes remained until the end of the initial ten-minute loop.

“Think we should have extended it?” Helen asked.

“Don’t know,” Will sounded conflicted.

His conscience was struggling with what he was about to do. He kept telling himself that it wouldn’t hurt her, besides, she had also done things that could be considered as a betrayal. Unfortunately, real life wasn’t neat like that. All emotions were a one-way street. The best one could hope for was that the other side would have enough of them to understand.

“Maybe?” He summoned a mirror bead from his inventory. Shortly later, it dissolved, transforming into gas.

“It’s better like this,” Helen continued. “We’ll get to focus on...” her words trailed off.

The gas had its effect on the girl’s nervous system. A few seconds more and she’d be completely out with no memory of what had happened during the loop.

As the girl collapsed on the table, Will was sure to catch her and gently lay her down. At the entrance, the bard locked the door and placed the closed sign.

“That was a bit much,” the bard said. “You could have just said.”

“The lancer will attack this loop,” Will replied. “After that—”

“Spenser will get involved and save your ass,” the bard let out a chuckle. “Not that you need saving. You need to be a bit more careful. Ripples are difficult to get rid of.”

Screeching sounds were heard outside followed by a massive crash. Two cars had run into one another on the crossroads. One was too eager to be the first to accelerate at the change of the lights, while the other decided to be the last to take advantage of the yellow light. There didn’t seem to be any serious injuries, but the entire section was gridlocked and at the worst possible time.

“I’m still missing one,” Will admitted. “The necromancer.”

“That’s the least of your problems.”

Of all the responses in the world, that was one no one wanted to hear. The necromancer remained the greatest threat there was, with the only possible exception of June. The issue with June was that despite all his trinkets, he had to follow certain rules. The necromancer, on the other hand, had created a small army whose only role was to break them.

“You asked me why you weren’t able to end eternity even after completing all the challenges,” the bard continued. “The answer is simple—you didn’t complete all the challenges.

Will was about to respond, when the reality of what the bard was saying hit him.

“I must complete all the challenges?” he asked. “That’s…”

“Crazy? Yeah.” The bard laughed. “It’s mostly speculation. There’s more, but you’ll learn that once you get my skill. The issue is that you’ll need to get rid of the necromancer before that happens. Also, you’ll have to lead the initiative.”

Things were difficult to begin with, and still the bard was piling on conditions as if they were in fashion again.

“I saw what happened when the tamer tried it. What if I do it during the paradox loop?”

“The other paradox loop?” The barista arched his eyebrows. “Doubt it would work. Reflections can’t win big prizes. Maybe you’ll get something out of it, being the rogue and all, but no, I don’t see that working. You’ll have to wait for the new mage to emerge, then reach the reward phase.”

“That might be slightly tricky. I—”

“Alone,” the bard added as Will was talking. “You must be the only one from Earth to reach the reward phase.”

Will couldn’t take it any longer. His rage bubbled over, causing him to summon a sword and slash the entire inside of the café. Everything from the display cases and the furniture to the floor and ceiling itself was sliced to bits. Helen and the bard were the only things the blade didn’t touch.

There was no need to be concerned about consequences. After a few more minutes, the lancer would arrive and destroy what was left.

While the hurricane of destruction took place, the bard calmly remained at the entrance, occasionally glancing outside. The car crash was among the relatively new events that had occurred, piquing his interest.

“Done?” he asked casually.

A dagger split the air, striking the floor a quarter of an inch from his left foot.

“It can be done,” the bard said. “Just make sure to knock out enough other-reality participants before killing off the usual suspects.”

“That’s not the point,” Will said, still gripping the sword.

In truth, he hadn’t thought of that trick. Eternity only selected the ten best participants to continue. After the first mentalist had punctured reality beyond repair, over a hundred participants poured to Earth eager to acquire as many skills and levels as possible, yet the number of top rankers remained. The rules also held firm that only participants from Earth’s reality could be sent on to Earth’s reward phase.

“How do I get the necromancer’s mirror when he’s hiding all the time?” Will thought of the first question that came to mind.

“He can’t hide from the contest phase. He won’t be on the front lines, but he’ll be there. You just need to pull him out. And thanks to my skill, you will. Just don’t overdo it.”

It all came down to the bard skill. In short, Will was expected to make his own destiny and crush anyone who tried to interfere in it.

The boy unsummoned his sword and looked around. The level of destruction was impressive, especially considering that none of the people or street windows had been touched. If someone didn’t know better, they’d swear that all this was fake, carefully arranged to attract attention.

