Chapter 98: Chapter 98

“We need to stop meeting …”

“And miss out on the surprise when I perfectly counter every spell you throw at me? I think not.”

Train. Teach. Die. Repeat.

This was Orodan’s new set of mad loops.

After recovering his memories and repairing his soul, he had dealt with the ancient machine, gathered everyone and then proceeded to reconvene in Anthus.

Although with a few new additions as the Lieutenant-General of Anthus gave an order via communications amulet and the anti-spatiomancy wards for the city were given a brief opening.

Space distorted, a rift was opened, and an entire elven delegation of armed soldiers stepped through and into the war room of Anthus. There were a dozen Republican soldiers too, but merely at the Master-level. The elves however, had eight Grandmasters, all of them here for the express purpose of guarding one elf.

“Lieutenant-General Tegin Carrotfoot… we have received your letter and the most outrageous claims within it. Claims of a time loop and of future events which have yet to occur.”

The tension in the room was palpable among the elven Grandmasters and the Republic’s mere Master-level guards who had been called here to remain on standby. The difference in combat power and quality between the two nations was clear. Perhaps if it had been Novarria such a confrontation would have been more even. But as it stood, the Republic’s Masters on guard could only stand against superior odds if things came to violence.

Which, was entirely unnecessary as Orodan simply walked up and clinked Eldarion atop the head with Fenton’s orb.

The elven Grandmasters behind the elf were mid-attack, about to chop, blast or hammer Orodan into the ground for daring to touch their leader when a powerful voice interrupted them.

It was a command from their lord himself, and the rightful attacks launched in defense of Eldarion immediately halted. The elf’s eyes took on a look of wonder as though recalling something of great importance.

And instead of looking at Orodan, the elf instead looked to Adeltaj.

“Honored friend, it is good to see you once more. Do you remember our time together?”

“Of course, esteemed Lord Eldarion. In fact, today, it is my honor to welcome you to the Republic. I quite wish to show you around the lands of House Simarji, humble though humble they may be. And from thence, a tour of the Eastern Kingdoms and the tea leaves you so enjoyed,” the old halberdier replied with a smile.

It was the oddest thing, from his perspective, to see two people reconnect with one another with their shared memories across the time loops.

Right before Orodan had left Eldiron, Adeltaj had convinced Eldarion to transfer a set of memories to the orb. It was an entirely costless thing, and the elf had grudgingly agreed. After all, what was the risk? If it was a lie, then he had nothing to lose. But if it was true?

That outcome was taking place right now.

“Much as I would wish to, I am afraid the fact that my entire worldview has been upended takes precedences,” the elf said and then turned to Orodan. “Unless this is the most elaborate illusion I have ever seen, or I am under mind magic the likes of which I have never seen before… I am in a time loop, aren’t I? Or more accurately, you are.”

A nearby elf Grandmaster, a mind mage by the looks of it, gave Eldarion a subtle nod.

“No signs of any illusion my lord, no forced mind magic either, though the orb did establish a connection with your mind.”

“And it was not at all a forcible assault or transfer. Remarkable…” the elven lord of friendship muttered. “I would much like to meet the absolutely prodigious enchanter who designed this. How many millennia this master crafter must have honed their art to make such an orb!”

“Fifteen years in fact. With no formal education either,” Orodan said, fondly recalling the lad. “And believe me, Eldarion, I would very much like to meet him again too. His final memories are within this orb I hold.”

“No. Among his final words to me were the worry that he would be forced to return to a life of misery where his mother was incurably ill and dying,” Orodan sternly interrupted. “Until Alastaia is safe. Until we can defend it against all comers… I will not bring him back. He deserves that much at least.”

And frankly… Orodan wanted to make Alastaia worthy of being Fenton’s true home. Not just so that the lad could live a good life as he deserved, but also because his ability to permanently alter the starting conditions of the time loop with his Celestial skill had caused an ambitious desire to brew in his mind.

Although to reach it, would require much training, hard work and death.

“Then the plan you discussed right before departing Eldiron… it still holds true?” Eldarion asked.

“Aye. That it does,” Orodan said and then proffered his hand. “I will not lie. I have many enemies and the wider cosmos even within our local area of the void is not as safe as I would like. The Hegemony, the nominal overlords of our star system, are cruel tyrants all. And beyond that lies the malicious ambitions of the corrupted Celestial Emperor and his many worlds of cultivation. And past that, the ever-covetous mercenary dwarves. Alastaia faces many threats beyond just the Eldritch Avatar, and while I will fight on its behalf forever… I cannot be everywhere at once and would not create a feeble world whose peoples grow weak with dependence upon my strength. I ask then… will you join me, Eldarion… in safeguarding our world?”

The elf looked conflicted. Orodan felt that he wanted to agree, but certain concerns were holding him back.

“You will bring Balastion Novar and the Empire of Novarria into this as well, won’t you?”

“I will,” Orodan answered. “That displeases you.”

“I… am not as paranoid of Novarria’s ambitions as my wife Cithrel is. But that crown of his, bearing the Eldritch taint it does, is a grave threat to our world and the peace between our continents.”

“And it shall be disposed of. Would that make your decision easier?” Orodan asked.

“It… it would. Very well,” the elf said, meeting the offered hand. “If our world is to be defended, then I am with you on this, Orodan Wainwright. These time loops of yours… together we can grow stronger. Not just you, but I, Adeltaj and even Balastion Novar. Alastaia will no longer rely upon the singular strength of one warrior.”

“And not just us,” Adeltaj spoke up. “But that spider dragon beneath the Dokuhan Mountains, the dragon flights, the Guzuharans. Together, we can rise above our station. We can become capable of defending our world and its peoples against threats from all corners of the cosmos.”

Adeltaj wasn’t wrong. The plan truly began to solidify in Orodan’s mind. During the long loop in which he’d ventured out to the cosmos for the first time, he’d formed a joint-council of Inuan, Eldiron and Guzuhar to rule the planet in his stead when he’d been World Conqueror of Alastaia. But even then where was their strength? Where were their armies which could resist any hostile forces of the cosmos?

The answer was that there were none. During the Battle for Alastaia the bulk of the work had been done by his allies from Xian, the Conclave, the Unity and the Blackworth Collective. Among the native Alastaians, only Vespidia had contributed, dying in the process.

Alastaia was woefully outmatched in any comparison against the forces of the galaxy.

Perhaps the elves and their trees of wisdom could mount some vague form of defense against a singular early-Transcendent of little talent. Or maybe Balastion Novar could get lucky and corrupt someone with Eldritch despite the new problems that would cause. But that was the extent of it. Vespidia aside—and her unique ability was limited to being effective against the Hegemony’s Crusaders alone—nobody on Alastaia save the core guardian were capable of making a difference in battle.

The Eldritch Avatar was the limit of what they could handle. And even if Orodan was willing to fight in defense of his world forever, this state of weakness and impotence was unacceptable.

Certainly, his home world was a young one and could not be blamed for it. But not only did the peoples of Alastaia need to come together, they also needed to rise together. For Orodan refused to bring Fenton someplace which would fold like paper in a storm the moment he was occupied elsewhere.

Alastaia and its peoples… needed to become capable of defending themselves.

“A multi-loop spanning effort, for we cannot meaningfully match these other factions of the galaxy in just two weeks when they have had hundreds of thousands of years,” Destartes spoke up. “In truth, I am somewhat doubtful of our ability to match them at all.”

“Do not lose hope old man,” Orodan said and then gestured to the room. “Look around you. We have an eight year old girl who is a Staff Apprentice and only poised to continue becoming stronger. We have a goblin warrior who can now begin to make Grandmasters take him seriously. A mighty cockroach whose mastery over fire grows prodigiously fast and by the day. And of course… a militia man whose drawings can inspire the creation of a Mythical skill.”

Edrosic froze as all eyes were now on him. Orodan had not revealed that fact in the last loop.

“E-eh? Me? What did I do?!”

“What did you not do? You’re the reason I acquired the Burst Casting skill as fast as I did, and you’re the reason I managed to bring my insights together to forge Balance Maker, something which allowed me to stalemate a monstrously powerful Embodier I should have had no chance against yet,” Orodan explained. “If anything, Edrosic, you’re in need of a smack upon the head for keeping your Drawing abilities hidden for so long. What were you wasting time as a militia man for if you’re that good at sketching pictures?”

The old wizard laughed and the tension in his shoulders eased a little.

“Forgive me, Mister Wainwright. A Grandmaster I may be, but warfare and combat are things I only pursue out of necessity. Fighting against hopeless odds like you regularly do is not my area of expertise. It seems… that Alastaia has plenty of young talent despite the headstart these other places have on us.”

“And do not discount yourselves either,” Orodan added. “In you, we have a triple-Grandmaster and possibly the finest mage I have seen on Alastaia. In Adeltaj we have a wielder of a Mythical skill who might reach Transcendence sooner than we think. And in Eldarion we have a man who became a Transcendent in a past loop.”

The elven lord of friendship agreed, his face taking on a look of determination.

“We on Eldiron have made brief contact with nearby worlds in the past, but these cosmic factions you speak of our beyond our scope of understanding. But despite that… regardless of the odds arrayed against us, our world has strength aplenty and we simply need to cultivate it. Where this Hegemony and their dwarven allies might have time and technology superior to ours, we now have a time loop.”

