The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop - Chapter 12 - Peaceful Days In The Most Unexpected Places

Before the time loops if anyone had told Orodan that he would be enjoying some of the most peaceful times of his life on the cold northern continent of Guzuhar… he would have thought them mad.

But the two days he had experienced as a guest of the village of Spearwater were honestly some of the most peaceful times he had spent in a while.

It was also the first time Orodan had ever gone a full day without fighting someone. Instead, he spent the two days in a rare period of uninterrupted crafting. This was already the single-longest loop he had ever been in.

Frankly, going for so long without waking up to the sound of harpies at night was now getting to be a little weird.

He finished using Weapon Aura and Wood Communion to create another Adept-level weapon shaft and handed it to the blacksmith.

“An excellent grip for the spear, Aldrun will owe you a life-debt for this young master,” the sweaty man spoke as he hammered away on the spearhead of the weapon they would be bringing together.

Orodan would have loved to take up the art of blacksmithing and potentially develop a method of communing with metal, but he didn’t want to expand too broadly while remaining shallow in his crafting skills. He felt it was better to deepen his mastery of his wood related skills first, and once they all hit at least Adept, then he would perhaps consider dabbling in the art of working metal.

So, he’d spent the two days helping around the village while word was sent for a shaman of Ozgaric to make way for Spearwater. He helped craft wooden materials, worked on strengthening existing wood to an absurd quality that turned cheap wood into treasure, and assisted with the building projects around the village, including a fortified wooden bunker the non-combatants of Spearwater could hide within.

He had essentially increased their wealth by a ridiculous amount, mainly via his ability to strengthen wood to the Adept-level, which would be impossible for any regular woodworker to do in the time frame he did. They didn’t have the insane reserves of his Mana Black Hole or the endless power generation of Eternal Soul Reactor.

While he could’ve decided to run off and make way for the shaman himself, Orodan felt that as a warrior, sometimes periods of quiet reflection where he honed himself in other ways were also necessary.

On the matter of his treatment, it was a stark difference. The fact was that Orodan had been treated amazingly by the locals of Spearwater and the nearby villages. His name had spread in the last two days, and even though the villagers kept a respectable distance from him so as not to intrude, they were still exceedingly grateful to him for saving their village and improving their lots in life. The locals of the northern continent treated him better than people back home did.

Unlike the Republic, there was no overarching infrastructure and system of constant surveillance that allowed for talent poaching. In Spearwater, the surrounding villages or the Iron-Bear Clan’s territories as a whole, there were no examination centers or mandatory observer orb tests to determine talent.

From what Orodan had learned, there was talent-poaching and word was sent to important people whenever an incredibly talented youth was found, but the way things were done was different to the Republic where official bureaucracy and examinations lead to noble houses or even the factions of the capital city poaching talent in a systemized way.

Instead, youths were encouraged and guided into apprenticeships or were taken to the town of Vorskard where Clan Iron-Bear’s base of power was, to enter a mentorship under a more powerful individual who could teach them as they grew.

The end result was still the same, although with less bureaucracy and more emphasis on deepening the bonds between a budding talent and the people they were meant to serve and work with.

Additionally, and the most important part of it all… was that Orodan wasn’t from the continent of Guzuhar. He openly stated he was from Inuan. The reaction was unlike what would occur in the Republic, where if he displayed ridiculous talent some very higher-level people would show up knowing his background – that he was a seventeen year old militia man from Ogdenborough – and try to poach him.

Now, without a meddling Goddess of Fate tracking him, he could move more freely. And given that he’d already said he was from Inuan, the local people of power simply assumed he was a reincarnator or a Master with a method of making himself look young or obscuring his Status. They didn’t try to immediately poach him and strong arm him into whatever they felt was best for their purposes.

Frankly, the northern continent’s relationship with their Gods was vastly different from the stranglehold-like monopoly the Prime Five had over Inuan. And it looked as though the locals were content in keeping things that way as Godly interference and priests going around preaching and tracking would be frowned upon.

Orodan actually found himself liking it!

Of course, his personal power and slaughter of the Blood-Dragon raid on Spearwater were still things that caused commotion.

An hour after the raid a group of Elite-level members of Clan Iron-Bear came by and asked the locals questions about the raid. After being pointed to Orodan they profusely thanked him and asked who he was and what he was looking for, which Orodan honestly answered, and the head of the group promised to send word to Chieftain Zoricval about Orodan’s actions and his needs.

Occasionally, a Master or two would come by to the village as well and stop by to chat with him. This way he had met at least three Master-level individuals of Clan Iron-Bear, and one of them, a gruff woman by the name of Bergthora Fishskinner, challenged him to a brawl far from the village, and upon losing actually attempted to seduce him. She claimed his prowess impressed and ‘excited’ her.

