The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop

Chapter 37: Against The Abyss II

Chapter 37: Against The Abyss II

The Ogdenborough Jail was one of the more spacious buildings in his poverty-stricken town. It was a single tower with four floors. Each floor contained four units capable of housing forty offenders, with the basement containing a segregation unit for those who needed a beating and correctional treatment, and assaultive offenders. Like that, the jail was capable of housing nearly seven-hundred prisoners.

The facility was officially under the purview of the Volarbury County Militia, but of course Orodan knew growing up… that the jail was really run by the stooges of House Argon. The jail was seen as a punishment post for incompetent members of the militia who couldn’t hack it during training and were considered too weak to be allowed to patrol the streets. Orodan faced no such issue, being the top of his cohort during training. But many of the people he trained with wound up working here.

“Wainwright? I remember being in training with you!” the girl exclaimed. “It’s me, Ostolon! Bildica Ostolon. I know you were the top of the class, but I always cheered you on during spars and drills.”

A tad bit too skinny, and with dark circles under her eyes. No wonder she was working at the jail, her natural diet and conditioning were abysmal, and her Physical Fitness was rather pitiful for dark circles to form from lack of sleep. Orodan didn’t remember this girl at all, but she must’ve been a slacker during training. Socializing or hiding from the wrath of the instructors while Orodan took every opportunity to work hard and seize opportunities to advance himself.

“Ah yes, hello,” Orodan replied, attempting to remain polite. “I’m here to see some of the prisoners.”

“Er… is this an on-duty assignment? I wasn’t told of anyone from the patrol barracks coming by,” she spoke. “You’re not in uniform either. Let me just contact my sergeant to verify-”

“No need, it won’t take very long, and I won’t need permission,” Orodan said as he walked past her at the front desk and approached the heavy steel doors leading to the secure part of the institution. He left a few perfect healing potions on her desk as he left. “I hope that covers the damages.”

Metal was casually folded under his grip and the door came off its hinges.

“W-Wainwright?! What are you even doing?!” she exclaimed. “B-by the Gods…!”

She was a bit indecisive, so the alarm came fifteen seconds after he entered the facility’s secure area. Took her a bit long to activate the alarm mechanism, a defensive vulnerability, but then again, she must’ve been posted at the front due to her lack of competence in general.

“Code Red, front registration! Code Red, front registration!” came a magically amplified voice.

Men and women of the militia looked at him warily as he walked down the halls towards the offenders’ living units. Finally, a particularly large one, slightly taller than even Orodan himself, spoke up.

“The hells? Aren’t you Wainwright? Are you who caused the alarm?” he asked. “Never did like you during training… making the rest of us look bad.”

The man then nodded to the other five men and women near him, and they all closed in, attempting to take control Orodan’s arms. In response, Orodan simply kept walking, dragging them along like paper birds in the breeze.

“Go for the legs! What the hells Volten!”

“How is he doing that?!”

“Stop! He’s at least an Adept, let’s call for more!” came the voice of reason.

The jail guards got out of his way, thoroughly persuaded of the strength difference. Orodan made his way to the entrance of the living quarters and gently took that door off too.

It was two hours before noon, thus the offenders were all out of their cells for dayroom time. It was the standard system in which jails were run all over Volarbury County, and even in the Republic. Upon seeing the door come off its hinges, many of them began clamoring in confusion. Some called out that the door was open, some looked on warily, and a bold handful made for the path he created and hoped to escape.

Of course, depending on their crimes, Orodan wouldn’t allow any of that. He grabbed the first offender to try and run past him and bound him to the guard station rail with thick rope.

“Alright, what’s he here for?” Orodan asked, and his book companion who was under an invisibility spell got to work. “It’s not harmful, is it?”

Surprisingly, the man didn’t scream at all, nor did he look aware of the fact that his mind was being probed.

“Of course not, do I look like an amateur to you?” she asked. “Unlike you, who has the mental fortitude of a mountain and existing levels in Psionic Resistance, most people won’t ever be aware that their minds are being read. Also, this one got drunk and beat up a militia man.”

“Oi! What’re you talkin’ about?” the man himself protested. “I ain’t done nothing like that.”

Orodan ignored the man and unbound the ropes restraining him. This would take too long, and he didn’t have that much time to spare. So, he went behind the desk of the guard station and began perusing the unit records. The frightened guard could only get out of the way as he’d seen Orodan get past the door casually.

“Nobody on this unit has committed any heinous crimes,” Orodan said. “Do you hold the worst offenders in segregation?”

“Y-yes sir… that and in the protective custody unit for those with sensitive charges,” the guard replied.

A mass of guards was waiting outside the broken doors, not for Orodan as they weren’t his match and knew that. But to handle the mess he’d created by breaking the door. They didn’t want the offenders to escape. Orodan walked past them and allowed them to do their jobs.

Guards in the halls fearfully froze as he walked past them, but he had no quarrel with them, but was simply seeking some acceptable targets to practice on. Finally, he reached the protective custody unit and broke its doors down.

The offenders were locked up due to the alarm, and Orodan went behind the desk, grabbed the unit records, and began going cell to cell.

“It says this one killed his wife and child during a domestic dispute,” Orodan said. “If he did it… then I have no qualms with being experimental during my practice.”

“Hmm… he’s a rather violent man indeed. He angrily killed his family after his wife got mad at him for beating her and told him she would call the militia. His son tried stopping him and paid the price,” his assistant spoke. “Definitely deserves to be our first subject.”

“Good, now hold still. Since you enjoy subjecting those weaker than you to violence, you shouldn’t have a problem if someone stronger comes by and does the same to you, no?” Orodan asked as he bound the man to a rail, kicking and screaming while the other offenders in their cells looked terrified.

This was the protective custody unit. Full of offenders who had all signed in by choice due to the sensitive nature of their charges. The overwhelming majority of those here, were in for crimes of a sickening nature that would get them targeted by those in regular units. Not all criminals were equal. A deviant fiend who harmed children wasn’t the same as a thug who beat people up. Even among the criminal class there were limits and a certain code of conduct.

Weapon Aura wrapped completely around the man, his mana pool drained entirely in an attempt to resist Orodan’s control and then…

…Weapon Aura reached into the very depths of the man’s soul, as far as Orodan could go.

Immediately there was some serious resistance. Wrapping Weapon Aura around the entirety of the outer soul layer wasn’t an issue. Orodan refused to allow any changes in it and had frozen it in place and completely halted the man’s mana generation; an interesting tactic which could be explored further in combat. But, attempting to extend his control into the very core of the soul was proving incredibly difficult, if not outright impossible. Blood leaked from Orodan’s eyes and nose as he tried, thus, he doubled down and summoned all of his ‘clones’. Eight minds worked together, and they all focused on maintaining Weapon Aura’s grip on the man’s soul and extending its influence into the deepest parts.

The air crackled with dangerous amounts of energy. Eternal Soul Reactor and Draconic Mana Channelling worked together and Orodan drew upon a terrifying amount of power, to the point that a minor slip up might obliterate Ogdenborough if his control slacked.

Yet, he was confident in his willpower, which would never falter. So, he continued.

It was as though reality itself refused to allow him into the soul core of another. Even the very Gods that slew him continually never claimed to be capable of destroying souls outright, merely the outer layer. He wasn’t sure what prevented it. Was it the System? Was it the world? Orodan didn’t know, but he persisted all the same.

In front of him, the man was screaming in agony, but Orodan’s focus didn’t deviate. It was painful, but not fatal, and this man had no grounds to complain when he’d abused and then murdered his own family.

[Weapon Aura 85 ? Weapon Aura 86]

The skill gained a level, indicative of just how difficult this was. Both in terms of concentration, but also in terms of the skill required. Seeing someone else’s soul as a weapon and then using Weapon Aura to wrap around it, and control it? Madness of the highest order. Just how Orodan liked it.

The soul didn’t exactly consist of particles which could be individually manipulated. Rather, it was a single thing which functioned and had parts, but these parts weren’t exactly separate things. The outer layer of the soul for example, wasn’t a separate object that could be plucked off and put somewhere. Its existence was integrally tied to the core of the soul. In a sense, it was almost a projection of the soul core. Much like how a shadow couldn’t exist without light, so too could the outer soul layer not exist without the soul core.

Orodan knew a lot of this from his forays into his own soul, especially when he performed soul surgery to get rid of the Blessings. But, knowing something from his own soul and then applying to the soul of another, was harder than it seemed. He wouldn’t be manipulating the soul of another or changing its functions yet, but he could use Weapon Aura to freeze the outer layer in place and prevent any sort of change in it.

Orodan had already seized complete control of the outer layer. Soul energy was produced in the core, but many of the conversions from soul energy to mana and vitality occurred in the outer soul layer. At least, for natural mana and vitality generation. Skills which converted soul energy to mana or vitality, such as Orodan’s own Harmony of Vitality and Eternal Soul Reactor, functioned in the soul core, and destruction of the outer soul layer wouldn’t hamper those.

The man would not regenerate any mana, and his senses, emotions and thoughts would be utterly mangled unless Orodan willed otherwise. In fact, freezing the outer layer of the soul while the body went on, had some acutely detrimental effects. The man’s heart continued beating, but it was erratic, as though it lacked purpose. Many bodily functions went awry, and his brain acted very strangely. The body wasn’t meant to function without a soul, even if perfectly healed. It was akin to a doll, and while flesh golems existed, the human body itself wasn’t meant to function without a soul unless additional magical aids were present, or a new soul was deposited.