“I’m no commander of armies or musterer of forces,” Orodan admitted. “The fighting? That I can do. But informing people of the loops and bringing them into the fold is something I’m coming to learn I’m rather miserable at.”

“Have heart Orodan. A few more loops of brutishly approaching situations head on and you’ll gain a social skill which will save the day.”

Adeltaj jested, but the old halberdier had no idea how right he was. Orodan had in fact acquired things which could be used in a social context. Commandment of War being one of them, Incipience of Infinity the other. But neither of these were suited to gathering allies who trusted him and would willingly work together to raise Alastaia into becoming capable of self-defense. The former skill was more suited for combat and certain utility situations, while the Intimidation aspect of the latter could shatter someone’s mind.

But… he looked at Eldarion and Adeltaj, and his worries on that front abated. He was a warrior, not a diplomat. But these two… they had a way with words that he did not. A non-brutish one at least.

“And, we might not be as alone as we thought,” Tegin Carrotfoot interjected, pointing to the beautifully sketched canvas of details, courtesy of Parthus Edrosic. Specifically, to the section with the cultivators. “You said that not all within the Celestial Court were your enemy, correct? Perhaps Alastaia need not stand alone if play our cards right.”

And if Orodan had anything to say about it, Alastaia would be getting allies from a place far closer than the Celestial Court. But that was still an indeterminable number of death loops away. For first, the people he was bringing along needed to raise themselves to greater heights. And second…

…the entire plan would be fruitless if Alastaia’s mightiest warrior was incapable of contending with the Embodiers coming for him.

His broom hit the ground, signifying the beginning of the work in this loop and those onwards.

Edrosic, Aliya and Wainroach were training in the periphery, but every goblin within the settlement was paying rapt attention to the spar between Orodan and Zukelmux.

Spear and shield met club. Not only was this matchup of weapons so that Orodan could improve, but also because he had noticed that Zukelmux’s only real weakness was heavy bludgeoning weaponry which could tire out and overwhelm the goblin’s guard. Although saying it was a weakness was akin to saying that a blade to the gut was a weakness. Anyone would be exhausted and have their shield’s posture and guard broken with repeated heavy club strikes to their defense.

But this was where Orodan felt the goblin could make real gains. Training through such harsh circumstances would only improve Zukelmux’s Shield Mastery and Physical Fitness.

[Club Mastery 26 → Club Mastery 27]

He had gained levels in the skill over the course of the last loop, training with the goblin and Adeltaj. And now it gained one more as Orodan violently pounded on Zukelmux’s shield once more in a most brutal manner. Like a crazed blacksmith hammering metal, the club rose and fell over and over upon the diminutive goblin’s shield.

And although Zukelmux was an Elite who could fight evenly against peak Masters, Orodan had no compunctions about utilizing Grandmaster-level strength right off the bat. How else would his disciple grow if not put under immense pressure right from the get-go?

One thunderous blow after another threatened to shatter the goblin’s shield arm, yet against all odds Zukelmux held, having gotten stronger since the last time this exercise took place. And not only that… but the goblin had developed some new tricks too!

As the second blow of the club hammered down, his student used the kinetic momentum and force to generate power for a counter spear thrust with his right hand. Like the steam pistons of Lonvoron, the polearm flew for Orodan’s throat.

He saw it coming of course, parrying the blow. His Combat Mastery was far too high to not notice that. But it was an impressive counter which would have caught any other mortal Grandmaster of Inuan off-guard.

“Not bad. You’ve taken what I advised you on to heart,” Orodan praised. “I see you won’t be so easily overwhelmed by raw aggression any longer. Perhaps you’re ready to fight a real demonic berserker next.”

“I have much to learn still, teacher. May I have the honor of you escalating your level of force?”

“Very well. Stand and ready yourself then.”

The interesting thing about Mythical skills was that they often had unexpected uses and were by nature rather versatile. This was a general trend which only became truer as a skill’s rarity increased. And Orodan had learned that his ability to use Balance Maker went both ways.

A fact which Zukelmux was on the painfully receiving end of as Orodan’s power, restrained to just the level of a weak Grandmaster, met the goblin’s full power blow. His student was strong, probably the best combatant of all his disciples. But while the spear-and-shield wielding warrior was an Elite who could jump a tier to match Masters, he wasn’t yet able to match the raw power of even a bottom-of-the-barrel Grandmaster.

[Balance Maker 65 → Balance Maker 66]

But that was fine as Orodan’s Balance Maker skill made up the difference for him.

The goblin grunted in pain, his arm shattering, his mind reeling and even the soul trembling as the difference was surmounted at cost. It was a silly way of hurting a weaker opponent, Orodan considered. But the real benefit was allowing his disciple to get a glimpse of that level of power, so that he could hopefully bridge it easier and understand where he could make improvements.

“Well done Zukelmux. I can tell you’ve been working hard. Just a fifty-percent increase in power and you’ll be able to match a Grandmaster blow-for-blow soon enough,” Orodan praised. “How fares your mind and soul?”

“G-good… good!” the goblin lied through his teeth, pausing at the glare Orodan sent and then reconsidering his dishonesty. “My mind is muddled and my emotions rampant teacher… the cost for matching your blow is a heavy one.”

“I can see that. Still, it’s good training and forces you to innately understand the level of power you’ll need to reach to match Grandmasters,” Orodan said. Facing damage to the mind and soul from time to time kept one sharp. Edrosic and Aliya weren’t ready for that level of commitment to hardening themselves, but Zukelmux had requested it. “This was the smallest possible gap in power I could recreate to give you a taste of the Grandmaster-level while avoiding permanent damage. Any wider of a difference and your outer soul layer risks destruction, alongside the possible unravelling of your mind.”

Like he himself had suffered when using Balance Maker against the Eldritch Boundless One.

It was a good skill for training his students, but if he was being honest, in a fair fight Orodan felt it a cheap trick meant to artificially make him equal against a greater opponent. He wasn’t opposed to using it in desperate situations where the stakes were high, but that aside, it was better to honestly train his power to match that of his foe’s through hard work.

That and using it against someone who was his greater to an extreme degree would result in his death from the backlash anyways.

Nearby, the sounds of clapping could be heard as an elderly goblin approached, dressed in ceremonial garb.

“Incredible…! To think Zukelmux had become so strong in short a period of time…”

“Elder Griok! I have not earned such power yet, I must intensify my training before I can match a Grandmaster,” his student denied.

“Not being able to match a Grandmaster directly in terms of strength is no source of shame when you are but an Elite, Zukelmux. Did you not spar the headmaster of the school of swordsmanship at Bluefire yesterday? From what Adeltaj tells me, you made him get serious,” Orodan recalled. “Winning against a superior opponent does not always necessitate overpowering them.”

His fights against the Eldritch Avatar and the Prophet came to mind with that bit of advice.

“Teacher…! You embarrass me with your praise…” the goblin muttered looking downward sheepishly. “But I do not think you have met Elder Griok this time! Come, allow me to introduce you!”

They were in Velestok, specifically in a part of the Aenechean Forest right next to the House Simarji lumberyard. It was where the Rising Spear Tribe—Zukelmux’s kin—had settled thanks to the hospitality of Adeltaj’s house. It was the nice part about being able to ferry people’s memories back. He had simply left the procurement of Zukelmux and the integration of the goblin’s tribe to the old Simarji. Which meant that he had yet to meet the tribe’s elder in this loop.

“You must be the peerless warrior Orodan Wainwright, it is an honor to meet you. The young warrior speaks of you often and of the things you teach him,” the elderly goblin said. “He also said that you are in a… a time loop? It sounded utterly fantastical to me, but Zukelmux has never been known to lie and it would explain how he suddenly knew things which he did not before.”

“Aye. Every time I die I return to life, time having rewound to midnight of the day it all started. I hope Zukelmux has not bored you with all the details?”

“On the contrary my lord-”

“Not a lord, but go on.”

“Er… of course. What I mean to say is that he has explained to us the entire tale, and of how in your loops you always made sure whenever you could, to see us taken care of. For that, we would like to profess our gratitude,” the tribe elder said, giving a respectful half-bow at the waist. “And he also spoke of this joint-defense of our home world against threats from the stars. To that end, though it has been very long since we have done such things… we of the Rising Spear Tribe would like to offer our services in helping defend Alastaia.”

“Elder! Our tribe is not at all suited for such battles! I am enough! I shall fight at my teacher’s side in order to-”

“Zukelmux,” Orodan interrupted. “I do not teach you so that you can fight in my battles for me. I do it for its own sake… and the skill levels in Teaching.”

“But if I wished to join you-”

“Then you could. I will not deny you your choice, but there is no obligation. Although, you will certainly die fighting the kinds of enemies that are after me. But what you can do, is defend our world, and taking that choice away from your tribe would be wrong.”

“But how is this the tribe’s decision? Elder, all I hear is you proposing to follow my teacher into danger! Who else will fight? You are but a low-Elite in your combat skills who has remained stuck there for decades. Zur is the next brightest talent after me but he is young and his temperament unsuited for the harshness of battle. You shall all be slaughtered by the enemies which come for us.”

“You are too quick to rush to judgement young warrior. Who said anything about us fighting?” the elder calmly spoke, causing the young goblin to frown. “I have heard your story about Orodan Wainwright and how he helped us. But also how we in turn helped him. I would like to offer our services, not as fighters, but as Jewelcrafters.”