Orodan respectfully diverted her attentions. She wasn’t exactly his type, and the difference in power between them made Orodan unwilling to pursue such a thing. He had lain with women before with no commitment, but that was when he was but an Apprentice, before the time loops. It was a common problem faced by the strong as they grew in levels, to struggle in finding an equal partner. Not that he even wanted a partner at this time.

Orodan never cared for a relationship, but especially now that he was in the time loop, he hadn’t had the time to think about such things.

As he finished up his crafting for the moment he stepped outside the smithy and heard the clamor from outside.

It seemed Yarostov Iron-Bear was finally paying a visit to the village of Spearwater, and alongside him, was a shaman of Ozgaric.

The villagers respectfully bowed to the eldest son of Clan Iron-Bear, the ruling force over the area. And the man himself, who was unsurprisingly built like a bear, approached Orodan with an extended hand.

Orodan took the man’s offered hand.

“My friend! You must be the incredible young hero from the south, Orodan Wainwright, who I’ve heard so much about! I’m glad to finally make your acquaintance!” the man exclaimed in a booming voice filled with mirth. “I am Yarostov Iron-Bear, eldest son of our Chieftain Zoricval.”

“Likewise. The villagers speak very fondly of you and Clan Iron-Bear, so when a man of your stature approached, I assumed it could only be you,” Orodan replied.

Frankly, sending Yarostov Iron-Bear to meet with him was the greatest sign of respect Clan Iron-Bear could have shown Orodan on short notice. While Chieftain Zoricval Iron-Bear was the nominal head of the clan, it was his eldest son Yarostov, who was the strongest Master-level individual in Clan Iron-Bear. He was a rare prodigy, having become a Master-level axeman by the age of eighty.

“Bah! My people embarrass me! My clan simply tries to look out for our people, that is all, no magical secret to it,” Yarostov replied and then he looked to his left. “And might I introduce Esbetta Ingamiris? The High Shaman of Ozgaric. She was busy with some sensitive duties and was tied up for a few days, otherwise we would have come sooner once we heard your request. People speak widely of the hero who butchered those filthy Blood-Dragon bastards.”

Orodan was surprised. He was expecting to perhaps spend time negotiating, searching around and finding a faithful that was an apt teacher. At best he expected to be learning under a decent shaman. But for Clan Iron-Bear to show up with the High Shaman of their Clan herself… Orodan found himself mentally re-evaluating these people. They were treating him very well and seemed to hold him in high regard.

“Greetings young hero,” the woman said with a respectful incline of her head. “I’m told you wish to learn how to evade the divinations of the priesthood of Ilyatana and the trackers of the Cathedral of the Prime Five?”

At least the woman got right to the point, which Orodan appreciated.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I seek… I can’t reveal exactly why, but I need to learn how to evade the ability of people to track me by viewing the ripples in the tapestry of fate,” Orodan replied, and held a bit of concern for if she would refuse unless he stated his exact motives.

He need not have been concerned however, as the woman nodded with a mischievous and mysterious smile.

“That’s something that can be arranged,” she replied. “This is an unsuitable place to teach you such things however, how about you come with us to Vorskard? We have far nicer accommodations for someone of your stature, and there are multiple shamans of Ozgaric in our temple who can facilitate teaching you.”

It was a very generous offer, and Orodan looked to Yarostov for his thoughts. The brawny man had a big smile on his face.

“She speaks true, it would be unacceptable to have an honored hero like you stay in Spearwater,” Yarostov assuaged. “Clan Iron-Bear would be terrible hosts if we allowed someone who saved a village of ours to remain outside of our hall in Vorskard.”

“Very well… I’ll go with you,” Orodan replied with a smile of his own.

***

Orodan had never been inside the Republic’s capital of Karilsgard, nor had he even seen it from a distance.

The largest town he ever saw was Velestok, and that… that was nothing compared to the sprawling and bustling city before him that was Vorskard.

It was still wintry, as everywhere he’d seen on the northern continent so far was. But despite the ice and snow, the city radiated a feeling of heat, warmth and welcoming that seemed to seep into Orodan’s very soul. He was almost certain there was some sort of magic or skill involved in that.

The buildings were primarily wooden, but had sloped roofs, motifs of primarily bears, then wolves and the occasional carving of an owl. Every single house was multiple storeys high, with some of the tallest being dozens of floors in height, and Orodan had never seen buildings that big. Even the smaller buildings here were the size of the town halls he was used to back in Volarbury County.

“You look entranced, as though you’re walking into a city for the first time,” Esbetta remarked as the trio of herself, Orodan and Yarostov walked down the bustling streets of Vorskard, the capital city of Clan Iron-Bear’s territories in Guzuhar.

The streets were absolutely packed with people, deer-drawn carts and the occasional armored rider atop a similarly armored bear. Orodan had never seen this many people concentrated into a settlement before!