“Why didn’t you do it?” Will asked. “You’ve had enough time to collect all the classes. Hell, you could have gotten any skill and item you wanted. Why leave it to someone else?”

“Because I can’t be certain. I might know more than most, but I’ve no idea what eternity is. Just because I’m the first doesn’t mean I’m not a pawn. Several thought they had figured it out, and all of them failed miserably. The clairvoyant seems to think that you’re the one who can make it happen. If you don’t, I’ll be here to guide the next hopeful to the starting line.”

Will stared, unable to say a word. The first thought that came to mind was that the bard was a coward, though thanks to all the natures of the classes gathered, he could also see the big picture. When it came to eternity, it didn’t matter who ended it, as long as someone did. All the bard was doing was building up the knowledge so that each next rogue had a better chance. It was difficult to hate such a person, although it was impossible to like him either.

“Where does the necromancer keep his mirror?” Will asked.

“He’s a coward, so it’s probably in him somewhere. Once you kill him, you’ll have to check.”

“That would require a hell of a lot of future echoes.”

“Enough to drive someone crazy.” The bard gave a sad smile. “So, try not to fail too often. And if it’s any consolation, I’ll always be here to give advice.”

“I bet.”

 

FUTURE ECHOES

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >

Knowing Oza, there was a one-in-three chance that she would change the conditions to any deal. The remaining two times she would simply take what Will was offering with nothing in return. The moment Will sensed the faint smell of gas in the elevator cabin, he knew what approach the cleric had taken.

So, it’s like this?

If she was going to be confrontational from the start, that was alright with him. Attracting attention this early wasn’t ideal. He still had the archer to face, but given the clairvoyant’s involvement, one could hope that she had seen things through. Also, looking pragmatically at things, the woman had done him a favor. True, she might have nudged Oza to forego the usual trade haggling and go for his head instead, but she had also managed to bring the elementalist to the radio tower.

In a flash, Will teleported to Oza’s office. The woman was, as always, sitting behind her fancy desk, focused on her computer screen. That was all and good, but the person the rogue wanted to find wasn’t to be seen.

Not wasting a moment, Will teleported again, this time into the corridor outside. Several temps lay on the floor unconscious. Gas filled the entire space. Apparently, Oza wanted Will unconscious—otherwise she wouldn’t be able to get the wrist strap off him.

A short distance away, right at the elevator’s entrance, stood the person Will had come to meet. He was unimposing in a sort of average way. In many regards, he resembled the lancer, only a decade younger. It was almost as if all mercenaries had a distinct look.

The moment Will made a step forward his foot sank in. The floor gripped him like quicksand, trapping him in place. The elementalist noticed and turned around. His hand darted to come into contact with the floor.

 

REALITY SHIFT

 

The people in the corridor vanished. The cheap furniture and wall decorations vanished, replaced by white concrete walls. The doors were all polished steel with no names or numbers, as if they were part of a military bunker.

A loud slap echoed as the elementalist’s hand came into contact with the floor. An instant later it turned to lava.

Will teleported before the heat could have any effect. When he appeared again, he had his knife up to the elementalist’s neck.

“Don’t,” Will said, standing on the wall itself. In such circumstances, the foot of stability came quite in handy. “Just don’t.”

No threats were needed. Will’s tone said it all, showing exactly how much pain he was willing to inflict.

“You’re no newbie,” the elementalist said, remaining perfectly still.

“I am, and if you say otherwise, I’ll cause you more grief than the mentalist did.”

This, in turn, was a very specific threat. It was a gamble whether the man had witnessed the mentalist’s actions, but given the rumors and the degree to which the mere mention of the class terrified participants, it was a safe bet that he’d be more responsive to Will’s follow-up.

“Is the mirror on you?” the boy asked.

The man nodded.

“We go through the deal. I get the class for the rest of the loop, and you get my wrist strap. I don’t care what you tell Oza.”

“You just want the class?”

Clearly, the man was unaware of Will’s copycat skill. That was a nice relief.

The knife vanished from Will’s hand. The boy took out the strap and removed his mirror fragment from it.

“Here.”

As the elementalist stood up, the floor turned to stone once more. Carefully, he took the item and examined it.

“How did you get this?” he asked.

“Does it matter?” Will asked on reflex. “Favors. Now, your part?”