That… was quite the sensible offer. Orodan recalled how he had picked up Jewelcrafting from the Rising Spear Tribe in the first place. And it had been the elder of the tribe, Griok himself, who had taught him how to polish and work upon a jewel. The old goblin was at the Master-level of the skill.

“I would certainly be honored to learn.”

“And more than that. Zukelmux tells me about this ancient machine you seek to alter,” Griok said. “Tell me, does it possess an energy battery within? A control orb to interface with?”

“It does. Why?” Orodan asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

“Then you will need an expert to evaluate the quality of these crystals, for energy batteries and control orbs are the end of the day items created by us jewelcrafters. At the end of this loop of yours, bring me along, and I shall see if this ancient machine’s energy battery, control orb and even its crystal inlays are up to par.”

“Crystal inlays? At most the machine has the powder of crushed gemstones lining certain joints, but that’s hardly a point of failure for the device.”

“I am no maker of these complex devices and the engineering would be beyond me. But do not be so quick to discount what difference the lining can make when the crushed gemstones are of proper quality and well-prepared.”

“I hadn’t even considered that. I will not lie, I do not see how the lining of it would make such a drastic difference, especially when the failure last time was due to the metal… but I will learn if you would have me?”

Griok nodded with a pleased smile.

“Come, Orodan Wainwright. Allow me to repay you for all you have done across the loops for the Rising Spear Tribe and Zukelmux, and allow us to make our contribution to the ancient machine and perhaps even to the defense of Alastaia.”

When Orodan had heard that Griok was a Master-level Jewelcrafter, he had reasonably expected the elderly goblin’s skill level to be in the early 90s, perhaps even past 95. But Griok had blown those assumptions out of the water by revealing that the goblin’s Jewelcrafting was at level 99. One step away from Grandmastery.

Long ago when he’d delved into the depths at Ranmere’s Folly for the first time and then for many loops after, he had learned Jewelcrafting from this elderly goblin, but at the time had never thought to ask exactly what level his skill was at. Well, now he knew. Griok was just one level away from achieving the Grandmaster-level in the skill.

It put the goblin quite close to a very rare category of individuals who were Grandmaster Jewelcrafters. Not only was training the skill expensive, but those that did were often locked down by nations, noble houses and the like. The grand energy batteries for cities, the expensive and high-quality gemstones used in certain high-level weapons and the focusing crystals used for powerful wards and rituals were all handled by Jewelcrafters. In fact, his education at Bluefire had taught him that there were only four Grandmaster Jewelcrafters upon Inuan and their services were highly guarded and coveted as a result.

But why bother sourcing the help of some Grandmaster he didn’t know when he had the opportunity to not only help one rise right here, but also one who would be far more inclined to help him learn than the others would be. Griok was a part of Zukelmux’s tribe, and to help this elderly goblin rise to the Grandmaster-level would not only be good for his disciple’s tribe but also for Alastaia in general.

But the truth of it was… Orodan owed Griok a debt and was fond of the elderly goblin and the Rising Spears Tribe in general. These goblins came from difficult origins in the depths, they had to struggle under their depths mole overlords and eke out a life for themselves despite the odds.

In Orodan’s opinion, an elderly goblin who was a Master of level 99 despite such a resource-starved environment was worth ten of whatever fancy pedigreed Grandmaster he could find in the human nations of Inuan. One who had overcome more struggle to reach the same point as another was far more reliable.

Needless to say, Jewelcrafting would be on his list of skills to develop moving forward.

For the past hour, the goblin had been showing him through the finer points of polishing and preparing a gem for use before it would be crushed into powder. And some of the incredibly intricate cuts and twitches of the goblin’s fingers were moves he doubted even a Grandmaster could perform.

“I never did have a formal education on Jewelcrafting,” Orodan admitted. “But this technique of etching a lattice onto the surface of the jewel so that it mirrors the internal structure perfectly… I have never seen it before in my life.”

“We of the Rising Spear Tribe have had no formal education either. And although the venerable Adeltaj Simarji, our benefactor, has sponsored a handful of our youth to enter the county academy, it is still a slow process of acquiring knowledge and the dissemination of the Republic’s education unto our tribe,” Griok explained. “But… we goblins have always been small. Mere prey for most species of the depths, and even with the System not as physically doughty, level-for-level, as you humans or the dwarves. But where others see this as a weakness… our stature can be a strength.”

“I can see that. Zukelmux is akin to a ferocious cannonball in combat, difficult to hit and continually changing direction mid-motion,” Orodan added.

“True, the young one has always excelled at being a warrior… but fighting aside, the biggest advantage we goblins possess besides our keen eyes… are our small hands. Small enough that we can carve a lattice which a human would find much harder to perform. Now, behold.”

Griok put down his chisel and brought out a hammer. And before Orodan could ask why, the tool struck the gemstone, rendering it to dust with but the lightest of taps.

“As you can see, all that work of etching for nothing,” Griok said with a laugh.

But Orodan was not fooled in the slightest. Physical Fitness, Body Tempering and Absolute Body Composition meant that his sense of sight was keener than anyone else. And he also had Vision of Purity on top of that.

“This is…! The gem shattered perfectly!” he exclaimed in wonder.

What academy could even teach a technique like that? He’d seen gemstone powder on spell scrolls and lining certain joints of the ancient machine, but none of it was as fine quality as this. It was as though the lattice Griok had carved on the surface of the jewel encouraged to break absolutely perfectly.

Visually, the product looked like nothing more than a pile of ordinary crushed gemstone. The mundane sort where a high-quality jewel was put under a powerful hammer or an enchanted crushed to produce gem powder. But to his keen eyes he could tell that each grain, as a result of the perfect lattice alignment from the surface etching, was perfectly shaped. Like a crystal in and of itself.

This powder if applied to the joints of the ancient machine…

“Who taught you? You’ve learned from no academy or books…”

“Neither have you, Orodan Wainwright. You are an Adept Jewelcrafter, yes? Yet I can see no habits in you that the formally educated jewelcrafters of the human nations use,” Griok spoke. “Knowledge and education can come from more than just books and academies.”

A humbling sentiment and an enlightening moment. Orodan would never cease to be amazed by how the most profound sort of knowledge and insights could come from the unlikeliest corners of Alastaia, outside of any fancy academy or private schooling the wealthiest nobles could have.

“With my Celestial skill I could technically cleanse gemstone dust in order to create something similar… but I feel as though your raw handling of it has still produced a superior product,” Orodan said.

And that wouldn’t have been far from the truth either. He had a Celestial cleaning skill, but that still relied on his perception of what was clean in order to function. Even if he poured all of his power into the skill and attempted to cleanse gemstone dust, he still wouldn’t be able to match the product that this elderly goblin had just created. After all, Griok’s eye for gem quality and his intuition for jewelcraft was well beyond Orodan’s own.

A true Master who deserved more than anyone else to be a Grandmaster of his craft.

“Oh, you honor me with your words, but I am merely an old goblin past his prime who wishes to usher my tribe’s next generation to a better life.”

And Orodan intended to ensure that this old Jewelcrafter not only saw his tribe prosper, but that the goblin himself also rose higher.

For the next two hours Orodan worked diligently at attempting to replicate what Griok had done. It was a diligent effort and he spent much focus upon attempting to see it realized, but by the end of it he had to admit that he was but an Adept at Jewelcrafting and still had a ways to go. Although he did end up gaining three levels in the skill.

Edrosic, Aliya and Wainroach who had been focusing upon their own training or occasionally frolicking among the goblins of the tribe, met him as he exited the crafters’ area of the settlement.

“Success?” Edrosic asked.

“For me? It shall take time. But Griok has agreed to come provide his expertise and input in our endeavors to rebuild the ancient machine,” Orodan answered. “One more expert in an aspect of the device I hadn’t even considered.”

For not only was the crystal powder lining the joints of the machine the purview of Jewelcrafting, but as was the control orb and central energy core. Perhaps Orodan could improve the efficiency of these and thereby reduce the stress upon the metallic portions of the device?

“As expected… the elder feels as though he owes you a great debt, teacher,” Zukelmux said.

“In truth, it is I who owes him and will work to ensure that debt is repaid. Worry not my student, the Rising Spear Tribe shall know the light of day yet again.”

And not just for a brief two weeks after the start of each loop where they needed to reset over and over.

“D-damn… why is it so cold around these parts?”

“What was that Edrosic? You want to go sightseeing and explore that frozen lake over there?” Orodan asked.

“N-no! No! I’ll almost certainly die! If not from the cold then from whatever’s lurking at the bottom.”

He was being melodramatic, Orodan felt. With decent enough Physical Fitness, the risk of death from frigid waters wasn’t really as high as it would be for someone untrained. Really, it was just the discomfort bothering Edrosic, something the man would have to power through.

Guzuhar was cold in general, but further inland close to the territory of Clan Iron-Bear it was even colder. Teleportation would have been easy, Edrosic would have loved that. Unfortunately for the militia man, a row boat ride had been in order for the sake of physical conditioning. If anything, Orodan had been quite lax in not making them all swim to the northern continent.

Sure, they had to fight more than a few monsters as he kept intentionally steering the boat into sections of water which were their territory. But that aside, it was a relatively easy trip and three out of the four of his disciples looked like they were having fun.