Barring skills, the outer soul layer was also how the soul connected to the body. For the overwhelming majority of beings, destroying the outer soul layer, or even freezing it, would kill them.

Orodan, was beginning to tread dangerously into the territory of illegal soul magic arts.

Not that anyone would or could arrest him for it. At high levels of power, the only law was might. But it was still something to be aware of. Such arts were illegal due to the painful and violating nature of training them.

Orodan allowed the man’s outer soul layer to begin functioning as normal again, but it mattered not. His eyes were lifeless. The offender’s body was perfectly normal. Skin healthy, blood flowing. But the heart beat was erratic, and the brain had no signs of higher activity.

Orodan still held a grip over the soul, and it was positioned perfectly in the core of the body… but it was desperately seeking escape to a higher realm which Orodan couldn’t sense. He didn’t have a skill meant specifically for detecting souls yet. Vision of Purity could see traces of foul impurities in the man’s soul, perhaps his guilt from sinning, and this was how Orodan indirectly sensed and interacted with people’s souls. But this was the extent of it, and Orodan couldn’t detect the souls of newborns and young children at all due to the lack of impurities within them.

All this was to say, the man was dead. His corpse akin to a flesh golem, but a flawed one which wouldn’t last without magical intervention. And even then, his brain showed no higher thought.

Orodan let Weapon Aura slip, and the soul go.

The offenders who were watching from their cells were either silently praying, madly screaming, and banging on their cell doors in a show of fighting when their turn came or were simply accepting their potential fate.

“You know, you could give me a formal education on the soul arts,” Orodan spoke. “I doubt soul mages start by using Weapon Aura of all things to try and manipulate souls. And how is one meant to breach the soul core?”

“But where’s the fun in that? You seem like the type of bull-headed man who would struggle at attempting something impossible and then actually achieve it,” she spoke. “Who knows what you could achieve if I didn’t interfere? Do you really want me to take that away from you? I’ll begin tutoring you in soul magic right now if you want.”

Orodan frowned. This book accurately had the measure of his character.

“No. It’s fine,” Orodan replied. “I’ll do it myself or never succeed. Anyhow, about the soul core?”

“It’s impossible,” she replied. “I have never heard of anyone breaching the soul core of another in all my long years of life. I don’t know if the System forbids it, or that’s simply how souls are… but it cannot be done, and Gods far more powerful than those you’ve seen have tried. The mightiest God couldn’t manage it upon the weakest babe.”

Orodan accepted her explanation but resolved to continue trying to breach the soul core of another. Who knew where it would take him? His experimentations were cut off however, as a group of ten people entered the unit, the familiar heraldry of a flower and shield upon one of them.

These were the Adept-enforcers of House Argon, being commanded by one of their Elites-level retainers.

“Orodan Wainwright! You dare cause trouble at the Ogdenborough Jail after abandoning your shift today?! What has caused such a rapid gain in strength?” the leading Argon retainer asked. The man was a mere retainer, not even a high-level Elite like Lord Aeglos, the heir to the house. “Come with us, and we may overlook this incident. We’ve always seen potential in you from a young age. Did you know we planned to make an offer of recruitment eventually?”

“What nonsense… today is the day you lying scoundrels plan on using the ancient machine to destroy most of Volarbury County,” Orodan replied. “Although I will admit, the beatings your enforcers gave me when I was young helped shape me into the warrior I am today.”

“You speak of things you should not know,” the retainer spoke. “I apologize that it’s had to come to this. Apprehend him, and if that’s not possible… kill him. We need to wrap this up before the militia’s Elite Response unit gets here. House Firesword doesn’t need to be involved, not today of all days.”

An understandable plan. Today was the awakening of the machine. And while House Argon held more power in Ogdenborough, it was House Firesword that held the overwhelming majority of control over the Volarbury County Militia. To have their Elite Response Unit come in at such a critical time would be undesirable for House Argon, hence they wanted to deal with him themselves.

Unfortunately for them, Orodan was a force somewhat beyond noble houses. He walked towards them.

“Here he comes! Grab him!”

“Use the enchanted manacles!” the Elite retainer ordered, and a pair of magical iron cuffs made of a powerful material were slapped around his wrists. “Nicely done! Now then, don’t resist Wainwright! We have you-”

“H-he’s just walking away! Stop him!”

The manacles were casually pried off and Orodan made for the segregation unit where some really vile offenders were undoubtedly held. It was in the basement and looked like a nefarious dungeon. The door leading to solitary was far thicker than the doors leading into the regular living units, but that didn’t matter to him.

The door was gently torn off the wall and Orodan made his way inside.

Unlike a living unit, there were maybe thirty separate cells in segregation, and there were no bunk beds. Each cell was for one offender. The first twenty cells were lined upside-by-side, although offenders were to only be allowed out one at a time. The other ten cells, however, were in a separate section and meant for dangerous captives, Adepts.

The Elite retainer tried hitting him with a powerful melee skill… which shredded Orodan’s shirt and promptly bounced off his skin without doing any damage. He looked back and gave the man a look which had the retainer sweating and gained him a level in Intimidation. The communication amulet glowed, and additional backup was most certainly called. Bulwark Physical Resistance seemed irrelevant when he was fighting quadruple-Grandmasters, but against Elites and even Masters? He was invincible.

He walked behind the guard desk and perused the records. He toured segregation and looked at the records again. There was a discrepancy.

“Why is your unit occupancy board empty, and yet I see seven cells in use?” Orodan asked the Elite retainer nearby.

“T-that is… sir… above my paygrade,” the man stumbled and spoke in a fearful voice. “I’d just like to apologize for all this inconvenience we’ve caused you.”

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to these people you’ve imprisoned falsely. Republic spies who would uncover your plot? Political enemies? Who are they?” Orodan asked. “I always suspected that the jail’s segregation unit was used to hold captives off the record. Especially since the guards working this post were known to be backed by your house.”

While the justice system was rife with power plays and nepotism which favored the mighty, the Cathedral ensured that even the lowliest victim from the poorest town received some form of representation. Legal specialists from the Cathedral checked in on every offender registered within a county’s jail system. It earned the Prime Five even more goodwill and faith, but also ensured that nobody was forgotten in a dark cell indefinitely.

But if people were locked up off the record? What else could they do but rot?

Orodan approached the first cell.

“Help! Please help! Gods save me! I just want to go home! I’m with the Republic!” came the desperate cries of a man within.

The door was ripped off and the man practically leapt into his arms, bawling like a child. He was dirty, sported multiple bruises and injuries and wore the clear signs of torture. Orodan spent ten minutes cleaning the man’s injuries and gave him a perfect healing potion at the end which resolved the physical injuries. But the mental ones would remain for longer.

His book companion read his mind and confirmed that this man was a Republic spy sent to scout the area many months ago. Of course, the man had been caught and subsequently imprisoned off the record in the Ogdenborough Jail where he was repeatedly beaten and tortured.

“You’re safe now, are the others here also loyal agents of the Republic?” Orodan asked.

“Yes! All except for the one in cell thirty!” the man cried. “Good sir, there’s little time… please tell the Republic, that House Argon are traitors, they plan to turn against us and use the machine to wreak destruction upon this county.”

“I know.”

“Y-you do?!” the man exclaimed. “Why are you here then? Have you informed the Republic?!”

“Worry not, that machine will not awaken today,” Orodan answered. “As for me, I originally came by to find some scum to experiment on so that I wouldn’t feel too morally conflicted. But now, this has turned into something of an impromptu rescue mission. I don’t suppose you know what that prisoner in cell thirty is here for?”

“I do sir… that beast deserves no mercy,” the prisoner spoke. “He’s a vampire, they caught him feeding in the next town over. But, be warned, some terrifying necromancer comes by at night to experiment on him from time to time. Given your entrance, she’ll undoubtedly arrive soon, please… let us escape sir. Even the Elite retainers look upon her with fear.”

Tales of an entire society vampires ruling from the shadows of the Republic were a bit exaggerated and meant to scare children into behaving. Vampires existed, but were quickly caught, and with extreme prejudice. Hence, they were incredibly rare on the human dominated parts of Inuan.

Mainly because humans hated vampires. They were universally loathed as vile blood-sucking fiends across Novarria, the Republic and the Eastern Kingdoms.

The Cathedral’s demon hunters and diviners were quite good at sniffing out the blood suckers, and they often employed mages specialized in light magic to exterminate them upon discovery. The only place where they existed in any kind of number was the Dokuhan Mountains, where the drow had societies of them. Although, it was rumored that the elves also harbored vampires.

Their existence was a major part of why the Republic and Eastern Kingdoms were quiet on the topic of helping the drow in their losing war against the dwarves, and why Novarria was happily assisting the dwarves in exterminating drow. Virtually all vampires encountered on human territory were converted during travels in and around the Dokuhan Mountains, where vampires were more numerous.

Every book he’d read spoke of vampires as being monstrous beings with no respect for mortal life. But, like the goblins he met in the depths, perhaps not all vampires were murderous?

More importantly though, what was this about a necromancer?

