Chapter 49: Doubts
I approached the spot where she had been hunched over. Only the knife remained.
I activated Distance Gauge, trying to pick up her presence. Maybe she had just gotten scared and was hiding somewhere nearby.
Nothing.
I crouched and picked up the knife. Honestly, calling it a knife would be an overstatement. It was a small metallic blade, with a thick blue cord loosely woven around one end. The more I examined it, the more it resembled one of the Razor Basilisk’s scales – a small one.
Curious, I pulled at the blue cord. It came away easily, the metal scale clanking against the floor as I held the cord in my hand.
The System identified it as Blue Axul Cord.
The description read: A magic-woven cord from a forgotten age, unbreakable and enduring, much like the will of those who spun it.
Unbreakable, huh? I decided to test that claim.
I brought Silverfang against the cord, pressing the blade firmly. To my surprise, nothing happened. The threads refused to break, no matter how much pressure I applied.
I frowned instinctively, analyzing the glaive closely. The blade wasn’t dull. Not even close.
Okay, this could be useful. Somehow. Somewhen.
[Item Acquired: Blue Axul Cord – Added to Inventory #2]
Satisfied, I was about to move on and continue exploring when a new, surprising, System message popped up.
[All components present: Blue Axul Cord, Lightning Bearer’s Fang]
[Would you like to craft Lightning Claw?]
[YES/NO]
Seriously? At this point, I didn’t think anything in the Déjà vu System could surprise me. Now it could craft items for me?
If the idea was to weave the blue cord around the fang’s root, I could do it myself – like any adventurer in our world had crafted items. More complex items such as armor, weapons and alchemical substances needed specific classes crafting them, but simple things like weaving a string around a fang shouldn’t have required that. The Core System had never offered anything similar to this.
Lightning Claw? Is that a weapon? It had to be, right?
Only one way to know for sure.
I mentally selected YES.
The blue cord and the fang materialized in mid-air before me. Both glowed brighter with each moment, making me shield my eyes. Once the flash faded, a dagger floated in the air before me.
[Lightning Claw]
[Weapon Equipped: Lightning Claw. Agility Scaling: A. Intelligence Scaling: A]
It was stunning and also so…raw. A combination of both items: the blade being the sharp, lightning-infused fang of Pack Leader. While the handle was the fang’s root, wrapped tightly with the Blue Axul Cord, allowing a comfortable grip.
As expected, the dagger had unique skills.
[Lightning Claw: Lightning Arc – A close-range combat swing that extends the range of a slash with lightning. High chance of stun. Cooldown – 10 seconds]
Great. Stuns went hand-in-hand with my class and subclass. Perhaps I could utilize this weapon somehow…
What else?
[Lightning Claw: Stormpierce – Lock into a target within a 500 meters range and dash toward it in an instant, delivering a guaranteed hit. Minimum range to cast - 50 meters. Cooldown – 5 minutes]
Well, that's insane. A guaranteed hit skill. I’d heard of these – they were incredibly rare, even among higher-leveled adventurers.
The System indicated a level requirement of 80 for Lightning Claw, which meant I could use it right away.
The problem was, I wasn’t exactly proficient with dagger-type weapons. They were typically used by Rogues and similar classes.
Still, I could try experimenting. Maybe I’d keep Silverfang as my primary weapon while utilizing Lightning Claw as a secondary. I’d heard of skilled adventurers mastering weapon-swapping, equipping and unequipping weapons instantly by taking advantage of the inventory’s materialization mechanics.
It was worth considering.
For now, I decided to store the dagger in my second inventory.
[Item Acquired: Lightning Claw (Weapon) – Added to Inventory #2]
Knowing I couldn’t linger here for long with Noctyra likely already looking for me, I quickly exited the chamber, pacing into the corridor outside.
I dropped a Temporal Trace mark at the door in case I ever found myself back on this floor.
Then, I checked Checkpoint’s anchor. Around ten minutes left. Good.
I was about to retrace my steps back to the “void room” when a woman’s scream broke the silence.
“Diona!” I called out instinctively, immediately rushing toward the sound.
I activated Wind Rush, sprinting faster as I pivoted through the corridor’s turns until I reached another chamber.
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There, cowering in the corner, was Diona.
Above here loomed a giant centipede monstrosity, its body reinforced with thick, sharp metallic plates – Void Centipede, lvl 90.
It reared back, preparing to strike.
Immediately, I activated Shield Breaker and Blade Rush, closing the distance. My glaive struck the monster from behind, breaking its armored body. It didn’t notice me until the very last second, ensuring a critical strike.
Taking advantage of my successful first attack, I followed up with a rapid combo, slicing through its reinforced body until it finally fell.
[+798 XP]
[Level Up! You have gained 1 Skill Point]
[Skill Point Available: Choose a skill to level up]
[New Quest Available: Legs for Days #1]
[Slay 50 Void Centipedes]
[Current Status: 1 / 50]
[Reward: 15,000 XP]
Delaying my level-up decision for now, I sighed in relief and rushed to Diona’s side.
But as I got closer, I realized I had nothing to be relieved about.
The monster had already gotten to her before I arrived. Blood pooled around her, her trembling hand clutching a nasty wound in her stomach.
“Damn it…” I muttered as I knelt down next to her.
I quickly selected a health potion from my inventory, uncorked it, and brought it to her lips. “Here, drink this.”
But she shook her head violently.
“Can’t. I can’t.” she stammered, her voice strained and trembling. She was clearly in pain. An Undead that acted nothing like one.
“It’ll help, Diona.” I urged, unsure if it actually would, but it was better than doing nothing.
She shook her head more aggressively this time. “Can’t. Can’t!”
Then, she hit the potion from my hands. The glass shattered as it hit the ground beside us.