“Teacher… does it snow everywhere in this place? How do these people grow crops? How does the snow not get everywhere?” Zukelmux asked.

“Right, I forget you’ve never seen snow before. For the most part, everywhere on Guzuhar is and I know not why,” Orodan explained. Perhaps it had something to do with the world energy distribution or something magical? Or maybe Cyvrosdyr liked it cold and snowy around his resting grounds. “As for crops, I’m told they grow some very hardy root vegetables and there are certainly no shortage of fish and aquatic monsters in the rivers and sea.”

“And you know… snow… melts. Indoors with a fireplace going anyhow,” Edrosic chimed in. “It snows where Orodan and I are from, but only seasonally. Not fun having a stationary post outside on those nights.”

Aliya and Wainroach were too busy scooping up snowballs and playing as they walked to join in on the conversation.

Those two had been progressing at a steady clip. Aliya was almost at the halfway point to reaching Adept-level in her Staff Mastery. And Wainroach? Near the start of the loop Destartes had declared to him that the old wizard would be stealing the cockroach as his student when it came to magic lessons. Which Orodan was entirely fine with if it meant she was getting better training in her pyromancy.

With some of the Fireballs she threw nowadays, it was apparent that the practice was having great effect. And every day she spent longer and longer in the firepits, attempting to acquire Fire Resistance. Frankly, Orodan had discarded any thoughts of using her as a test subject. She was a sapient being now and he actually cared about the little bug. But Wainroach herself still insisted that he use her to help develop his Elemental Living Enchanting once she learned how to resist fire.

Edrosic himself had improved quite a bit since some forced training without the System in the last loop. The man could fight decently now and was also close to becoming a Sword Apprentice thanks to the regularly harsh training and continual battles Orodan put him through. Furthermore, while his fellow militia man’s weapon skills and Physical Fitness might not have been as high compared to the upper half of the students at Oxhead, what Edrosic did have was battle experience. A lot of it, thanks to the regular journeys and fights he was forced into.

And Zukelmux, naturally, was excelling at his training and at Bluefire Academy. From what Adeltaj had told him, the goblin beat up Claridin Rockwood and Kastirya Asonueva a few days ago in separate duels, cementing him as the single strongest student at the academy. Orodan had expected nothing less, although getting the goblin good enough to fight and contend with the likes of Vespidia, Akelrim and Othorion would take more work still.

And really, the gains for his students in this loop had been particularly good since they’d been sequestered away in a deep section of the Aenechean Forest and had their access to the System cut off. That was right. Even in mistakes there could be learning, and Orodan had learned that sealing off the dimensional boundary perfectly was something that could be localized for the sake of training.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from NovelHub; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He could already do this by blocking the connection to his central rune of knowledge, but for others it was an excellent method of shoring up weak skills without the crutch of the System. Even if Edrosic grumbled continually while being put through his paces.

As the party crested a hill, their destination finally came into view.

Aliya gasped, and Wainroach’s antennae wagged with excitement. Even Edrosic who had been to Anthus looked impressed, while to Zukelmux who studied in Karilsgard this was normal if a bit exotic.

“By Halor… it feels so warm and coz, even from here…” Edrosic muttered.

“I’d normally caution against invoking the name of your Gods in a foreign land, but the Guzuharans have always been pluralistic and tolerant of other faiths. Given the large number of minor Gods and Goddesses they worship, it’s only natural,” Orodan added. “Now then, if I’m right Adeltaj and Eldarion should already be here. Making introductions isn’t something I’m very good at.”

“It’s oddly reassuring to know you’re not good at everything. Makes you feel a little less like a God, Orodan,” Edrosic remarked, earning a light glare from him. “Right, right… not a God, sorry.”

“Wow… they’re riding bears! Can… can I ride one too?” Aliya shyly asked.

“I’m not the bear, nor am I their rider. So how about you go approach one of them to ask? Stay out of trouble, you two,” Orodan told them, watching as the girl ran off in glee, Wainroach upon her shoulder.

Which left just Edrosic and Zukelmux alongside him as they entered the gates of Vorskard, capital city of Clan Iron-Bear and the first proper city Orodan had ever seen in his life. Novar’s Peak and Karilsgard were more impressive, and Swordmist City upon Xian and Druhmiyan within the third hell put all of them to shame.

But what did that matter when this place held fond memories for him? For once, he allowed himself to bask in that odd but warm feeling of nostalgia as he and his students walked down the familiar streets of the northern city. His very soul felt a warm embrace of welcoming, the effects of a very specific set of wards. And the passersby, deer-driven carts and bear-riding soldiers looked at them curiously but made no move to stop them.

He knew the place, and his footsteps eventually brought them to the foot of the city’s temple of the Gods, where he could see Adeltaj, Eldarion and the old but familiar face of Yarostov Iron-Bear waiting.

“I see one out of the two of your disciples look happy,” Adeltaj commented.

“Edrosic will have to learn to grow used to the cold,” Orodan replied.

“Well, I have been told that southerners often struggle to deal with the climes of our home, so we shall not hold his sour disposition against him too much. A warm hearth in the longhouse with some good mead in hand will fix him right up,” spoke the loud voice of a man built like a bear, standing just a half inch shorter than Orodan himself. A hand came forth. “Orodan Wainwright? I am Yarostov Iron-Bear. It is our honor to host the banisher of the foul God of Blood.”

Orodan took the hand.

“Agorhiku is still alive, but has no more Blessed upon our world. Actually killing him will have to come later once we have settled our affairs here. Have Adeltaj and Eldarion spoken to you about our situation?”

“Do have some faith in your assigned diplomats,” Eldarion said with a chuckle. “If we had approached your way half the city might be turned upside down from all the brawls.”

The elf’s assessment was not entirely wrong. But thankfully it needed not come to that, especially since the eyes of Yarostov took on a subtle glow. The Guzuharan God of Trickery and Illusions had descended unto the man, and all nearby pasersby and guards dropped to a knee, offering prayer and deference.

Edrosic’s face paled and the militia man nearly dropped upon his rear in shock at the sudden descent of a God right before him, but Zukelmux, while surprised, held the man steady and simply stood by Orodan unflinchingly.

“Orodan Wainwright,” the God spoke, lingering in silence for a second before a hand came forth.

Orodan took it… and the lizard which came with. He looked on in slow motion as the creature skittered up his arm, clambered up his head and then proceeded to lazily lounge upon the top. If anything, he was more bewildered than concerned about it.

“A… lizard?” he asked.

“Quite. I would not be much of a God of Trickery if I did not play a trick from time to time now would I?”

“You… played a trick on me?”

The Avatar nodded, and Orodan barked out a laugh.

“Heh… it’s been a long time since anyone’s done that, Ozgaric.”

“Given the dour-look upon your face and the size of you, I can see why,” Ozgaric replied.

Perhaps getting Adeltaj and Eldarion to make introductions on his behalf was the best approach after all. In all his meetings with the Guzuharan God he owed a debt to, he had never seen the divine light-hearted and mirthful enough to live up to his divine domain and play any tricks. Perhaps Orodan’s feat of banishing Agorhiku had eased the God’s worries? Or perhaps the understanding that the Eldritch Avatar would be dealt with?

“You are aware of the time loops then?”

“And that you have met me in the past and that I aided you at a critical juncture? Yes, Eldarion and Adeltaj Simarji have told me of these things. If your impossible cleansing of Agorhiku’s influence from our world was not proof enough, then the sudden shifts in divine influence all across Inuan certainly are, as well as these two knowing things about Clan Iron-Bear that they should not,” the God spoke. “It is incredible to think that our meagre world would not only have someone chosen for such a thing, but would then also be a monstrous talent the likes of which the entire cosmos has never seen. If nothing else, it is an honor to know that I have helped you along that journey.”

“You did more than just help. Your Blessing allowed me to finally lay low and stay undetected long enough to join an academy and get an education. I might have been betrayed by other Gods in the end, but not you.”

“Then I suppose I should thank the version of me who thought to give you that Blessing. I did not realize doing you a boon would repay me so many times over. But, I do not think you have come just to discuss that.”

“I have not. I came to learn spirit magic. I need to understand how elementals are formed, how they are birthed.”

“I see you have a representative of the elves with you. Does their continent not practice such magic as well?”

“They do… but not in the way I require.”

He’d briefly looked at spirit magic upon Eldiron in this loop, but the problem was that two cultures could practice the same art in vastly different ways. Eldiron’s spirit magic was the sort where powerful elementals were summoned in combat to aid the caster. These elementals were fully grown, mature and even the weakest were at the Elite-level and beyond. Furthermore, they were summoned through powerful rituals and after agreement, bound to enchanted items which a caster wore.

For his purposes, this was entirely useless for he needed to study how new elementals were born. All of them had souls, and he needed to see how theirs came to be.

“I see… the representative of the elves did mention something along those lines. Clan Iron-Bear can aid you. The spirit mages here are among the best you will find in Guzuhar,” Ozgaric explained.

That was good. He needed this in order to understand true soul genesis.

Almyra had spoken about that in length too, in the time he had in his possession. But the first step before any higher order phenomena could get involved… was learning how a soul formed.

The growl of violence he heard within made even him freeze for a moment. In combination with a soul possessively wrapping around his own, he could only sigh.

“I really don’t see her that way, Zaessythra.”

“I didn’t say anything,” she denied quite immediately.