Ogdenborough and even Velestok were smaller towns, not on this level. The population was high in Ogdenborough which led to poverty and a lot of street rats, but not to this extent. Was this what a city was like?

“Ah… yes, you’re correct,” Orodan replied. “I’ve never set foot in a city before.”

“Truly? So, you’re not a reincarnator then?” Yarostov asked.

“No, I am not,” Orodan answered. “The only life I’ve known is the one as Orodan Wainwright, local militia man from the Republic of Aden in Inuan.”

Upon hearing this even the seemingly reserved Esbetta’s eyes widened a bit, and Yarostov’s face had an incredulous expression upon it.

“Then… are you really as young as you appear?” Yarostov blatantly asked.

“I’m probably in my early twenties,” Orodan replied. And this was probably the most accurate and honest answer he could give as to how chronologically old he was. Even though he had been through over ten-thousand loops, each loop in many cases was less than an hour long, with a majority being less than even that during certain sets of loops.

“Incredible! And you beat Bergthora in a brawl at such a young age… she’s one of the stronger Masters of our clan!” Yarostov loudly exclaimed, causing many heads to turn and the street to go silent.

People had already been looking at them as they walked given how famous Esbetta and Yarostov were within their city, but now the Iron-Bear heir’s outburst had confirmed it, people began looking to Orodan as they linked him to the rumors they had been hearing about the young Master-level hero who saved the village of Spearwater and brawled Bergthora Fishskinner, besting her.

“Wow… he’s so young-”

“How can someone be a Master at that age…”

Were among some of the mutters Orodan himself overheard, and he brushed them off and continued walking alongside Yarostov and Esbetta.

“Perhaps we’re causing a scene saying such things so loudly, Yarostov?” Esbetta gently chided the man, causing him to look embarrassed.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to air your business in public Orodan… but still! Your talent is incredible! Why not join Clan Iron-Bear? The elders would dote on you, and you’d be given whatever you wanted!” Yarostov exclaimed in a blatant recruitment offer.

In fact, Orodan actually didn’t mind the idea for this loop.

Joining Clan Iron-Bear really might be a good option for him while he uncovered the secrets to evading divinations. Admittedly, jumping right into saying yes to such a blunt offer would be hasty, and he’d still need to ascertain what the Gods of Guzuhar were like before he truly committed, but otherwise it seemed like a fine idea.

“I can’t commit to a decision on the matter just yet… but if you require my arm for any sort of fight, I’ll gladly lend it,” Orodan replied with what was probably the most diplomacy he had ever shown in his life. A surprise for the usually bull-headed warrior.

“Hahah! Fair enough! I came on too strong there!” Yarostov jovially exclaimed.

As they bantered, they eventually reached the temple and climbed the steps to enter the building. Of course, either of the three could have rushed to the location far sooner given that all three were Masters, but they had taken the slow and scenic route for Orodan’s sake.

The temple of Vorskard was massive. Bigger than any temple he had been to in Volarbury County. Idols of dozens of Gods lined the walls, minor and major deities.

Unlike Inuan, the worship of Gods on Guzuhar allowed for the worship of more than just the major Gods, and consequently there were many more people with minor Blessings on the northern continent.

But there were still seven major Gods worshipped in Guzuhar. And Ozgaric, the God of Trickery and Deception was one of them.

The trio walked into an inner chamber usually reserved for higher-levelled faithful of the Trickster God, and the doors were then closed behind them.

Frankly, the fact that Yarostov was still tagging along was rather unexpected, but the thought was appreciated. Perhaps the fact that the man could secure a talent like Orodan for his clan had kept him here?

“Alright then… Orodan, I won’t ask you to reveal your secrets… but just how powerful are you?” the High Shaman of Ozgaric asked, something Orodan would expect Yarostov to open with instead.

“Well, I slew a hundred-headed sea serpent before I reached the continent… and I’ve defeated multiple Masters at once before,” Orodan honestly replied.

“That thing?! It’s been nestled in that part of the sea and blocking the shortest route to the Eastern Kingdoms of Inuan for at least a few hundred years now… I don’t know if even I could kill it by myself… and to defeat multiple Masters by yourself? Amazing…” Yarostov muttered.

“Is there anything more you can tell us before we start discussing how to avoid divinations?” Esbetta asked.

“Well… that depends on the kind of Gods you serve,” Orodan dangerously tested. “Is Ozgaric a kind God? Does he wish to interfere overly much in his followers’ lives? Are there other Gods that hold sway in this city?”

“We allow the worship of any Gods in Vorskard’s temple, but I’m the only High Shaman of a God in this city, and Ozgaric is my holy patron,” Esbetta answered. “So, while the others hold a roughly similar amount of influence here, Ozgaric would be the most powerful God in this city as he’s the only one who can possess an Avatar here.”

