“I haven’t been approached by her,” Willow said after Adam told her about the woman gunning for him. “But I’ve also never gotten both achievements.”

  He’d described what she looked like to her, based on Ilya’s depiction, but she said she hadn’t encountered someone like that.

  “What I’m wondering though is, why would she go after you?” Willow pondered.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s because the way I loop is different from using the Self-devouring Eye,” Adam speculated. “After all, the rewards and such change with every loop of mine. Apparently, that isn’t the case with the Divine Relic.”

  “Are you going to a different universe every time?”

  “I think so, yeah.”

  “And because of that, this other time-looper considers you a threat?”

  Adam nodded. “Think about it. If they know all the odds when they go back to the start, they can plan meticulously for the outcomes they want. They know what will happen, so they can feed information to certain people to control outcomes and so forth. I’m not sure whose loop takes precedence here, but me appearing in their universe is probably screwing with their plans.”

  “That actually makes sense,” Willow said and frowned. “I can’t imagine reliving the same thing repeatedly is good for one’s mental health though. I mean, you have to be pretty disturbed to manipulate people like you said she’s been doing.”

  Adam nodded. Though I guess I’ve sort of been doing that too?

  He then went on to describe what Ilya had told him about Stage Four, as well as the Secret Relic.

  “I don’t get why he’d tell you that in exchange for just learning how you beat Stage Three,” Willow replied. “What does he really gain from that?”

  “Yeah, I don’t know either,” Adam said. It had been worrying him a fair bit the more he thought about it.

  “Adam! This boar meat is delicious!”

  He looked down at Belamouranthe who had grease all over her face from eating roasted slices of pork belly. On her plate was a pile of dozens more slices yet to be consumed, as well as a side of baked potatoes with a white parsley sauce. She hadn’t eaten a single one of the potatoes.

  “Eat your vegetables,” he told her. “Also, it’s pork, not boar.”

  “I refuse!”

  “With all the meat you’re eating, you need fibre.”

  “No!”

  Belamouranthe sprang upright, grabbed the plate of food and threw all the potatoes at him before storming off to eat it at the far end of the table.

  “Did you just get hit with a potato?” Willow asked, laughing.

  Adam wiped some parsley sauce off his face and sighed.

  “Let me guess, you told Bela to eat her vegetables?”

  He smiled. “How’d you know?”

  “She threw a carrot at me yesterday. Her aim is really good…”

  “I wonder if she’s on a carnivore diet.”

  “That would explain it, but I think she’s probably just picky.”

  “You know,” Adam started, his tone getting serious. “I think Stage Four is gonna be bad, in more ways than one. If what Ilya told me is true, then a lot of Players will die.”

  “Did you see how many died in the last one?” she asked.

  “Yeah…”

  “I think it must’ve been because of the imps and the blood wolves.”

  Adam nodded, even though he’d defeated them all fairly easily thanks to the Fiendbarb.

  “That first imp was made to catch people off-guard,” he agreed.

  “How did you do in the Stage?” she asked. “I only got the speedrun bonus. One of the wolves tore my left arm up pretty badly.”

  “Damn, how’d you win after that?”

  “I got the healing potion from the dead driver, along with the secret necklace. Thanks to the necklace’s effect, the blood wolf was made super sluggish, giving me enough time to heal.”

  “There was a potion too??” he asked, surprised. “I only found the necklace.”

  “It was in the little pouch he dropped onto the road. It wasn’t considered a Secret though.”

  “I didn’t even notice that…” he said, disappointed in himself.

  “How did you do?” she asked again.

  “I actually got both achievements. The Fiendbarb turned out to be a hard counter to the elementals.”

  “How many Points did you get?” she asked.

  “Just over 2,000,” he said. “I bought the Blood Mage Choker and Blood Bolt Ring after rerolling like five times.”

  “I was wondering about the weird collar you were wearing.”

  “It increases damage with blood attacks and also protects me once every two minutes.”

  “That sounds very strong.”

  “It is, although it lowers my Defence by 25%.”

  She frowned. “That’s a risky trade.”

  “I got flawless last Stage, so I think I’ll be fine.”

  Willow looked unconvinced.

  “By the way, did you notice the trophies in the Player House?” Adam asked.

  “What about them?”

  “Well, since flawless is silver and speedrun is bronze, it makes it clear there there’s another achievement we don’t know about.”