While she hadn’t said it, Orodan had certainly felt it. Having someone else’s broken soul remnants practically cling arond your own was a uniquely unsettling experience. Though… not an unwelcome one.

Still, he hadn’t lied. Even when he’d visited Guzuhar for the first time and gotten involved with Esbetta Ingamiris, the woman hadn’t really been his type. It was she who had practically pushed herself onto him, in that emotionally volatile moment right after a battle too.

“Really? She doesn’t look too bad. What’s wrong with her?” Zaessythra asked. “She certainly looks pretty enough.”

“Too slight of frame.”

And that was all he needed to say on that matter. Besides, he had seen Zaessythra when she’d been mucking through the bloody and excrement-filled sewers of Narictus.

No other woman had ever looked quite as striking.

His thoughts on the matter must have bled through for she became quite subdued after that. Which left Orodan free to focus upon what he was being told and shown by the two spirit mages in front of him.

“Spirit magic is not like the spellcasting of a regular mage,” Esbetta explained. “We draw upon mana not to cast magic outward against our foes, but to call, empower and guide our spirits to aid us in battle.”

A brief pulse of mana went from her soul to the amulet around her neck and her hand lit up with fire. But the difference was that it wasn’t the mana of a spell, but rather a living orb of fire with a soul which moved from her hand and then began energetically flitting about her head.

He had seen her do such things in the past, but back then hadn’t been educated enough nor possessed of the keen sight he had now to appreciate it.

“That’s a living thing… an elemental,” Orodan observed.

“Correct. As you can see, my mana not only makes its presence in our material plane easier to bear, but can also empower it. And when not out and about it rests in the amulet I wear.”

“In a sense, it’s quite similar to what necromancers do is it not? They too are able to empower their minions just as you can,” Orodan said. “But unlike that foul craft, there’s an actual soul involved here. But how do you summon the elemental to you in the first place?”

The older woman, Esbetta’s grandmother, now spoke up. This was Agatha Ingamiris, and Orodan recalled fighting alongside the old woman when he fought the Eldritch Avatar for the first time.

“Esbetta here has yet to learn that, but there are rituals and skills we use to call the elementals to our plane. And notice that I said call not summon. We cannot directly access their plane, only put out a call and hope they answer. Watch closely, I shall call forth an ice elemental. The easiest sort to entice into joining us upon this cold continent of ours.”

The old woman then raised her hand into the air and began frowning her eyes in concentration. And Orodan watched closely as a pulse of mana flared out and went across the dimensional boundary.

“That’s Dimensionalism.”

“Astute of you to notice. It is the Dimensional Call skill. With enough levels in it, one can attune to a particular elemental plane and call forth their gate masters. You are familiar with Dimensionalism?” she asked.

“I’m a Master in the skill, yes. But what’s a gate master?”

The old woman sputtered at his revelation.

“A master?! I don’t know even an Adept of Dimensionalism… who… who are you? Lord Ozgaric would not elaborate on your identity…” she muttered and then schooled herself. “But that is not my place to pry. As for gate masters, they are the elementals in each plane who hear our calls and then open the way for other willing elementals who wish to respond. Not all elementals are capable of crossing over into our world after all. Even among the very few that are willing and not seduced by the calls from other places.”

“What? Alastaia isn’t a premier destination? How shocking…” Orodan dryly muttered.

“The jest is an unwelcome one. To start, the elves of Eldiron are able to promise far more growth, wealth and luxury to their contracted elementals than we can. And for another, there are other worlds nearer to our own which the elementals find more attractive. Here upon Guzuhar, acquiring any Initiate-level elementals which aren’t from the elemental plane of ice is considered a great achievement and excellent fortune.”

That Alastaia wasn’t a good destination for these elementals wasn’t too much of a surprise. His home world had no World Ruler and the world core was slowly decaying too. Furthermore, there was but one Transcendent and it was the core guardian. Compared to the far larger worlds and world cores he had seen across the cosmos, Alastaia’s was tiny and produced only an average amount of world energy.

“Still… this Dimensional Call skill seems useful,” Orodan remarked. “Why not just teach it to a mass number of mages? More calls equals more chances of an elemental answering, no?”

“And it would also increase the odds of something terrible coming through. Even the wicked worshippers of the blood God you banished do not summon devils like you Inuanans do. Dimensional Call is a skill which must be trained very, very carefully lest something you did not intend for answers your summons.”

Orodan didn’t think it was as dire as she made it sound. Throughout Alastaia’s history, nothing truly dire had come through on any summoning. Devils strong enough to destroy even a city? Certainly, but even these had eventually been killed and driven back by the mustered armies, Grandmasters and Avatars of the world. Interesting enough, Orodan knew that there were some truly unfathomable and powerful things out there. He’d inadvertently drawn the attention of that Living Crystal in the past.

But within the galaxy, within the territories of the Hegemony, tyrannical as they were, Orodan was certain there was some form of defense or monitoring mechanism which prevented anything truly powerful from slipping through the dimensional cracks to enter the material plane. For if the skill was as freely available to learn as it seemed, then someone at some point would have summoned a world-devouring monster.

Yet that hadn’t happened.

“If any devils come through looking to cause problems, I will kill them. Worry not,” he reassured. “Although… this takes a while doesn’t it?”

“I spend the entire time telling you how unwilling most elementals are to join us here on Alastaia and you find this surprising? We may be waiting for a while.”

Orodan spent the time working on his Burst Casting in tandem with Lightning Bolt as they waited. An hour passed, then two. And Agatha and Esbetta were more than a little stupefied at how bottomless his mana pool was.

Orodan kept casting magic, and he slowly honed his Lightning Bolts to grow stronger and his Burst Casting abilities to grow more controlled. And as he did, he felt a strange rippling in the dimensional boundary.

[Burst Casting 34 → Burst Casting 35]

[Lightning Bolt 35 → Lightning Bolt 36]

[Lightning Magic Mastery 11 → Lightning Magic Mastery 12]

Those were the final messages he got before he had the vaguest sensation that something was prepating to come through the dimensional boundary. Multiple somethings.

“T-the boundary…! It’s cracking! Something big is coming through!” Esbetta shouted. “Grandmother, how can this be? You were as cautious as possible!”

“I… I do not know…” Agatha muttered in fear as a dimensional rift the size of a mountain tore open.

And out came a storm.

A literal storm. One might think it was a glowing ball of gas, but in fact it was a cloud. Simply one that had lightning going off inside of it so quickly that to the untrained and slow eye it looked as though a bright orb. And despite the perpetual flash of electricity within, two large orbs of light, brighter than the rest of the flashes, formed upon the cloud face.

And it peered down at Orodan.

“A… an elemental lord of the storm!” Esbetta exclaimed like a frightened rabbit.

And he could understand why, for his senses were telling him that this thing was as strong as the Eldritch Avatar. An elemental of pure lightning. He had never truly seen one in-person, and even current Inuanan history knew nothing of them. But archaeologists studying the old Hasmathorian Empire had uncovered murals and records from the fallen civilization, and how a weaker elemental lord could devastate a nation.

And this one, if the records was to be believed, was on the stronger side. A quadruple-Grandmaster from the looks of it.

A tendril of cloud-gas came down, pulsing with lightning as it touched his hand. Upon contact, the lightning sought purchase in his flesh… but was utterly ineffective.

“Lightning Resistance…?”

The voice was like energy incarnate. Like thunderbolts loud enough to deafen cities were booming with each syllable. But to Orodan it was nothing impressive, not when he had fought an Embodiment-level sentient thundercloud already.

The thundercloud the Prophet had enlisted in battle had been a tenth the size of a star system. A gigantic being, and its lightning had utterly ravaged him and caused the gaining of many skill levels. This being’s lightning, even though it didn’t even intend to harm him, was drastically weaker.

“A bit rude to reach out and try to electrocute me on our first meeting,” Orodan began. “I believe we were trying to summon ice elementals.”

The thundercloud twitched, looking almost apologetic as it realized its mistake.

“Forgiveness… this one did not realize the summoner is of flesh and blood. Your lightning… of sub-par quality, but incredibly energized.”

“My… lightning? Is that why you came here? Because you sensed me casting spells?” Orodan asked. “I’m not the one that called you, that would be her.”

Agatha Ingamiris looked more than a little shocked at being addressed in the conversation between Orodan and the elemental lord.

“I… I did not! Oh mighty lord of lightning, please accept my humblest apologies. I intended to summon elementals of ice, mere Initiates at most! Our call is pitiable and unsuited to courting one such as you, radiant lord of thunder.”

“Grovelling does not interest me. But this human’s lightning does,” the elemental lord replied. “This one did not intend to respond to the call of a mere Initiate. But the lightning whose mighty echoes were heard across the boundaries between planes… delicious. Please, elemental human, feed me with your lightning.”

“You… want me to hit you with a Lightning Bolt?” Orodan made sure.

“Your lightning is sub-par of quality, but the energy of it, incredible. Strike me, with as much power as you can muster.”

“I might kill you if I did that,” Orodan cautioned.

“I have felt the enormity of your mana pool, lightning-bringer. I demand nothing less than all of your power.”

As it wished. Who was Orodan to deny an honest request?

“Time for you two to get out of here,” Orodan said, looking at Agatha and Esbetta.