“This necromancer… is it a woman by chance?” Orodan asked.

“Y-yes… they call her Master Fausta, and I saw her summon a dangerous looking skeleton once,” he spoke. “Although, one time… I heard her talk about her ‘favorite demon pet’, and I hope to never see it myself.”

Orodan simply had a smile on his face.

Unfortunately, the score for meeting a friendly vampire was zero for two.

The book had confirmed that the prisoner was a vampire who wantonly slaughtered innocents and was then promptly hunted by a zealous inquisitor of the Cathedral who specialized in light magic. After having his legs turned to dust through beams of light, the vampire was handed over to the Scarmorrow temple. Of course, somebody in the temple was a mole and handed the creature over to House Argon, to be locked up in the Ogdenborough Jail for experimentation.

His companion had also informed him that the vampire was turned nine months ago during a caravan trip to the under-mountain holds of the dwarves. He was converted, and the coven had attempted to teach him how to manage his bloodlust with peaceful methods. But the man’s nature was vile, and he escaped from the coven of vampires who sought to increase their numbers, and now that he was in the Republic, his bloodthirst went unmanaged which led to his rampage. His intrinsically sadistic personality led to some gruesome kills in Scarmorrow.

Orodan had learned that Vampirism might very well be a Bloodline, given the impurities in the man’s blood. He was also beyond Orodan’s ability to cure for now, since eradicating every bit of the Bloodline would be destructive, and he’d need to find a method of leveraging Incorruptible Being to affect others or hone his healing abilities and alchemy further.

Still, Orodan had happily experimented upon the vampire’s soul using Weapon Aura till it would not wake again. No levels were gained, but the skill was at a high level already and the rate of growth was understandably slower through simple brute force. Insights and breakthroughs could take time.

The familiar Master-level necromancer had intruded during his experimentation, and he enjoyed the reunion greatly. Orodan disliked many mages, but he absolutely detested necromancers. Her pets were of no help.

He had drained the machine and gained another Action Increase, and he now stood in a glassed crater, the aftermath of another loop where he killed the Avatar of Ilyatana and caused the Novarrians to escalate to calling for their founder’s aid.

“What I don’t understand, is why the soul core is so unbreachable,” Orodan spoke. “I tried pressing the entirety of my willpower towards breaching it, but it just wouldn’t work. Do I need a higher rarity skill?”

“I’m not a soul specialist, but far as my knowledge goes, the soul core has always been impossible to breach,” Balastion Novar replied. They had spoken and gotten over the time looper bits and were now sharing advice and their experiences. “Not even the elves have managed to crack the secret of delving within the soul core of another. Although, those with a high level of proficiency can enter their own soul core, which you said you had.”

“Yes, it wasn’t exactly planned, but I did perform soul surgery on myself in the middle of battle against three Avatars. I essentially expanded my soul core to envelop my entire body, so that soul energy could be produced from every single cell of my physical form,” Orodan explained. “The second time was when I removed all the Blessings from my soul. It was difficult and I had to allow the outer layer of my soul to explode, but I was confident enough in my willpower than I removed the Blessings and recovered.”

“...truly? I can see you’re telling the truth but allowing your soul’s outer layer to be destroyed… sounds like the definition of insanity to me,” Balastion spoke. “But perhaps that resilience of soul you’ve developed is a part of what allowed you to remove Blessings, and how you acquired Eldritch Resistance.”

“I’m not entirely sure how exactly I gained Eldritch Resistance, but it involved resisting the corrupting influence of the three Eldritch divinities as they attempted to subvert my mind for a full year,” Orodan explained. “But, given your long life are there no other methods of removing Blessings that you know of?”

“It’s possible, if incredibly dangerous. This little reincarnator who serves me, Vespidia I believe her name was… she has a Mythical skill which might allow her to perform it upon herself,” the first emperor explained. “In fact, I believe her last life ended because she attempted such a thing to spite the Gods and died in the process, but she did manage to get rid of the Blessing upon her soul.”

“Oh? Vespidia? I fought her in the Inter-Academy Tournament, she initially assumed I was an Avatar and didn’t hold any positive opinion of them,” Orodan remarked.

“Truly, the grudge from her last life runs deep,” Balastion spoke. “I assume she participated just so she could strike a blow against that elf with the mutated Bloodline? She must want to free Faraine…”

“I do recall her saying she had her little trick saved up for Othorion Evertree,” Orodan said. “But, how do you even have time to keep abreast of all this when you’re sleeping? And to free Faraine? Care to elaborate?”

“I’m meditating, not sleeping… and the eyes and ears of the Empire extend farther than you think,” Balastion remarked cryptically. “As for the elves, I won’t ruin the experience for you, so I’ll leave you to discover that adventure yourself.”

This old man had his eccentricities. But Orodan would let him have that much. The elves and their seemingly captive Goddess weren’t his current concern. The abyssal depths and the first gate were.

“Fine, I won’t ask you to tell me,” Orodan conceded. “Let’s talk about the abyssal depths though. Last time you didn’t want to tell me, but it’s quite dark in there. Good thing I had the light of my soul, or else physical vision would’ve been a handicap.”

“Yes, the lighting is rather dim in there isn’t it? I believe it’s due to a mutation the ostolitus mushroom undergoes at a certain depth where the world energy is dense enough,” Balastion replied. “Lets it absorb world energy easier, but it consequently draws light in as well. Anyhow, what else did you see?”

“I actually met a naturally occurring Eldritch monster in there for the first time. A minotaur corrupted by the Eldritch,” Orodan answered. “What exactly is the Eldritch? I doubt the minotaur was dropped in from the void between stars after being corrupted there.”

“In truth, even I don’t know where naturally occurring Eldritch come from and what it is,” Balastion replied. “During my travels down there, I saw natural Eldritch as well, but I have no idea how they came to be. There’s definitely a difference between them and the foul invaders that have periodically descended from the stars throughout our world’s history. Mainly, the natural Eldritch don’t corrupt other creatures the same way; something to be thankful for otherwise the depths would’ve been overrun by now. I can only offer a hypothesis, but perhaps it’s because their corruptor is different. The champions of the Eldritch divinities were doubtlessly converted by them, whereas I do not think whoever, or whatever corrupted natural Eldritch is intent on spreading it.”

It made sense. Else the depths would’ve been almost exclusively Eldritch by now.

“Despite my Eldritch Resistance, I didn’t sense any attempts by it to corrupt me,” Orodan replied. “Of course, it still happily tried and succeeded in killing me.”

“Of course. If you haven’t learned by now, the creatures of the abyssal depths are a strange lot,” the first emperor explained. “Some will speak and converse, while others will just… fight to kill. I’ll say this much, during my delve into the abyss I noticed that the monsters who spoke were the ones that had descended from the deep depths and sought to become stronger. They seemed to retain their sapience, or at least, their willingness to talk; they also hunted other monsters. On the other hand, certain creatures like the Fallen Void Archon and the Eldritch Minotaur you encountered, aren’t interested in speaking at all, nor do they move a muscle to harm the other inhabitants of the abyssal depths. I’m still not sure why.”

“Is it a matter of where they were born?” Orodan asked. “Are monsters naturally born in the abyssal depths and this leads to them being almost drone-like?”

“Now that would be telling and ruin your experience. You’re a time looper, live a little… or perhaps, die a little,” Balastion Novar annoyingly remarked with a smile. “See for yourself what secrets the abyssal depths have to offer. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I can tell when you’re lying, so claiming to have seen something when you haven’t won’t get me to discuss it with you.”

“I’m aware, and nor would I lie. Honesty is my preferred approach anyways,” Orodan replied. “I’ll have to investigate the Eldritch further, alongside this first gate.”

“That’s the spirit!” the ancient being cheered. “But I do have to ask, the corruption of the Eldritch, any advice to share in how you acquired the resistance skill against it?”

Orodan had no problem with advising this man who’d been cordial and even helpful towards him. Who knew? Perhaps attempting to gain the skill was a part of the first emperor’s plan to deal with the Eldritch?

“I’ll say that any attempts to acquire it outside of life and death battle are incredibly difficult. Any time I’ve tried acquiring resistance skills outside of fighting, has been frustratingly slow. If anything, the training, and exposure beforehand will only make the acquisition during battle easier, but won’t let you acquire the skill by itself,” Orodan explained. “That it’s a mythical rarity skill makes the issue even harder. I came to consciousness after a full year of resisting the Eldritch to discover I’d acquired it. Even as a time looper, I’m told it’s a dangerous risk to take.”

“I see… I’m not in a time loop, but surely there’s a method of acquiring a resistance to it otherwise?” the man asked.

“Well, aside from exposure in the heat of combat, it’s truly difficult to reliably obtain a resistance skill,” Orodan answered. “That being said, when I acquired Divine Resistance, it was through relying on the power of my soul and experimenting with its production point and focusing upon the quality of my soul energy. Perhaps there might be a path there, but any attempt to gain Eldritch Resistance will at least require you to subject yourself to the corruptive voice of ‘the truth’ that they rave about.”

Balastion Novar’s face looked almost… fearful as Orodan mentioned ‘the truth’ of the Eldritch. The man had a crown to experiment with and might not have liked what he saw in his experiments.

