The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop

The farewell wasn’t as dramatic as he thought it would be.

Esbetta wasn’t happy about his departure to go fight something that even an Avatar could not stand against, but Ozgaric must have told her something that satisfied her as the raven-haired woman simply held Orodan for a moment and gave him a stern nod upon pulling away. She was a mature and level-headed woman, she had her mysterious allure which led Orodan to finding her attractive in the first place, but thankfully she wasn’t the overly attached type.

They both had their paths in life, and his diverged at this point.

Thus, he found himself traveling to the Valley of Spires, alongside various elders of Clan Iron-Bear.

The plan was for their group to meet up with elders and ancestors from various other clans from the north and west. Virtually all the individuals gathering were at the Grandmaster-level in a skill, with at least two rumored to be triple-Grandmasters.

And as Orodan’s group crested the top of a hill, he finally saw it, the Valley of Spires.

It was a valley composed of many rocky spires pointing sharply upward, and it had an almost lifeless aura to it. From what Orodan was told, this was the preferred landing spot for the Eldritch Gods’ every time they sent something down in the aims of corrupting the world and establishing a foothold.

The scars of previous titanic battles were apparent even if the landscape had shifted and made them look mostly natural over the years. The ground was completely lifeless yet hints of foul purple energy flitted about.

The valley had been suffused with a very minor amount of eldritch energy from all the battles that had taken place here in the past. This was the most favorable spot for any invading champions of the eldritch to descend as the Gods of Guzuhar would have the most limited influence here, while the foul Eldritch divinities could channel their power easier.

Overhead, Orodan could see Cyvrosdyr perched on one of the larger rocky spires, awaiting the descent of the terrible creature, and beside him were at least two more creatures. A fiery phoenix, and a majestic lion nearly rivalling the dragon in size.

Orodan presumed these two new creatures were also World Guardians. The situation truly must have been dire for more than one of them to be present.

Upon arrival, nobody spoke to one another. Orodan saw at least three other groups with handfuls of old people in each, they were likely all Grandmaster-level individuals, and some of them were likely Chosen Ones, designated as the Avatar for their God.

Among Orodan’s own group the designated Avatar was meant to be Urusun Iron-Bear. The strongest Grandmaster of Clan Iron-Bear. When the time came, Ozgaric would descend unto him.

The seconds turned to minutes, and slowly an hour passed, and then one more was remaining.

It was a bright night with a clear sky, which meant Orodan could now see the descending comet himself.

An eerie purple object which looked incredibly distant among the stars, but looked to be slowly drawing closer and closer. Collision seemed inevitable, and the mere sight of it inspired a tiny feeling of growing dread within his heart.

Time passed and then ten minutes remained, and this was when Orodan noticed certain oddities.

He began to hear whispers. He didn’t know of what, but they were whispering in his ear.

The shadows began to grow unnaturally darker, and the very color of the world, the surrounding life, its natural beauty, began to grow dimmer. Strange physical phenomenon began to crop up too. Such as certain rocky spires disappearing and reappearing, some smaller rocks on the ground began to flit in and out of existence, and the highlight of this was when the ground began to tremble, and rocks began to fall off the spires… only for these rocks to unnaturally stop in mid-air.

Reality itself was acting unnaturally, a sign of what was to come.

Five minutes remained, and the descending comet now looked massive. Far bigger than the largest mountain he had seen. It was close enough that he could see the abhorrent purple energy surrounding it, vaguely terrifying shapes and growths were jutting out of it and even looking too intently at it made Orodan’s head hurt.

The whispers began to grow louder, almost deafening. He felt as though someone was whispering right into his ear while standing next to him. He heard the voices of Old Man Hannegan, Esbetta, Cyvrosdyr and the people he knew throughout the loops…

…and they all wailed in horror.

Only now did Orodan realize that this was a mental attack.

He couldn’t hear anything else, even as he saw purple energy begin to form on the ground and strange horrifying tentacles erupt from the lifeless rock. He turned to see Agatha Ingamiris screaming at him, but he could not hear a word.

Everything was drowned out by the whispers.

And Orodan looked within himself to see that Eternal Soul Reactor’s production had slowed, and the amount of energy generated now wasn’t enough to maintain the shield around his fate, and thus Fate Disconnect had also shattered.

That was enough, he decided.

His eyes blazed with overflowing white as the soul energy leaked out of all his pores.

