The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop

Chapter 20: The Bluefire Academy IV

When he got down to it, Arvayne Firesword sure knew how to deliver a good beating.

Perhaps it was Agathor’s encouraging comments that had angered the old man?

Either way, the symphony of pure violence and bodily devastation Orodan was now on the receiving end of was quite intense.

Even without an endless gravity core weighing him down to his maximal physical limits, Orodan would be on the losing end of any melee exchange against old man Arvayne Firesword.

The man was a triple-Grandmaster and the Chosen One of Agathor. He was the second-strongest warrior in the entire Republic after Alcianne Rockwood. Orodan at his current level wasn’t quite there yet.

The old man thankfully had a sense of fairness and accommodated his strength to match the self-imposed training handicaps Orodan was using, but it was still a brutal beating and butchery.

“Are your defensive and vitality skills improving? Give me an update,” the old man calmly demanded as he continued hacking Orodan up. “I can increase the speed of my assault if you need.”

“Iron Body is improving quite fast,” Orodan quickly said as his arm was lopped right off but regrew shortly after. “As is Slashing Resistance, but I could use some more beatings and stabbings to improve Impact Resistance and Piercing Resistance.”

Slashing Resistance had increased to level 45, an insane rate of growth as his limbs were constantly lopped off and he was sliced and diced up like a vegetable at a restaurant. Iron Body had improved to 67, approaching the Elite threshold, and most importantly, Regeneration had made a titanic jump to level 51, crossing into the Adept level. This was due to his experimentation and attempts at making the skill do more while being fueled by less soul energy.

His wounds patched together at terrifying speeds now. At the Grandmaster-level, combatants could launch hundreds of attacks a second, but even the average Grandmaster would have some minor trouble keeping up with Orodan’s regeneration now even if he stood still and simply allowed them to butcher him.

Arvayne wasn’t the average Grandmaster however. He was the second strongest warrior in the Republic and happily complied with Orodan’s request for more blunt force impacts and more stabbing.

Piercing Resistance and Impact Resistance also increased, to levels 41 and 43 respectively, which were massive jumps as well.

The real reason this training was so effective, was due to the sheer amount of strain he was under due to the endless gravity core making all his muscles feel as though they were about to explode.

Frankly, they were exploding. Whenever he gained a level in Body Tempering, Physical Fitness or Death Rage, his strength would increase and the pressure would become just slightly more bearable…

…and then Orodan would immediately increase the soul energy he was feeding the core, and the omnidirectional crushing weight would increase to the point that he could barely hold on once more.

It was constant progressive overload. Orodan survived by the absolute narrowest of margins, and he made sure to always remain right near the cusp of death so that he could simultaneously level Dying Struggle too!

Multi-tasking, Orodan called it.

Arvayne Firesword called it masochism, but still gladly helped.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Arvayne Firesword himself had to keep chugging an exorbitant supply of healing potions. It wasn’t for any attacks Orodan himself launched, or rather directly delivered.

It was Warrior’s Reciprocity, and at its current level of 8… it was strong.

The old man was forced to hold himself back lest he actually hurt himself by hitting Orodan too hard. Furthermore, Orodan hadn’t tested it yet, but he had a feeling that even if a blow came his way that completely killed him, it might still be returned with more than twofold the power.

So if Arvayne Firesword hit Orodan hard enough, the old man might actually manage to kill himself.

Orodan thought it was an unfair victory that wouldn’t necessarily last or have any impact since the time loop would just send him right back in time.

Furthermore, enemies with healing or resurrection abilities such as a phoenix might be able to afford the damage trade. But it still made Orodan feel at least a little proud, knowing that if he got the skill strong enough, he might even be able to kill the Eldritch Avatar if he goaded it into launching the most powerful attack it had.

Not that he’d be alive to see the results of course.

The two of them continued their spar, as Orodan continued gaining skills in various levels. Death Rage, Pain Resistance, Physical Fitness and Shield Mastery. All four of these skills crossed the threshold into the Elite-level, and Orodan now had eight skills that were Elite. This gave him a monstrous amount of battle power as even monstrously talented Elites maybe had five skills at that level at most. He also had other skills soon to cross that threshold.

As his skills improved, Orodan’s battle power continued to steadily increase in the middle of fighting, forcing old man Arvayne to have to ramp up his own level of power in response.

“That Death Rage skill of yours is quite savage, very close to the level of ferocity a Death Roach fights with,” Arvayne spoke as the two continued fighting. “But while your temperament is quite suited for being a warrior, your tactics in combat are somewhat lacking.”

His tactics were lacking?

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t say you were a bad fighter nor that you’re unskilled. In fact, your level of unpredictable and savage aggression synergizes well with your existing skill levels and techniques,” Arvayne amended while he drank another healing potion to patch up the damage from his own blows returned stronger. “Rather, you simply attack and attack and press forwards like a raging avalanche rolling down a steep mountain. While this isn’t bad… you could try looking at the fight in a broader lens and perhaps using your attacks in a more strategically advantageous manner?”

“What do you mean? Show me.”

And Arvayne did show him.

A furious blitz of attacks from Orodan came the old man’s way, and the Grandmaster simply waited and bided his time, acting defensively.

Then, when Orodan finished with an All-Strike and was at the end of the combo, the Grandmaster suddenly began his.

Furious and aggressive attacks with the greatsword that slammed onto him like comets even when he managed to defend, unarmed blows that shattered his bones and pulped entire limbs, and when the greatsword connected, Orodan would be dismembered entirely and forced to regenerate as rapidly as he could to stay in the fight.

Just as Orodan got his bearings and was about to mount a defense however, the old man quickly evaded to the side and began launching wind blades of lethal air from a distance, refusing to allow Orodan the time to adapt.