“We can’t all have endless willpower like you Orodan Wainwright,” the man replied with a shake of his head. “Time loops aside, the most unfathomable thing about you is this illogical faith you have in your own mind. My ability to detect lies can’t distinguish genuine belief in one’s strength from delusional bravado, so I cannot even verify if your will is as strong as you say. Although, the feats you claim to have done are true at least.”

“Not to sound disrespectful, but history tells of how the Empire of Novarria was forged with blood and conquest and united from a gathering of petty kingdoms and tribes,” Orodan said. “I doubt willpower should be an issue for you.”

“My friend, you lack perspective… you do not understand the immensity of the feats you’ve done. A part of me still thinks you’re delusional and that you genuinely believe in falsities whenever my skill tells me you aren’t lying,” Balastion spoke. “Do you think resisting the willpower of not one, but three Eldritch divinities is normal? And to do it for a full year and then regain control? To kick out three Gods possessing you in Avatar form and regain control?”

“Their minds weren’t all that impressive when push came to shove,” Orodan replied. “They gave up rather quickly once they realized I wouldn’t back down.”

“And that… is what’s utterly peculiar about you,” the man commented. “Are you sure you don’t have any mental skill to allow such willpower? A hidden Bloodline? Perhaps you’re a reincarnated being from the greater universe who has yet to remember?”

“I’m not certain, but to my knowledge so far, I’m neither of those things,” he replied.

“Then you are an anomaly beyond anomalies my time looping friend,” Balastion declared. “I am beginning to see the real reason why whoever is in charge of this time loop chose you. Mortal, and even divine willpower should be a finite resource, the soul cannot take strain forever before it naturally slows in a bid to naturally avoid stress, the mind can only tolerate so much before it snaps, but you… you just seem to have no limits. The wills and mental abilities of divinities are incredibly potent, in no way should a mortal less than fifty years of age ever be capable of resisting and then kicking them out. While I can kill Avatars in combat, I wouldn’t dare engage in a direct mental battle for control against a divinity itself, they are older than I am and their mental abilities, far more profound. How a young man like you defies multiple Gods… is the real question.”

“I honestly don’t know why I am the way I am,” Orodan answered. “Even in my very first death, I cared not about my death and simply fought to the very end with no hesitation. I admit, a smart time looper would’ve made smarter decisions and come up with many efficient plans by now.”

“But would a smart time looper with a mortal level of willpower been able to achieve what you have?” Balastion asked. “Who else would be mad enough to commit to the dangerous methods of growth that you have? Anyhow, let us return to the topic of the Eldritch, anything else you feel is relevant?”

“Well, I can’t offer anymore advice on how to acquire the resistance skill itself, but I’d recommend looking into soul training,” Orodan answered. “When my outer soul layer was destroyed, I discovered who I really was inside. Similarly, when the Eldritch tried corrupting me, this driving force, my true self, was rather relevant. I feel it’d be useful to be in tune with your true self if you ever face the corruptive influence of something foreign like the Eldritch.”

“Sound advice, I ask that you repeat that part to me in the loops going forward,” Balastion replied. “And maybe leave out the suggestions of facing the Eldritch with willpower alone in combat.”

“Alright then, I’ll help you more with it myself once I have the time and this set of loops against the abyssal depths is concluded,” Orodan answered. “I had one more question however; you mentioned something called a ‘transmigrator’ in our last conversation, in the East I believe. What’s that?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Ah, those meddling miscreants,” Balastion remarked with a sneer. “There are worlds other than our own in the wider universe. Whether by accident or intentionally, sometimes a fallen soul from a nearby world can make their way to ours and enter the body of a native. It’s incredibly rare, and I killed one such meddling fool in my youth many millennia ago who stood atop a floating sword and proclaimed he would reach the heights of the heavens or some such nonsense. The world tolerates them, and as do I unless they decide to become overly ambitious. But make no mistake, they are not natives of Alastaia. Their arrival is harder to detect than a reincarnator’s, but I keep a close eye on our continent and know to look where others would not.”

Different worlds? A flying sword? Perhaps there was more to Akelrim than met the eye. Orodan would have to talk to the man in a future loop.

The idea of exploring other worlds was admittedly intriguing, but Orodan had enough to do on his own for the moment. Which for now, meant the abyssal depths, and many, many deaths against it.

He was committed to devoting as much time as was needed.

Like that, five loops had passed, and he was now on the sixth attempt. He had a gut feeling that he would make some decent progress this time.

Each loop was a weeklong, so Orodan had gone through what was essentially a month of training, with an intense session of combat at the end of each week where he made increasing amounts of progress against his foes in the depths. Progress wouldn’t have normally been so rapid if it was merely skill growth, but Orodan’s soul was freed of all seven Blessings it formerly had, which meant he had a rather high ceiling for Action Increases now.

First of all, his Action Increases had capped for now at a Permanent +13 Action Increase. Removing the seven Blessings upon his soul had allowed him to reach this new max number, and Orodan was monstrously powerful now. Compared to himself five loops ago, he was monumentally stronger now. There was no way he would begin making the Void Archon and Minotaur struggle within just five loops otherwise.

His progress in the depths had begun to jump with each Action Reward he gained.

On the second loop, he had caused the Minotaur to get serious. By the third loop he made the Fallen Void Archon begin casting at full speed. By the fourth loop he’d made them both begin working together. And on the fifth, he made them both serious and felt very close to achieving a breakthrough in acquiring another elemental resistance. This loop, it would be different.

With each added Action Increase his power jumped, and he was approaching the level of strength where he might be able to contend with a quadruple-Grandmaster thanks to the unfair nature of having fourteen of himself working together. Of course, it wasn’t as though launching fourteen All-Strikes in the same instant of time and space made each individual one any more powerful or destructive. He would still need to improve his offensive prowess and make his attacks denser and deadlier to cross the wide gulf in power, but he felt he was close.

Besides, the creatures of the abyssal depths had their own secrets and tricks. The Fallen Void Archon for instance, was also a Soul Grandmaster, and it was decent soul training for Orodan as his soul had been flayed over and over. If he could get it to talk, he wouldn’t mind discussing soul theory with it. The Minotaur’s Mythical skill wasn’t related to the Eldritch, but actually made it become exponentially stronger and faster as the battle progressed. It had been a kind of rage he’d never seen before, but it truly inspired Orodan, and he’d closely watched it and took inspiration to work on his own rage. A development was impending there as well.

In fact, the Minotaur, which could be found down the middle tunnel from the first chamber of the abyssal depths, might actually be the strongest creature in that section altogether. Its Mythical skill which allowed it to grow stronger and faster as the fight went on seemed to have a very high ceiling, and Orodan wanted to continue testing himself against it.

That being said, the initial chamber which he’d taken to calling the slime chamber, had three tunnels to go down. And he’d gone down the other two tunnels and encountered weaker, but still interesting creatures.

The tunnel on the left had led to a Sorrow of Magic, as Arvayne Firesword had once told him. And to Orodan’s immense surprise, it also had the Mana Black Hole skill! It was quite the fun battle where the two of them competed in drawing the mana out of one another, desperate to prove who was the true lord of the skill.

The Sorrow of Magic won the skill level contest of course, being a Grandmaster in it, but it was excellent training for Orodan’s Mana Black Hole. But even though it could drain mana faster, Orodan panicked it into fleeing once it realized his energy was endless. He actually didn’t give chase to kill it since it was an oddly peaceful creature which didn’t attack first. The chamber ended up leading to the Minotaur anyways, where he died.

The tunnel on the right had led to a colony of dozens of dual-Grandmaster time ants who immediately tried slaughtering Orodan. They panicked immensely once they realized his energy pool was too large to be affected by chronomancy, and began hastening themselves instead. It was a tougher battle than he thought it’d be, but Orodan prevailed all the same. The ants seemed completely unwilling to back down whatsoever despite being the sapient speaking sort which implied they’d descended to the abyss naturally. The triple-Grandmaster time ant brood mother’s pleas to leave her hatchery untouched answered why.

Orodan left the time ants alone and made a mental note to simply beat them till incapacitation in further loops. Killing defenceless young didn’t sit right with him, and their birth was all part of the circle of life which he’d barged into. He continued down the right chamber which also led to the Minotaur, where he died again fighting both it and the Fallen Void Archon.

Five loops, each lasting a week, and he’d made excellent skill gains.

For starters, Cleaning went from 74 to 76. It was both gratifying and confusing to see that he just didn’t face the level 75 bottleneck that he had in almost every other skill. It came naturally to him, so perhaps he had a real talent for it. Alongside it, Vision of Purity increased from 41 to 45.

Alchemy went from 55 to 57, although he was beginning to approach the limits of natural talent and repetition and would need to concoct new things and use new ingredients and methods to make good progress. Woodworking actually gained a level and went from 57 to 58 thanks to constant work on the construction site, but this too, was giving him diminishing returns. Laboring from 33 to 34 and Construction from 27 to 28 were also benefits he gained, although still suffering the same issue as Woodworking. Maintenance and Repair also gained a level each.

His Basic Healing however, in just five loops had made great gains, from 9 to 23. His fixation on Cleaning, his studiousness in ensuring wounds were treated correctly and his existing Tool Mastery and Vision of Purity all contributed to fast level gains at the Initiate phase. His control over his own body also meant that ‘slips’ or ‘shakes’ of the hand in doing fine work weren’t an issue.