If there was a point at which the elementalist would try to run, this was it. Then again, there was nowhere he could run. The reality Will had taken him to was an empty world. Naturally, he could always wait for his loop to end, then go to see Oza. Even now, the man was calculating the risks and benefits.

“Alright,” he said after a while. There was no upside to crossing a mentalist.

Reaching into his back pocket, the mentalist took out a small metal flask—the type one used to store alcohol in old movies. The man opened it and poured the substance onto the floor. Silvery liquid trickled down, forming a small puddle.

“Mercury?” Will asked. That explained why no one was able to find this mirror. Not only did the man always have it on him, but he had also used his abilities to change its state to liquid.

“Go ahead,” the elementalist said.

“Doesn’t it have to harden?” Will asked, fascinated by what he was looking at.

 

[You can use it]

 

Letters appeared, confirming that the silver puddle was the real deal. That was all Will needed to mentally activate it.

 

You have discovered THE ELEMENTALIST (number 9).

Use additional mirrors to find out more. Good luck!

 

That was it. The corridor was instantly returned to reality with the sole difference that Will wasn’t there any longer. Instead, he proceeded straight to complete the class’ solo challenge.

Under normal circumstances, passing the first floor would have been impossible. Elementalists had the power to control elements, which meant modifying the state of matter as they saw fit, not to mention creating golems. Even so, they were dreadfully slow.

The first four floors Will didn’t have to use anything other than daggers. After that, he picked things up a notch and used a machine gun. It was the first time he had used one of the weapons he had created as an engineer. After relying on hands, magic, and medieval weapons for so long, firearms felt outright unnatural. They did the job, giving the mannequins no chance. Only on the final floor did the opponents pose somewhat of a challenge, but a few teleportations and it was quickly over.

 

You have made progress!

Restarting eternity.

 

“You sure you aren’t supposed to be in class?” the barista asked as Will and Helen entered the coffee shop.

“We’ll be there second period,” Helen said with a straight face. “Until then, we’ll have some of your mousse.”

“Cool.” The man was hesitant, but seeing as they had cash, he didn’t protest for much longer.

Will placed his phone on the table. Seven minutes remained until the end of the initial ten-minute loop.

“Think we should have extended it?” Helen asked.

“Don’t know,” Will sounded conflicted.

His conscience was struggling with what he was about to do. He kept telling himself that it wouldn’t hurt her, besides, she had also done things that could be considered as a betrayal. Unfortunately, real life wasn’t neat like that. All emotions were a one-way street. The best one could hope for was that the other side would have enough of them to understand.

“Maybe?” He summoned a mirror bead from his inventory. Shortly later, it dissolved, transforming into gas.

“It’s better like this,” Helen continued. “We’ll get to focus on...” her words trailed off.

The gas had its effect on the girl’s nervous system. A few seconds more and she’d be completely out with no memory of what had happened during the loop.

As the girl collapsed on the table, Will was sure to catch her and gently lay her down. At the entrance, the bard locked the door and placed the closed sign.

“That was a bit much,” the bard said. “You could have just said.”

“The lancer will attack this loop,” Will replied. “After that—”

“Spenser will get involved and save your ass,” the bard let out a chuckle. “Not that you need saving. You need to be a bit more careful. Ripples are difficult to get rid of.”

Screeching sounds were heard outside followed by a massive crash. Two cars had run into one another on the crossroads. One was too eager to be the first to accelerate at the change of the lights, while the other decided to be the last to take advantage of the yellow light. There didn’t seem to be any serious injuries, but the entire section was gridlocked and at the worst possible time.

“I’m still missing one,” Will admitted. “The necromancer.”

“That’s the least of your problems.”

Of all the responses in the world, that was one no one wanted to hear. The necromancer remained the greatest threat there was, with the only possible exception of June. The issue with June was that despite all his trinkets, he had to follow certain rules. The necromancer, on the other hand, had created a small army whose only role was to break them.

“You asked me why you weren’t able to end eternity even after completing all the challenges,” the bard continued. “The answer is simple—you didn’t complete all the challenges.

Will was about to respond, when the reality of what the bard was saying hit him.

“I must complete all the challenges?” he asked. “That’s…”

“Crazy? Yeah.” The bard laughed. “It’s mostly speculation. There’s more, but you’ll learn that once you get my skill. The issue is that you’ll need to get rid of the necromancer before that happens. Also, you’ll have to lead the initiative.”

Things were difficult to begin with, and still the bard was piling on conditions as if they were in fashion again.

“I saw what happened when the tamer tried it. What if I do it during the paradox loop?”