When Orodan thought he was getting a grasp on this new form of assault, Arvayne Firesword then immediately closed the distance, wrestled him to the ground and then began savagely pounding his face into a pulp from a mounted position.

Despite his Wrestling skill, Orodan was forced to tear his own torso in half to get out from underneath the man and then regenerated from one half.

The room looked like a scene out of a poorly regulated butcher’s shop. Orodan’s body parts and blood were strewn everywhere. It was starting to feel somewhat similar to his early loops against that undead Demonic Berserker… and Orodan loved it.

Arvayne drank another healing potion as mutilating Orodan in such a grisly manner had done some decent damage to the old man as well.

“I see what you mean now… it’s not about just using my skills and being aggressive, but also about how I use them?” he asked as he used Flash Strike to close the distance and engage Arvayne once more.

“Now you understand. Your Combat Mastery is near the Elite-level yes? Why is it that despite having such incredible combat instincts, reflexes and intuition that you aren’t advancing in it as quickly?” Arvayne asked. “Did you know that career tournament fighters, even at the Adept-level, will often study scrying eye recordings of their opponents and even of their own fights? They’ll sit down and examine openings, observe the patterns in their own fighting styles and sometimes change their approach to a fight in the middle of battle. You already do this instinctively sometimes, which speaks well of your natural combat genius. But it’s time to adopt a more focused approach and truly concentrate on the tactics and patterns of your own style and contrast them against your opponent’s.”

Orodan was grateful for this insight.

While he grew up fighting and would say the act came naturally to him, the thought of closely examining patterns and trends in battle like some sort of tactician never really occurred to him. He might’ve done it instinctively, but not with the focused ardor of a scholar of combat.

But how could he possibly improve his current style of combat? He was a raging volcano, one that would keep attacking and take whatever came his way. But it was difficult to contend with an opponent that was superior in terms of power, skill and durability to him. Maybe one of the few things Orodan could say he was better in was survivability, but he was otherwise outmatched. And of course the man hadn’t even tapped into his Avatar form.

“How can I work on improving my combat style?” Orodan found himself asking.

“Well for starters, excuse my crass language, but you blow your load almost immediately the moment you get a chance,” the Chosen of Agathor explained. “All you’re focused on is attacking. You’re a maniac that fights like he has a death wish. The sheer violence and ferocity of your vicious assault is impressive no doubt. Nothing at the Master-level or below could ever hope to stand up to you… but if you want to improve your combat style, how about reserving your aggression and constant desire for attack for more opportune moments? Right now, I can see moments after you launch an All-Strike or a particularly barbaric assault where I can begin my own and cause some serious damage.”

“Are you suggesting… that I fight more conservatively?” Orodan asked, the thought of doing so almost felt antithetical to his very nature.

“Yes. While my lord fights similarly to you, he also guides his godly rage and aggression along the ebbs and flows of combat with divinely perfected skill,” Arvayne explained. “Tactically choosing the best moments to deliver your brutal aggression isn’t cowardice.”

Orodan decided to actually try what the old Firesword suggested.

While he was getting utterly demolished, he attempted to mix his skills in a creative way for once.

Evasiveness was used to avoid a blow, and Orodan stepped to the side and backwards. Arvayne followed with a Lunge… but the rapidly approaching Grandmaster was met with a Shield Throw.

This Shield Throw masked an All-Strike which was summarily blocked, but the sword that carried the All-Strike was simply let go of. And as old Arvayne Firesword’s guard was up high…

…Orodan creatively used Surprise Attack in the middle of a fight to catch his opponent off-guard by going low. As long as the opponent didn’t see an attack coming, it triggered the skill.

His Surprise Attack empowered his movement and he dashed in low for a double leg takedown and employed his Wrestling skill to try and bring the old man to the ground.

Arvayne was taking the fight easy and thus was caught by surprise. A titanic boom echoed across the training chamber as Orodan took the old Firesword to the floor with a tremendous slam.

He got on top and began launching a furious barrage of unarmed blows upon the old man. Fingers went for eye gouges, he tried to grab the Grandmaster’s hair, and all the while a quadrupled action increase allowed for multiple arms to rain fists down on him in the same instant of time.

He covered his fists with Weapon Aura and any return blows from the old man underneath were countered by one of his action increase selves using Impregnable Bladewall and applying it to his fists to defend while simultaneously mixing in Perfect Parry at opportune moments.

He ignored the skill level messages and simply kept fighting.

A War Cry roared out from his mouth as he focused like a dog and flared the Eternal Soul Reactor as hard as he could, thereby making his body weight quite heavy, adding to the weight of his body which had Arvayne pinned below.

His muscles felt like they would explode, and he felt as though they were being obliterated and reforged to be stronger constantly. Arvayne Firesword’s eyes widened at the assault that took place within the span of a tenth of a second.

And then the old man acted.

A headbutt coming his way was the only thing Orodan saw before he lost vision.

His head had been utterly destroyed by the force and thanks to his incredible vitality skills he keenly felt his own headless body be thrown like a ragdoll and splatter in an explosion of meat and blood against the reinforced walls of the training chamber… which actually cracked from the force.

Over the course of a full second Orodan completely reformed from the puddle that he was and back into his own body.

Just in time to see Arvayne drop the empty Grandmaster-level healing potion he chugged. The backlash of hitting Orodan so hard had actually wounded the man decently.

“Congratulations, you forced me to get serious,” the old warrior said. “The only person to take me to the ground was Alcianne Rockwood, I guess this makes you the second, even if I was taking it a bit too easy.”

Orodan’s resulting grin of triumph didn’t last for long.

Arvayne could hold quite the grudge.

Moving forward, the training was finally just as harsh and real as Orodan wanted it to be.

His days off on the non-work days were also cancelled in favor of more training.

Like that, an entire month of classes and training had passed.