Orodan’s education and nothing he’d heard ever mentioned people with a very high level in the Basic Healing skill. The Republic, which used the Imperial tradition of magic and healing, was primarily focused on the Healing Magic skill in its education system. Surgeries which required the removal of foreign matter were performed in tandem with other mages, such as a pyromancer cauterizing a limb, or a spatiomancer extracting unwanted things. The actual healers would simply use magic to keep the patient alive throughout the process.

It was a method that worked, and Orodan wouldn’t be arrogant enough to claim he knew better or had stumbled upon some ‘true path’ by honing Basic Healing, but it was good to know. And the main reason he wanted to improve Basic Healing was so he could acquire a better understanding of the body and what made it tick, especially when the time came to scrub his mentor’s soul of Agathor’s influence. Not only would he need knowledge of the soul, but he’d also need a wealth of foundational knowledge alongside the ability to heal the body and perhaps re-establish the soul’s connection to it if things went awry.

Weapon Aura went from 86 to 88 over his experiments in trying to control the soul of other beings.

His magical tutelage in the depths, guided by his book companion also went well. Much to Orodan’s dislike, he had made decent gains in his two… spells. Draconic Fireball went from 12 to 19, and Flare went from 26 to 29. Mana Manipulation went from 54 to 55 and Draconic Mana Channelling increased from 45 to 46. Much to his displeasure, he also gained the Fire Magic Mastery skill, which started off at 4.

Acquiring a Mastery skill wasn’t just a matter of using a spell which used the element. One had to use the element in every possible way and be exposed to all aspects of it. Just like one couldn’t obtain Sword Mastery while simply swinging the sword but had to also parry, defend, evade, riposte, and expose themselves to all aspects of the weapon… so too did Fire Magic Mastery require one to be exposed to all parts of fire. It came about when he used a Flare to actually light a dark passage in the distance, something he’d apparently never done before. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Orodan now finally took the correct first step towards understanding fire magic, hence the title.

Which meant that in time, he’d start to acquire Fire Magic titles… and become closer to a mage. Horrifying, but his protests and whining were shut down by his book companion, who smacked him upside the head every time he complained.

His companion had told him that he had a unique advantage afforded through Harmony of Vitality. Most mages couldn’t learn more than two, maybe three elements as the elemental attuning required to cast a fire spell would gradually change their mana circuits to being more suited for fire. Which of course, made other elements quite difficult to learn and their spells dramatically harder to cast. However, Harmony of Vitality constantly re-created cells in his body to keep him at peak condition, which meant his mana circuits were always fresh and unattuned to a particular element. On the downside, even if reached the Grandmaster-level, if all else was equal he wouldn’t cast a fire spell as potently as a fire attuned Grandmaster. But he wasn’t blocked off from honing the other elements like they were.

Unpalatable magic training aside, his Pathfinding went from 34 to 36, and he felt this was the limit of what he could gain in this section of the depths. Exploring a known area over and over wasn’t conducive to skill level gains. Civilian hunters, trackers and cartographers at minimum were Pathfinding Apprentices, so he was on the level of the less talented among them now.

Jewelcrafting had made a decent gain of 11 to 21. Ten levels over five weeks, not bad. In time, Orodan could see himself becoming a middling Jewelcrafter who could at least find, polish, and create his own enchanting focuses, or even learn to make empowered stones for magical rituals or high-level crafts.

Gathering went from 27 to 31, and he acquired the Gathering Apprentice title. Apprentice-level gatherers often worked at farms and forest preserves or as herbalists and foragers for expeditions. At high levels, gathering was actually rather prized for being able to extract ingredients without damaging them, and many specialist workers in House Simarji’s magical plant gardens in Jerestir were Gathering Adepts. They were the only ones qualified to harvest certain exotic magical plants.

Mining went from 13 to 17, but progress would be slow. unless he worked in a mine or stumbled upon some nation-shaking motherlode, he just wouldn’t find enough precious stones and ore to train it as much. Admittedly, he could begin mining mountains, but that wasn’t his focus at the moment, and destroying the depths could harm his mole and goblin friends. All the work with various tools had also pushed Tool Mastery from 59 to 60 as well.

His assistance in teaching Zukelmux also netted him five levels in Teaching, bringing it to 6.

And then, were his combat skills, about which he could give an entire lecture.

Suffice to say, many things had improved across the board.

Warrior’s Reciprocity enjoyed the benefit of being hit with so many titanic assaults in the abyss. It went from 73 to 75, and the multiplier of damage return increased ever upward. As did Harmony of Vitality, which went from 87 to 88 and gave him a leg up on survival with just the one level gained. These two skills were the centrepiece of his survival and the damage he returned.

However, he also used a slew of other skills in combat, and the ones which made up his fighting style all experienced gains. All-Strike, Unassailable Fortress, Vitality and Mana Black Hole, Bulwark Physical Resistance, Endless Blitz, Death Rage, Dying Struggle and Iron Body all gained levels.

Combat Mastery, Physical Fitness and Unarmed Combat Mastery also gained a level each as for once, Orodan wasn’t simply pounded by divine beams and unable to fight back. The Minotaur was a good source of combat experience, at least until the Fallen Void Archon joined the fray.

All in all, his gains across just five loops of death against the abyssal depths, were excellent. And this loop, Orodan felt that there was a lot of progress to be made.

Alarms were blaring, and Orodan was in the segregation unit of the Ogdenborough Jail, experimenting upon his least favorite vampire’s soul. Yes, he disliked this dirty blood sucker more than he did the True Vampire in the energy well. At least that being hadn’t sadistically killed children that he knew of.

“Please! Spare me!” the vampire shrieked. “What have I done to earn your ire, mighty one?!”

“If anyone warrants some very painful experimentation, it’s this one,” his book companion spoke. “How close are you to cracking the secret?”

“Well, I’m not about to breach the soul core, yet… not anytime soon either,” Orodan explained. “It’s not a matter of raw force, but a matter of pushing past an impossible wall. But that’s not the target I have in mind just yet.”

It was true. In his experiments at the jail, while he improved his Weapon Aura, he was no closer to understanding how exactly the soul core of another being could be breached. Oh, breaching his own soul core was doable enough, but to invade that of another? An impossible task.

If so many Grandmasters across the ages had tried it, and the first emperor himself said even the elves, the oldest known civilization in the world, hadn’t managed it… then this wasn’t something Orodan could rush. The soul core was something he would keep trying to breach, but not his immediate target anyways.

Over the course of five loops worth of experimentation he realized that this vampire was the ideal test subject. For one, he was more resilient than the scum in the protective custody unit. And for another, vampirism almost functioned like a curse, affecting the outer layer of the soul as well. From what Orodan could see, the soul core hadn’t been affected. Whether it was a matter of time, or a matter of it being unable to he wasn’t sure. But all the same, being able to cleanse this vampire’s outer soul layer of the blood sucking taint would be an excellent first step in the right direction. From there he could even cleanse the two hunters in Scarmorrow’s healing house of their curses and work his way towards purging Blessings from others.

Orodan’s willpower pressed down, and for once he not only pressed with Weapon Aura, but also Soul Manipulation. He already knew he could painfully expand his soul core to cover his entire physical body, so that Eternal Soul Reactor produced soul energy from every point. But why not extend that to the soul of another?

Orodan felt the familiar pain of soul expansion as he willed the core of his soul to go forth.

“Boy! Wait! That can only end in disaster!” his companion spoke. “Attempting to push your own soul core towards another never ends well!”

Of course, she was attempting to warn Orodan Wainwright away from danger. An exercise in futility.

It wasn’t the tendrils of his outer soul layer that extended towards the vampire’s soul, but his soul core itself. Naturally, attempting to push his soul core out towards another soul meant that his outer soul layer would also touch theirs. Which was why, when Orodan suddenly began experiencing the mind and memory of another, he wasn’t too surprised.

It was his first time entering a mindscape. There were two methods to entering someone’s mind. The first method was through psionic skills, a psionic targeted the mind specifically. The second, was through the soul, although this was much harder and required the soul mage to not only be familiar with mental combat, but also fight on two fronts, the mental battle, and the battle against the target’s soul.

Two souls making contact directly, otherwise known as soul melding, was something that naturally resulted in the second method.

During his education at Bluefire, he knew that soul melding was highly illegal, extremely dangerous, and resulted in soul explosions of catastrophic scale. And even then, nefarious Grandmasters of the soul arts were recorded as only attempting to merge the souls of other beings together in experimentation, not their own. All known attempts in recorded history had ended in failure and destructive consequences.

Yet, for Orodan having his soul exploded wasn’t even the worst thing. He’d already gone through the experience and still had a powerful enough will that he was able to reconnect with the memories within his soul core. This was to say, he wasn’t concerned about his own soul in this experiment.

His willpower was unfathomable. A regular person having their soul touch another person’s, would most likely fall unconscious as they entered the mindscape and experienced their memories. Furthermore, the experience was supposed to be reciprocal, so the vampire should’ve experienced his memories as well, but Orodan’s control over his own mind was strong enough to put a stop to that. Even though he was mentally drawn into a mindscape, he still maintained full awareness of his body and also blocked the vampire from entering his own mind. Something the average psionic and soul mage needed to reach Adept-level for, Orodan could do with willpower alone.

