Chapter 25
This is a fictional story by realTensai
Alvis' body shook, a higher might forcing it to move. He was in his comfort zone, fully at peace, yet his peace was getting interrupted. The higher might shook stronger and stronger and Alvis knew he would leave his comfort zone soon. He started hearing a voice, and before he knew it, he woke up.
"Wake up, Alvis, you got school!" his mother said, looking impatient.
"What's going on?!"
He was still lying in his bed, yet his mother appeared out of nowhere.
Did I fall asleep? No, this familiar sensation… don't tell me?
He grabbed his holo watch, staring at today's date.
03.08.2123
"What?!"
He shook his head, his brain unable to process what was happening.
"Alvis, what's wrong?"
"What day is it, mom?"
"Huh, it's your first day of school."
He slammed his fist against his bed.
Shit, why?
"Why are you so upset about going to school? I thought you were looking forward to it?"
"Ah, yes, don't worry, everything is fine," Alvis said, waving his hand to reassure her. He forced his lips up into a smile. "I will get ready now."
"F-Fine."
With one more worried glance, before she stepped out, she left his room. However, as soon as she left, his expression hardened again.
"What the hell is going on?"
His mind spun, yet he just opened up his system, hoping for an explanation.
NOTIFICATION
[YOU FAILED!]
Experience is awarded for failing!
LEVEL 2: A lone girl
Mission: Save the girl
General:
Name: Alvis Silva
Race: Human
Class: Mage
Level: 4
Skills:
Basic mana manipulation: Lvl. 5
Mastermind: Lvl. 3
Stats:
Mana: 99-> 102
Strength: 29
Intelligence: 88-> 98
Endurance: 41
Reflex: 37
Health: 50/50
Alvis paced around in his room, forcing himself to calm down. Even after seeing the date, he still had a hard time believing it. He knew what happened, yet it came way too suddenly. Alvis had thought he still had time after surviving what before had been his certain death. He thought he was safe! But this wasn't the case.
I've respawned.
As this realization hit him, he stopped in his tracks. He had respawned, but why? It was the first time he went back in time even though he hadn't been killed.
"How can this be?"
He stared at his system, trying his best to identify any clues. What was different? After a few seconds, his brain found something.
"Instead of the usual 'You died' notification, I got a ' You failed' notification."
It was a subtle yet major difference. So not only dying but also failing to complete his level sent him back in time.
"I see," he said, scratching his head.
His mission wasn't to survive, but to save a girl. Of course, he could only do this if he survived, yet saving the girl was still more important. So failing to complete that was equivalent to dying.
But why was I sent back at exactly this time?
Alvis had known that he still had to save Lia. However, he intended to get to it the days after. No one said that there was a time limit. Yet there was.
"If I can't save her in two weeks, that means I fail."
Alvis furrowed his eyebrows as he crossed his arms.
"But a time limit doesn't make sense. As long as I would save her, the system shouldn't have a problem. So why did I get sent back?"
The gears in Alvis' head turned, and his head started to burn.
"If failing means not being able to save Lia, that means the moment I respawn, the system has deemed it impossible for me to save Lia in that run. Does that mean there was nothing I could have done in the last run to save her?"
This was the only thing that made sense. However, it only led to the following question.
"But why? Our relationship has progressed so far. Taking the next step and trying to save her wasn't unlikely. I would have done it in the next few days. So why did the system rob me of this chance?"
As all these thoughts flooded his mind, one stuck.
"Wait. If there was nothing I could have done to save her, does that mean she died?"
His face darkened as this possibility manifested in his head.
"If I think about it, it makes sense. She didn't come to kill me, even though it was a mission given to her. In other words, she had opposed her boss. So maybe the consequence of her behavior was them killing her!"
Cold sweat dripped down his face as he came to that conclusion.
They killed her because she didn't want to kill me.
He gritted his teeth, pressing his nails into his palm. For the first time, the desire to fulfill his mission exceeded his wish of survival.
"I will save you, Lia, come what may!"
However, Alvis knew damn well that resolve alone wouldn't be enough to help her.
"I need a plan."
First of all, he had to find out what happened on the last day of the loop. He had to find out how Lia would die if he wanted to prevent it.
"I will have to do investigations on this Assassin Organization."
All he knew about them was that they wore red clothes and that their hideout was most likely in Beqa. He also knew Lia was a part of them, but not if willingly or by force.
This information would work as a base for his further investigations. Alvis would have to create a master plan if he wanted to find out which role the Organization played in his loop. If he wanted to save Lia, breaking her ties to the Organization was the only way.
This is gonna be tough.
No matter from which angle Alvis looked at it, having to deal with the Assassin Organization was bound to go wrong. One assassin was enough to get Alvis to his limit, so the entire organization would be his sure end. Alvis just had to hope he wouldn't have to fight them, though he knew this was unlikely.
The only way Alvis saw to find out Lia's ties to the Organization was to infiltrate them. If he were to become one of them, finding out what Lia's position was would be easy. That way, he could discover what Lia would do on the last day of the loop which led to her death.