“I see… so my question is… would Ozgaric try to bring someone under his thumb if they interested him?” Orodan asked, and the tension in the room began to get thicker.

“…no? This is a rather strange question you’ve asked, but I can assure you of this much, whatever your quarrel is with the Prime Five on Inuan, my God Ozgaric won’t help them,” Esbetta replied. “I don’t suppose you’re willing to say what has caused you to be hunted by them?”

Orodan then finally decided to bite the dagger and say it.

“Well, what if I told you that one of my skills has the rarity of Mythical? Would Ozgaric descend and attempt to capture me for experimentation?” Orodan asked.

“And what if Ozgaric has been here all along? What would you say then, Orodan Wainwright?”

Orodan’s eyes widened, and the room suddenly went very quiet as Esbetta kneeled on the ground in supplication.

Behind Orodan, it was Yarostov who the divine voice boomed from. The man’s eyes held a subtle glow, although unlike the Avatar of Ilyatana that Lady Lakshiya was forced to host, he didn’t look as though he was suffering any damage.

“Well then, I would ask since when? And I would also ask how the host of your Avatar isn’t taking more damage from your divine power coursing through them,” Orodan said.

“I first noticed you when you killed that hundred-headed serpent in the sea and sent some rather big ripples through the tapestry of fate, and I’ve been keeping an ear on you from then on. You and that old dragon had an interesting conversation I was privy to as well,” The divine voice boomed. “As for Yarostov, he’s a tough warrior unlike many of the soft mage hosts certain Gods choose to descend their Avatars onto. I’m also far more skilled at controlling Avatars and extending my influence than that control freak Ilyatana is.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“I see… so given that you’re implying you’ve heard the entire conversation between me and that old frosty dragon, you’re aware of my whole situation then? The loops, whatever this Eldritch Chosen One is that’s descending onto the world soon… do you have any advice?”

“I’m well aware of that thing the Eldritch Gods have mutated and are sending our way. Unlike the Prime Five who’ve decided that since it will be landing on this continent, they get to ignore it and comfortably make their own preparations independent of us,” Ozgaric spoke. “What they can’t ignore is the foothold in our world that creature’s arrival and subsequent devastation will give the Eldritch Gods. And while the unique situation you’re experiencing interests me, instead of trying to dissect you I’d rather use it to my advantage to solve the real crisis headed our way.”

“You’re talking awfully straightforward for a Trickster God,” Orodan spoke. “Aren’t there supposed to be tricks involved?”

“The trick was me watching you and everything you did since you set foot on the northern continent. And I’m finding that tricks aren’t helping solve the impending crisis that will land in six months, so it is time for me to employ more direct methods, such as a stubborn warrior like you.”

Orodan couldn’t even say he was offended by that description anymore.

“I see… well, I can’t say I’m ready to fight whatever’s coming on this loop. Hells… I might not be ready for a long time, but can I eventually do it? Certainly,” Orodan confirmed. “Even some Avatar of multiple Eldritch Gods is but a wall in front of me… and I’ve gotten rather good at pounding my head against walls till they break.”

“Indeed, from what I’ve heard, your resolve certainly isn’t lacking.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t simply read my mind or perused my memories to confirm what I’m saying,” Orodan remarked, or had the God already done so?

“That would be rather impolite. I am not Ilyatana,” the Avatar answered. “Also, given your ability to hold a grudge throughout the time loops… I would rather not acquire a time-traveling enemy I have no knowledge of every time the loops start. Malzim had the right idea when he helped you, I can see you’re rather indebted to him.”

“I see… for what it’s worth, thank you for respecting the sanctity of my mind,” Orodan sincerely said. “I owe the God of Death an eternal debt, if you help me, I will also owe you the same.”

“I am willing to grant you my Blessing which will obscure your actions in the tapestry of fate, but the problem is… your soul is overfull. I sense three Blessings upon you already alongside two Quest Rewards… from what you’ve told that dragon, you have the rare ability to strengthen your own soul, in the six months before the Eldritch Star lands, you must strengthen your soul to the point that I can grant you my Blessing.”

“That sounds almost too easy… six whole months? That’s a lot of time, I can definitely do that alongside some tutelage from a healer who can teach me how to patch my body up as it gets damaged,” Orodan replied.

“We will see how long your bravado lasts. Now then, I have been speaking through Yarostov for long enough, we shall speak again in six months.”

And with that the subtle glow that Yarostov’s eyes were emitting, disappeared entirely and the man himself seemed to come to attention.

“Hmm? Sorry, I lost concentration there for a second, what were we talking about?” the Iron-Bear asked, but once he saw Esbetta kneeling he connected the dots. “Ah! Did my lord Ozgaric descend unto me?! What an auspicious day!”

Personally, Orodan thought the man sounded far more excited than he’d be if a God decided to use him as an Avatar. But Yarostov seemed to be his usual happy self, so Orodan didn’t worry himself about it.