He churned his Eternal Soul Reactor harder than he ever had before, and the whispers lessened in volume. He began furiously diverting all his concentration inwards in a frenzied bid to find just what the attack was and where it was coming from.

He struggled for an entire minute and blood leaked from his eyes at just how hard he was pushing his mind to detect even a trace of what the attack was. For he could not defend against it if he did not know what it was.

And finally, a message came, and the whispers were greatly muted.

[New Skill (Exquisite) → Psionic Resistance 1]

The skill levels began to pick up, fuelled by Orodan’s unshakeable willpower, and he could finally hear what was happening outside of his own mind.

He looked around to see a good third of the Grandmasters were laying on the ground, frothing at the mouth as their minds were utterly collapsed. They didn’t have the sort of willpower Orodan did, even at their high levels.

Some Grandmasters lost the edge of desperation and the drive for success as the hundreds of years went on, and this could lead to situations where their minds weren’t as strong as their skills.

“Orodan! You’re with us once more!” Agatha Ingamiris shouted as the old woman’s body erupted with a fiery aura of her own which was warding off the terrifying psionic attack. “Stay strong boy!”

This was preposterous.

The comet hadn’t even landed and at least a third of the Grandmasters were out of the fight already. Devastating losses.

The horrid physical phenomenon and psionic assault continued until two minutes till landing remained, and then Cyvrosdyr and the designated Chosen Ones among each group finally took action.

The lion which rivalled Cyvrosdyr in size glowed an incredible gold which seemed to almost return some life to the Eldritch-infected battlefield. Its eyes glowed with power, and it became the Avatar for a God.

Similarly, Urusun Iron-Bear erupted with power as Ozgaric descended unto him in Avatar form, and the other groups’ Chosen also transformed into Avatars of their respective Gods.

A divine beam of combined energy was fired towards the descending comet with every bit of power the alliance could muster. The beam collided with the descending comet, and pieces of rock and corrupted shell were torn off by the split second.

Eventually, even before the comet reached the ground, a massive explosion occurred, and the entirety of the massive object was covered in a cloud of eldritch and divine energy which obscured it.

Of course, Orodan knew there was no way this could be it, and his thoughts were proven horrifyingly correct a split second later.

Cyvrosdyr the Eternal Winter, the mightiest dragon Orodan had ever seen. Now had a long grey hand going through his chest.

Orodan hadn’t even seen any movement.

The next instant, the glorious dragon, the World Guardian… was torn completely in half.

The dragon’s body parts hadn’t even had time to hit the ground before every single combatant immediately directed their ire toward the creature responsible.

It was massive, ashen skin lined with pulsing purple and grey veins, all emitting a sickening glow of foul light. Looking at the grey humanoid the size of a mountain made Orodan want to throw up and his vision went blurry. He couldn’t even look at it without suffering damage. His very soul felt an increased strain whenever he stared. Its lifeless white eyes which lacked any pupils, simply swept over the entire valley and took in the prey arranged against it.

This thing, was a predator.

How were Avatars expected to face this thing? Orodan even doubted if some Gods could contend with it.

The next movement he saw was a flash of purple, and Orodan’s vision nearly went black as he lost all sensation in his body.

He had felt this before when Adeltaj turned him into a pile of flesh on the ground.

His Eternal Soul Reactor churned faster and faster, fuelling his Regeneration to unprecedented levels as he reformed within five seconds. And he came to his senses to find that the surrounding landscape, all the way to the horizon… was now an abyssal wasteland of lifeless greyish-purple energy and sickening growths. It was merely a large area attack, not even concentrated, and it had caused this much destruction and nearly killed him.

He looked to the sky to see only two figures fighting the Eldritch humanoid giant. The lion, and an old man wielding only a shield.

High in the sky, a portal opened, and an elf with glowing green eyes whose skin was cracking at the sheer amount of divine energy, also joined the battle, alongside a dwarf wearing a crown and heavy armor who too was an Avatar. Together the four Avatars, likely some of the most powerful beings in the world, attacked the Eldritch monster in coordination.

Orodan thought this might at least pressure the freakish monster, but he thought wrong.

Over the next minute… everyone was brutally killed.

The Eldritch Avatar took mere surface level damage from the combined attacks. And the regal lion, a World Guardian possessed by a God, was the first to be brutally slain as its head was torn off its body. The luminous power reluctantly leaving its mangled corpse.

