Time Looped

Using the evasion ability the rogue gave him, Will leaped towards the bathroom entrance. As he did, the tip of a blade split the air, inches from where he had been. The boy felt time slow down as adrenaline filled his body. He could see himself move away just as the giant blade shattered the bathroom sink, continuing into the floor. It was enormous, longer than he was tall, made of a dark metal.

As the boy’s body adjusted to the adrenalin shot, time sped up again.

“What the fuck?!” Jace shouted.

Acting on instinct, Will threw the poison dagger at his attacker as he rolled on the floor. Before he could say a word, he was further grabbed and pulled into the corridor by Helen. It was also at that point that he managed to get a full glimpse of the attacker.

Unlike every creature that eternity had thrown against them so far, this one seemed human, although it was impossible to tell for certain because of his full set of armor. A few shades shy of black, the armor was the typical European Medieval type depicted in most forms of fiction. There didn’t appear to be anything special or magical about it, just a mass of solid metal holding a sword that was too large to be real.

“Move back!” Jace shouted as he closed the door shut. “We must—”

The dark blade sliced through the door as if it were made of paper. Normally, it proved thick enough to stop people from getting out. There had been multiple cases of people locked inside the bathroom as a prank. Even in several loops, the group had prevented anyone from entering the arts classroom by just blocking the door with desks and chairs. Sadly, not this time.

Tutorial failed.

Restarting eternity.

“Your turn,” Helen told Will as wolf corpses filled the basement room.

So far, the fights had been easy. The dagger gave a huge advantage even if the creatures died before the poison could have any effect.

Walking up to the mirror, the boy tapped it with his free hand.

WOLF PACK REWARD (random)

MASS LOOP INCREASE: current loops are increased by one hour.

No one said a word, but it wasn’t a secret that everyone saw it as a lost reward. Loop length wasn’t their greatest issue. It was the elite enemies they had to face.

“Well, that’s the basement done,” Jace said. “Again. What now?”

“There’s only three things we can do.” Alex said. “Fight the cactus, fight the knight, or keep exploring till our next big oof.”

“I say face the knight,” Will suggested, taking a step back. “If Helen gets that sword, we can win against the cactus.” He looked at Jace. “I’ll need your help on this.”

“I see where you’re going.” The jock let out a confident smirk. “I can find the armor’s shatter point, but you’ll have to make sure I survive that long.”

Will nodded.

“We find it, Alex traps it, and Helen does her thing.”

“I’ll need more than a bat.”

“We grab a fire extinguisher,” Alex grinned. “Won’t be the first time.”

“Not bad, muffin boy.” Jace nodded.

Everyone knew that pulling this off would be a game changer, just as they knew that they probably wouldn’t be successful on their first try. The only sad positive was that time was on their side—no matter how many times they tried, there’d always be one more.

Taking their time, the four went up the stairs and back to the first-floor bathrooms.

“Bro,” Alex went up to Will. “I’ve been thinking. What if Danny had already completed the tutorial before we joined in?”

It was a novel idea, one that definitely hadn’t been considered so far.

“I mean, he was able to do OP stuff way before I started.”

“Not in the mood,” Helen said in a sharp tone.

“For real!” the goofball insisted. “He knew where the class mirrors were. He got me and Helen to join. He—”

“He got you to join,” the girl interrupted. “I ended up in that mess by accident.”

“For real?” Alex tilted his head. “Sus that he’d learn about it right after you did it.”

“We see loops, Alex. Of course he’d know.”

“Nah, I mean he knew right after you did it,” the goofball stressed on the word. “I watched him. The thief is as observant as the rogue. I didn’t notice till way later. Also, how was he able to leave messages?”

That was the point that still bothered Will as well. That and the mirror fragment. The object was their instruction manual. It was unlikely that Daniel had gotten it by accident. Either he’d started with it, in which case it might have given additional hints and instructions, or he did something to earn it.

“We think it’s a hidden skill, but that’s sus too,” Alex continued. “All of us might be replacements.”

Without warning, Helen turned around, grabbing the goofball by the throat and slamming him against the wall. Surprisingly, that version of him didn’t end up being a mirror copy.

“Shut. Up!” the girl said, spitting out each word. “We’re trapped in eternity. The only way to leave is to die.”

“Da… Da…” Alex struggled to say. “Danny said there was.”

That made Helen loosen the pressure slightly.

“He spent thousands of loops searching for it, even before you joined in…” he continued. “What if someone else found it?”

Helen didn’t budge.

“What if the rest of his group did it and left him behind?”

“Helen,” Will whispered to her. “Let him go. He’s talking shit.”

“If I snap his neck, he might learn not to,” she hissed.

“We need all four to finish the tutorial,” Will insisted. “If we don’t, we’ll never figure out what really happened to Danny.”

The girl’s mouth twisted in anger. She knew that Will was right, but still wanted to kill Alex just to make a point.

“You’ll only restart the loop.” Will gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “The knight has your weapon. Once we get it, we can take a break.”

Helen’s grip tightened, then relaxed, dropping Alex to the ground. Without a word, she turned, continuing along the corridor, leaving the three boys behind. Jace looked at the Will and the goofball in turn, then just shook his head, before heading off as well.

“We need to talk, bro,” Alex whispered. “For real. There’s still a lot you don’t know.”

“After we get the weapon,” Will whispered back.

He was curious about what Alex wanted to say, but also acknowledged how all of them had to get stronger. The new creatures and the memory of the archer’s skills were merely a taste of what was out there. All those loops ago, the boy thought that by obtaining two classes, he could match and even defeat the invisible long-range opponent. How wrong could one get?