If a single day of extreme hardship backed by training aids and personal tutelage could lead to such heavy gains, then an entire month allowed him to advance meteorically.

The old man admitted that Orodan now forced him to fight seriously from the get-go.

And while Arvayne could kill Orodan if he went all out, he said that the resulting backlash from killing Orodan might be fatal for him as well thanks to the Warrior’s Reciprocity. He outright admitted he’d have to tap into his Avatar abilities from Agathor to a slight extent if he wanted to kill Orodan without dying himself.

But there were still limits and bottlenecks.

For starters, while he now had a lot of Elite-level skills, the combination of which actually forced old Arvayne Firesword to get serious right away while training him… the slow-down point seemed to be at level 75. Each level past 75 was incredibly slow and took days or sometimes even a week of training.

It came as no surprise to Orodan, but there was no way he could grow meteorically forever. Not within a single loop lasting six months.

Even monstrously talented Master-level individuals took decades to reach the threshold of level 90 in a single skill. An example being Yarostov Iron-Bear up in Guzuhar, who was a Master of the axe by his eighties. The man was considered a prodigy just for that.

Orodan couldn’t just become a Master in a month. Especially not when he was focusing on so many skills all at once.

That he had crossed the Elite threshold and had nineteen Elite-level skills was utterly monstrous and without a doubt made him the single most powerful Elite to have ever walked the world according to Arvayne.

The more skills one had past a certain level, the more they synergized and granted power. A dual-Grandmaster was much stronger than a regular Grandmaster for example. Similarly, a monstrously talented Elite with five skills past level 70, would be much stronger than any regular Elite as the skills synergized if they were combat related.

So for Orodan who had nineteen skills past 70? Many of which had high rarities? He was an anomaly that could fight two tiers above his own. Who knew how powerful he would become once he crossed 90 in all these skills.

He had grown unfathomably powerful in just a month of guided and focused training of an extreme nature.

Arvayne had then taken him aside and explained to him where he currently stood within the power structure of society.

There was a hierarchy of power even among Grandmasters.

The weakest could be considered the average Grandmaster, such as Kuonthus Vexelthun, the jovial shield-Grandmaster Orodan had met a while ago. Newly advanced and a Grandmaster in a single skill. Orodan had handily surpassed this level by defeating Adeltaj Simarji, who was considered a high end Grandmaster on the cusp of becoming a dual-Grandmaster.

Then there were dual-Grandmasters, who Arvayne said Orodan was currently on par with. Ilevida Balmento who Orodan helped advance, was formerly one of these. They were incredibly powerful and included the likes of Yallista Arthurius, the headmistress of the schools of chronomancy and telekinesis, and Varna Altamari, one of the old Grandmasters that had aggressively questioned him after his fight with the Dweller Worm and was a part of the Chosen of Ilyatana’s faction.

Above that were Avatars which possessed Master-level Favored. Arvayne cautioned Orodan that while he could survive and defensively fight against one of these weaker Avatars currently, it was still incredibly risky and opened him up to the potential for permanent soul damage. Still, Arvayne looked at Orodan in a complicated manner and admitted that given his outrageous survivability he should now be able to outlast one until the host burned out completely.

Beyond the weaker Avatars however, were triple-Grandmasters. These exceptionally powerful individuals had lived for many millennia and were often the Chosen Ones of a God, with three Blessings. They included the likes of Arvayne Firesword and Alcianne Rockwood.

A step above them were World Guardians such as Cyvrosdyr the Eternal Winter and monsters who had reached the triple-Grandmaster level. Even if they didn’t have Blessings or Avatar empowerment they were utterly fearsome. Monsters who were triple-Grandmasters were far more powerful than their mortal counterparts.

Without any divine assistance, a triple-Grandmaster, even a mortal one, could beat a weaker Avatar.

And at the top… were Chosen One Avatars. Monstrous beings who Arvayne cautioned Orodan to be wary of until he had gotten strong enough.

Mortal Chosen One Avatars were fearsome enough… but what was truly fearsome was an Avatar that possessed a World Guardian. Currently Sarastuga the Blazing Light - the majestic lion he saw fighting near the end of his loop on Guzuhar - was the only known World Guardian capable of this arrangement.

Of course, there were stronger things in the stars and deep in the Abyssal Depths, one of which Orodan knew was coming near the end of the year. But that was much farther away for the warrior.

His own place in the pecking order aside, he had made tremendous gains.

While level 75 was hard to get past, it didn’t stop his existing monstrous talent and ability to pick up new skills and experiment. Arvayne had pressured him incredibly hard, and the result was two skills of excellent rarity.

[New Skill (Exquisite) → Whirlpool Whirlwind 1]

Was one he had acquired after a day of experimentation. It was now at level 38 after the month.

It was a wide area attack that caused lethal force blades to erupt in all directions, even downwards, as he spun continuously while also pulling everything in his vicinity towards him.

He was sure it would be great for pulling enemies inwards to their deaths or dealing with crowds and causing a large area of devastation.

But the other skill was a real difference maker.

[New Skill (Legendary) → Endless Blitz 1]

Was one he had gained after a week of experimentation and trying to acquire a skill that allowed for him to chain his attacks endlessly.

The old man’s ability to exploit an opening in Orodan’s attack patterns offended him, so he decided to acquire a skill that would make it so there were no openings to exploit. Energy consumption wasn’t an issue, so he wanted to be able to launch an endless chain of attacks, the momentum of one instantly leading into the other.

He refused to settle for the pathetic Multi-Strike skill which was of merely uncommon rarity, and even the Furious Barrage skill known for being exquisite rarity didn’t appeal to him. He needed something endless. The momentum of one leading into another, an endless blitz.

His desire bore fruit and he created the skill after a week.

It was now level 26 and seriously amplified his battle power.