“The other paradox loop?” The barista arched his eyebrows. “Doubt it would work. Reflections can’t win big prizes. Maybe you’ll get something out of it, being the rogue and all, but no, I don’t see that working. You’ll have to wait for the new mage to emerge, then reach the reward phase.”

“That might be slightly tricky. I—”

“Alone,” the bard added as Will was talking. “You must be the only one from Earth to reach the reward phase.”

Will couldn’t take it any longer. His rage bubbled over, causing him to summon a sword and slash the entire inside of the café. Everything from the display cases and the furniture to the floor and ceiling itself was sliced to bits. Helen and the bard were the only things the blade didn’t touch.

There was no need to be concerned about consequences. After a few more minutes, the lancer would arrive and destroy what was left.

While the hurricane of destruction took place, the bard calmly remained at the entrance, occasionally glancing outside. The car crash was among the relatively new events that had occurred, piquing his interest.

“Done?” he asked casually.

A dagger split the air, striking the floor a quarter of an inch from his left foot.

“It can be done,” the bard said. “Just make sure to knock out enough other-reality participants before killing off the usual suspects.”

“That’s not the point,” Will said, still gripping the sword.

In truth, he hadn’t thought of that trick. Eternity only selected the ten best participants to continue. After the first mentalist had punctured reality beyond repair, over a hundred participants poured to Earth eager to acquire as many skills and levels as possible, yet the number of top rankers remained. The rules also held firm that only participants from Earth’s reality could be sent on to Earth’s reward phase.

“How do I get the necromancer’s mirror when he’s hiding all the time?” Will thought of the first question that came to mind.

“He can’t hide from the contest phase. He won’t be on the front lines, but he’ll be there. You just need to pull him out. And thanks to my skill, you will. Just don’t overdo it.”

It all came down to the bard skill. In short, Will was expected to make his own destiny and crush anyone who tried to interfere in it.

The boy unsummoned his sword and looked around. The level of destruction was impressive, especially considering that none of the people or street windows had been touched. If someone didn’t know better, they’d swear that all this was fake, carefully arranged to attract attention.

“Why didn’t you do it?” Will asked. “You’ve had enough time to collect all the classes. Hell, you could have gotten any skill and item you wanted. Why leave it to someone else?”

“Because I can’t be certain. I might know more than most, but I’ve no idea what eternity is. Just because I’m the first doesn’t mean I’m not a pawn. Several thought they had figured it out, and all of them failed miserably. The clairvoyant seems to think that you’re the one who can make it happen. If you don’t, I’ll be here to guide the next hopeful to the starting line.”

Will stared, unable to say a word. The first thought that came to mind was that the bard was a coward, though thanks to all the natures of the classes gathered, he could also see the big picture. When it came to eternity, it didn’t matter who ended it, as long as someone did. All the bard was doing was building up the knowledge so that each next rogue had a better chance. It was difficult to hate such a person, although it was impossible to like him either.

“Where does the necromancer keep his mirror?” Will asked.

“He’s a coward, so it’s probably in him somewhere. Once you kill him, you’ll have to check.”

“That would require a hell of a lot of future echoes.”

“Enough to drive someone crazy.” The bard gave a sad smile. “So, try not to fail too often. And if it’s any consolation, I’ll always be here to give advice.”

“I bet.”

 

FUTURE ECHOES

< Beginning | | Previously |

 

GIMESH, LORD OF GOBLINS

(Virhol Faction)

 

This was the third time Will would have faced the tutorial boss in a challenge, even if he had defeated him in one-on-one a whole lot more. The army of goblins was significantly stronger than before. There was a time when two red goblins were nearly impossible to handle. Now, there were over a dozen. While the smaller minions poured out of hundreds of mirrors, causing chaos in the city, the red ones concentrated on the participants.

“Let’s split up!” Will shouted, charging at the wave of creatures. “I’ll lure them away. You focus on the golem!”

“For real, bro? Big ooof!” Alex shouted.

Will didn’t look back.

Follow me. The boy thought of using the basic tamer skill. Normally, the ability was meant to lure beasts, yet since the goblins were considered part of a challenge and non-human, there was some chance of success.

 

[Lure can only be used on animals]

 

A message flashed on the boy’s mirror fragment.

“Was worth a try,” Will said, then threw a series of knives at the red goblins.

The action infuriated them a lot more than any tamer skill could. Three quarters of them rushed after Will, eager to tear him limb from limb. The rest remained where they were, blocking the path to the goblin lord and his concrete golem.