The three mortals died shortly afterwards, with the dwarven Avatar being the last one. He had his limbs ripped off and was squeezed into a grotesque meat ball within the Eldritch Avatar’s grasp.

Every single Avatar that had challenged it was dead.

Orodan didn’t know how the Prime Five planned on ignoring such a threat.

The Avatar of the Eldritch had stopped moving enough for Orodan to now finally get a good look at it.

It was an abomination.

It didn’t even look like a natural creature, but more like someone had stitched numerous body parts and grafted them together to create some sort of abhorrent gray flesh giant, which had veins of sickening purple and lifeless gray energy running throughout its body.

And in worse news, it decided to turn its pupil-less white eyes towards Orodan.

“One more remains. Such a weak thing… but not without vitality.”

The voice sounded as though three beings were speaking at once, and its next words confirmed it.

“Your insistence on clinging to life intrigues us, accept our essence and become more than you are.”

A deluge of corruptive eldritch energy was all he saw.

He forgot who he was. He felt only the desire to change into something more, the desire to spread the influence of their embrace, the single-minded need to show the denizens of this world the truth.

And it felt a voice, a nagging little thing try to tell it to stop. Just who was this annoying little worm to insist it wouldn’t change?

Just who was this stupid voice calling itself Orodan Wainwright?

The torrents of time would surely stomp out this rebellious mind, after all, the little voice was going against the wills of the three eldest. There was no way it could prevail.

As time passed, days turned to weeks, which turned to months, and the little voice never stopped nagging. As though it was endless.

As though it was… infinite.

A message about failing some Quest came and went.

A year passed, and the infinite willpower prevailed.

And Orodan Wainwright once again remembered who he was.

[New Skill (Mythical) → Eldritch Resistance 43]

[Psionic Resistance 6 → Psionic Resistance 58]

And as he came to consciousness, he was in a sea of sickly, purple and greyish flesh. Although it found no purchase on his own.

Orodan had enough presence of mind by that point to call upon the Blessing of Malzim and immediately willed it.

Except, it never activated.

[The God empowering your Blessing is no longer present]

Orodan’s blood ran cold at the message. And he quickly began to turn his willpower inwards and ignite his own soul in the hopes of ending himself manually.

“The experiment has awoken? We were wondering when its eternal soul would dim and allow us to corrupt it. But… how curious that it can resist…”

The sea of eldritch flesh parted and Orodan was raised high into the sky by tentacles and brought before the same gray giant that had slain everyone. The Eldritch Avatar.

For hundreds of miles all around, everything was purple and gray. The sky was filled with a purple haze, the very air he breathed was infectious and the sea and land were covered in horrific growths and massive cloud-piercing trees which spread more eldritch energies into the air.

If Orodan didn’t have his Eldritch Resistance and Psionic Resistance skills as high as he did… he would likely have been subsumed into the influence of these fell Gods once more.

He wasn’t sure what had happened, but a small part of his mind told him he had been under for at least a year.

And everything had gone to complete and utter ruin. The world had faced devastation, and who knew how far this corruption spread?

“You… you really destroyed everything?” Orodan asked.

“Destroyed? We have gifted this world with the touch of truth, of the true reality. Your false Gods either fled or were shown the truth themselves.”

Orodan now understood just how critical this second Quest he had acquired from Cyvrosdyr was. The entire world was at risk. It wasn’t just a matter of some powerful monster causing mass destruction. It was a matter of the world’s very survival, the sanctity of not just Guzuhar, but his own home upon Inuan as well.

And so Orodan furiously sped up the burning of his own soul with renewed vigor, pushing Eternal Soul Reactor farther than he ever had before. His body crackled and burned, and his very flesh, bones and organs began melting from the inside out under the power.

“We see now… you have obtained such a sickening skill which allows for turning away from the touch of the truth.”

The eldritch tentacles pierced his flesh and attempted to infuse him with healing in a bid to stop him from dying.

But Orodan now had the Eldritch Resistance skill, and his Eternal Soul Reactor which was constantly running for an entire year… was far stronger now at level 59.

The attempts at healing him found no ability to affect his body, and the incredibly powerful Mythical skill now began turning him into ash within a second of churning it as hard as he could.

As he approached death despite the frustrated and horrifying alien screams of the Eldritch Avatar, he vowed that he would best this foul creature and the fell Gods it served no matter how many loops it took him.

***

A keening wail ringing in the night sky awoke him.

Followed by a Quest message entering his vision.

