At first, Zorian didn't even notice him. This in itself is noteworthy, because he will not be overlooked. He loves attention and seems to have a hard time being quiet, which remains the same even when Zach suddenly becomes a time traveler.

Today, however, Zach is surprisingly silent. He also avoided the old place of sitting in the back row of the classroom and instead sat in a seat closer to the front row.

If it weren't for his erratic behavior that led to discussion, Zorian would likely have ignored him.

He was so shocked that he finally showed up in class, and he immediately stopped and stood in the middle of the classroom like an idiot.

His first instinct was to immediately walk up to the boy, drag him into a corner, and clean everything up, but Zach's soft appearance stopped him. Zach's skin was pale and bloodless, and his breathing was a little too fast and shallow for a healthy person. He was sick.

He glanced at the front of the room, where Zach was sitting very close to Brian, and every seat around Brian was empty. The reason is easy to speculate: people are reluctant to approach the angry dragon. Although the young fire dragon did not ignite anyone, it did not hesitate to bite and scratch, what would trigger it? Luckily, it seems to tolerate Zorian more than most, it just sits next to Brian with a butt,

He glared at the lizard with an exasperated gaze, and the hissing stopped. He stared at the dragon's yellow eyes until it turned its head and stopped bothering him.

"Wow, you shut him up right away," Brian said. "I wish I could control him so easily."

The fire dragon violently bit the air in front of Brian's face with its mouth, causing the boy to take a step back. Briam snorted in exasperation, how smart this creature really is!

Then, as natural as he could, Zorian turned to Zach, who was sitting a little further away from him.

"You look like hell," Zorian said.

Zach cried out, burying his face in his hands. "I feel like hell," he exclaimed. "What did that pile of bones do to me?"

My heart was racing. For Zorian, this is clear confirmation that Zach is also a time traveler.

"A pile of bones?" Zorian asked pretendedly.

Zach opened his mouth to respond, but Ilsa chose to walk into the classroom, and Zach gave up.

Zorian glared at her. Can't she just wait a few more minutes?

Ignorant of Zorrian's inner complaints, Ilsa accepts Akoja's list and begins to introduce herself and her class. Zorian had heard this phrase eight times, ignoring her and paying attention to Zach to ask him for information related to time travel.

Suddenly he noticed that Ilsa had stopped talking and was looking in his direction. After a while, he realized that she was looking at Zach.

"Sir, you look very sick. Please tell me you didn't come to class with a hangover. ”

The class erupted in laughter, and Zach frowned, noticing the unease that was surging in Ilsa's question. Either way, he recovered quickly.

"It's not a hangover," Zach protested. "I swear, that's how I woke up."

"You think it's a good idea to come to class like this...... Why? Ilsa urged.

"Uh...... Honestly, I didn't expect it to last so long. I thought it would be over in an hour or two. Zach said embarrassedly.

If the illness was caused by the Lich's spell against them that night, after all, Zach had been absent for that long. Why would Zach expect such a serious condition to pass "within an hour or two"?

Why can't you give a simple answer?

"Well, that's not the case," Ilsa concluded. "While I appreciate your dedication to learning," Zorian could clearly hear Arco snorting mockingly in the background, "I have to let you go home, preferably to the doctor." You look like you're going to crash at any moment. ”

Before Zach could speak, Zorian got up from his seat.

"I'll send him home, teacher," he said. Zach gave him a surprised look, but Ilsa just nodded and chased them away.

Zorian picked up his bag and left with Zach, who was very happy with himself. He found an excuse to talk privately with Zach and was given permission to skip class, which he had already attended eight times. Can victory be more complete? Ha ha.

"You don't have to, you know?" Zach said after him. "I can go home on my own. I didn't feel that uncomfortable. ”

"But if I don't, I'll have to endure 2 hours of boring revision," he countered.

Zach laughed, but his laughter quickly turned into a painful cough.

"Damn," he gasped. "He did bad things to me."

"Who's this person you've been mentioning?" Zorian urged.

"It doesn't matter," Zach muttered. He took a deep breath and stared at Zorian thoughtfully. "Hey. Would you like to go to the cafeteria for a bite to eat? ”

"Do you think your stomach can handle it?" Zorian asked.

"You bet," Zach nodded. "I'm starving!"

Zorian shrugged and motioned for Zach to lead the way.

"You know, I think this whole situation is very interesting," Zach said as he munched on the noodles.

"First of all, I'm not going to skip class — I'll escort you home," Zorian noted, ignoring Zach's snort. "We just stop for a meal so you don't go hungry." Another snort.