Finally! Will turned a corner. It would have been easier to make use of his special abilities, yet if he did, Danny—and by extension the necromancer—would learn more than he was supposed to.

“How about a hand?” Will asked.

“Seriously? You’re total shit.”

“You want the boss dead,” Will added with a hint of spite. “What do I have to do?”

He already knew the answer, but he needed Danny to tell him. Things were always different when people thought they were in control. One by one the red goblins were killed off and Will didn’t need to lift a finger. Looking at Danny’s approach, he couldn’t help but notice how weak the other was. The only thing that had given him an advantage in the past was the skill to outshine his opponent. There was a strong chance that it, too, had been a gift from June.

In less than a minute, Will had acquired nine skills he had no plan of ever using. If nothing else, they were good to burn through should he ever have the need.

Helen and the rest of the group had also done a pretty good job defeating their opponents. The effort to do it had been a lot more, but given the danger Helen and Alex had slightly tipped their hand. The occasional strike would be stronger than it was supposed to be, not to mention that sometimes a mirror copy would cease to be a mirror copy for just long enough to inflict a fatal wound.

The guard was gone, the wave of pesky goblins pierced through, then came time for the goblin lord himself.

Break the items, Will thought, ordering his shadow wolf.

Not a single person saw the creature strike, yet when Alex threw a knife at the annoying fancy goblin, the weapon struck its head, killing it on the spot.

 

TUTORIAL CHALLENGE REWARDS (set)

1. REWARD CHOICE (permanent) already present. New reward added to avoid duplication.

2. PERSONAL MIRROR FRAGMENT already present. New reward added to avoid duplication.

3. 65623 COINS

 

I want to choose something new, Will thought a split second after the reward message appeared. The less Danny, or anyone else, got to see something that could arouse suspicion, the better.  

 

TUTORIAL CHALLENGE REWARDS (updated)

1. THIRD EYE (permanent): see the location and characteristics of all of eternity’s items. Enhances the use of map fragments.

2. 65623 COINS

 

That was it. All of a sudden, lines of text appeared above every special item in sight. Will’s own mirror fragment dagger came with a set of numbers, even if the linked abilities weren’t anything to speak of.

Map fragments? Will remembered getting one of those at some point. He had wondered what their exact use was. Apparently, now he could find out, although he still had to go through Danny’s inevitable betrayal.

I really hate this part. The boy went up to the body and pressed his fragment against the goblin lord’s corpse.

Events continued as he remembered them. After the rest of his group were killed, he tried to behave helpless for a while, but that proved too much of a bother. Barely stretching the act to one full minute, Will then “killed” the reflection.

When eternity restarted, the first major change became visible

“Bro! First place!” Alex said, grinning like a madman. “That was lit! Passing the tutorial in one go and landing at the top of the leaderboards!”

Maybe at some point in the far past that had some significance. Right now, all it did was put targets on their backs.

“Guys,” Helen said. “Look at the hints.”

Will didn’t. He knew exactly what they meant. Besides, all this was a performance on her part for his sake. Even back then she was doing her best to gently guide him into eternity, not making it seem too obvious.

Promises made, strategies discussed. Having gone through this once before, Will knew that nothing that was said mattered. At this point, everyone already had their own agendas. The best approach was to focus on what he had returned to.

The crafter was the first of the remaining classes he maxed out. Having seven body parts made it beyond easy, especially after acquiring a few wound-ignoring items.

The archer and the warrior followed. To be on the safe side, Will resorted to the use of prediction loops, although he never actually needed them. After that, the floodgates broke open.

One by one, each class was mastered, granting new and unexpected skills to Will’s arsenal. Each of them had their nature and way of fighting; some were slightly different from the rest, while others had absolutely nothing in common.

The summoner and tamer relied entirely on using creatures in battle. One was easily completed thanks to the efforts of Light and Shadow alone, while the other required Will to force his way into the psyche of increasingly strong monsters and break it until they were subjected to his will.

The engineer required quick thinking and resourcefulness, focused on having Will create mechanical attachments to his own body while destroying those the marionettes had. In contrast, the acrobat only had him evade traps and obstacles.

Out of all, however, the mentalist remained the strangest. In a way, it was similar to the clairvoyant, yet instead of time, it allowed Will to split reality in terms of space. A place was no longer just a place, but an infinite selection of realities, each of them versions of what could have been. Most terrifying of all, the skills granted Will the ability to punch into the reality of other factions. He didn’t have the power of creating portals, but could easily enter into the realities of other factions.