While it could be used with regular attacks, the real power multiplier was the fact that it could be combined with any other active combat skill.

And Orodan tried combining it with All-Strike.

He tried using it to launch terrifying torrents of the skill towards Arvayne. Unfortunately the balancing act was the utterly disgusting amount of energy this consumed even with just a tenth of a second of constant usage. And while Orodan’s ability to produce soul energy and fuel the consumption wasn’t an issue, his body’s ability to conduct all that energy was.

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He nearly killed himself the first time he unlocked it by trying to continuously launch hundreds of All-Strikes in the span of a second.

Arvayne turned him into a paste of red on the floor to stop him and save Orodan's life.

But in that second where the action hadn’t even been quadrupled… the old man had actually looked as though he was being pushed back.

But, new skills in combat aside, his training with the Grandmaster soul mage Arlin Colton took an interesting turn. On their personal tutoring sessions the man brought in a rather dangerous looking spear and decided to stab him with it.

The spear was apparently a divine artifact which Arlin had requested to borrow from the vaults of the Palace of the Council. It was empowered by a small amount of actual divine energy, and it was potent at causing soul damage.

So for the first time Orodan felt what it was like to have his soul harmed. And it was not comfortable. Not at all.

His vision went blurry, his emotions flew all over the place, and he felt Eternal Soul Reactor’s performance become inconsistent and unstable.

It took an absolutely titanic feat of willpower to rein things back in order, and Orodan made the discovery that Soul Manipulation aided in quickly repairing and recovering from any damage to his soul. So this was Orodan’s training in the soul, to be continually stabbed in the chest by a strange and dangerous looking spear which didn’t even get past his physical flesh due to his tough body… but it did cause him plenty of harm all the same.

He actually was causing damage to the soul of Arlin Colton every time the man stabbed him with the spear due to Warrior’s Reciprocity, which again proved just how broken the mythical skill was. He offered to hold the skill back from reacting, but the headmaster of soul magic insisted that being poked in return by twofold the power of a soul assaulting divine spear was helping train his own Soul Defense skill.

Eventually, after a few days of suffering he got the message.

[New Skill (Rare) → Soul Defense 1]

It thankfully greatly eased any soul damage he received. Furthermore, he found he could essentially empower it with his soul energy. And given that the amount of soul energy wasn’t any issue for him, the skill quickly gained levels and was now at level 33 after a month of training. It was also far stronger than the skill should be at its current level thanks to his higher quality soul energy. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝓮𝓌𝑒𝒷𝘯ℴ𝑣𝓮𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He also trained with Ilevida Balmento in continuously improving his Psionic Resistance, which was also good training for her as the backlash from assaulting Orodan psionically helped her hone her defensive mental skills. Psionic Resistance was now at level 70, an Elite-level skill.

He was confident no Psionic attack would get through to him when fighting the Eldritch Avatar this time.

Combat aside, he also made gains in his crafting skills.

He was notorious across Bluefire now for being a madman who never once slept and simply kept working continuously throughout the night. Students didn’t really approach him anymore, thinking he was either crazy, dangerous or both. Even figures like Elucian Arslan kept their distance after he beat up Claridin Rockwood.

Frankly, students were beneath his notice at this point. At some point he might do a loop where he pretended to be a normal student in order to devote more time to the crafts, but even then socializing with most of them seemed rather tiresome. He was happy to occasionally run into Mahari and have her talk his ear off like the annoying younger sibling he never had.

Additionally, walking around with a constantly empowered endless gravity core in his stomach made situations awkward as he destroyed the floors and caused tremors with each step.

It took receiving an enchanted amulet from the headmistress of the school of gravity to sort the issue and let him go about without destroying the environment, even if the pressure on his own body never lessened. He basically walked around with the weight on at all hours of the day. Which was great training for Physical Fitness, which was now his highest level skill.

Not being able to eat at all for a whole month due to the gravity core wasn’t as bad as it sounded. He subsisted off of the energies produced by Eternal Soul Reactor. And a few adjustments of his internal musculature each day ensured the gravity core didn’t fall out without his express desire.

His Politics class taught him the Observe skill at last, and Orodan finally understood why people made such a big deal about titles. It was eye-opening to see people's titles and how they preferred to show off. He didn't think he would be using it very much, but it was still good to have.

As for his crafting classes.

Blacksmithing went steadily.

Orodan was forced to admit that of all his crafting pursuits, he had the least talent in Blacksmithing. It was only at level 28 after a full month of hammering away. Not that his work ethic and quadruple action increases were lacking, but he wouldn’t be participating in any magical smithing or higher-level crafting in this loop. It would likely take a few loops worth of the academy to get his skill levels up to anything worthwhile. He wasn’t going to be acquiring any Metal Communion skill just yet.

His instructors told him that he was still quite the prodigy for gaining 28 levels in the skill over a mere month, but Orodan felt dissatisfied at the slow progress compared to everything else.

Woodworking went well.

His Woodworking had crossed the Adept-threshold and risen to 51, and his legendary Wood Communion skill was at 44 thanks to the personal tutoring from headmaster Osolon Velrayn of the school of woodworking. He was told he was a decent talent at the craft and to keep at it. With his work ethic he was projected to reach high into the Elite-level over the course of his four years. Additionally, his ability to empower wood near-endlessly using Wood Communion was somewhat unbalancing the economy, and Arvayne told him to cut it out as it was causing him a headache and drawing far too much attention.

He was told to stop assisting Osolon in empowering various high-level wood products where the only limitation was mana amount. The headmaster of the school of woodworking became a very wealthy man thanks to Orodan, and was quite indebted to him even with just the two days of work Orodan had done before he was told to tone it down.

Enchanting was going rather decently too.