[Quest Bestowed → Battle of Ogdenborough - Defeat the Novarrians and their allies as they attempt to activate and commandeer the ancient war machine beneath Mount Castarian]

This was normal, and entirely expected. But the next message following that caused Orodan to breathe a sigh of relief.

[Quest Bestowed → The Chosen Eldritch Star - On the eve of the current year the Chosen One of the Eldritch Gods will descend unto the world as a fell comet, defeat this being who is an Avatar of all of the Eldritch Gods and protect the world along the way]

He was genuinely worried that the Quest hadn’t come back with him, but thankfully it had. Whatever function the time loop carried, it seemed things that were connected to his soul would travel through time.

He idly wondered how Cyvrosdyr was feeling, at the fact that the Quest had essentially disappeared from him.

But that wasn’t the most important thing on his mind.

The Eldritch Gods were horrifying. The year of constant mental assault and attempts by the Eldritch to infect his body… had truly strained his willpower. He had felt constant terror and hopelessness when he was but a small voice within his own body, straining against the near endless willpower that was exerted by an Avatar of three hostile divinities. He was essentially battling against the willpower of the Eldritch Gods themselves for a whole year.

But against all odds and common sense, he had won. And it made no sense.

Orodan always knew there was something abnormal about himself right from his first life when he happily fought to death at Eversong Plaza. But now he was almost certain that his willpower was not natural.

To him, it was simply who he was. But could it be considered natural? A topic he would have to explore, and a potential hint as to why he might’ve been selected for the time loop.

He would never quit, no matter the odds or the pain. And it led to him undergoing a whole year of mental battle against Gods. This latest feat made everything else he did thus far look petty.

But even he was self-aware enough to realize that a willpower that could contend with and reject three Eldritch Gods, was not normal.

Orodan would have to look for an answer as to why, but first, it was time to visit a certain machine beneath the mountain, and then… to visit his mentor for a rematch.

***

Ovuru, Duke Arestos and Baron Viglas Argon hadn’t stood much chance against him. He had grown far stronger, and he drained the ancient machine’s core with contemptuous ease to complete the first Quest once more.

With that, Orodan now had a fourth action he could perform in the same instant. This was his new limit alongside his fourth Blessing until he strengthened his soul further.

He was now in Velestok, walking the streets of the town, on route to the lumberyard of House Simarji.

It was a luxurious feeling, to be able to walk around Volarbury county without having diviners of the Cathedral prowling about in force looking for him. His new Fate Disconnect skill alongside his Blessing from Ozgaric was more than sufficient to remove any threat of tracking.

On the topic of Blessings, a quick restart of the loop shortly after waking up via calling upon the Blessing of Malzim confirmed that it was working again now that time had turned back.

Orodan found himself wondering just who or what was responsible for the time loop.

Not even the Eldritch Gods were spared from the effects of it. All their hard work, undone with the death of one man. He didn’t think it was the world either, as the Eldritch Gods had clearly bent it to their will too. The time loops were incredible and were the strongest tool in his arsenal. Yet he still didn't know who was responsible for them.

Velestok and the lumber yard were as he remembered them, but they seemed less impressive now that he had been to Vorskard on the continent of Guzuhar.

He walked into the lumber yard and respectfully asked the nearest guard if he could speak to Adeltaj Simarji, and then added on that if the guard didn’t know who he was talking about, to call for an Elite or a Master.

This was a far cry from Orodan’s usual brash mannerisms. The year he spent being tortured had greatly mellowed him out! While he was still hot-headed and possessed the same stubborn character, it was now tempered by a calmer and more polite disposition unless needed.

Interestingly enough, his manners lead to an expeditious meeting with the Elites, and his calm explanation and a slight display of his strength led to them swiftly contacting Count Rohanus Simarji, who replied back via communication amulet to them to take Orodan to where Adeltaj liked to frequent.

It was there, in a clearing surrounded by oddly sharp and pointy trees that Orodan arrived, accompanied by the two Elite-level guards. In the middle of the clearing, sitting in silent meditation was the old man, Adeltaj Simarji. Grandmaster of House Simarji.

“Adeltaj Simarji… sorry to intrude, but I come seeking your tutelage,” Orodan called out.

The old man continued meditating for at least five more minutes. And while this would have incensed the Orodan of a year ago to no end, the current Orodan had his patience tempered by the harrowing experiences he had gone through. So, he too sat and simply meditated, reflecting on the time loops, on life, his deaths, his goals, and so forth.