The older of the two nodded and used an amulet around her neck to get herself and her granddaughter out of the area. Thankfully, they were far west of Vorskard, enough so that the Valley of Spires could be seen in the distance. And while Orodan’s lightning magic had improved, he didn’t think it that absurd that the destruction would reach the nearest city from here.

Under the grip of his iron will, his mana pool stilled completely, compressed with a violent tension, like a coiled spring begging to be unleashed with gruesome force. The thundercloud looked confused at what it perceived as an utter lack of lightning, but Orodan ignored it, though was thankful that it had the sense to fly overhead so that nothing else would be in the line of fire.

Even the times he’d lost control and failed when using Burst Casting, Orodan had been trying to hold back and tightly control the reins he held over his mana pool. This, even during a failed usage of Burst Casting where his mana pool surged forth with momentum, still caused quite some loss of energy. And as his skill levels rose, each failed cast got weaker and weaker, signifying his growing understanding and ability to control his energy.

But if he simply threw the absolute entirety of his mana pool into a cast with intention?

[Lightning Bolt 36 → Lightning Bolt 38]

[Burst Casting 35 → Burst Casting 36]

[Lightning Magic Mastery 12 → Lightning Magic Mastery 14]

The results were cataclysmic.

The first thing to effect the surroundings was a superheated shockwave of air so hot that everything around him seemed to distort. For at least a half mile a powerful shockwave erupted outwards blowing away debris and instantly vaporizing the characteristic ice and snow of Guzuhar’s terrain.

And that was just at the point of origin, which was his hand.

The elemental lord had a singular moment where it looked to be considering the idea that it had made a poor decision. And in the next moment, its cloud-like body recoiled as though struck by a hammer of titanic force.

To its credit it absorbed the lightning. All of it. But it began spasming wildly, and for a moment Orodan wondered if he was going to unintentionally kill this odd being who had asked for him to strike it in the first place. But near the end when the cloud was looking as though it would break and disperse, it instead condensed, glowing with power as the energy of Orodan’s lightning bolt began to fuel it.

The cloud condensed to its original size, the roiling electricity within it glowing brighter and brighter, and it then began to glow with tremendous power. It grew and grew, expanding to become larger than Mount Castarian, and even beyond. And finally, the progress began to slow after fifteen minutes.

“It’s as though I’ve overfed a glutton…” Orodan muttered. He hoped no more clouds came through seeking a free meal now. He had things to do besides chuck tremendous lightning bolts at sentient thunderclouds.

A booming echo rang out across many miles of Guzuhar, an energized laugh belonging to a non-human being. He wondered if it actually laughed or if in reality its energy pulses were simply meant to convey such.

“Joy! Ecstasy! Elation! Power courses through this one’s form!” it boomed out and then descended to the ground, its cloud-like body practically touching the glassed rocky landscape as it got as close to Orodan as possible. “This one serves the contractor.”

“The quality of your lightning is somewhat pitiable, but the energy of it has made you worthy of being my master. Allow this one to serve-”

“No. I do not need anyone to serve me. Nor do I need any contract where you accompany me.”

“That is final. I came here to learn about how souls are formed in the first place. Elemental souls in particular due to their frequency of birth.”

“Then… this one, who you mortals call an elemental lord shall guide you. Together, we shall enter the elemental plane of lightning and uncover the phenomena you seek to observe.”

That sounded quite amenable in fact. In a roundabout way, and with one more tagalong, Orodan had secured what he came to Guzuhar for in the first place.

Although it was a plan which would face slight delay given the beating of titanic wings and the sudden chill in the air.

“Which uppity elemental lord dares intrude upon the material plane! You tread upon lands under the protection of Cyvrosdyr the Eternal Winter!”

Well… he had been considering bringing the dragon flights into the fold anyhow.

“Yes Lieutenant-General?”

“Might I respectfully ask why there is a giant glowing thundercloud above my city?”

“Apologies. It will not stop following me around and I have not the heart to turn it away.”

“And dare I ask why there is a mountain-sized dragon beating its wings in the air nearby, glaring at it and the gigantic spider dragon perched atop the nearby mountain?”

“You already know about the spider dragon, and it is here as planned. But Cyvrosdyr is following the elemental lord around in the hopes of avenging its defeat, and the protector of Xan’Coran doesn’t like the dragon and the feeling is mutual. And the unriddable storm cloud hounding my every step from up high doesn’t seem to like either of them.”

“I see, I see…” Tegin Carrotfoot said with an incredibly pleasant smile on his face. “Then, if it is not too much trouble Mister Wainwright, and really, I don’t want to bother you at all good sir… but could you kindly, respectfully, tell the dragon to stop sending gale force winds through the streets?”

“And the elemental lord to stop blinding everyone exposed to the sky with its bright flashes of lightning?”

“And the spider dragon to cease weaving webs over the buildings?”

Tegin Carrotfoot had an exceedingly saccharine smile on his face. But that expression anything but. The vein which looked ready to explode upon the halfling’s forehead told the real story.

Orodan could only scratch his head in guilt, as he felt quite bad for bringing all these loud, disruptive and obnoxious giants to Anthus.

Karilsgard? Aldenil? Novar’s Peak? Who needed all of that when Anthus worked just fine? By this point the energy-well connected city was quickly becoming the go-to location for all military meetings and strategic gatherings throughout the loops. Orodan and the city commander naturally aligned in their views and goals. As did the Lieutenant-General’s mentor, Destartes. Which meant that unlike Karilsgard or Novar’s Peak, the city was essentially as friendly to Orodan as could be at the start of each loop.

Furthermore, the city wasn’t sprawling, with urban spread going past the walls like Karilsgard and Novar’s Peak. There were giant mountains outside the walls where Cyvrosdyr and Ashganruk could perch. The skies were entirely clear for the elemental lord to follow.

Still, just because the city was suitable for such a gathering didn’t mean that its inhabitants or commanding officer were too happy with the rowdy bunch of giants he’d brought along.

“Hey, you lot heard him didn’t you? Keep it down and behave,” Orodan calmly instructed.

“As the lightning-bringer says. This one shall cease,” the elemental lord spoke, and then promptly attempted to contain its internal lightning a bit. Of course, a light stray arc just so happened to hit Ashganruk. “Ah… unfortunate. The smelly one’s webs have been set on fire. How regrettable. This one does apologize.”

“You dare! I shall web you up into a coccoon until your spark dies out!” the spider dragon roared.

“Spider dragon! You should not open your mouth! What your kind has done to mine cannot be forgiven! I refuse to touch the ground for worry of what underhanded ambush this eight-legged imposter shall attempt!” Cyvrosdyr roared.

Soon, things devolved, and Orodan cracked his knuckles as he leapt out the window to join the brawl.

Fifteen minutes later, the elemental lord’s lightning was a lot dimmer. Ashganruk and Cyvrosdyr had two lumps above their heads, and Orodan had a happy smile on his face as he returned to the war room, with everyone now at their proper positions. Talricto was present, as were Orodan’s students, Adeltaj, Destartes, Eldarion and Old Man Hannegan. And the spider dragon had now weaved a web and its castle-sized head was looming right outside the window of the central fort’s war room. Cyvrosdyr was perched atop a central tower next to the war room, the dragon’s head craning down to loom directly outside of the opposite window. While the elemental lord’s gigantic cloud-like body loomed outside another one of the window, periodically pulsing its lightning, the brightness filling the room.

Yarostov Iron-Bear and the Avatars of Malzim and Halor were present as well.

“Could you shut that light off? I’ve suffered more damage to my eyesight in the last thirty seconds than I have when working with explosives in the mines of Novarria!” Old Man Hannegan barked.

“This one believes the infirm old human could simply turn his back to the window,” the thunderstorm politely jabbed, though without shooting an arc of lightning, having learned to mind its manners after Orodan had pacified all three of the giants.

“We don’t even know your name! You just randomly began following our rockhead around!” the old foreman retorted.

“This-One-Who-Electrifies-Horizons.”

“What a mouthful…” Edrosic muttered.

“Silence, you base and uncivilized cur. The names of elementals are chosen after much deliberation and are only allowed to be amended upon the crossing of a threshold or the accomplishment of a significant deed,” Talricto immediately defended. “One of them I met, was once It-Who-Learns-All and went to being It-Who-Knows-All! A mouthful for a bumpkin perhaps, but carrying much meaning which you will not understand,”

Which sounded absurd. How could a being know everything? The prior name sounded much more reasonable to Orodan. And if anyone had the ability to see past the surface and really see someone at core, it would be Edrosic.

“Thank you for elaborating my friend, I shall be sure to tell Parthus about minding his tongue. But come, we require your expertise on matters of great import,” Adeltaj spoke with a kind smile, mollifying the dimensional spider.

“Indeed. We have almost everyone of import within this room…” Ozgaric spoke, and then Orodan could have sworn he heard a faint laugh. “Or outside of it.”

Cyvrosdyr grunted, causing a cold gale to enter the room. This-One-Who-Electrifies-Horizons pulses, causing the place to flash with blinding light, and Ashganruk the Safeguard strummed its webs in irritation, causing the central fort to briefly tremble.

And Orodan cracked his knuckles with a frown.

“Need I engage in another brawl? Tone it down, we’re trying to have a discussion here.”

They behaved after that.

“Thank you Mister Wainwright. And thank you, Malzim and Halor, for being present,” Eldarion spoke, looking to Halor specifically. “It cannot have been easy for you to find a new host on such short notice.”