Perhaps his naturally strong mind gave him an advantage in the mind arts? He made a note to explore the skillset in the future.

His mind maintained awareness of the real world, even as he found his mind drawn into the scene of a dark alleyway. The sky was tinged with flecks of red, likely the foul influence of the vampirism upon the blood sucker’s soul which also tainted the memory. A terrified little girl was on the ground in front of him, looming over her, was a nefarious creature, seeking to jump upon the child. Ordinarily, he should’ve experienced the memory from the vampire’s point of view, but again, shoving his soul onto another’s and using his titanic willpower to forcibly maintain total control, led to an experience different from a typical soul meld.

All the while, the memory attempted to fight him. He wasn’t simply connecting to the vampire’s mind, which would technically be easier if his goal was to merely read memories and gain information. No, the mindscape was a side effect of directly connecting his soul to the other person. During a soul meld, memories, emotions, thoughts, and self would all be exposed, and Orodan was resisting not only its mind attempting to naturally resist, but also its very soul fighting against his. Its mana and soul energy both furiously resisted his endeavor at control.

The vampire didn’t even seem to be consciously aware of the battle occurring in the background, as its memory self was intent on preying upon this child. Likely a real event that had occurred, and it was replaying it now in memory.

Not on Orodan’s watch though.

He appeared beside the blood sucker, his self in the dream looking similar to himself. The vampire’s memory and soul fought him at every opportunity, seeking to distort his image and lower his abilities. Preferably banishing him outright and ending the contact between their souls, but Orodan refused to allow it. Fourteen minds backed by endless willpower demanded his existence in its memory, within its foul soul, and he stood, eyes burning with white light from his own soul.

“S-somebody help! Mother! Father!” came the cries of the little girl. The light from Orodan’s eyes made her own widen in hope.

“Who are you?! You dare interrupt my hunt?!” the vampire shrieked, but it still backed away in fear at the sight of Orodan.

Technically, this was his first mental battle.

Mental battles were a new environment for Orodan, but from what he knew, the environment and the host themselves were potential targets for different reasons. The vampire itself within the dream, was its consciousness. Whereas the memory and environment being targeted could harm its outer soul layer and memories.

While interrupting this heinous memory was one of Orodan’s targets, his main goal was to purge the foul vampiric taint from its soul.

Thus, Orodan worked from both angles. The multiple ‘clones’ in the real world, worked on using Weapon Aura and Vision of Purity to keep tight control of the vampire and monitor the situation within its soul. All while his actual mind was within, his own Soul Manipulation working through his soul core to affect the vampire’s.

The standard method of soul assault involved generating tendrils and attacks from the outer layer of one’s own soul, which would then strike at the outer layer of the target’s. However, Orodan was directly pressing his soul core against the vampire’s soul.

It was quite intrusive, and Orodan felt the vampire’s own outer soul layer desperately attempt to influence his own. But… Incorruptible Being stepped in to prevent it, and his own willpower allowed no reading of his mind.

Instead, within the memory, Orodan struck it down. The mindscape was a different sort of battlefield, and he could create weapons made of pure soul energy. A swing from a glowing white sword took its head off, immediately turning it unconscious in the real world. The memory grew incredibly hazy due to the vampire being unconscious.

[New Skill (Rare) ? Soul Assault 5]

[New Skill (Rare) ? Soul Mastery 61]

[New Title ? Soul Adept]

Through using his soul to launch an assault upon another, he’d finally been exposed to all aspects of the soul arts, leading to the mastery skill. But it wasn’t Soul Magic Mastery, it was Soul Mastery, a higher rarity mastery skill. A welcome addition to his skill set, and one that was long overdue. He hadn’t used mana to fuel the soul assault, but the light of his very soul… soul energy.

It began at level 61, reflecting his existing deep understanding of the soul. He wasn’t a soul specialist, but his innate comprehension of the soul likely surpassed most Adepts and even many Elites of the art. And in some respects, he might even have insights which Grandmasters didn’t. His other soul skills were very high, and it only made sense that acquiring a mastery skill for the soul now would have it begin at the Adept-level.

Immediately, his new Soul Mastery made a serious difference. Everything involving his soul was stronger, more profound. With the boost gained from the skill, Orodan felt confident in continuing his push.

His new Soul Assault skill began at level 5 due to him using his soul core to enter the vampire’s soul and target it with pure soul energy instead of mana. He instinctually felt that he could now use the simple method of using his soul’s outer layer to form tendrils and launch soul assaults. But… this wasn’t enough, the result would be a dead end, and he knew there was something more.

He used Soul Manipulation to guide his own soul core towards the foul taint within the vampire’s soul, and this was used in combination with Soul Assault to target the impurities. Pain filled Orodan’s mind once more at the act of forcing his own soul core to mangle and extend in such a way. It was akin to ripping your arm out and using it to grab something. But it came with benefits.

[Soul Manipulation 91 ? Soul Manipulation 92]

The constant crucible his soul had undergone through fighting the Archon finally came to a head. One more level was gained, and Orodan felt a breakthrough occur.

Why could someone enter their own soul core, but others couldn’t even breach the surface of it? It was because souls rejected foreign energy. Mana based soul attacks were doomed to never succeed in penetrating a soul core. Souls were naturally averse to anything foreign entering. Souls, the outer layer, and the core, weren’t even composed of particles like most things such as mana and vitality, so of course anything that was composed of particles would be recognized as foreign.

Tendrils from his own outer soul layer could enter a target’s outer soul layer, but the soul core rejected those as well. What he needed then… was to forcibly smash his own soul core against the vampire’s.

Four skills were combined to do this. Soul Manipulation, for the raw finesse and handling of his soul core and its energy. Soul Assault for the actual attack. Soul Strengthening to continually strengthen and empower the energy he was using for the offensive, and finally… Weapon Aura to maintain absolute control of the target’s soul during the attempt.

His soul was manipulated with masterful control, the core extending towards the target in a titanic assault. The soul energy strengthened at the points of contact, and the subject of the assault, under complete control the entire time as his soul’s core enveloped the entirety of his target. It was all-encompassing, it was… an Absolute Soul Dominion.

[Skill Combination - Soul Manipulation 92 + Soul Assault 5 + Soul Strengthening 43 + Weapon Aura 88 ? Absolute Soul Dominion 57 (Mythical)]

The vampire wailed in the real world, but within, its soul was scoured from outer layer all the way to a fourth of the way into its soul core.

In the last moments of the assault, he saw the memory of a man willingly subjecting himself to the ritual of vampiric conversion, all for the sake of indulging in his sadistic desires. There were no bites involved, simply a ritual circle and a focusing device for an artifact which contained some kind of fell blood-related energy.

The memory was interrupted and all traces of the vampiric taint, were eradicated. But the man’s nature, which was rotten to the core, still remained.

He tried pushing in further to the man’s soul core, but this was where he encountered real resistance which he knew would take a very long time to overcome. Another fourth of the way into the core, and he would reach the area where Blessings were held, but there was an esoteric barrier of strange numbers and symbols blocking it. The symbols and numbers looked very similar to the gibberish message he saw twice now when touching the darkness of death.

It was related to the System. Orodan wouldn’t be crossing it for a while, but behind it laid the space where Blessings and Rewards would be held. He needed to eventually learn how to bypass even this if he wanted to save his mentor Arvayne Firesword.

Still, he had cleaned the foul taint of vampirism from the man’s soul at least.

[Cleaning 76 ? Cleaning 77]

The soul was cleansed of the curse. And Orodan understood more about it, that the curse actually originated in the soul and then spread to the blood. And given what he’d seen in the converted man’s memories, perhaps the popular folk tales about vampires spreading their vampirism through bites weren’t true.

Orodan looked closely at it with Vision of Purity and he saw that the taint was slowly receding all throughout. The curse of vampirism was gone.

It wasn’t anything ground-breaking. High level curse breakers of the Cathedral were capable of the same thing, and any vampires who hadn’t committed crimes and sought clemency could be purified and put under watch for a period of time before being released into society. Of course, high level vampires who were in tune with the curse of vampirism also gained benefits from it, such as increased talent for learning certain arts, improved physical abilities and lifespan increases from blood consumption.

Vampirism was one path to immortality, but the Cathedral and all human civilization detested it for rightful reason.

The blood suckers’ curse aside, Orodan willed his new mythical skill to wrap around his arms, legs, and weapon. Weapon Aura was gone from his Status, but this new skill was an improved version of it and none of the old skill’s functionality had been lost. His empowered weapons would be far stronger now.

Rather, he felt that improving Absolute Soul Dominion would also make the ability to manipulate his soul easier, make the soul energy he had denser and more powerful, and also allow for stronger assaults upon the souls of his targets.

As it stood, this new Mythical skill allowed him to essentially reach out with his own soul and seize control of the target’s. At level 57 it was strong, but still needed work if it was to get past the System related barrier he’d seen a fourth of the way into the soul core. But regardless, it was incredibly powerful.

And a familiar necromancer coming by to interrupt would be an excellent test subject.