The skill now sat at level 34, and the instructors were quite enthralled to see someone with virtually endless mana reserves work on the craft and go from Initiate to Apprentice in only one month. Of course, unlike Alchemy and Woodcrafting this wasn’t something he could just pour mana into endlessly and break ground in. Enchanting was somewhat delicate work which involved etching mana into an object in certain patterns. Whatever he was enchanting could explode if he just wantonly tried to flood it with mana.

He had reached the skill level where a meeting with Master Gormir Eltros was coming up, and Orodan would then ask the man about enchantments that worked using soul energy.

Alchemy however, was a big one. It increased to level 48 over the month of personal tutelage from headmistress Elona Bursimi! The Grandmaster-Alchemist often dragged Orodan along to help ‘assist’ in making some absurdly powerful potions. He also picked up the Identify skill during his lessons here.

Whatever he helped Master Castillius make was merely scratching the surface. The headmistress of alchemy made potions that were at the Master-level to begin with, and then with Orodan’s help she empowered the potion even further.

Elixirs of youth, potions of time freeze, alchemical poisons which could chew right through the flesh of a Grandmaster monster. These were some of the products he helped the woman create. And even just working on the mana empowerment phase of these potions lead to some massive skill level gains for Orodan. Not to say it was easy, as unlike lower level potions these often led to Orodan failing to wrap Weapon Aura around the potion in time thereby causing failure. But despite an initial failure here and there the headmistress saw the potential in Orodan’s ludicrous method, which was essentially a ticket to free gold given his endless mana and ability to empower a potion well beyond its intended tier.

It got to a point where Arvayne had to step in and bully the woman when she tried keeping Orodan in her workshop past his allotted alchemy time.

Still, many of the potions he created went to some powerful people, and some of these people wanted to talk to him.

Hence the current conversation he was having with a woman he was explicitly warned to be cautious of. She had just walked in while he was in the midst of alchemy lessons with Elona Bursimi.

“Orodan Wainwright, you’re old Arvayne Firesword’s little protégé aren’t you?” the tall and burly looking old woman asked. “This potion you helped create, do you know what it did?”

“Lady Alcianne, the young man likely doesn’t kn-”

“Come now Elona, I’ve come here to speak to Orodan Wainwright,” the severe woman interrupted gently. Gentle as it was, it still sounded quite threatening, and the Grandmaster-Alchemist wisely stayed quiet. Alcianne Rockwood then held the potion in her hand and spoke. “I know you didn’t make this yourself, yet this potion would never have been made without your aid, isn’t that right?”

“I don’t know enough about Alchemy to say for certain that whatever you’re holding couldn’t have been made without me,” Orodan replied. “I think that’s a potion of curse-dispelling though isn’t it?”

“That’s correct, it’s a potion of curse-dispelling. I’ve been looking for one powerful enough for a very very long time,” the Chosen of Halor slowly said. This woman, was the strongest individual in the Republic of Aden. Even his benefactor Arvayne Firesword didn’t think he could defeat her. “Tell me, how did you make this?”

“Well, I simply wrapped Weapon Aura around the concoction, accounted for every single ingredient within and continuously poured mana into it past the point where oversaturation occurs while refusing to allow any changes of a negative nature,” Orodan answered. “Surely it’s not that profound to have a powerful potion of curse-dispelling?”

“Even the famed Ilogaji, a dragon alchemist from the Sapphire Gale dragon flight could not synthesize a Grandmaster potion of curse-dispelling due to lacking enough mana to complete the empowerment all the way,” Alcianne spoke. “If even a dragon - creatures known for having some of the largest mana pools in the world - could not do this, then how did you? Even if your control with Weapon Aura is incredible, the amount of mana the empowerment would require would be incredible.”

“Well I have a skill th-”

The door was suddenly thrown open, and in walked Arvayne Firesword with an angered but wary expression on his face.

“Rockwood, why are you approaching my student directly?” the old Firesword furiously asked.

“Firesword, I merely came by to thank this prodigiously talented young man for an incredible act of service he rendered me,” the woman replied. “You chose your student well, from what I hear he’s quite the little monster.”

“Yes, and he is my student. Do I go and approach the members of your house without going through you?” Arvayne asked

The two stared at each other for an uncomfortably long time. Poor Elona Bursimi who just happened to be in the room tutoring Orodan looked quite afraid as the aura of tension between the two became palpable.

Finally, Arvayne’s eyes went to the potion in Alcianne’s hand.

“A Grandmaster potion of curse-dispelling? Don’t tell me…”

“Yes, your little prodigy made something that finally dispelled the curse I was bearing since the formation of our little Republic. I merely came by to give thanks,” she spoke with a smile on her face. “Must you always be so uptight Arvayne?”

The old Firesword simply grunted and only looked slightly guilty in response.

“Was this potion really the only thing that could have cured you?” Orodan asked. “It’s been a hundred and twenty years since the Liberation War, was there really no other way?”

“The only other way would have involved delving into the abyssal depths to try and find a rare talyotus jewel. I’m not venturing down there alone, and the Grandmasters of the Republic aren't in any rush to enter in a group since the last delve a thousand years ago,” she answered. “When a Grandmaster hex mage uses his most powerful curse on you, recovering from it can be a little complicated.”

“Who was it? Is he still around?”

“You’ll meet him someday if you venture near the Novarrian capital. Just don’t go around trashing the city like I did, you’ll find out the hard way why they call him the greatest curse master in history.”

The greatest curse master in history? Surely she didn’t mean… that reincarnator who served as the Novarrian Emperor’s advisor?

“Well, you’ve come here and you’ve thanked him Alcianne. Was there anything else you wanted?” Arvayne interjected somewhat rudely.

The burly old woman simply rolled her eyes at him as she rose from the chair and approached Orodan.

She laid a hand on his shoulder.