“For our patron to descend unto the world to speak to you… I could not hear what was said… but Ozgaric has left me with a decree,” Esbetta muttered to herself. “It’s decided, we must help train you to reach your full potential as Ozgaric desires.”

***

The training involved things Orodan was familiar with, and things he wasn’t familiar with.

Training Eternal Soul Reactor in peace was finally something he could do in the northern continent, as Ilyatana’s divine influence didn’t extend to Guzuhar. From what Esbetta had explained, Gods had their own territories where their powers and influence were stronger or weaker depending on how many faithful they had. And possessing an Avatar and flying them all the way to Guzuhar would not only take a decent amount of energy and potentially burn the host out, but the Gods of the northern continent could immediately sense an Avatar of a foreign God intruding in their domain.

Subsequently they could influence the divine energies in the area and force the Avatar’s power to weaken considerably or force the Avatar to expend enough power to counter this that it would burn the host body to ashes outright. And Gods didn’t have so many subservient Favored that they’d want to waste them on pointless endeavors which would yield no results.

Divine energy had strange rules it abided by.

Thankfully, what this meant was that Orodan didn’t have to worry about Ilyatana descending upon him in the form of an Avatar, at least for as long as he was on Guzuhar.

What he had been cautioned against however, was leaving the territories of Clan Iron-Bear.

Ozgaric seemed like a nice enough God, but further out east in the territories of the nearby Blood-Dragon tribe was the domain of Agorhiku, God of Blood and War, who wasn’t as polite as Ozgaric was. The northern God of War, different from the Inuanan War God Agathor, wasn’t as hands-off about his followers, and frequently possessed Avatars to steer things the way he wanted. A way which often involved bloodshed.

Agorhiku’s influence and interference was one of the main reasons why the continent of Guzuhar was rife with raiders who attacked areas on their own continent and sailed the seas to raid Inuanan settlements. Any attempts by the local clans who were suffering at raider hands to band together and launch an offensive against the raiders, were often faced by a burning Avatar of Agorhiku who intervened if the raiders were losing too badly and at risk of being eliminated entirely.

Orodan silently made a note to himself, that if the day came where he could ever kill a God, Agorhiku would be at the top of his list.

Aside from training Eternal Soul Reactor, the other parts of his training were also going well.

Esbetta had started him on training in the very basics of glimpsing the tapestry of fate but cautioned that it was a very mana-intensive thing to do. Delving too deep could leave one with crippling headaches. While a Blessing from Ozgaric would undoubtedly obscure him in the tapestry, given that he had a Mythical skill, Esbetta had warned him that it wasn’t only regular diviners that would be trying to track him, but ones with Blessings as well.

And if two people with opposing Blessings clashed, it then came down to skill levels. So, for the sake of also being able to evade the Cathedral’s very best diviners who had Blessings related to reading the tapestry of fate, Orodan was encouraged to train the relevant skills himself.

It was also the first time Orodan received any kind of formal instruction in the usage of mana.

His teachers were both frustrated with, and in awe of him at the same time.

Frustration arose from the fact that Orodan barely had any talent in manipulating mana in a fine manner. The initial stages of forming a connection were utterly atrocious, which he was told was a common problem warriors attempting to cross-train in magic faced… but they had never seen anyone as bad at it as Orodan.

But the awe emerged when Orodan simply kept training for three days on end, without a single break and without ever needing to recover what should have been the pitiful and undeveloped mana pool of a warrior. Frankly, he didn’t even need to dip into the near bottomless reserves of the storage of Mana Black Hole. A simple three second charge up of Eternal Soul Reactor gave him enough mana to last him for a full day of practice.

He was given a strange golden orb, which was a training aid for aspiring Fate-Readers, into which he was to channel mana and the orb would then naturally give him a glimpse into the tapestry of fate. His task was then to let go of the orb and attempt to maintain the connection to the tapestry with his own mana and concentration. It was meant to be a mana-intensive training process, and one that would leave students with frequent headaches.

The many attempts he initially made were failed, mainly because Orodan lacked any sort of finesse in handling mana and didn’t even know what forming a connection to the tapestry involved. His usage of Mana Black Hole involved a force of raw willpower used like a battering ram to absorb whatever mana was in reach. His fuelling of All-Strike too involved simply cramming as much energy as he could into the attack. Finesse with mana wasn’t his strong suit, raw power was.

But what none of them had expected, was for a monster with inexhaustible mana reserves and endless willpower to give it a shot. And once Orodan had successfully established the connection for the first time and viewed the tapestry… he held on.

A whole day passed, and enough mana to fuel a dozen ancient war machines was drained. His head felt like it would explode from the strain, but he still held on in a colossal feat of impossible willpower. And he acquired new skills.