“Now what’s all this clamor about a Master-level intruder coming by and causing a ruckus? Wait… is that my experiment?” Master Fausta asked. “I still had more work to do with it, you’re not-”

Of all the mage professions out there, Orodan hated necromancers the most. He didn’t let her finish as his Absolute Soul Dominion shot out and took control. The range wasn’t fantastic, being limited to only fifty metres, but such was an acceptable limitation when he was basically extending his soul core towards hers. That it could extend fifty metres now with a skill combination instead of requiring direct contact, was a fantastic gain.

Suddenly, he was within the memory of a woman, surrounded by holy warriors of the Cathedral, light magic at the ready as they stood before a summoning circle. Within, a Demonic Berserker.

“An offering from us to you m’lady Fausta, for all the services you’ve rendered to us and our Lady Ilyatana,” one of the priests spoke. “This Demonic Berserker shall make a fine minion for you since you sacrificed your last one in battle on our behalf.”

He already disliked this necromancer scum, but to hear she also worked for the Goddess of Fate? Orodan had enough.

Her consciousness was severed with a glowing blade and her soul kept under strict control. But this was a Master-level necromancer, a mage with a large mana pool. In the real world, even though she was unconscious, her body crackled with necromantic power as her mind and soul both attempted to resist Orodan’s mythical skill.

Within two minutes, her mana pool was drained entirely dry, however he had to spend at least ten times the amount of his own soul energy relative to her mana pool. His mythical skill was meant to be costly, as even a dual-Grandmaster couldn’t pay such a hefty price simply to hold control over another person’s mind and soul. If anything, if energy cost was factored in, this would reasonably be used on a defeated enemy whose mana pool was drained.

Of course, energy wasn’t an issue for Orodan, so he turned a Mythical skill into an unfair weapon.

The first thing he did, was halt her mana regeneration. Immediately, in the real world three artifacts on her person shattered with a ringing boom, likely the items which tracked the status of her minions. Without mana, they were no more than inert corpses.

And the second and final act, was to destroy the outer soul layer and rip the soul straight out of her body.

[Absolute Soul Dominion 57 ? Absolute Soul Dominion 58]

As the lifeless body of the necromancer lay before him, Orodan could only wonder how effective this might be against some of the foes in the abyss.

Unfortunately, his Action Increases were still capped at 13. He’d have to gain more levels with Absolute Soul Dominion in order to make room. It was a problem he considered, that on the loop he managed to finally defeat the Eldritch Avatar he’d have to ensure he saved some space for whatever Quest Reward came his way. According to Cyvrosdyr, it should be powerful, so it’d be a waste to have it aborted.

Still, the loop in which he completed the second Quest would be a six month long one, so he would have enough time to gain levels and make space.

Before him, stood the Avatars of Eximus and Ilyatana, leading the Novarrian forces. This was his usual battle against them after disabling the machine, but this time, Orodan was certain he could kill both. His abilities were already powerful enough to overwhelm either Avatar in direct combat now, and he no longer functioned as a reforming but ever-approaching death, but now had the strength to actively overpower them.

“Focus fire on him! Where are the dragons?! Where is Demosthenos?!” roared Eximus as Orodan’s Endless Blitz combined with All-Strikes overwhelmed the Avatar. Ilyatana, cowardly Goddess as she was, attempted to sparingly help but shied away from the melee combat she was rather pathetic at.

Within five minutes, Eximus was near death and Ilyatana looked on in fear.

“Stop! We surrender! If we let you go, will you leave us be?!” Eximus pleaded.

“No. You can either die fighting, or die begging,” Orodan replied. “Then again, there’s no real consequence for you is there? If your Avatar dies you merely lose a host. So, how about we see if the consequences can be made a bit more dire?”

The Avatar of Eximus was on his last legs, the divine energy within not as powerful as it was at the beginning of the fight. And now, Orodan used his new Mythical skill upon it.

Absolute Soul Dominion surged forth, and a divine wail of agony rang out.

It wasn’t the soul of the God himself, but the soul of his host Cruxamar Aetholion that Orodan had seized control of. But, there was a reason Gods could only possess one Avatar at a time. It was because their consciousness was within the Avatar, and this was what the first emperor had preyed upon when bullying Agathor with the power of the Eldritch crown.

This too, was what Orodan was seeking to exploit.

He entered the memory of a Cathedral. This was the Cathedral of the Prime Five at Novar’s Peak, and it was a ceremony of Blessing bestowal, where a God would grant their power to a loyal follower of theirs. Usually, these were momentous occasions recorded in history books, such as when a Favored was ascended to Chosen through acquiring a third Blessing, or a regular Blessed becoming a Favored.

This memory then, was when Cruxamar Aetholion had become the Chosen of Eximus.

And upon Orodan’s entry into the memory, Cruxamar Aetholion immediately turned around and looked right at him.

“Invader! Get out of my mind! My Lord, he’s here!” Cruxamar shouted, and soon, a divine beam of chronomantic light landed within the memory.

Ten feet tall, clad in an ever-shifting robe of silver and grey, and with the divine radiance of divine chronomantic power around him, was Eximus. He looked like a young man, and it was the first time Orodan had ever seen a God’s true face.

“You’re uglier than I thought you’d be,” Orodan insulted. “I thought Gods would be prettier.”

“If you wanted vain appearances, you should’ve attacked Ilyatana,” Eximus spoke. “But you are now trapped here mortal fool. Your arrogant belief in your superiority extends only so far as the physical world. Here, in my Chosen’s mindscape, not only will you face us both, but divine willpower will never lose to a mere mortal. Surrender, and I may have further use for you.”

After his conversation with Balastion, he could understand why Eximus felt so confident in defeating him in mental and soul combat. Mortals had limits to their willpower according to the first emperor. But Orodan Wainwright was the anomaly who defied these conventions.

And Eximus had picked the worst person to assume this basic fact for.

Divine energy collided with Orodan’s own soul power, all while Cruxamar Aetholion continually modified the environment and memories in an attempt to give his God an advantage in the mental battle. Unlike the vampire and the necromancer, the Chosen was seasoned in mental defense and immediately reacted to Orodan entering his memory. Eximus too, was also incredibly powerful in this metaphysical battleground.

Orodan was chopped, crushed, burned, and sent flying dozens of times. His Divine Resistance helped, but Eximus also used actual soul energy in this mental landscape, something he didn’t do or wasn’t able to in the actual world. Which complicated matters as the God’s attacks hit very hard when empowered by soul energy.

But this wasn’t the real world where he had to worry about physical injuries and his body dying…

…this was a battle of mind and soul, where Orodan’s willpower mattered.

And Orodan Wainwright, had an endless supply of it.

Two minutes of mental combat later, Cruxamar had perished in the mindscape, leading to his unconsciousness in the real world, and Eximus, was about to fall as well.

“Impossible! How… how?! What are you?! No mortal should be capable of defying the willpower of the divine! How does your mental strength and determination have no limit?! Your soul should have naturally submitted long ago!”

The God of Time roared in fury and disbelief as Orodan simply ignored him and moved to press the tip of a glowing blade of pure soul energy into his head.

“No! Stop! Killing me here will put me in a slumber for long enough that the world will be lacking in defences when the foul force from beyond arrives!”

“You needn’t worry about that, for I shall deal with the Eldritch,” Orodan replied. “For now, I’m putting you in a time-out.”

The glowing blade stabbed down, and a horrifying wail rang out.

Orodan’s consciousness snapped back to the real world, and before him was the corpse of Eximus’s Chosen, bereft of any divine energy. To the side, the Avatar of Ilyatana looked on in horror.

And behind the Avatar, one of the triple-Grandmasters of Novarria spoke up. His voice subdued and trembling, but in the dead silence it was all too loud for everyone to hear.

“I… I can’t access my Blessing… I can’t slow down my perception of time… it says, ‘The God empowering your Blessing is no longer present’. W-what does that mean?!”

Orodan’s smile grew manic as he heard the words. His predatory gaze shifted to the Avatar of Ilyatana.

In that moment, the divine glow left the host’s eyes. Ilyatana ran, like the coward she was. Her Chosen abandoned; his Avatar state lost.

Eldramir, the patriarch of the Soaring Flame dragon flight arrived shortly after, but upon seeing Orodan’s lack of combat and hearing of the loss of one of the Prime Five, he too simply waited quietly.

Finally, Demosthenos Albathrax arrived through the portal alongside the Chosen of Malzim, and the first emperor, and Orodan had much to discuss with the man.

Their conversation had lasted two hours and went over the time loops. It was only now that they were returning to the topic of Eximus.

“He’s not dead but slumbering for a decent amount of time. At least a year, if the last time I did the same to Agathor a few thousand years ago is any indication,” Balastion spoke. “I used the Eldritch power of the crown against that idiot, and he stupidly insisted on remaining to fight against it. The Prime Five have been rather wary of me ever since.”

“Nicely done, but Agathor remains obstinate and still enjoys meddling in the affairs of the world,” Orodan replied. “If only there was a way to permanently slay them.”

“If what you tell me about the Eldritch Avatar is any indication, it’s capable of corrupting Gods, so mayhap that’s one way of slaying them, although an undesirable one as it simply adds reinforcements to the side of a greater enemy of ours,” the first emperor spoke. “But I’ll have to keep in mind the advice you gave me about potentially damaging my own outer soul layer to become further attuned to my true self.”