“If you ever get tired of this old stickler, come find me. I’ve heard you and Ilyatana don’t get along, which is fine. Halor has a lot to offer for a warrior like you,” the old warrior said as she removed her hand before Arvayne could get too offended. “If you ever need anything, let me know.”

With those words she left.

“Old man, she really isn’t as bad as you’ve been telling me all this time,” Orodan spoke, and Arvayne had an annoyed look on his face. “She just came by to say thanks, what’s the issue with that?”

“Feh… her house has been causing trouble for mine for a while now,” Arvayne replied. “Just do yourself a favor and give her a wide berth.”

Perhaps they had some sort of bad blood between them? Even if Arvayne insisted there was no conflict between them the truth might be otherwise. Either way, Orodan didn’t feel like prying and he bade farewell to Elona and stepped out of the alchemical workshop alongside Arvayne as it was quite close to the end of his lesson anyways.

“Alright then, I’ll see you in the training chamber tonight.”

“Actually, I was going to suggest that you take a break over the non-work days,” old man Arvayne replied, and Orodan actually had to take a moment to process that. Arvayne Firesword, who had cancelled his days off each week… was suggesting he take a break? “Don’t look so surprised. Initially once you showed me your true unhinged nature, I wanted to push you and see how far you’d go. But now that I see you really are an insane lunatic who gets along a little too well with Agathor and enjoys deranged training methods, I’ve learned my lesson. Take a break and enjoy the non-work days. We have work to do once the next week starts, we’re going to delve into the deep depths for some hunting and practice.”

“Finally! I was wondering why you forced me to stay cooped up for a month straight in the academy,” Orodan remarked. “Wouldn’t doing this from the start have been better?”

“Learning in a structured environment and learning through life and death battle are both important parts of growth. Given that this is your first time in an academy despite all the loops you’ve been in, this was an important first month,” Arvayne explained. “Look how monstrous your growth has been in just one month. All the guided training, time dilation and education was incredibly important. I wasn’t about to interrupt that just so we could go traipsing about the depths without building a proper foundation for you first.”

That explanation made sense, but it was good to know he’d finally get to experience a proper fight again. He felt a month was far too long, and the training he had with the old man while good, lacked the risk of death and that rush of pure adrenaline.

“So, I’ve heard about these things called Death Roaches. I hear they’re pretty strong. Can I fight some?”

Arvayne Firesword simply sighed at his young protege’s bull-headed desire for battle.

“I’m Altaj Ilo Vedharna, it’s good to meet you Mister Wainwright,” the man spoke. “My sister spoke about you, she says you were in the same alchemy class as her. Until circumstances drew you away anyhow.

Dark skinned like his sister with curly hair. The man also wore heavy armor and had a spear slung across his back. Altaj looked like the image of a stereotypical pegasus knight of the Eastern Kingdoms, it was quite regal.

Next to him stood an armored pegasus with a gold trim. Orodan suspected it was an Elite-level creature. The man himself was waiting at the landing zone of the academy, likely for his sister. The sun was setting and it was evening time.

“Likewise,” Orodan replied. “I may have caused a bit of commotion in the class.”

“A ‘bit’? The name Orodan Wainwright has quickly become the only thing students talk about nowadays,” Altaj spoke. “I’m in my fourth year, and Elucian Arslan has a standing reward out on any information about you. His lackeys are always asking around about Orodan Wainwright. Everyone says you can beat a Grandmaster once Agathor descends unto you, is this true?”

Orodan had learned some restraint and chose not to correct the falsehood that he needed a God’s Avatar powers to beat a Grandmaster. Hells, he could now likely survive one of the weaker Avatars by himself!

“Hmm, so they say,” Orodan replied in a noncommittal manner neither confirming nor denying and allowing Altaj to make whatever assumptions he wanted in his own head. “I’m more curious about you and your pegasus though. Your sister said his name is Ostronor? Do you two train to fight together?”

“I can answer that question,” the pegasus Ostronor interjected with a whinny. “Altaj and I have been battle-brothers for almost a decade now. We’ve been flying together since I was six and he was twelve years old. He’s one of the youngest squires among the pegasus knights.”

“Ostronor… such an introduction is not necessary,” Altaj protested, but with no real heat and then sighed. “It’s as my battle-brother says, we’ve been together for very long. It’s true that I’m something of a talent, but nowhere near yourself though Mister Wainwright. When I heard of you thoroughly humiliating Claridin Rockwood I was quite elated.”

“Oh? Is he a bully? Has he given you or your sister any problems?” Orodan asked. All too happy to swing by and slap him up if he had annoyed Mahari.

“He’s definitely the brash and arrogant sort, and while duels technically are between two people and thus I would lose to him by the rules of an official one… I wouldn’t lose to Claridin if Ostronor and I battled together and he was also allowed a mount,” Altaj answered. “That being said, I’m among the top ten strongest students at Bluefire, so Claridin usually leaves me be and instead focuses on any upcoming newer students who he feels will become a challenge down the line. My sister is thankfully not among them.”

It partly explained why Claridin Rockwood decided to try and antagonize Orodan on his first day. Claridin sounded much like the mean children at the orphanage were, always trying to establish dominance and bring people into their hierarchy where they were at the top.

Of course, Orodan had terrorized all of those ‘mean’ children by showing them what being mean and vicious actually meant. Just as he had dealt with Claridin.

“That’s good. I didn’t want to give him another beating, as embarrassing as it would’ve been to lower myself to that level,” Orodan said, and Altaj shook his head and smiled.

“I’d run him through with my lance and have Ostronor trample him into pulp if he dared lay a hand on Mahari. But your offer is appreciated,” the aspiring pegasus knight replied.

Orodan nodded, and the two made some more small talk as Orodan waited for his griffin at the landing zone. A few minutes later, a brown feathered griffin approached.