In the end it was Adeltaj’s footsteps in front of him that snapped him out of it.

“If I hadn’t responded, would you have just continued sitting there?” Adeltaj asked.

“No, I likely would’ve attacked you at some point to knock you out of it,” Orodan replied, and when Adeltaj had an amused smirk on his face he continued. “I’m seeking to challenge a Grandmaster to see how far I’ve come.”

“And just what makes a little sapling like you think that you’re a match for a Grandmaster?”

“I don’t know for sure… but I think I could force you to get serious now,” Orodan replied. “In fact, not only would I force you to draw your weapon, but I would also force you to use your full power to defend yourself if I struck you.”

“Oh? Now this is interesting!” Adeltaj said with a genuine look of interest on his face. “You know who I am, seem to know that I’m a Grandmaster, and yet a young man like you wishes to challenge me? Either you’ll quickly learn your place, or I’m about to see something I’ll never forget. I cannot peer into your Status at all, so are you perhaps a Master masquerading as a youth? A transformation potion? A Blessing?”

“Neither. I’m in my early twenties and I have yet to reach the Elite level in any skill,” Orodan stated with conviction.

Something about his tone must have convinced the old man, because he held a rare serious look in his eyes and seemed to regard Orodan for a moment, as though sizing him up.

“Fine but let us move quite far away from here. It wouldn’t do to damage any of the forest preserves of House Simarji,” Adeltaj agreed.

The old man waved the two Elite-level guards away and soon the two of them dashed very deep into the Aenechean Forest, at least a few hundred miles in.

“Alright young man, show me what you’re capable of,” Adeltaj challenged, and held his hand out in front of him like he usually did.

“I must respectfully warn you to take this seriously from the get-go, I’m going to come at you with my full power,” Orodan cautioned as his weapons were drawn and his eyes began glowing white.

Upon seeing the white soul energy leaking from Orodan’s eyes, Adeltaj actually drew his weapon and took a proper stance! Getting the old codger to draw his halberd was so difficult in the past, but now? He drew it immediately.

Which was a good idea because the old man would really need it.

Eternal Soul Reactor was charged to as high as feasibly possible without it breaking the obscuring Fate Disconnect skill, all of his empowering abilities such as Death Rage were activated, and as much soul energy from his soul, stamina from his body and mana from Mana Black Hole were fed into the attack.

Adeltaj Simarji’s eyes were focused and serious as he felt the power of the blow coming for him.

And then it quadrupled with the +3 Permanent Action Increase.

The old man’s eyes widened almost comically as he suddenly realized he could not even evade thanks to a strange Blessing keeping him in place.

Adeltaj roared and immediately went all out, using his most powerful offensive active combat skill which was at level 99 and returning a Phoenix Thrust of his own towards Orodan’s attack.

The two attacks collided, one a level 99 Phoenix Strike, an Exquisite-rarity skill. The other a level 41 All-Strike, a Legendary skill which was quadrupled and empowered by everything Orodan had. Further made stronger by the higher quality soul energy feeding the attack.

The terrain for twenty miles was utterly obliterated, and the entire forest around them simply vanished.

And although it was a close thing… Adeltaj’s attack was on the losing end, the Phoenix Strike was overwhelmed, and he saw a vastly weakened but still strong All-Strike coming his way.

It stopped at the last second before touching the old man’s face.

“Hells… I really have grown stronger. Thank you for the lesson old man,” Orodan muttered and sheathed his weapons as he looked around in awe at the power he had cultivated and become capable of. “I can beat a Grandmaster now. And one day… I’ll even contend with Avatars.”

In response, Adeltaj Simarji could only stare with widened eyes.

“Who… who even are you?” the old man asked. “There is no way you can be a mere Adept.”

“Well, there is a way, but it involves dying thousands of times and venturing to an entirely different continent… at the recommendation of an old halberdier of course,” Orodan knowingly teased. “It was an excellent trip by the way. Thank you for that suggestion.”

“Halberdier? But I’ve never even met you…” the old man muttered, still in shock at the fact that he had just been overpowered and essentially defeated. If this was a real fight, Orodan could have pushed through and killed him. Fights between regular Grandmasters were usually much closer and a clear victor was hard to pronounce. But for Orodan to overpower his best attack? It suggested a clear power advantage.

“You haven’t met me, in this loop,” Orodan said. “Allow me to tell you a fanciful story.”