[New Skill (Uncommon) → Mana Manipulation 1]

[New Skill (Uncommon) → Fate Reading 1]

They were both Uncommon rarity skills, and Orodan found himself having an inkling of respect for those who read fate as a profession, as having an Uncommon rarity skill as the bar to entry was rather difficult.

His teachers looked at him as though he were a monster in human flesh, and even a strange old woman who Orodan suspected was one of the elders of Clan Iron-Bear came by and looked him up and down before walking away.

It was a session of constant and uninterrupted practice, fuelled by a virtually infinite source of energy and his eternal willpower, and this eventually lead to gains no matter how untalented at mana Orodan might have been.

Mana Manipulation levelled to 13 and Fate Reading levelled to 23. Even though Orodan’s ability to read the tapestry was still lacking in technique… his infinite energy and endless willpower allowed him to simply plow through skill levels in a day. Something that took other students, even the talented ones, months.

He didn’t need to stop and recover like they did.

Finally, Esbetta had to step in.

“Orodan… you’ve done enough, we can stop now,” the High Shaman carefully broached. “Even at level 10 of Fate Reading one can at least see the entire tapestry if their willpower is high enough… and it seems mana capacity is not a problem for you, so we can move onto the manipulation of the tapestry now to prevent the ripples of your actions from spreading.”

After ten more seconds where he finally wound down, he stopped his connection to the tapestry and his eyes held a subtle sheen of gold. The gains he made were colossal.

He now knew how the hells he was being discovered so easily by the Church’s diviners as soon as he spoke to someone. His own threads of fate were incredibly bizarre and looked like they were essentially… looping. Perhaps that was what Lady Lakshiya meant when she pronounced his were like an Ouroboros.

Secondly, everyone’s threads of fate had connections to the world, and then to other people. But Orodan’s had no connection to the world whatsoever, but whenever he spoke to anyone, he formed a thread of fate between himself and them… and the simple act of speaking to them, caused a slight tremor to go from him to their threads of fate… which spiralled into the slight tremors spreading throughout the entire tapestry. Anyone paying attention would notice the whole thing just tremored and would have reason to go seek the cause.

And if simply talking to someone caused slight tremors throughout the whole thing, then the activation of his Mythical skill caused the whole tapestry of fate to shudder violently. Even a Goddess would descend upon seeing that.

Orodan didn’t like Ilyatana, but he could now understand why she was so adamant on hunting him down every time he activated Eternal Soul Reactor. Frankly, he was almost certain his location had been broadcasted to the world’s fate readers the moment he activated the skill in a loop.

But it was now time to take the next step and learn how to obscure his impact on the tapestry.

“Alright, what’s next?” Orodan asked as he got to his feet.

“Now comes learning the Fate Obscuration skill… it won’t be easy as it’s an Exquisite rarity skill to begin with… I don’t know if you can even obtain it in such a short period of time, but we must try.”

Followed by those words, Esbetta instructed him to now start attempting to grasp his own threads of fate that lead outwards towards other people, and every time a tremor went through, he was to try and gently redirect the tremor inwards into the core of his fate, thereby it wouldn’t cause any noticeable outward changes in the tapestry itself.

As his first attempt miserably failed, he realized this would be a very long and arduous process.

***

Orodan trained for two whole weeks without any interruption.

His mana was endless, and his willpower was absolute.

But he had to admit he had absolutely no talent in the fine control of mana that this skill seemingly required. He had advanced his Fate Reading and Mana Manipulation greatly, but a skill could only do so much when one didn’t have the talent and their natural inclination wasn’t meant for such a skill.

Finally, in a moment of frustration he thought, why not use soul energy instead of mana to manipulate the threads of fate and prevent any tremors from going out?

He tried it, and the difference was astronomical.

At first, he realized that soul energy was incredibly destructive when used to try and manipulate the threads of fate. The tremors he caused by simply attempting to manipulate his own threads with soul energy caused the entire tapestry to shake. But slowly and surely, he began to make critical breakthroughs in the attempts.

He decided to forgo the assumption that fine and delicate control was the way. Instead, he began flaring Eternal Soul Reactor at a fast speed, and the colossal amounts of soul energy produced were then set to the task… of forming a shield of soul energy around his fate and completely severing all threads between him and anyone else.

Apparently, this should have been impossible to do as Esbetta came running towards him in alarm, thinking he had suddenly been killed. Only for her to gape like a fish when she saw that he was still alive, and his eyes were glowing white as soul energy flowed through his body.

Second, he began spinning this shield of soul energy rapidly… and maintained a constant spinning spherical barrier of soul energy around his fate. This now had the extra effect of not allowing new threads to extend or form even when people spoke to him, or he used his Mythical skill.

In essence he was now completely disconnected from the tapestry.