  “I was wondering why flawless was silver, but I didn’t think about it that way,” she admitted. “What do you think the last challenge is? It would have to be harder than not taking damage.”

  “I’m not sure, to be honest. Maybe Lenard has some ideas.”

  “I tried adding him to the conversation,” Willow said, “but he’s not here right now.”

  “Guess I’ll ask him later.”

  “By the way, I found out that there’s a side-effect to my Echo Earring,” she said. “It doesn’t just trigger my acid burst twice, it also triggers enemies’ effects twice. It ended up making the large blood guy really dangerous because of his ranged attack.”

  “So that’s why such a strong effect was tied to an uncommon Relic,” he said. “Did you buy any Relics from the Market?”

  She lifted up her left leg and showed off the Spring Boots. “I got these, and also the Blood Fist Ring.” She showed him a liquid red band around her left thumb. She was already wearing the Slime Ring on her right hand and it seems that it was only possible to have one Relic per hand.

  Seems kind of dumb, but I guess that since Rings can be super powerful, having up to five per hand would trivialise the challenge of the Trials.

  It’s clear they want us to struggle.

  Adam thought about the time-looper. Clearly she too was struggling, despite knowing what came next. After all, she wouldn’t be concerning herself with Adam if it wasn’t necessary to meticulously plan ahead.

  Or would she? Perhaps she’s just a control freak who doesn’t like interference?

  It’s a shame she won’t talk to me face-to-face. If she’s seen the future, her knowledge would be a huge boon.

  Then he realised something.

  “I think I just figured out why the time-looper wants me dead…”

  “Why?”

  “She knows the rewards that people get, right?”

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  “Depends on how many times she’s gone through, but I guess so.”

  “Well, from her perspective, she’s the only one who changes, so people always make the same decisions unless she interacts with them.”

  Willow nodded. “I see what you mean. Because you’re different this time, she’s noticing it affecting how people act. That would definitely mess with her plans.”

  “It gets worse,” Adam said, speaking quickly. “One of the flawless speedrunners I talked to said she’d kill me in Stage Six. It was clear that the time-looper made her target me.”

  “Kill you?” Willow asked. “How?”

  “They might change the Stage design so that Players appear in the same place. Like being forced to work together to complete the objectives and kill the boss.”

  She thought about it for a moment, before saying, “That actually makes a lot of sense. It would explain why they are encouraging Player cooperation with the Tavern.”

  “And the Stages up until then are probably designed to weed out those who aren’t strong enough.”

  Based on Willow’s expression, it was clear she wasn’t a fan of his phrasing, but she knew he was speaking the truth.

  “It’ll be a problem if they don’t organise the rewards and upgrades properly though,” Adam said.

  “Because people will fight over them if there’s only one?”

  “Yeah, it’ll lead to a lot of arguing, which in turn will lead to people murdering each other. After all, everyone who has made it this far knows the importance of Relics. And if you can kill people and loot their Relics, it would matter a lot to this time-looper what other Players buy from the Market or loot from the chest at the end of a Stage. That’s gotta be why she wants me dead. My actions and the fact that I’m different than before is changing people’s decisions, which has a rippling effect.”

  “That’s a pretty wild theory, but it does make sense. And yeah, considering the nature of the Trials so far, I think they would definitely pick the type of reward distribution that would create the most friction,” Willow remarked.

  “Especially since there’s an ‘audience’ watching,” he added.

  “Audience?” she asked, looking horrified at the prospect.

  “Shitbox told me that we’re being observed.”

  “By whom?”

  Adam thought about the giant eye in the darkness, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t just some mere observer. “I don’t know.”

  “I heard a rumour, by the way,” Willow said, switching topic. “Apparently, hurting Belamouranthe is fatal. The person who told me said they heard it from someone else whose friend was going to try it.”

  “What the fuck… Why would anyone wish to hurt her??” Adam asked, appalled. He looked at the Elphin girl who was glaring at him from the far end of the long table, three slices of pork belly in her mouth.

  “I don’t know. But I wonder how many people accidentally died that way in the last Stage. I was pretty close actually, since one of my attacks broke through the carriage.”

  “It does seem like Bel is integral to the story, so I suppose it makes sense that Players would die if she dies.”

  “The magician boss talked about her a lot,” Willow noted. “Did he also warn you about her?”