***

“Ridiculous. Your skills, your abilities, all of it is just unfair. An Adept, even a near-Elite one, should in no scenario be able to beat a Grandmaster,” Adeltaj muttered. “But if you’re in this time loop… then that would be the only logical explanation. Hells, I can’t even verify if you’re telling the truth given that you have some strange force obscuring your soul.”

“Yes, and unfortunately I’m not willing to lift said force lest an Avatar descend upon my head,” Orodan answered. “Ilyatana is a rather controlling Goddess.”

“Hmm… so that’s why you said one of the things you seek to learn is how to defeat an Avatar,” the old man remarked. “But why do you think I can help you with this?”

“Well, I thought you were a Grandmaster with seven hundred years of life? You gave me such a good suggestion for my last loop that I figured you’d have good advice for my current dilemma,” Orodan replied. “I don’t know what other avenue to pursue at this time besides running my head against that unfairly strong nightmarish Avatar that descends in six months.”

“Yes, that thing you speak of sounds utterly terrifying. Even I do not know how it can be beaten,” Adeltaj conceded. “But as for your next steps, strong as you are, your education and formal knowledge are rather lacking. And I mean this respectfully.”

Orodan groaned, he knew what was going to be suggested. “Don’t tell me…”

“Young man, you might just be best served by trying to apply to an academy,” the old man advised. “Why not live a little? Woo some women, impress everyone in class and show off by trouncing an instructor or two? You can refuse the Observer orb’s examination if your talent is great enough. And in my seven-hundred years I’ve never seen someone as monstrous as you in terms of potential.”

Orodan made a strangled noise. “Urgh… but I hate books!”

“How else will you broaden your horizons and figure out different avenues of advancement?” Adeltaj asked. “You have the ultimate power which will allow you to become a Grandmaster of every single skill in existence if you put in enough time, and you’re unwilling to put in some work? You’re okay with dying thousands of times, but books threaten you?”

At this, Orodan could do nothing but silently take the shame.

“You’re right… I just never thought I would need an academy. Before all this I was an orphaned street rat, academies were something meant for the children of nobles, for the sons and daughters of the wealthy. What am I supposed to do in an Academy that I can’t acquire outside of it?”

“Explore the theory of dozens of disciplines and professions, experiment with trying to unlock a plethora of skills, learn more about Republican society and the knowledge and connections that can help you in later loops,” the elderly man explained. “Need I go on?”

“I hate it when you make sense…”

“An unfortunate side effect of being old I’m told.”

Orodan wouldn’t say he was thrilled with the idea of having to study, but it was something that needed to happen if he was to advance himself and make progress in the loops towards defeating that wretched Eldritch Avatar.

As much as it pained him to do so, he would likely have to put going to the northern continent aside for a few loops while he just… studied in an academy.

How dull!

***

Trumbetton was the center of Volarbury county. If House Firesword could get away with it, they’d call it the capital of the county. The county militia and House Firesword both had their bases of power inside of Trumbetton, and it was a major hub for commerce and consequently had all manner of shops, craftspeople and services in its commercial district.

It was Orodan’s first time seeing it with his own eyes, but while it was bigger than Velestok, it was still maybe half the size of Vorkskard, so Orodan wouldn’t say he was awed by any means.

He stood in front of the local examination center and prepared to head inside.

Examination centers were in every county by the decree of the council of Karilsgard. At the age of fourteen, upon reaching adulthood, everyone was meant to undergo a mandatory observer orb examination. And then afterwards they could re-test if they wanted to join an academy at the age of seventeen.

The inside was spacious to accommodate all manner of destructive testing, and even had a staff consisting of Elites on-duty for ‘special examinations’, in case someone truly talented came along.

It was this special examination that Orodan sought as he walked in. He ignored the stations for observer orbs that the majority of people were at and instead made way for the supervisor’s desk behind the main lobby.

Naturally, this drew many eyes his way as the only people who would make such a show of skipping the orb and the main desk, were either idiots with an inflated sense of how special they were, or genuine talents.

And while Orodan had often been called an idiot, he wasn’t untalented.

“Can I help you, young man?” the Elite-swordsman sitting behind the desk asked. While the man appeared bored, he still paid attention to anyone who simply marched up to his desk. It would either be a waste of his time where he humiliated an idiot, or a chance to send report of a rare talent to the Capital.