"Ahh A hypocritical person. Zach said, the expression on his face a little sour. Stop it. At least you're male, so she's not going to try to pair us up. ”

"Well, I also have a 9-year-old sister ......"

"Don't fantasize," Zach warned.

"All right," Zorian agreed.

。 "Can you tell me who roughed you up?"

"Your impromptu commentary isn't as intriguing as you might think," Zorian said.

"Anyway," Zach scoffed. "I just inhaled some weird smoke yesterday while fiddling with my alchemy suit, and that's it."

Ah, the "alchemy accident" excuse. Cliché, yet so effective.

Zorian himself has used it many times. In any case, he was not willing to let go so easily. He decided to take the risk and try to provoke a reaction from the boy.

"It must be some very strange smoke - the after-effects of which are almost like soul magic exposures." Zorian speculated aloud.

Zach immediately sat up straight in his seat, his eyes wide open, and realized this. "Of course! That's why I'm still affected even after recovery! This bastard's target is exactly what was sent back - my soul! ”

There was an eerie silence in the cafeteria, and everyone stared at the gibberish madman. Zach slowly lowered his hands and muttered an apology, his voice so low that no one but Zorian could hear him.

The students gathered laughed, and eventually everything returned to normal.

"Uh......" Zach began. Maybe we should continue this at the fountain, right? ”

Zach grunted. "I'm a little excited...... Not everyone is ice cubes like you. ”

"Ice?" Zorian asked, warning underflowing in his voice.

Still, Zach's small outburst answered his question. So it wasn't his memories, not even his sanity, that was teleported back, but his soul. This certainly explains why his spells and shaping skills don't disappear every time he starts over.

Magic is closely related to the soul, even if no one really knows the exact mechanism by which they interact.

When they finally reached the fountain, Zach seemed to be lost in thought,

So Zorian studied the schools of colorful fish swimming in the fountain basin. He actually sympathized with these poor things, as they were unlikely to last long. Over the years, the fountain fell into disrepair and was not restored until the summer festival.

What is the likelihood that the academy will continue to survive after that event has passed? The days of the fish are numbered.

"Zorian......" Zach urged.

"Huh?"

"Tell me...... How much do you know about time travel? ”

Zorian blinked. With flying colors. That's straightforward.

"Time travel?" Zorian asked, feigning confusion as best he could. "I don't think much. Does it matter? ”

"Uh, okay......" Zach stammered, clutching his chin nervously. You might think I'm crazy, but I'm a time traveler. ”

Wow, Zach really doesn't have a delicate bone in his body, does he?

"You don't look too old," Zorian said. "If you're from the future, it's not far away."

"No, no, it's more like ...... The whole world resets on the night of the Summer Festival, and I am the only one who remembers what happened."

It's an interesting way to explain it, although the idea of a spell that affects the whole world is more ridiculous than the idea of using time travel magic.

"I've been through this month...... God, it's been at least 200 times by now," Zach continued. "Honestly, I'm starting to lose count."

"Wait, you're talking about it like you can't stop it," Zorian said, his voice alarmed.

"That's it, I don't know if I can stop it!" Zach yells before realizing what he's doing, and then quiets down so as not to attract unwanted attention. "I was hit by this spell in a previous return, and when I went back in time, its effect didn't completely disappear."

Zorian frowned. 'Previous recovery'? And what about the other 7 times? Did Zach somehow skip these, or did he simply remember them? It occurred to Zolian that the after-effects of the Lich spell might be even worse than what he was seeing now - what if Zach had been in a coma for the past 7 reboots? But this begs the question: why did his guardian report his disappearance instead of bringing a therapist.

"I guess this is indeed the soul magic you were talking about." Zach continued. "From now on, I need to keep an eye on those people. Anyway, at first I thought it was just some serious illness that would pass, and in a way I was right. I'm already feeling so much better than this morning. It's just that it's not just my body that has been affected, since I woke up, my mind has been a little unstable. ”

Oh no...

"I don't remember how I started this time loop," Zach concluded, confirming Zorian's fears. "Or maybe I started first. My memory is filled with such a blank at the moment. I hope it all comes back to me, but ......"

Zorian stared blankly at the other boy. Basically, they're all in trouble.

Still, Zach's interpretation seems to be a little different.

"You don't believe me," he concluded.

"It's pretty far-fetched," Zorian said. If he hadn't experienced it, he wouldn't have believed him, wouldn't. "But I'm a very open-minded person. Let's assume you're right at the moment. What does this have to do with me? ”

"Well," he said. "You're really different from your other self."

"Another self?" Zorian asked curiously.