“You provoked her, didn’t you?” the boy whispered, glancing at Jace and Helen further down the corridor.

“Moi, bro?” The goofball put both his hands on his chest, feigning ignorance.

“You could have said all that about Danny at the start of the next loop, or any loop so far. Instead, you did it when Helen was near.”

The goofball’s smile faded.

“What was that about? Were you testing her?”

“Nah, bro.” A new smile emerged on Alex’s face, one combining mischief and confidence. “I was testing you, bro. And you passed.” He rushed along to catch up to the other two.

Testing me, Will remained still for a few seconds more. There really was a lot he didn’t know.

Helen stopped ten full feet from the boys’ bathroom door. Jace then proceeded to dismantle the hinges, letting it fall into the corridor with a slam.

“What?” he asked, sliding it further away. “We need distance. The best way to get him out is to taunt him from here.”

“Bro…” Alex almost gasped, impressed. “That’s lit!”

“Being on the football team isn’t for idiots, muffin boy. Go get the extinguisher.”

“I’ll get it,” Will said. “Alex, you set up the traps. And be sure to put a lot. He’s strong.”

While Alex and Jace compared notes, deciding on the best locations to place the mirror traps, Will went to get one of the larger fire extinguishers. He hadn’t just offered to help, though. The large metal container gave him an excuse to talk privately with Helen.

Carrying the object in his present state proved more difficult than expected. Creating an annoying screech, he dragged it as quickly as possible all the way up to the girl.

“Here,” he said.

There was no reaction.

“You know what Alex is like,” he added in a hushed voice. “He says the wrong things half of the time. Remember what he said during history class last—”

“He did it on purpose,” the girl said, still clenching her right fist.

The correct response was for Will to tell her that at some level she probably agreed, or she wouldn’t have reacted in such a fashion. Yet, he knew well enough to see that the correct response was also the wrong response.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said instead. “I promise you, we’ll figure out what really happened.”

“I don’t want to figure out what happened! I want to—” the girl stopped. With one swift action, she grabbed the fire extinguisher and picked it up as if it were a toy. “Let’s just kill that bastard,” she changed the topic.

“All ready here,” Jace waved.

Six identical copies of Alex emerged from the bathroom one by one. Their purpose was to act as support and assist in damage dealing.

Will waited a bit to see whether Helen would say anything further. When she didn’t, he went to the jock.

“Try to follow my lead,” he told him.

“I’ll do my part, Stoner. Besides, muffin boy’s traps should hold him for long enough.”

It would have been nice if that were certain, but as eternity had shown, even the best made plans had a tendency to fall apart.

“Let’s go!” the jock shouted.

A moment later, Helen walked further into the corridor, coming into view with the bathroom’s mirrors. It was then that it happened. On the floor, a fifth mirror emerged. Clear as water, it rippled, letting a black form rise up from it.

Now that it wasn’t attacking, the group got to get a better look at it. Without a doubt, it could be described as a full set of knight’s armor. Every inch of flesh from the fingertips to the face was covered with massive black segmented armor. If a blacksmith had made it, they must have taken great pains to make sure that everything fit with absolute perfection.

There were no holes, no chips or dents, not even any stains of dirt visible.

The black helmet turned, looking straight at Helen, as if acknowledging her and only her. For some reason, Will got the impression that the girl did the same. It was as if she were standing across a copy of herself.

Mirror image, the boy thought.

Visually, the two couldn’t be more different. The dark knight stood two heads taller than Helen, with a broad frame and a sword the size of a child’s surfboard. She, on the other hand, was in casual camouflage clothes, a headlight, and a fire extinguisher.

“Jace,” Will urged.

“There’s nothing there,” the jock said. “If there’s any weakness, I’m not seeing it.”

That was the last thing that anyone wanted to hear. And just to make the situation more dire, the dark knight raised his sword and slammed the floor in front of him.

KNIGHT’s BASH

Damage increased by 500%

Floor shattered

Tiles and concrete flew in all directions as all of Alex’s well-placed traps were instantly swept away. The attack didn’t end there. In the very same action, the knight charged forward, heading straight for the group.

“Now!” Will leaped to the side, taking Jace along.

The jock’s reaction was too slow again, making Will feel as if the other’s hands were sinking deep into his shoulders like iron hooks.

Four of Alex’s mirror copies charged forward with drawn knives. All their attempts at stabbing him proved pointless, as the dark knight shattered them almost upon contact without even slowing down. Once again, the sword thrust forward.

“No!” Will shouted, expecting to see the restart message. Instead, there was a loud clang as Helen parried the strike with her fire extinguisher.

KNIGHT’s BASH

Damage increased by 500%

Floor shattered

The girl swung her weapon around, landing a hit on the dark knight’s right shoulder. Metal fragments fell off from the piece of armor as it broke off, revealing solid armor underneath.

“Anything?” Will asked, gripping his poison dagger.

“Nothing,” Jace replied. “Fucker’s like a statue.”

Hele took a step back, then swung around, aiming for her opponent’s head.

PERFECT BLOCK

Attack negated

The knight held his sword with both hands, putting a quick end to her attack.

Aware of this, the girl leaped back with a summersault.

“Helen!” Will shouted. “Focus on the helmet. I just need a target to poison it.”

“It won’t work.” The girl retreated further back down the corridor. “It has my skills.” Hands trembling, she held onto the slightly dented fire extinguisher. “None of you can help.”