“Yes, I’m here to take an examination for placement in an academy. Due to my circumstances, an observer orb will not be an option,” Orodan replied.

“I see… come with me then,” the man replied, and Orodan followed him to a spacious room filled with all manner of equipment, measuring devices and even a reinforced arena.

The examination consisted of different tests depending on what type of academy one was aiming for. Mages for example, had a magical dummy they were to cast destructive spells at to measure their power, failing that a mana-measurement orb could quantify their magical potential if they weren’t combatants. Rogueish individuals with a specialty for swiftness had a speed course, and warriors like Orodan had machines to measure their strength and an arena to test their battle prowess.

Given that Orodan had marked ‘martial academy’ on the form, he was naturally led to the section for warriors. The first test before him being a machine that determined lifting strength and measured Physical Fitness.

“Rule’s simple, you have three attempts. Put on as many plates as you think you can handle and then attempt the lift. The lift doesn’t count unless the bar reaches this marked threshold.”

“Understood,” Orodan replied.

And then he put on all the plates. Which caused the examiner’s eyes to widen.

This model of machine wasn’t only used for testing prospective students, but also for training by Elite-level warriors. So, it naturally could go up to the level where even people with 50 Physical Fitness would struggle. And for Orodan to simply throw all the plates on… he was either about to make a fool of himself, or the monitors observing via scrying eye from the Capital were about to make some impromptu communication calls.

He of course, had Physical Fitness at level 65 by now, which was utterly ridiculous even for Masters. But they didn’t need to know that.

He threw the entire set of weights up with casual ease, doing more work in feigning a look of exertion than actually having to try. Something which caused the examiner to immediately go silent and begin sweating.

Orodan had casually shown that he was far stronger than him.

The next test was one of striking power, and Orodan was instructed to simply hit the dummy as hard as he could. It was made of Elite-level material and warded with multiple enchantments. It also had a magical sensor that could measure the power of any melee or ranged strike that it was hit with.

When Orodan promptly destroyed it in a single blow, the sweat from the man’s face began to drip onto the floor.

And finally, the reason the man was sweating, was because he would have to ‘test’ Orodan. Which given how much monstrous ability he had displayed, was likely to be more of a one-sided beating than a test.

Thankfully Orodan decided to have mercy on the poor examiner and casually dodged his attacks and quickly knocked him out with a counterpunch to the face.

Another group of examiners had to come in and escort the man away after that, and the manager of the entire examination center himself came down to meet Orodan.

“Truly fascinating, to be so strong at your age that you can best Elites. I’m Silas Everson. You’re Orodan Wainwright, correct? Our records show you’re a Private in the Volarbury county militia in Ogdenborough. Did you perhaps receive a powerful Blessing or awaken a Bloodline?” the man asked. “Don’t mind my questions, you need not answer. The report of this special examination has been sent to the authorities in Karilsgard, someone will be coming by shortly to speak to you about next steps. In the meantime, would you like anything to drink?”

The man was almost excessively polite, he might even get a commission off each candidate at his center that exceeded expectations.

Soon enough, five minutes later a trio of people entered the examination center, causing a huge commotion among the members of the public within. The center was evacuated for the time being and the three approached Orodan with friendly looks on their face.

The leading man, wearing a set of luxurious clothes with a very nice cape, was one he’d seen before. The sigil of a flaming sword was emblazoned across the man’s cape. It was Burgher Ignatius Firesword, the head of noble House Firesword and the governing power of Trumbetton and a majority of Volarbury county.

“Mister Orodan Wainwright?” the Burgher asked.

“That’s me, are you perhaps the Burgher?”

“That I am. Burgher Ignatius Firesword, at your service! Before the Capital Guard gets here to make a similar offer… how would you like to attend the Bluefire Academy in Karilsgard under a fully paid sponsorship from House Firesword?”

The Bluefire Academy… it was the premier academy within the entire Republic. Located within the capital and right next to the High Spire of Karilsgard, it was where the cream of the crop went to study. The Bluefire Academy was known for producing some of the greatest serving soldiers and famous experts of the Republic today.

What a stroke of good luck it was to be approached by House Firesword too. The chance to have someone as powerful as him in their ranks meant that they’d accept some stipulations such as no Observer orb examinations. Better to take the sponsorship of House Firesword than to deal with the Capital Guard who might have some strange diviners in their ranks and would likely insist on doing tests on him to verify his background.

“That sounds like a great offer, I accept.”