  Adam nodded. “I think something will happen when she returns home. The next Stage will probably be the last stand before its completion.”

  “You think it’ll be something like a ritual?”

  He frowned. “Yeah. And I think I have an idea of what kind too…”

  After all, Belamouranthe had said she had magic in her veins.

  Adam returned to the Garden and entered the dark-blue tent. The Elphin girl had insisted on joining him and now stood time-frozen in the doorway next to the tesseract.

  “You’re… back.”

  “I got another Mastery Shard,” he told Alivida. “I’ll put it into Second Sheath.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  The pyramid gem emerged from his body and floated into the crystal ball. The purple light blinked once.

  < < Mastery Upgrade Unlocked > >

  < Second Sheath — Carry 1 additional Weapon >

  “Huh, I don’t feel any different.”

  “You remain the same as before, my upgrades do not change your person, only your capabilities.”

  He nodded. “Well, thanks.”

  After leaving the tent, Shitbox and Belamouranthe ‘unfroze’ and followed after him without any comments about the Garden.

  He entered the Market, where Yenna was still playing the Erhu in front of the fountain. He stopped by the stall of the jittery silverfish Nelly.

  “Show me what weapons you have for sale,” he said, even though he didn’t have any Points left.

  The stone block next to her came to life and showed a large axe, a bow, a sword and a shield, and a rapier.

  < < Weapon Types For Sale > >

  < Woodsman (Common) >

  < Archer (Common) >

  < Defender (Common) >

  < Duellist (Uncommon) >

  I think that, even if I had saved my Points after buying Relics and potions, I wouldn’t have been able to afford any of these..

  “What was the price of each rarity again?”

  “Common is 500, Uncommon is 1000, Rare is 2000, and Epic is 5000. They are not upgraded. You want something else, use a Reroll.”

  Ah yeah, I was right.

  If I hadn’t bought potions, I could’ve bought something like the bow, which will probably be useful next Stage. But I’m not sure that would’ve been a better move to be honest.

  “I’ll come back tomorrow,” he said.

  “Bye for now, Adam!” Nelly replied.

  There weren’t any other vendors he felt the need to visit, but then he remembered the clothier that he’d unlocked and walked down to her spiderweb stall.

  “Hi Adam,” greeted the smaller spider.

  “Hey Weaver, thanks for the clothes. They’re very comfortable.”

  “I love mine dress!” Belamouranthe exclaimed.

  “I am glad you found them to be to your liking,” she replied meekly. “Would you like me to spin something else for you to wear?”

  “No, that’s okay,” Adam said. “I don’t have any Points right now. Just wanted to say thanks.”

  “We are going to the Sanctuary! I will tell Mother about thee and thine silk!”

  “Thank you,” Weaver replied. “But I think I will remain here.”

  Belamouranthe looked poised to argue back, but Adam put a hand on her head, stopping her.

  “We’ll come back when I have more Points,” he said.

  Weaver waved one of her arms. “Bye Adam.”

  “Show me everyone who has gotten the golden trophy,” Adam queried the Tavern.

  [This query cannot be performed.]

  “Why not?” he asked.

  [Unspecified and speculative queries are not allowed.]

  “What’s that supposed to mean??”

  Shitbox did not respond.

  “Alright, then show me everyone who got the trophy for collecting all Secrets in a Stage.”

  [This query cannot be performed.]

  “Is that your way of saying such a trophy doesn’t exist?”

  Once again, the tesseract would not deign him with an answer.

  “Fine!” he said, annoyed.

  He thought of how he’d queried for the Secret he’d missed and rephrased his demand.

  “Show me everyone who got a trophy that isn’t the Speedrun or Flawless trophy.”

  [This query cannot be performed. Unspecified and speculative queries are not allowed.]

  “Fuck you and your bullshit logic!” he shouted at the cube in front of him.

  I guess I’ll try and see if Lenard has any ideas, instead of wasting my time with this…

  “Show me Lenard Schulz.”

  A moment later, the German appeared opposite Adam with Willow next to him. They were already talking to each other it seemed.

  Adam suppressed a frown.

  “Hey guys,” he said, trying to not let their easy camaraderie bother him.

  “Lenard thinks he knows what the last trophy could be,” Willow immediately said.

  “You already asked him about it? I thought you’d wait until I got back. I was only gone for like 20 minutes.”