I sighed. Of course she can’t drink it. It was a known fact that monsters couldn’t drink health potions. It was like poison for them. And she – despite her appearance – was still a monster.
“Diona, what can I do?” I asked quietly. “How can I help you?”
She shook her head again. “Can’t…You can’t…”
Then, her milky-white eyes began to clear, slowly returning to their human form.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Forgive us...” She whispered, her voice sounding more like the one from the memory fragment.
“What?” I asked, my mind racing.
But she ignored the question.
She grabbed my hand suddenly, her grip strong. But as quickly as she’d grasped me, her strength faded. Her hand softened and slipped away.
She died.
I sighed heavily, disappointed with myself for not being able to save her.
Yana’s death in my arms flashed in my mind – one of the only solid memories I had from previous loops. Who knows how many times that happened in my previous runs? Chronos was thrown into a coma after the last one. And now this? Can I even save a single person, let alone the universe?!
As I fought these thoughts, a series of skittering sounds filled the chamber.
The noise echoed as around twenty Void Centipedes crawled into the room, their armored bodies scraping against the floor.
With no time to waste, I tightened my grip on Silverfang and lunged forward.
***
As I reawakened with Checkpoint, my body screamed in phantom pain. Memories of the last moments before my death racing through my mind.
The Void Centipedes kept pouring into the room. They were soon joined by Grave Moles, only expanding the chaos. I’d managed to take down a significant number of them, using Blur Strike to deal with their growing numbers, but there were just too many.
In the end, they tore me to pieces.
Still, the phantom pain was nothing compared to the mental agony of my uselessness.
I couldn’t even save a single undead girl. And in the end, she was the one apologizing to me. Why?
My fist clenched as I forced myself to focus.
I had to use this second chance to save her. I must.
The sound of boots striking a metallic ladder pulled me out of my thoughts.
Goren.
I peered down over the edge of the platform. Sure enough, there he was, climbing down.
The dark aura surrounding him writhed. I wanted to warn him about the Razor Basilisk, but seeing his mark was enough to convince me otherwise.
Now, if there’s one thing I’d understood from Chronos’ class, it was that Erebus doesn’t actually eavesdrop on conversations, nor can he actively watch us. If he did, he would’ve suspected me a long time ago, considering I likely had many incriminating conversations with Goren.
No, Erebus, in his current state, senses changes – differences compared to the original loop, and the ever-evolving average of all my runs.
That meant I couldn’t change anything now. Especially with Goren so close.
I sighed. I’d have to play this out exactly the same way.
But this time, after Goren and the Razor Basilisk are gone, I’d rush to save Diona – even if it meant fighting the Pack Leader all over again.
Kelltins was still a worry, but I just couldn’t ignore her.
I needed this.
I jumped forward and gripped the ladder, beginning my descent.
“Why are you following me, Spellsword?” Goren asked, releasing a low chuckle. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“Shut up.” I replied, tired of hearing his annoying remarks. “Just shut up and keep going!”
***
The Razor Basilisk attacked as we descended.
I used Flight to reach the same floor as before – at least as far as I could tell.
Waited for the beast to attack, so Goren could “save” me, dragging the snake back to the void.
I rushed toward Diona, slaying four Grave Moles along the way, faster than last time – [+2,176 XP]
The interior of this tomb was likely mostly consistent across every floor – at least based on my pre-Checkpoint run and the first floor we cleared. Still, I could only hope I was on the right floor now.
The four Grave Moles I encountered earlier were a promising sign, matching the same number I’d fought previously. But that didn’t guarantee anything. The only way to confirm this for sure is to see the mark I left.
As I moved, I glanced at the Déjà vu System’s status screen.
[Déjà vu System: Level 28]
[Loop Count: 38]
[Experience Points (XP): 14,894 / 21,500]
[Skill Point Available: Choose a skill to level up]
Oh, right. I hadn’t leveled up yet.
This time, I turned to the Core System first, allocating the extra point into Agility, bringing it up to 32. Then, in the Déjà vu System, I placed the skill point into Temporal Trace, raising it to level 8.
[Skill Upgraded: Temporal Trace lvl.8]
[Next Level: lvl.9: You’ll be able to create Vestiges of Time. Maximum Amount: 1]
Vestiges of Time? Like memory fragments of my own?
That’s great! I wasn’t entirely sure how it would work, but the idea of retaining even a small piece of my memories between loops was enough to quicken my pace.
I activated Distance Gauge and sensed a presence in the chamber ahead.
Please let it be Diona.
I sprinted forward, saw the Temporal Trace mark on the ground, and sighed in relief.
There she was.
Crouched with her back to me, she dragged the knife across the stone floor, carving those weird symbols only she could likely understand. A faint purple aura surrounded her this time – or maybe I was just imagining it at this point.
“Write. Write. I must write.” She muttered.
“Diona?” I whispered.
She turned toward me, her milky-white eyes meeting mine for a second. Then, just as quickly, she turned back to her harsh punishment. “Must. Must write. High Priestess ordered.”
She didn’t remember me.
Understandable. She was an Axul, but she was also an Undead.
Still uncertain if the Undead Wolves, and worse, Pack Leader, would attack again, I rushed to her side, crouching next to her. I decided to try the same approach as before.
“High Priestess Lysandra is evil, Diona.” I said, trying to calm her. “I know you know this. I’ve seen you disagree with her. You don’t need to follow her orders.”
Diona froze, the knife slipping from her hand and clattering on the floor. “High Priestess is evil...”
“Yes, yes.” I urged, taking her hand in mine.
Then, something completely unexpected happened.
[Temporal Trace: Vestige of Time #2 - Available]
And I was suddenly transferred into another memory fragment.
Which side character did you like the most so far and are curious to see more of?