“I believe that’s my ride, I’ll be seeing you Altaj,” Orodan spoke and offered the man a handshake.

“Be careful down there, I’ve heard you’re going delving into the depths… my uncle died to something in the deep depths back home, so I’ll always caution anyone who dares to go inside,” the man remarked as he took the handshake.

Orodan heeded Altaj’s words of warning, but he truly did want to test himself against whatever horrors were within the deep depths. Warning or not, nothing would stop him from venturing in there at some point. Better that it was now alongside a Grandmaster.

He got atop the griffin, and it took off.

It was sent by Burgher Ignatius to pick him up for the party at the Firesword manor this evening.

The griffin tore through the skies, and made it to Trumbetton in good time. Soon it neared the Burgher’s manor which was in the center of town, surrounded by a decent preserve of fields.

The lights were visible from a decent distance, but it was less apparent than the previous social gathering he’d attended at the Verdant Gardens. This was a smaller gathering and not one that was as public as the last.

The griffin touched down on the landing zone of Firesword manor, and he could see Burgher Ignatius Firesword waiting for him already.

“No speeches to drag me into this time Burgher?” Orodan asked light-heartedly as he approached the man and took his offered hand in greeting. “Am I not notorious enough?”

“I’m afraid not Mister Wainwright. I’ve decided to take pity on you given how much of the limelight you’ve been under at Bluefire,” the Burgher quipped back. “Have you perchance considered not showing up every other student at the academy? It might help remedy the problem of your own making you find yourself in.”

To that, Orodan couldn’t even say anything. The Burgher wasn’t entirely wrong.

“I never asked, but what’s the purpose of this gathering?” Orodan asked as they walked towards the manor entrance, maids and butlers walking about with varying levels of urgency. “You simply contacted me via communications amulet to say that I was expected this evening.”

“We’re simply celebrating the good fortune of our house once more Mister Wainwright, much of it, thanks to you,” the Burgher Ignatius replied. “Trumbetton and Volarbury County by proxy have prospered much in the past month since you’ve been making waves. Do you know how many people now flock to the town for commerce? How often they ask after the name Orodan Wainwright?”

“I wasn’t aware of any of that Burgher,” Orodan replied honestly. “I don’t know if the old man told you, but I’ve been training and studying with his assistance for a month straight. No sleep or days off.”

“Indeed, the venerable ancestor did tell me something along those lines. Your lack of being up to date is more than understandable,” the man replied. “Allow me to fill you in a bit. Since you last left the mine has been cleared till the opening of the energy well and the valuable ore within that chamber is now being mined by our house. It’s some sort of enhanced Dothril which is at least twice as valuable. Our wealth has spiraled upwards as a result.”

“That does sound nice.”

“Indeed! We’ve also secured the rights to the corpse of that dreadful Dweller Worm you slew down there… my earth mages tell me they’re close enough to sense the corpse now,” the Burgher spoke. “I don’t know how you managed to kill that thing, it’s almost the size of a mountain range.”

“A lot of time and patience,” Orodan answered. And a lot of violence too.

“Fascinating, anyhow there are some more people who want to catch up with you,” the Burgher spoke. “Here we have-”

“Mister Wainwright!”

It was Gideon Fusturus, the Elite-level alchemist of House Firesword.

“Or I suppose you could talk to Gideon first, he does seem almost desperate to meet you,” Burgher Ignatius remarked with a smile, not bothered by the interruption.

“Mister Wainwright, you must tell me how you made those potions!” the Elite-alchemist almost begged. “Some of these potions you sent us… an Initiate-level healing potion with the power of an Elite one? You could revolutionize the entire alchemic industry if you shared your method!”

“It’s really not a method that would be applicable to any other alchemist Mister Fusturus… it’s something only someone with Weapon Aura and a massive pool of mana could replicate,” Orodan answered, and then the two got to talking.

Gideon’s face fell at hearing Orodan’s detailed explanation about how he had managed to empower the potions well beyond their natural capacity. But he did appreciate the explanation all the same and asked if Orodan would be willing to help him empower a few before he left for the depths, which Orodan saw no problem with.

“Truly… to think a mere month at the academy has led to you creating such potions and even assisting in the creation of a Grandmaster potion of curse-dispelling,” Gideon muttered. “Incredible… I’m honored to have met you my friend.”

“Thank you, but I still have a very long way to go before I can concoct any truly powerful potions without assistance.”

“Which is natural of course, but I’m certain you will get there one day.”

The two spoke some more before a diminutive woman interjected.

“And this is the daring young hero who’s changed the fortunes of your house Ignatius? Are mana-based enchantments still not good enough for you Mister Wainwright?” asked Helga Firesword who had walked into the conversation.

“I’ll soon be meeting with Master Gormir Eltros to discuss the possibility of soul energy based enchanting, so I have yet to broach the subject.”

“M-master Eltros?! What level even is your Enchanting skill for you to be meeting with him?” Helga asked in surprise. “I didn’t even know you were taking Enchanting lessons at Bluefire.”

“I’m currently at level thirty-four of Enchanting, it’s not much, but I hope to maybe reach level forty by the time of the Inter-Academy Tournament,” Orodan replied, and Helga’s face twisted in shock.

“How… how are you such a monstrous prodigy in everything…” she muttered to herself. “First Alchemy, and then thirty-four levels of Enchanting in a month? What… what even are you?”

Orodan found himself being asked that question more and more often lately. Maybe from next loop he would be a little less public about his crafting pursuits. One person being so talented in this many fields was perhaps a bit much.

While there were martial specialists and mages who cross-trained and showed genius aptitudes in crafting, it wasn’t to the extent of multiple fields.

Frankly, some more powerful people already suspected or outright knew that he might have a Mythical skill responsible for it. In this loop it was only Agathor’s protection via his Chosen One that kept Orodan from having that meddling Goddess Ilyatana descending upon him.