It took twenty-three prediction loops for Will to complete the mentalist challenge, and when he did, he was no longer sure what was real or not anymore. Dozens of loops passed with him returning to his role of the confused newbie, helping Alex read through June’s notes, joining the alliance against the archer, and pretending to go on common challenges to get stronger.

Finally, as the contest phase approached, the rogue felt well enough to pick up the final piece before having another conversation with the bard. For that, he needed to acquire one more class.

Will was just about to send a message to the clairvoyant asking for information on the elementalist when his phone rang.

Always on top of things, aren’t you? Will took a deep breath and accepted the call.

“Hi, Alex’s future wife,” Will said, not giving the person on the other side a chance to utter a word. The silence that followed indicated that he had been correct in his assumption. “You still want me to end eternity, I take it?”

“What do you need?”

“I thought you saw years into the future?”

“You did something to break my predictions, so I have to start again. You weren’t supposed to learn about me until after the paradox loop.”

“Which paradox loop?” Will couldn’t help himself.

The question had the effect he was hoping it would have. The woman fell silent again. Several seconds passed without anyone saying a word. Finally, it was Will who continued.

“I want you to arrange a meeting with Oza,” he said. “Convince her I have something to trade in exchange for the elementalist’s mirror.”

A new wave of silence followed.

“I need it to—”

“Shut up!” the clairvoyant snapped. “I’m working on it!”

Of course you are, Will thought. That was the difference between him and the clairvoyant. For her, every problem was a nail which she had to strike in a thousand ways to determine how to best slam it in.

“You’ll offer your wrist strap,” she said half a minute later. “You’ll ask to test out the class for a loop. That should be enough, right?”

“Thanks. When?”

Another fifteen seconds passed.

“Be at the lobby after twenty-seven minutes.” The clairvoyant ended the call.

Will checked the time. There was too much of it and, at the same time, not enough. Will didn’t feel like chatting with his classmates, nor was he in the mood for the long conversation with the bard. There was the possibility of spending some time with Jess. As a former participant, she would understand him running off on a whim, yet in this version of events, she still didn’t know that he had joined eternity.

Aiming to waste time, Will decided to go for a walk. Many of the events that took place felt familiar, but even he had to admit that there were minor differences. The changes he had introduced were compounding. After what he planned to do, they’d be even more different. The important thing was not to mess things up until the start of the other paradox loop.

People went by on foot and in cars, all rushing for their daily routines. Some of them thought they were hurrying for the most important thing in their lives. Seeing any event repeated thousands of times made it seem insignificant. That’s what separated temps and participants—only participants got to rush for the important moments. And yet, ironically, if Will managed to pull off the most important thing in his life, he would likely go back to being a temp. Once again, the moments were going to matter.

“You really should have a higher opinion of us,” a voice said from the sunlight. “With you chipping in, we can devour him ourselves.”

It was always amusing listening to Light. The flame vixen always had a high opinion of herself. There was no denying that she cared a lot. When it came down to it, she was willing to go supernova at Will’s say-so, no matter the circumstances.

“I know, guys,” Will whispered. “We’ll still get him.”

The boy checked the time again. Several minutes remained. If anyone else had told him to be on the spot at the specific time, he would have gone right now. Coming from a clairvoyant, he endured two hundred seconds more, then teleported to the front of the radio tower.

Walking in like a star, he headed straight for reception, all the time ready for a fight should it come to that.

“Hi,” he said with a polite smile. “I’m here to see—”

“Oh, we’ve been expecting you.” The woman rushed out from behind the reception, giving the lobby security guard a quick nod. “Please.” She called the elevator for Will.

“Thanks.”

Oza had arranged for that treatment again. Will was mildly curious what she had presented him as. Was he an influencer, a startup mogul, or merely the child of someone famous? Whatever the case, the receptionist was definitely overeagerly polite, engaging in trivial small talk until the elevator doors opened.

“Please go right in.” The woman waited, then reached in and pressed the floor button. “Apologies, it’s an old system.”

“No problem,” Will said with a tone of voice that suggested he was moderately annoyed.

“Someone will meet you upstairs.”

A sense of unease swept over Will. Were they seriously going to try and do something while he was in the elevator?

“Well, guys.” Will cracked his fingers. “We might go into action earlier than you thought.”

< Beginning | | Previously... | | Next >