"Yes," Zach nodded. "My memories of certain things may be a little vague, but I definitely remember you. Mainly because you die as soon as you attack......"

Zorian pretended not to hear.

"You've changed," Zach concluded. "You're much calmer. More laid-back. ”

Yes, after such a thing, it's hard not to change. Not to mention that it's been more than 8 months since I restarted the game.

"So, wait...... Why am I changing? Zorian asked. Didn't you say that the whole world would reset? ”

"I don't know," Zach shrugged, then looked at him quizzically. "Come to think of it, you're there too, aren't you?"

"No, you probably don't remember," Zach sighed. "Have you been feeling anything different lately?"

"Think about it...... Yes," Zorian confirmed. "I chose a different elective than I expected, and I've done a lot of other weird things since I came to Kooria."

Zorian said this for two reasons. First, he wanted to see how Zach would react to the idea of another person going through a time loop with him. Second, he wanted to explain why he behaved differently every time he rebooted, in case Zach didn't talk about his own business.

"Strange," Zach said in just one sentence.

"Yes," Zorian agreed. "So...... Any advice for a time traveler to tell me about such a mortal? Maybe an awesome secret spell? ”

"To be honest, all I know are battle spells." Zach admitted. "I'm good at combat magic because I have ...... Something I'm trying to prevent. ”

"Is there any mysterious opponent who is causing you trouble?"

Zorian said.

"At least do you remember how that happened?"

"Uh," Zach muttered. "I remember you there well, but you probably died at the very beginning of the fight - no offense to Zorrian, but you are not a warrior - and then I stupidly rushed in, thinking I was invulnerable."

"Why do you think that?" Zorian asked, honestly confused. "I mean, you're invulnerable. Don't you think it's dangerous arrogance to think you're invincible? ”

"Do you know how many times I've died?" Zach protested. "My memory is declining again, but it affects a lot. I'll be careful of necromancy next time, right? ”

"It's not just necromancy." Zorian sighed heavily. "There's psychic magic to worry about. Mental slaves, your memory may also have multiple blanks—your entire brain may be blank.

As far as I know, it is also united with the soul. Some creatures, such as ghosts, eat souls – and that's something to worry about. There are several ways to seal a mage's magical abilities, and when you ...... 'recover', these abilities will most likely stay with you. ”

Zach was silent, his face even paler as he listened to Zorian.

"These are just a few of the points that come to mind," Zorian concluded. "I'm just a student at the academy and I don't understand anything. It's clear, uh, you're not invulnerable? ”

Zorian swallowed heavily. That's close.

"Wow, that sounds like you care," Zach finally smiled nervously. "You really believe I'm a time traveler now, do you?"

Zorian shrugged. "I'm not entirely convinced, if you say you're a time traveler, then we're pretending you're a time traveler. Ha. ”

。。。。。 Two......

When Zorian finally returned to his room, he immediately locked the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He finally had time to think about today's events.

Zach believes that he will get better tomorrow and his memory will be restored. Zorian was less confident. There is a seven-month gap in Zach's memory, which indicates that he has suffered something very serious. Why didn't Zorian suffer something similar? Well...... Maybe he has. The first time he started over, he felt unusually tired, but he saw it as mental stress. Maybe he was just caught on the edge of the spell and only took minor damage.

The strange time-travel effects he and Zach were subjected to essentially turned them into soul entities. The Lich is also essentially a soul entity. They are mages who commit suicide in rituals and bind their souls to an object – their life box – before it can enter the afterlife.

If their current form is destroyed, they will quickly return to their life box, where they can take someone on their body.

Zach stupidly said the same thing to the lich at the end of the battle! "I'm not going to die forever," it is! The Lich may not know exactly what Zach is, but such a statement strongly suggests that he is either the Lich himself or some sort of owner entity.

The real question is: what is he going to do now? Even if Zach regains his memory (he's suspicious, ha), he'll undoubtedly want to keep the time loop going until he finds a way to defeat the lich. If the boy had quarreled with the undead mage before, it might have taken a while. This starts with the assumption that Zach is the founder of this spell. If it happens once, it can happen twice. He secretly suspected that Zach might be a stowaway like Zorian. Is there a third loop person running around?

Suddenly, he was no longer as desperate to get out of it as he had been at the beginning. Going out doesn't necessarily mean getting back to normal.

The invasion was clearly not just a random terrorist attack, something big was happening, and Zorian was just a very small fish. Thai charmingly said, a cockroach. In the time loop, he has the opportunity to secure his future. Other than that, he was just another victim.

Once upon a time, Zorian dreamed of becoming a great mage when he was younger. Belongs to the legendary kind, and completely changed the entire field of magic by his own power.