[New Skill (Legendary) → Fate Disconnect 1]

The energy cost of running this skill constantly was somewhat high, even with Eternal Soul Reactor, but as the hours passed and the skill levels grew he found he was able to maintain an equilibrium point where Eternal Soul Reactor was running, but it didn’t cause his eyes to glow. Instead, the soul energy went entirely towards maintaining this new skill which allowed him to completely disappear from the tapestry.

“Hmm… it isn’t exactly a skill that allows for hiding in plain sight… in fact, that my threads of fate are trying to find a connection with something that doesn’t exist is quite disconcerting.”

It wasn’t Esbetta who spoke, but an old woman who Orodan had seen around before.

“Ancestor… we welcome your presence,” Esbetta greeted and bowed.

“Yes, yes… now then. What rarity is this skill you’ve developed young one?” the old woman asked.

“Legendary.”

At this reply, her eyes widened.

“Two weeks and you develop a Legendary skill? Such rare talent, why not join us more permanently?” she asked. “How about it Esbetta? He’s a bit young, and he’s dumber than a rock, but a sharp girl like you can keep him in line, no?”

The implications of her words caused the High Shaman to choke on air and Orodan to shake his head.

“Ancestor! This man… he is too powerful. It would not be a union of equals,” Esbetta meekly protested. And Orodan was inclined to agree. He truly wasn’t seeking any sort of union with anyone; his concerns were far bigger.

“Well, I suppose you’re a bit too young for me, unless… you have a taste for older women?” she asked and feigned a scandalized look.

And at this even Orodan had to suppress a choke and his face gained a slight tint of red. This old woman was entirely too shameless!

“That won’t be necessary!” Orodan quickly replied, which caused the maliciously innocent-seeming smirk on this old woman’s face to widen. “I don’t need to be tied to Clan Iron-Bear to help you; I already gave Yarostov my word that I would help fight in any battles.”

“Ah, but that’s no fun. How else is an elderly woman like me to entertain myself if not through matchmaking youngsters like yourself?”

“Gods damn it you old granny… get to the point!” Orodan heatedly replied.

“Such a mouth on you when you get flustered… hah!” she mockingly laughed. “Forgive me Orodan, but although the Clan can’t stop talking about you, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I am Agatha Ingamiris, one of the elders of Clan Iron-Bear.”

So that was the woman’s name. Agatha Ingamiris would undoubtedly get along quite well with Adeltaj Simarji. These two old fogeys seemed to delight in toying around with young people like him.

“It is good to meet you,” Orodan replied cordially. “But can we speak of this skill? I’m maintaining it as we speak, and I’d like to hear your thoughts on it.”

“Well, for starters, while you’re completely disconnected from the tapestry of fate… the complete absence of a fate within you will tip off any fate-reader who gets close and examines you face to face. Although that’s still a preferable alternative to broadcasting your location like you were earlier; such a ruckus you caused in the tapestry! Ozgaric is placating and talking to the other Gods even as we speak,” Agatha explained.

Ozgaric was covering for him? Orodan made a note of that and added the Trickster God to the list of people he considered due for repayment throughout his loops.

“Additionally, although you lack a fate, that skill you’re running as we speak, even at the relatively low pace you’re churning out soul energy, it’s still a blazing beacon to anyone with a skill that allows them to sense souls,” the old woman elaborated. “While it’s not necessarily a dead giveaway, you’ll have to at least make up some explanation as people might assume you have a Bloodline or are a reincarnator. Or just let them assume and make up whatever they want in their own heads. It’s still an improvement over the tapestry shaking you were doing when you first activated that strange soul burning skill of yours.”

Well, at least he finally had a way of remaining under the notice of the Cathedral and Ilyatana. If Orodan simply was someone without a fate and had a stronger than normal soul that burned a little bright… it was something he could work with via excuses or simply staying away from certain people who would sense it and ask questions.

Alternately he could simply refuse to answer and go about his business. He would draw attention to an extent, but it wouldn’t be due to Godly interference, which was the sort of spotlight he was hoping to avoid.

Despite the shield he had on, Orodan would have to be careful not to ramp Eternal Soul Reactor up too hard, or he instinctively felt that the shield of energy around his fate wouldn’t hold.

“I see, thank you for your words of wisdom and appraisal,” Orodan replied with a respectful nod of his head.

“Oh… such manners in a young man, are you sure I can’t interest you in some of the pretty women our Clan has?”

At her brazen offer, Orodan could only have his palm meet his face.

***

The remaining months till the descent of the unknown enemy passed by in a blur of training and spending time with Clan Iron-Bear. All his skills grew across the board, and the skill he felt was most necessary to level, Soul Strengthening, had reached level 14.

Even at just level 14 the power he felt from his soul, the very quality of his soul energy, had drastically improved.

He had worked hard over the months to condense and fold an iota of soul energy inwards till he managed to keep it in that dense form stably, and then he slowly inched towards converting all of his soul energy and the very material his soul was composed of to the denser form. It was an absurdly powerful amplifier type skill for anything that used soul energy.