“You know… I never asked you what your plan is for dealing with the Eldritch threat? Did you plan to fight it in Novarria? Or engage it after it killed every other being that wanted to fight it upon landing?” Orodan asked. He’d never seen the first emperor arrive in the fight against the Eldritch Avatar, and while the man was incredibly powerful, Orodan wasn’t too sure if he matched up against the Eldritch Avatar one-on-one.

“Ah, yes. Fighting it upon its descent would be quite foolish. You do realize that it will be at its most powerful upon landing in the Valley of Spires, yes? That place is saturated with Eldritch energies which have been festering for over a hundred-thousand years,” Balastion explained. “Rather, the elves have the right idea, fortifying their continent and preparing countermeasures to face it.”

“So, you intend to face it here? But how? Don’t tell me you plan to use the crown against the Eldritch,” Orodan remarked. “That thing is possessed by three Eldritch divinities; I don’t think using the Eldritch against it will work.”

“You’re correct. The crown isn’t meant for use against the foe, it’s meant to train me in developing Eldritch Resistance,” Balastion replied. “Just as you’re getting close to acquiring resistance skills for many of the spells that Fallen Void Archon hits you with, so too am I on the cusp of understanding the Eldritch. Hence why I’ve been asking you for advice in how you acquired the skill. When the battle comes, I’m confident I’ll have an epiphany.”

“That makes sense. But surely there are more plans in place? Even with Eldritch Resistance, it’s beyond monstrously powerful,” Orodan explained. “I only killed it while empowered by three Gods, flaring my soul to levels I could never manage otherwise, and returning its most powerful attack almost fourfold.”

“Once again, you speak true,” Balastion replied. “Which is why I won’t be fighting fair. Once you’re done dying against the abyssal depths and investigating the first gate, come find me in Novar’s Peak in the next loop. You’ll find that the architecture of my city itself has been prepared over a very long period of time for such an occurrence.”

The first emperor spoke cryptically, but Orodan didn’t push the matter. He was planning on exploring Novarria for his next long loop anyhow. But for now, as Balastion said, the abyssal depths awaited him. Hopefully for the last loop.

“Foul predator! You are no prey!” the dark slime roared in fear and anger as it attempted to flee.

Orodan’s Endless Blitz, All-Strikes and Vitality Black Hole made short work of it after. It was too much to hope to acquire Dark Resistance, but this triple-Grandmaster dark slime just wasn’t strong enough to push him enough for that.

He went down the left tunnel and gave the Sorrow of Magic another beating, although with no level gained in Mana Black Hole. And he then doubled back and went down the right tunnel to engage in a battle against the dual-Grandmaster time ant hordes, none of whom he killed as he made sure to simply give them a thorough beating.

Finally, he passed through and arrived at the chamber with the Eldritch Minotaur, a quadruple-Grandmaster with a Mythical skill, a rage that made it stronger and stronger as the battle drew on.

His own Death Rage activated, and his Physical Fitness of 86 alongside all his empowerment skills actually made him stronger than the Minotaur… for the first split second of contact anyways.

Its rage then kicked in and Orodan was pushed back in the next second and began getting ragdolled three seconds later as its power began ramping up. Eternal Soul Reactor began churning with incredible power, and it all fed into Harmony of Vitality.

What was rage? His own Death Rage was just inadequate nowadays, he felt it too weak, he needed to go further, but how?

Ten more seconds of battle passed as the titanic blows of Orodan and Eldritch Minotaur rang throughout the chamber. Its stone walls reinforced with incredible amounts of world energy and soaked for many millennia, were strong enough to take the impacts and shockwaves.

Despite fourteen of himself fighting at once, the Eldritch Minotaur was still on the winning end of the exchanges, but Orodan was surviving. Its flesh tore and its muscles were destroyed as its rage picked up, and Orodan was somewhat confident that he could survive long enough to have its own Mythical rage skill burn its body out.

But as usual there was a third wheel in their fight.

His soul was burning at a high enough level that the familiar Fallen Void Archon arrived, its six arms glowing with spells of various elements, and this time, soon as it arrived, Orodan decided to try his new skill upon it.

Its first teleportation into the chamber was the one which put it closest to him, and this would be Orodan’s only chance to have it within range of his new skill.

Absolute Soul Dominion shot out, and all fourteen minds of his worked at full capacity to seize control of the Fallen Void Archon’s mind and soul.

Immediately, he entered a mindscape of the void between stars. The memory of a being cast out from its own species for committing foul crimes and floating amid the void between stars with strange chains wrapped around its body. It floated for a time till it ran into a strange wormhole, surrounded by familiar System symbols around the edges. This wormhole took it somewhere foreign, and the memory then only felt the warmth and salvation of a motherly being, its chains were unbound, it was transformed as it allowed its soul to be altered willingly, and soon it gratefully served its saviour, its only purpose, to do the bidding of… Alastaia.

Its yellow eyes turned towards Orodan with utter fury as it discovered his presence within its mind. Soon, a furious mental and soul battle erupted.

The Fallen Void Archon was incredibly proficient in soul combat, being an entire three tiers above the Soul Adept Orodan. But, Orodan had two Mythical skills working concurrently. Absolute Soul Dominion for the assault, and Eternal Soul Reactor for the endless power. The battle seemed incredibly long, but in reality, only five seconds of combat passed, and Orodan successfully seized control of its outer soul layer, halting its energy generation entirely.

He couldn’t kill its consciousness, as it was too slippery and kept evading and fleeing once it realized Orodan was a juggernaut of infinite willpower. Thus, it still kept slinging spells in the real world, although with reduced power and frequency.

Which finally bought Orodan the time he needed to familiarize himself with the elements it was hitting him with.

The first, was ice. Best resisted by altering the very temperature of his own body and altering the cells to become adaptive to sudden temperature drops and retaining vitality and cellular functions even as temperatures went below sub-zero.

[New Skill (Exquisite) ? Ice Resistance 3]

The second, was water. In fact, he had extra practice and inspiration in learning to counter liquids and amorphous substances from fighting the dark slime. Learning to seal off the pores in his own skin and make his body liquid repellent, was the first step, and the second was demanding the very flow and direction of the liquid change as it hit him.

[New Skill (Exquisite) ? Water Resistance 4]

And finally, came earth, which he didn’t gain a skill for, but which he could more than easily survive now that the other two elements were accounted for.

The Fallen Void Archon’s eyes widened as Orodan gained the two resistance skills, and finally, he could ignore it as he focused on the foe that really mattered. The Eldritch Minotaur.

What was rage? It couldn’t merely be the rage a creature felt when struggling against death. There were superior forms of rage out there. The rage a parent felt when their child was threatened. A cold rage, a hot rage. Rages which ignited not only the vitality, but also the mana, the very soul.

What Orodan needed then, was a rage which began from the very soul and involved all pools of his energy. One that raged with all his emotions. One that wasn’t merely one-directional but all-encompassing.

He needed his Death Rage to evolve.

The struggle of death, the rage felt against it, and the reserves of mana and vitality he had built up, it all came together. And he took inspiration from his offensive All-Strike to combine it all together with soul energy.

But that wasn’t enough. His would be a rage that drew in everything around him and used it to fuel his ferocity. A rage against all around him fuelled by his enemies. An… All-Consuming Rage

[Skill Combination - Death Rage 86 + Dying Struggle 84 + Mana Black Hole 81 + Vitality Black Hole 82 ? All-Consuming Rage 83 (Mythical)]

And as its ever growing rage came towards him, Orodan’s new skill pulled all its fury, all its momentum, towards his own. Immediately, he realized that the new skill had functionality beyond just what the combining skills had possessed. Skill combinations could go beyond the combining skills provided one had enough comprehensions and willpower of what they wanted of the resulting skill.

And in Orodan’s case, All-Consuming Rage stole not only his enemy’s vitality and mana, but also the very momentum and force of their attacks, to fuel his own rage. The Eldritch Minotaur became slower, its attacks having less force as the very rage empowered madness seemed to drain from it, towards Orodan.

The stronger his foe, the greater his own rage would now become.

His physical abilities were now titanic, this was almost three times stronger than Death Rage to begin with, and then more could be added depending on how much he stole from his foes. And this Eldritch Minotaur, had a lot to steal.

But the Eldritch Minotaur wasn’t the bearer of a Mythical skill without reason. Orodan’s draining also helped it by allowing it to last longer since its rage wasn’t ravaging its own body as much. Like this, the battle was extended.

Thirty minutes passed, and the Fallen Void Archon, whose soul wasn’t allowed to generate energy for its skills, stopped casting spells altogether and simply left the battlefield. Either realizing it wouldn’t win, or to gather strength and reinforcements, it retreated and went beyond the range of Orodan’s Absolute Soul Dominion.

Leaving just him and the ever growing Minotaur who he was draining.

The battle continued for another two hours, and alongside his ability to drain it, Orodan was now able to indefinitely survive its fury. However, the outcome was always certain.

Orodan’s energy was endless, its power was not.

His new Absolute Soul Dominion empowered sword cleaved its head from its shoulders. His sword and shield could now survive battles alongside him. And the Eldritch Minotaur’s remaining body was obliterated with an All-Strike.

Orodan had won.

He didn’t know how much further he had left to go, but there was still more work to be done.

To delve further into the abyss and investigate the first gate. And maybe run into more of its denizens alongside whatever reinforcements that retreating Fallen Void Archon might bring.