Orodan spoke to some more people at the gathering.

Geldric Sunfire, one of the Elite retainers was one of them and Orodan apologized for not being free to help the man with any minor issues he may have had. To which the man vehemently protested and informed Orodan that he and his fellows had received some of Orodan’s Elite-level healing potions, and those alone were absolutely valuable treasures for them at their level of work. They were life savers that could heal wounds in an instant and restore a heavily wounded Elite back to near perfect condition within seconds.

Orodan also heard through the social mill that Lady Katareya Eldragon was busy with assisting in the Cathedral’s preparations for the eventual tunneling down into the energy well, and thus could not attend. However he was sure to see her in another month when the tunneling concluded and a joint force of Grandmasters would descend down the well to secure it.

Orodan would naturally be invited to this descending venture as an accompanying aid to Arvayne Firesword.

The old man himself wasn’t in attendance of course, as Grandmasters almost never attended such parties. He was off doing Grandmaster things. Whatever they were, Orodan didn’t know.

Eventually, the night came to a close and Orodan returned to the Bluefire Academy. He had one more non-work day to enjoy, but in all honesty?

Even this one day off made Orodan restless.

So he simply decided to focus on assisting Gideon Fusturus and once that was done, training till the work week started and it was time to delve into the deep depths.

Death Roaches and Dweller Worms were among the Grandmaster-level monsters he could potentially encounter deeper down there. And who knew what else was lying in wait, not happy to be disturbed?

It sounded incredibly dangerous, and even Grandmasters would be cautious when going into the lower parts of the deep depths.

To Orodan however, it just sounded like a fun time.

He was looking forward to it.

He mentally pulled up his Status. It had come very far.

[Name: Orodan Wainwright

Age: 17

Title 1: Grandmaster Slayer

Title 2: One Who Has Experienced Death

Title 3: Sword Elite

Available Titles: Wielder Of A Mythical Skill, Grandmaster Slayer, One Who Has Experienced Death, Sword Elite, Shield Elite, Physical Elite, Unarmed Combat Elite, Combat Elite, Wrestling Elite, Woodworking Adept, Cleaning Apprentice, Alchemy Apprentice, Enchanting Apprentice, Laboring Apprentice,

Rewards: Permanent +3 Action Increase

Skills: Physical Fitness 80 (Elite), Weapon Aura 79 (Elite - Rare), Unyielding Vitality 78 (Elite - Rare), Unarmed Combat Mastery 77 (Elite), Death Rage 77 (Elite - Exquisite), Sword Mastery 76 (Elite), Damage Mitigation 76 (Elite), Combat Mastery 75 (Elite), Shield Mastery 75 (Elite), Mana Black Hole 75 (Elite - Legendary), Bleeding Control 75 (Elite), Pain Resistance 74 (Elite), Dying Struggle 72 (Elite - Uncommon), Iron Body 72 (Elite - Exquisite), Wrestling 71 (Elite), Soul Manipulation 71 (Elite - Rare), Regeneration 70 (Elite - Exquisite), Impregnable Bladewall 70 (Elite - Exquisite), Eternal Soul Reactor 70 (Elite - Mythical), Psionic Resistance 70 (Elite - Exquisite), Perfect Parry 68 (Adept - Uncommon), All-Strike 65 (Adept - Legendary), Evasiveness 62 (Adept - Uncommon), Shield Throw 62 (Adept - Uncommon), Power Strike 61 (Adept - Uncommon), Slashing Resistance 60 (Adept - Rare), Impact Resistance 58 (Adept), Vitality Black Hole 56 (Adept - Legendary), Tool Mastery 56 (Adept), Piercing Resistance 54 (Adept - Rare), Flash Strike 54 (Adept - Exquisite), Mana Resistance 53 (Adept - Legendary), Woodworking 51 (Adept), Alchemy 48 (Apprentice), Wood Communion 44 (Apprentice - Legendary), Eldritch Resistance 43 (Apprentice - Mythical), Surprise Attack 41 (Apprentice), Cleaning 40 (Apprentice), Sprinting 39 (Apprentice), Whirlpool Whirlwind 38 (Apprentice - Exquisite), War Cry 35 (Apprentice - Rare), Enchanting 34 (Apprentice), Mana Manipulation 33 (Apprentice - Uncommon), Body Tempering 33 (Apprentice - Legendary), Soul Defense 33 (Apprentice - Rare), Fate Reading 31 (Apprentice - Uncommon), Laboring 31 (Apprentice), Blacksmithing 28 (Initiate), Endless Blitz 26 (Initiate - Legendary), Fate Disconnect 24 (Initiate - Legendary), Construction 21 (Initiate), Soul Strengthening 21 (Initiate - Legendary), Vitality Destruction 21 (Initiate - Exquisite), Warrior’s Reciprocity 20 (Initiate - Mythical), Maintenance 20 (Initiate), Repair 19 (Initiate), Club Mastery 15 (Initiate), Lightning Resistance 14 (Initiate - Exquisite), Lumberjacking 11 (Initiate), Parkour 11 (Initiate), Intimidation 7 (Initiate), Thievery 6 (Initiate), Deception 4 (Initiate), Pathfinding 4 (Initiate), Observe 3 (Initiate), Identify 2 (Initiate)

Blessings: Warrior’s Heart - Increased talent and learning rate for all warrior related skills as determined by Agathor, Warrior’s Quarry - Once you see your target they cannot flee. Your attacks will land on fleeing or evading foes and destiny will bend to ensure you find your mark, Death’s Call - Whenever you will it, Death takes you, Trickster’s Veil - Your Status, fate and soul are impossible to peer into unless you will it]

It would soon be time to test his gains against the deep depths.

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