As time went on, the dream was shattered, and it became clear that he didn't have the talent to achieve it. He was just a slightly above-average civilian-born student and did not have any special advantages. But now? He has plenty of time to build an edge over his peers and become truly great. Bigger than the Daimen.

It's a bit ahead of its time. Ha. He needed something more specific to guide him – a clear set of courses of action for the goals to be achieved. The only thing he could think of now was to ask Zack for some hints, go to the library to find more spells, and keep improving his alchemy skills.

The library is full of spells, but anything "serious" (that is, something that can be used for combat, crime, or espionage) is restricted, and he knows from conversations with older students that the teachers are really stingy when it comes to licensing unilaterals. Even Tov didn't succeed in getting one.

Hone alchemy is definitely an option. Serious alchemical research requires a lot of money - alchemical raw materials are very expensive. However, with his savings account replenishing spontaneously after each reboot, the money problem was solved

Honestly, it's not much. He needed a better plan. Zorian sighed again, pulled out his trusty notebook, and began planning.

。。。。 Four.....

"Can I do something for you, son?" Karen asked. "It's class."

"Uh, I just wanted to talk to you about something," Zorian said. Karen motioned for him to continue. "I hope you don't find this insulting, but the plan you are talking about seems a bit ...... Simple. Practicing magic missiles for a month doesn't seem to make much sense to me, and I've mastered it pretty well. ”

"I hope you don't find this insulting, kid, but you just don't have enough strength to be a true battle mage," Chiron finally said. "Your shaping skills are pretty impressive for your age, but after just 10 strokes, you're tired. None of them will work in battle. ”

"Well, I know," Zorian admitted. His reserves have increased slightly from the first time he took this course, so 10 shots on goal is actually an improvement. "By the way, can I do something?"

"Of course, as your magic proficiency increases, so does your mana reserves, but so do other people's mana reserves. Against naturally strong opponents, most professional battle mages, you are always at a disadvantage. Of course, I can't ban you from taking up the profession of a battle mage, but I definitely advise you not to. In many magical disciplines, excellent shaping skills are an asset, but combat magic is primarily about strength. ”

"I see," Zorian said. He doesn't set out to be a battle mage, but he has a feeling that he needs some combat magic, whether he likes it or not. At least able to deal with his winter wolves or trolls during the invasion. “

"Hmph." Karen snorted. "Do you want to blackmail me, son?"

"Uh......"

"It's okay, I don't mind. I do understand your point......" Karen rubbed her chin and thought something in her head. "Wait here."

Fifteen minutes later, Karen returned with another spell stick, a booklet, and four ceramic plates. He threw the plates at Zorrian, who caught them before they shattered on the ground.

"The response was quick." Karen praised. "They're actually reinforced, so you don't have to worry about that." He took a magic wand and held it firmly in his hand. "Let me show you something. Throw one of the plates to my left. ”

Zorian immediately complied, and Karen wordlessly pointed the rod at the plate and fired. He deviated from the target, and the force actually hit the plate, bending in the air to intercept it. The plate shattered into dust and sharp shards.

"One more time," Karen snapped.

Zorian threw another plate, and another force flew towards it. However, this one is different – it's longer and thinner, like an oversized needle. It hits the plate, but instead of smashing it to pieces, it goes straight through the plate, punching a hole in the center before dissipating.

"Put the last two together," Karen instructed.

The two plates flew into the air, and Karen pointed the scepter in their general direction again. Zorian waited for the lightning of power, but it didn't come. Instead, two plates are suddenly cut in half by some invisible blade.

Karen lowered her hand and began to speak.

"The reason I spend so much time with magic missiles is because it's a spell that's so versatile," Karen said. "In its simplest form, it is a shining force that travels in a straight line, sending a shock wave at whatever it hits. Smasher, it is a very simple and effective spell. However, skilled mages can do so much more with it. You can use animation magic to make it lock onto your target. You can grind it into a point where you can pierce objects, or a line to cut them – a perforator and a cutter, respectively. You can launch multiple missiles instead of one – or even a large swarm of missiles, if you have enough reserves and skills to achieve this. Of course, you can also make the projectile invisible. ”

"Invisible?" Zorian asked.

"Yes," Karen agreed. "The power spell that is perfectly cast is completely transparent. Those light shows were leaks of magic caused by spell boundaries. The large amount of mana injected into the structure can easily distort or unravel some of the pieces. ”

"I messed up the spell?" Zorian concluded, thinking about the glittering projectiles he always got when he used his wand. "Wait, your missiles usually glow too. That's it-"

Karen laughed. "As I said at the beginning – in many magical disciplines, excellent shaping skills are the foundation, and combat magic is primarily power. Most battlemages can't even make a simple magic missile transparent, let alone a high-level power spell.