His All-Strikes were at least twice as powerful simply due to the difference in soul energy he poured in, and this was without increasing the strain on his body at having more soul energy flood through it. He also greatly improved his Regeneration to the point that he could keep Eternal Soul Reactor running at far higher rates of power generation, although this would cause his Fate Disconnect to be interrupted as the obscuring shield couldn’t take so much. And the triple actions performed at the same time no longer strained his soul. He could likely complete that Quest once more for another Permanent Action Increase.

Orodan felt incredibly powerful, he almost wanted to rush back to Inuan and challenge Adeltaj to a fight now. He genuinely believed he could at least force the old man to get serious.

He also began working on developing some kind of Resistance skill for soul energy, but it felt like a goal that was extremely far away and wouldn’t get done in this loop.

Admittedly, this was the single longest loop he had ever been in. Who knew if even the thousands of loops spent dying at Eversong Plaza equalled the total amount of time in these six months.

And despite his best efforts to avoid it, he found himself engaging in ancillary activities.

Activities which involved the woman lying under the luxurious furs next to him in bed.

Esbetta wasn’t a warrior, and consequently her Physical Fitness wasn’t very high. So, he allowed her to get her rest as he slowly crawled out of bed taking care to avoid waking her. He didn’t sleep, but she did.

She was a Master-level spirit mage, a kind of mage he hadn’t heard of before but were apparently more common in the northern continent. Summoning spirits to fight alongside them was their specialty. A less nefarious version of necromancers, Orodan thought.

Throughout the months, they’d often fought together against Blood-Dragon tribe raiders, who were starting to become particularly incensed with the losses they were taking at the hands of Clan Iron-Bear since Orodan’s arrival. After a particularly furious battle in which they killed two of the Blood-Dragon tribe’s Masters, one thing lead to another, and before he knew it the woman had her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips were touching his.

He wouldn’t say he was especially deeply connected to her; he had a hard time connecting to anyone since he began the time loops. But it still felt… nice. And while she was slightly disappointed that Orodan didn’t want anything longer lasting, she understood and was still willing to continue their trysts despite that.

He left bed and made way for the temple of Vorskard, and the people walking the streets knew him well by now and his reputation throughout the territories of Clan Iron-Bear, was that of a hero.

He entered the temple and its innermost chamber, and silently sat waiting.

And soon Yarostov Iron-Bear arrived.

The man had become a good friend, but before he could greet Orodan with his usual exuberance, his eyes took on a subtle glow.

“Orodan Wainwright, my champion. As promised, six months have passed and now you will receive my Blessing,” the Avatar of Ozgaric spoke. “I sense it… your soul has grown powerful. More than I ever thought possible in such a short time. This is good, your talent is exceptional, and perhaps that combined with the unique power over time you have will eventually be our only hope.”

“Thank you… I merely tried my best in the little time we had.”

And it was true. He genuinely had trained like a dog and fought in as many battles against the Blood-Dragon tribe as he could. None of his skills had crossed unto the Elite threshold yet, but soon he felt many would.

His Status looked ridiculous, and he didn’t even bother calling it up. But he knew that almost nobody had as many high-level Adept skills as he did. Most Adepts specialized in maybe three skills which they painstakingly brought above the threshold of 50, the prodigious ones had maybe five. Elites, even the prodigious ones had maybe five skills past the level 70 threshold.

But Orodan had at least 14 skills above level 60, and their rarities were high. He also had many skills past the Adept threshold of 50.

He was slowly advancing in lockstep and trying not to have any one skill hit a threshold too early. But he felt that once he managed to get his crop of skills past Elite… he would be an unprecedented powerhouse. He was already capable of slaughtering Masters, and by now he had yet to meet a Master-level individual, mortal or beast that was stronger than the current him.

Unfortunately, the time was coming to an end. Possibly for the entire northern continent.

The astronomers had spotted it a month ago, an approaching comet wracked with the most foul and wicked energies ever seen. And in approximately a few hours the comet was predicted to land in the middle of the continent, in the Valley of Spires, out west past Clan Iron-Bear’s territories.

“Come, time is short, and we have a few hours left before it lands, that shield around your fate you have running, deactivate it. It prevents me from reaching your soul with my Blessing.”

Orodan did as requested and lowered the shield, and the message came shortly after.

[Ozgaric, God of Trickery, smiles upon you]

[Received Blessing → Trickster’s Veil – Your Status, fate and soul are impossible to peer into unless you will it]

Orodan felt a strange energy settle over everything that he was. It wasn’t harmful, but it felt odd. And with that, he now had a fourth Blessing.

He would have spent time pondering whether he was the only person in the world with four Blessings but didn’t have the time for it currently.

It was time to make way for the Valley of Spires.

An Eldritch Star was descending.