“It is fine. Alcianne deserves to be with her love after all the milennia spent apart. Once her brother-” Halor said, gesturing to Destartes. “Told me of her plight and the full story, I did not have the heart to keep her in my service against her wishes. But that is besides the point. Orodan Wainwright, we are here because of you, and the first matter I wish to discuss is what your intentions are.”

“My intentions? What else besides protecting Alastaia from external invaders and raising our world to become one capable of defending itself without me? My intentions are simple enough.”

“Yet you have also permanently banished three of the Prime Five. I… did not agree with much of what Agathor did, but Ilyatana for all her faults still did much good. Her adherents ran charities, funded orphanages and assisted the misery-stricken with relieving their ails. If you intended to raise our world higher, then removing three Gods from one of its strongest pantheons is a counterproductive way of going about it.”

“Counterproductive? Far from it. I simply removed a dagger which would have sooner or later stabbed someone in the back. I have grown and their treachery means little to me any longer, but what of the rest of you? Could you guarantee that the power-hungry Agathor would not try to compete with the elven pantheon for power? That the controlling Goddess of Fate would not attempt to work against Ozgaric? That Eximus would not see the winds shift and sell us out to our enemies?” Orodan asked. “They should consider them fortunate that I merely banished their wicked influence. I could do far worse.”

Halor didn’t look entirely thrilled by that answer, but the God appeared to at least understand it.

“Orodan Wainwright. I for one have no issue with what you have done. But I will ask how you intend to prepare Alastaia for defense against these cosmic forces. You have said that you will raise Transcendents, but what else? The standing armies of even the elves are no match for the forces of Grandmasters, Gods and more that you told us about on these other worlds.”

It was Tegin Carrotfoot who spoke up, the halfling’s voice cutting through the powerful aura of many of those present.

“That, God of Death, would be why you, Ozgaric and Halor are here. Not only do we intend to raise the power of Alastaia’s Grandmasters and hopefully make more than a few Transcendents… but the Gods will also be necessary for this, for without you our world’s armies cannot meaningfully stand against those of the cosmos who are Blessed. Furthermore, as Mister Wainwright has discovered… we might be able to acquire powerful elemental allies through shows of mighty magic in tandem with summoning.”

“This one has many fellows who were quite impressed by the lightning-bringer during his journey into the elemental plane of lightning.”

And hadn’t that been something? Orodan had never directly entered an elemental plane before. A Master of Dimensionalism he might be, but one could be a Grandmaster of Teleportation and not know how to get somewhere if they didn’t know where it was. Dimensionalism was no exception. But once the elemental lord had shown him the way, he stepped through alongside it and into a world of lightning.

Or rather… an entire cosmos of lightning. There was no ground, no world. Beneath his feet had been arcing electricity and above him as well. From horizon to horizon the entire place had been one gigantic canvas of unending, volatile lightning.

And all throughout the elemental plane of lightning there were powerful beings. Initiates, Adepts, Grandmasters and all. And even a few Transcendents. He had seen a singular Embodier in the great distance, but it was lazily minding its own business pulsating at the center of a star-system sized thunderstorm.

Rarely, there would be structures such as frozen lightning, or enormous spheres where two mighty lightning bolts would meet and the resulting explosion would be contained by all the ambient lightning around them.

It was within these spheres that actual elementals were born. And Orodan genuinely wished he could have spent longer in that elemental plane of lightning studying the phenomenon. As it stood, it was a matter for upcoming loops. This-One-Who-Electrifies-Horizons had certainly been useful and Orodan wasn’t hesitant to admit that he owed the troublemaking elemental lord a debt.

He still needed to observe that phenomena further… but already he felt as though he understood more about the soul now than he did in the past.

But back to the current discussion, his thoughts on having more elementals were clear.

“If one sentient thundercloud is this troublesome then I’m not sure I want any others.”

He didn’t even want to imagine the chaos an elemental lord of fire or ice would cause when following him around like a lost dog. The thought of cities being burnt to ashes or entire regions being frozen to absolute stillness thanks to a brief flare of temper had him consider the need for safeguards first.

For whiile This-One-Who-Electrifies-Horizons was relatively well-behaved, there was no guarantee that other elementals would be.

“Orodan Wainwright, that is an elemental lord. A lord! Even among my people such a being is revered as almighty and the descent of one is a generational event noted in the annals of history,” Eldarion added. “I for one, am honored to make the acquiantance of a mighty lord of lightning.”

The elf, whose culture clearly placed was more importance on these beings than Orodan’s did, was impressed and reverent.

As though a dam had been let loose, this singular interaction loosened some sort of unspoken tension. And soon, all around, the various peoples from different parts of Alastaia began chatting with one another, somehow getting along. He didn’t know if it was Eldarion’s social skill, or Adeltaj’s natural friendliness helping smooth things out, but Orodan was grateful all the same.

“Why, who knew that spider dragon silk had such tensile strength? Why if we could put it to certain uses in manual labor…” Old Man Hannegan muttered, impressed by Ashganruk’s webs.

“You smell of potent magic, human. Might I sample your lightning?” This-One-Who-Electrifies-Horizons asked Destartes.

“I sense the esoteric energies of Dimensionalism around you, spider. Have you wandered many places? Tell me of them,” Cyvrosdyr said. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelFirｅ.net

Orodan was about to intervene and draw attention to what they should have been discussing when Tegin gently held out a hand, gesturing him wait.

“Your beating of those three giants has instilled some smeblance of order, but if they are to work together they shall need to get along,” the halfling said, his words going unheard or unnoticed in the cacophony of multiple conversations which had taken over the war room. “If they start off having a vague respect for each other, things will go very smoothly in the following loops. And the threat of you keeps things from escalating to actual conflict.”

Shrewd of the city commander to notice.

“And you’re sure I can’t bring you along? You could read as many books as you’d like while still remembering all of them,” Orodan offered.

“No thank you, Mister Wainwright. Perhaps on a smaller scale I might be used to command, but the sort of inter-planetary cosmic conflict you’re trying to prepare for is out of my depth. You shall have to find a commander used to planetary-scale wars, and that is not I.”

“I have someone in mind for that. But they’re currently… indisposed.”

But not for too much longer if he had anything to say about it.

Twenty minutes of everyone getting to know one another later, even Cyvrosdyr, Ashganruk and This-One-Who-Electrifies-Horizons looked as though they were just slightly less likely to go for one another’s throats. The tension between the dragon and the spider dragon had lessened as the two learned more about one another, and the elemental lord seemed to tolerate the spider dragon a bit better and had even praised Cyvrosdyr for putting up a decent showing in their fight.

At last, the Lieutenant-General brought the meeting under order with a clap of his hands.

“It gladdens me to see everyone is getting along so well. Now, what we’ve really come here for… an assembly into Novar’s Peak. Specifically, to bring Balastion Novar himself into the fold.”

“I cannot say I am entirely comfortable with that warlord’s inclusion in the time loops, but leaving the mightiest nation of humanity out of the joint effort to defend Alastaia would be foolish,” Eldarion said.

“And the man will not see himself as part of any group unless we deal with that crown he wears and sufficiently impress him with power.”

“Which isn’t a problem for me. I’ll just barge in, purify his crown and give any responding forces a beating.”

“And draw the ire of the Novarrian populace, possibly earn his resentment and cause him to play his cards close to his chest. We are attempting to forge a partnership with Balastion Novar and his empire, not secure a crony ruled through force,” Tegin said. “Tell me Mister Wainwright. Do you remember how the first emperor treated you on the loop where you finally beat the Eldritch Avatar?”

“He seemed a wise man who was trying to work with me to succeed. In no way did I feel as though he was attempting to command or control me,” Orodan admitted.

“And in the long loops since? When you simply barged in, purged his crown and went about your business?”

…had not turned out as smooth. When he’d ventured to the cosmos for the first time, the man had seemed small in his own citadel, bereft of purpose. Recently, when Orodan purged the crown in the alternate timeline, Balastion seemed purposeless as well, shocked.

In neither of these cases was the first emperor a true partner, an equal. But a mere lackey sheltering under the shade of Orodan’s strength. Forced to go along with whatever he said. And sometimes, he had to wonder if that was how he came across to others with his direct and blunt methods of doing things.

How many times had his allies asked him not to reveal the fact that he was a time looper and he’d done so anyways? How many times had he gone against any and all advice and just brashly done things the way he wanted? Even when his allies meant well and in some cases were even right?

Even very recently, he recalled battling it out with Talricto, throwing a wrench into Adeltaj’s attempts to foster a good relationship by gladly leaning into the prospect of a fight.

Considering all that… Orodan had to admit that Tegin’s words bore merit.

“Forgive me… old man…” Orodan muttered, looking at Adeltaj.

“Oh? Gone sentimental on me have you? Worry not… it is the prerogative of the elderly to cover for the blunders of the young,” the old Simarji replied, a look in his eyes as though he knew exactly what Orodan had been thinking. The old man’s hand clapped him on the shoulder. “Sometimes, it’s alright to rely on others. Maybe not in fighting—for the world would sooner sprout wings and fly before you ever did that—but in other things ? You are not alone Orodan.”

He nodded, grateful for the support.

And finally, he sought forgiveness from the one person he should have listened more to. For if he had, then she would never have been a broken soul anchored to his own and without a body. She had paid a steep price for him, and all because at so many points he had never listened.