Karen shoved the spell stick and booklet into Zorian's hands.

"You're right, for the next month or so, you're the only one who really masters it. So, read this booklet, find some practice goals, and make sure you have a friend nearby while practicing to get help if you mess up.

Oh, don't hurt anyone with the stick I lent you, or I'll be angry. Come back to me in two weeks and let me see how you're doing. ”

"Okay, this is much better than he thought.

"Get out of here now," Karen pointed to the door. "You've wasted my coffee time."

。。。。。 Four.....

A variant of the magic missile that Kai has him practice, which causes him more than enough problems. As Karen said at the beginning of the lecture, the problem was that it had to be done in an instant, and it required a lot of mana from him. It's easy when you just want a bolt that travels in a straight line and shatters objects, but completes the spell in less than a second. Not to mention making the bolts transparent.

He managed to pull off a perfect penetration. Progressive!

"You're very bad," Iberg said next to him, placing a book on the shelf. I'm guessing you worked in a library, right? ”

"Uh, yes," Zorian agreed. "It'...... Organizationally strikingly similar to this one. ”

"It's not surprising," Kiri said behind him, causing him to jump in surprise. "All state libraries use the same organizational system. This is the standard enforced by the Association of Librarians. God, even other systems of secession are similar. ”

"Because they all once belonged to the same country?" Zorian guessed.

"Yes, the Great Divided Nation, as part of the Old Union, inherited much of its legacy, including the library system."

"Hey!" A familiar voice shouted. "Is Zorian there?"

"Don't yell in the library, Zach," Zorian sighed. "Now that you've regained your usual vigor, are you okay now?"

"Yes!" Zach patted his chest and said happily. "Healthy as an oak tree. Going for a bite to eat? ”

"I'm working right now," Zorian protested.

Zorian followed Zach out. Didn't flirt with intellectual women here, haha.

"You're the funniest person I've known at the moment and the only one other than Neo who believes me about time travel," Zach said.

"Neo?" Zorian asked incredulously.

"She's an avid reader of mystery and mystery novels, and she's very imaginative and open-minded," Zach said. "Her father would say that she was a naïve dreamer. It was surprisingly easy to convince her that I was really a time traveler. She wanted to believe that it was all true. ”

"Ah," Zorian said. He thinks he now knows why Neo was involved when Zach first experienced this month. Still, he doesn't know who the other girl is or how to get her to join the conversation.

"Anyway, how many people are you trying to convince to believe in the Loop?" Zorian asked.

"All of our classmates and teachers, principals, and heads of police stations across the city. Several nobles and other influential people. ”

How...... Persistent?!

"I don't think it's very successful," Zorian guessed.

"To put it mildly,"

Why is Zach trying to convince all these people that he's a time traveler? It doesn't sound like what a time traveler who specializes in stopping an invasion would do.

"Zach," Zorian said cautiously, "what about those blanks in your memory?" Are they ......"

"They're still there," Zach frowned. "But I'm pretty sure they won't be any more, thank the gods."

"Hmm," Zorian agreed. "Then you don't know how this time-traveling magic is realized? I looked it up and it shouldn't be possible, you know? In fact, it's as impossible as drawing a square triangle. ”

"Well, no way, isn't it?" Zach retorted. "But no, I don't know how I did it."

"Uh-uh......" Zach smiled nervously. You may be right. I used to be really bad at the whole mage industry, wasn't it? But enough of this depressing topic because I have good news for you! ”

"Oh?" Zorian asked curiously.

"Yes," Zach confirmed. "I've heard you've been working hard to learn combat magic."

"Huh!? Where did you hear that? Zorian protested.

"Karen told other teachers, teachers told administrators, administrators told janitors and other low-wage workers, they told students, and students told me," Zach concluded. "What does it matter? The important thing is that since I recovered, I am very good at combat magic, and I decided to teach you. Think of it as a reward for believing in me. ”

Zorian gave Zach a look in disbelief. Will he volunteer to help him? Is that all?

"What?" Zach protested. "yes, I'm really good at combat magic! In fact, that's what I do best! ”

Oh, now that's a wonderful start......

"How the hell are you good at combat magic?" Zorian asked. "I mean, mages are really stingy about sharing their battle magic. Even with these ...... Recover...

"Yes. But you have me, so that's it. I'm naturally good at this."

Zorian silently wondered what he would find himself in, and followed him.