  “Aren’t I allowed to do things on my own?” she asked, sounding offended.

  Lenard looked between the two awkwardly.

  Adam sighed and shook his head. “Whatever. Tell me what you think it might be.”

  Lenard cleared his throat, clearly trying to dispel the sudden tension between them. “Well, I was thinking, since there are Secret Relics, there might be a trophy tied to collecting them all.”

  “There isn’t,” Adam said. “I’ve already tried querying for it.”

  “Then what about a secret boss? Or maybe it’s tied to the Hardmode that Alivida sells.”

  “It wouldn’t make sense for it to be based on the Hardmode, since no one would be able to get it for the first Stage then.”

  Unless they’re looping back in time after buying it.

  Adam glanced at Willow, who just shook her head slightly.

  She hadn’t told Lenard about his ability to go back in time, which he appreciated. Adam wasn’t sure why he himself hadn’t told him though.

  He’s my friend, isn’t he?

  Or is it because I just like that it’s something that only Willow and I know about?

  “What about the secret boss theory?” Lenard asked.

  Adam thought about it for a moment.

  That’s actually not a bad theory.

  “How would they be triggered?” he countered. “They obviously can’t have been hidden in the Stages we’ve seen. They’re all too small.”

  “Well, I was thinking, if my theory about the cores is correct, then taking the core from a blue slime and putting it inside the Slime King would make it become even stronger.”

  Adam grinned.

  That has to be it!

  “Lenard, you’re a genius!”

  Adam turned to the tesseract floating next to where he sat.

  “Show me everyone who evolved the Slime King using a Slime Core!”

  Lenard and Willow vanished, and the tables all cleared out.

  [There are no Players in the Tavern who match your query.]

  “Not even a certain someone who blocked me?”

  [I cannot say.]

  Adam’s grin widened. He’d found the answer to the last trophy, he was sure of it.

  “Reconnect me with Lenard Schulz and Willow Martin.”

  [Understood.]

  His friends reappeared opposite him.

  “It worked,” he announced.

  In return for giving Adam the answer to the last trophy, he told Lenard about Stage Four. He was obviously confused about how Ilya had learnt of the future, but Willow was able to cover for Adam by mentioning that he’d been told by someone with a Legendary Relic. It was the same lie that Ilya had been fed.

  “It sounds like my crossbow will be strong for this Stage.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Adam said.

  Willow looked like she wanted to reiterate her opinion that bows were stronger, but she didn’t. It was likely that Lenard had already told her how bad Stage Three had been for him.

  Adam shared Carsten’s food recommendation with them and they all ate together and talked about the past for a couple hours. Eventually, Charlie kicked them out of the Tavern when it got too late, and they all went their separate ways.

  Belamouranthe had fallen asleep in the Tavern and wouldn’t wake up, so Adam carried her in his arms as he returned to the Player House.

  After putting her to bed, he spent a while practising with the Blood Bolt Ring. It was triggered by closing his hand over his thumb with the ring and then opening it again to find a ball of blood that was the size of a glass marble. The longer he held his fist closed, the bigger the ball would get, with the max being the size of a tennis ball.

  When thrown, the blood bolt would shoot in a straight line at whatever it was aimed at, flying twice as fast as an arrow. Thanks to his Fiendbarb, the explosion on impact was like that of a shrapnel grenade and, against the goblin target dummy, death was instant. Each fragment from the blood bolt would cause the Fiendbarb effect to trigger wherever it hit, meaning he could apply it in several areas on a target’s body, all at once.

  Adam was glad to now have something that would be effective against a group of closely-stacked enemies. Especially since Stage Four might have hundreds of enemies he needed to defeat. It was just a shame he couldn’t test out the defensive ability of his Blood Mage Choker.

  When he went to bed, he felt prepared for what was to come.

  In his dreams, he saw a giant hooded eye. It opened to reveal an iris with the pupil of a serpent. The slit in its eye was like a rend in the cosmic backdrop and from within came reaching arms.

  The arms came closer, grasping at him.

  He couldn’t run.

  He couldn’t even move or look away.

  The hands ran across his body and their touch was cold.

  Then the eye blinked and Adam felt himself fall.

  < < Now Entering > >

  < Stage 4 >

  < Siege of the Elphin Sanctuary >

  < 20-minute Timer >

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