“Forgive me… Zaessythra.”

“Idiot… open your ears a bit more from now on. Just listen,” she sounded back. “This is the right start. Gathering together everyone who can help you. You’re a mighty warrior and possessed of a drive which nobody else can match. But your training, learning and development still depends on others teaching you, training you or even just fighting against you. Self-development in an isolated void can only get you so far. Think, Orodan… what if your development was accelerated by not just a town, a noble house or a nation… but an entire world?”

The Administrators, the Embodiers who came for him… these beings all had millions of years of experience on him. They had been training, developing and honing themselves over profoundly long periods of time. And although he was a monstrous talent possessed of a drive the cosmos had never seen… he was still lacking in terms of all the advantages they had. The Reject? Trained, forged and risen from the rich heritage of the cultivators of Xian, and possibly even earlier if that madman’s words of being from a time before the System were true. The Custodian? Born of the rich heritage of the hells.

Orodan? Trained and developed through conflict upon Alastaia. And even then, not often taking advantage of the opportunities he could be using. He could be adopted as a prince of the Eastern Kingdoms, a founder of a noble house, a member of the imperial family of Novarria through marriage.

And while such things sounded horrid to him, the fact was that he could have been leveraging connections to a greater extent than he ever had in the loops. Although his humble experiences as a militia man and his insistence on taking the hard way had their own brutal efficiency… he was also lacking in many things by committing to that path.

Did he not owe it to those who depended on him to pick the efficient path forward?

Maybe leaning into the whole nobility and privilege angle wasn’t the right way forward. But perhaps… utilizing his connections and allies in a stronger fashion wasn’t wrong either.

“Mister Wainwright?” Tegin asked.

“We’ve been waiting for almost a minute now…” Tegin muttered, and he had to admit that the introspection had caused him to lose focus on the meeting for a moment. “Shall we commence with our plan to draw Balastion Novar into the fold?”

“Aye… let us do it. Adeltaj’s plan did sound quite reasonable..”

Like that, the remainder of the loop passed as Orodan trained himself and taught those under his tutelage in equal measure. All his targeted skilled increased across the board as a result.

Balastion Novar, instead of having his crown purged had instead been invited to a neutral summit where Adeltaj, Destartes and Cyvrosdyr had calmly explained the entire situation to the man. The first emperor didn’t quite trust Eldarion, but with those three doing the talking that didn’t end up being any hindrance.

What had followed was an extended discussion including Vespidia and Demosthenos who were the right and left hands of the first emperor, and a prompt shocking of the man as Orodan demonstrated his Eldritch Resistance and some of his abilities.

It had certainly shocked and overawed the man, but there were no demands that the crown be purged at all. Instead, Orodan had simply explained the full truth of what the Eldritch was and proceeded to cleanse Alastaia on the spot, further proving his claims about being able to handle it.

And once the Eldritch was demystified as a source of power and proven to be most impotent before the Domain of Perfect Cleaning? Balastion hesitantly but willingly offered up the crown himself, after the elves too agreed to turn over the wand of Athandelu. Lieutenant-General Tegin Carrotfoot at Anthus would be keeping custody of both items. Both Eldiron and Novarria seemed to rather trust the halfling, despite his military victories against the former, and he was deemed a suitably neutral third-party who could hold such things for safekeeping.

Above all else though, was the fact that Orodan existed. His strength was the subtle underlying guarantee of no deception occuring.

It was… humbling. To see how things could proceed so very smoothly when kicking a door down and engaging in brute force diplomacy wasn’t the go-to answer. When combined with soft diplomacy, negotiations and agreements, Alastaia’s joint-rulership and defense went a lot smoother than it ever had when Orodan was handling the talking.

Novarria was the largest of the three human nations of Inuan; the most advanced too. Balastion Novar being in on the loops meant that as soon as Fenton’s orb touched the man’s head, they would have access to the full power of Novarria. And with Eldarion being the representative from Eldiron and Ozgaric from Guzuhar… things were shaping up nicely.

And during the rebuilding of the ancient machine, things had progressed a lot better than expected with such wide-ranging support from across the planet.

For starters, Griok had correctly predicted that Jewelcrafting would make a large difference in the device’s functioning. The metal, though under dangerous strain, wasn’t the failure point this time.

The enchantments and engineering were; running through far too much power and burning out in several critical bits of script and components before being able to truly unlock the Boundless One’s cage.

He had also put up a valiant showing against the goat-woman Embodier before activating the machine, but was still lacking. And the loop ended with the Boundless One slaying him as always… an attack he met with Balance Maker.

And now as he stood within the war room of Anthus once more, having gathered everyone of note, he realized that the orb’s limitation of twelve total memory banks was a bit stifling. It held Fenton’s memories, his other four students, Adeltaj, Destartes, Old Man Hannegan, Talricto, Ozgaric, Eldarion and Balastion Novar. But it could hold no more.

Cyvrosdyr, Ashganruk and This-One-Who-Electrifies-Horizons had been left out by necessity, although each of them trusted someone else who was along for the ride to represent their interests. For the World Guardian dragon, that had been Ozgaric, the most powerful God of Guzuhar. For Ashganruk it had been Eldarion, whose peoples held a vested interest in seeing the drow succeed, and the elemental lord of course trusted Orodan to find him again, looking forlorn and sad at the mere possibility of being abandoned.

What a dramatic cloud.

“I still cannot believe it… we really are returned…” Ozgaric muttered, attempting to reconcile the meeting room the God had already seen once.

“It’s not so jarring after you’ve been through it a few times,” Orodan replied. “Although I suppose I’m the only one the loops maintain full continuity for.”

Him and Zaessythra at least.

“We have much work to do if we are to get ourselves and you up to par, Orodan,” Adeltaj spoke. “We should get to training right away. Who knows how many loops this will take?”

Balastion though, newly added and on his first repeat, stepped forward looking closely at the table.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine such a thing could be possible… here I am, meeting warriors, Gods and creatures I have already seen… but not in this time,” the first emperor muttered. “But these plans will not do. Not at all.”

“How so?” Destartes questioned.

“This is too… mundane.”

“Respectfully, first emperor… sir,” Edrosic began, feeling more than a little intimidated at the prospect of speaking to the ancient. “We can’t do things the way you do. We’re just locals from Volarbury County, with a northern God and a leader of the elves among us.”

“And Eldiron cannot provide the assistance you require due to the distance…” Balastion muttered, and then a slow, prideful smile of satisfaction overtook his face. Not wicked or selfishly ambitious, but as though he had finally found something to content himself with. “Then the Empire of Novarria, the first nation of humanity since the collapse, will provide.”

“Provide?” Orodan now asked. “We aren’t exactly in need of gold or resources.”

“Oh, but you very much are, Orodan Wainwright. You have told me of your time loops, and the tale is a sad one. Running from battle to battle against impossible foes, shoring up your foundations with a singular teacher or on your lonesome. A pitiable state of affairs for someone who is humanity’s… nay, our world’s crowning jewel. The amount of resources poured into your own development and training is utterly pitiful,” the ruler of Novarria declared. “From now on, Novarria, and I, Balastion Novar, will ensure that our mightiest defender receives the support which befits him.

“What exactly are you intending to throw at the problem?” Adeltaj asked.

“Everything. And in this, I shall ask for your aid as well, God of the north, and you too, rival ruler of mine. For too long have we squabbled with one another in a cold war. But like rats duelling over the last scrap of rotten meat from the butcher’s we are unaware of the larger cosmos around us,” the Novarrian calmly explained, offering a branch of peace to the elf. “We cannot elevate our world without bringing far more people into the time loops than that orb allows. And we cannot modify the orb unless we bring the prodigious Fenton Penny of Lonvoron here… and we cannot do that until this world is safe for habitation. Which in summary means… that we cannot escape this two week bind without besting the Embodiers coming for us. And the only one with a chance of doing that in any reasonable timeframe is the time looper himself. Orodan Wainwright.”

“I see your rationale… ancient ruler of humanity,” Eldarion spoke. “And although Cithrel may take issue with my decision, she has entrusted me to be the one whose memories are ferried along in these loops as the representative of my peoples. And I agree.”

“It is decided then. Guzuhar too, shall funnel our resources—what meagre amount we have—towards aiding the growth of Orodan Wainwright,” Ozgaric spoke.

“Your path has been fraught with much danger, and the hardships have laid the foundations for the warrior you are today. But now the time has come to stop training like a pauper,” Balastion spoke calmly. “Are you prepared, Orodan Wainwright? Your training will be relentless in every second of every loop. All the tutors I can think of will be brought to you, including the work itself. And those students of yours too will be driven into the ground too.”

Orodan shook his head, but didn’t disagree. With the resources of three entire continents at his disposal… how quickly could he advance in these basic skills he’d been grinding? How fast could be comprehend the secrets of true soul genesis and the potential re-creation of his own version of Action Increases?

“Just so you know… I’ll be driving you into the ground too, Balastion Novar. A quadruple-Grandmaster such as yourself will not be allowed to slack. Everyone in this room will be pushed… for you are all of you essential to Alastaia,” Orodan declared.

And at the end of it all, once he had bested his pursuers of whom the goat-woman Embodier was only the first one, he would forge a world worthy of bringing Fenton unto.

And from there… that moon was in far too nice a place to be looking so barren and lifeless.