He took a deep breath in and out, solidifying his resolve.
Right now, Lia was suffering. With every day she kept on being an assassin, her psyche broke down. The thought of her killing herself in the end crossed Alvis' mind, but he knew Lia wasn't a coward who would throw away her life. It was way more likely she confronted the boss of the Organization and demanded he let her step out of everything. This he would obviously not approve of, and their conflict would result in her dying. This was Alvis' theory on what happened.
Of course, he could only confirm that if he were to infiltrate the organization. This alone sounded insane, yet he already had an idea of how he could do it. But for that, he would have to learn a few spells that would help him with his plan.
——
More than one week had passed, and Alvis had done the same things as in the last run. He had joined the student council and gained Lia's trust. Everything went exactly the same.
However, he had used all of his free time to learn the spell that would be irreplaceable for his plan. Mastering this spell in only one week was almost impossible, yet because he already knew the lesser version, he somehow managed it.
The spell he had spent all his time on was a higher version of his mind protector spell. Once activated, one could hide one's presence and even empaths wouldn't be able to notice one. This spell was his key to infiltrating the Assassin Organization. Without it, his plan would fail in the initial phase.
What Alvis came up with was risky. One false step and he would die. Lucky for him though he could respawn. That was why he would keep trying it until it succeeded.
But I hope it works in one try.
Alvis knew for a fact that Lia would meet with one person from the Organization three days before the loop ended. He knew that because of the one loop in which he followed Lia and in the end got killed by her.
Alvis still remembered what they had talked about. The man in red told Lia about her mission to kill Alvis. However, he also said that their boss was awaiting her response and that they should get going, to which she then responded she would get there now. This meant they both would go to their hideout. If Alvis were to follow them, he could find out where their hideout was.
This was the first step of his plan.
Lia would meet with that person two days from now, which meant Alvis had enough time to optimize the one gadget he also needed for his mission. It was one of the few gadgets of his that didn't burn down back then when he set his house on fire. Alvis still had to upgrade it for it to be useful in his plan. Asking R-18 for help would probably be the right decision.
This he did in the remaining two days.
——
A pungent stench of decay and rot assaulted Alvis' nostrils as he waited in the filthiest alleyway he had ever been. The streets of Beqa were as dangerous as ever, yet he had to stay in the alley until they came. Alvis just finished preparing his gadget for the big moment. He had made sure to be at the place where they would meet at least half an hour earlier than them. This he also succeeded in, which led to him peacefully arranging everything. Now all he had to do was wait.
Activating his newly learned spell, Alvis concealed his presence and hid behind a dustbin. Only by pinching his nose could he endure the stench that awaited him after staying behind a dustbin within Beqa. Alvis didn't dare to look at what they may have thrown in there.
Alvis had to wait for a few minutes before he finally saw Lia. The moment he saw her, his heart started racing for several reasons. One would be that his plan was about to start the other because it was Lia and his heartbeat rose every time he saw her.
Lia just stood there and in the blink of an eye, Alvis saw the man in red in front of her. With his arrival, the atmosphere got tense, his presence filling the alley with malice. Alvis even saw how a rat flee for her life.
Yet Alvis stayed composed, clutching the controller of his already deployed gadget. This time, he would listen to all of their conversation, while also at the same time using his gadget.
"Miss Lia," the assassin said, lowering his head. "I have got a message from the boss for you."
Just like last time, his behavior indicated he was beneath Lia in their hierarchy. Alvis could only wonder which position Lia had in their organization.
"What is it?" Lia asked, her face not showing any kind of emotion. "I already told him that I won't take up any more missions."
Alvis gulped seeing this serious Lia, yet he knew she couldn't be all smiley when talking to an assassin. Considering she also hated her job, her behavior was a given.
"It doesn't matter. Even you can't oppose him."
Lia clicked her tongue, unable to answer.
"Your mission is to complete what Drakil couldn't finish."
"What do you mean?"
"Kill the white-haired human boy with mana that is in your class. The boss told me he is from the Devil Cult, so you shouldn't have a problem."
"What?" Lia said, her eyes widening. "T-This can't be."
Alvis couldn't help but smile upon noticing the change in her reaction.
"Don't tell me you hesitate because he is in your class."
Lia didn't answer.
"The boss awaits your response. Let's get going."
With their conversation ending, Alvis hurriedly focused on his gadget. Because he had already prepared it beforehand, he now only had to attach it to one of them. By using its controller, he moved it towards Lia's shoe. It was so small they would never notice it. When it then was at her shoe, he attached it by simply pressing one button. Thus, he had completed the first step of his plan.
This time, both of them vanished. Unlike last time, she didn't notice Alvis.
The mind protector spell worked perfectly.
With both of them away, Alvis could finally step out of his cover and breathe some less corrupted air. Alvis' plan was to follow them, yet he knew he wouldn't be able to if they just vanished like that. That was why he used his gadget.
One look at his phone told him their position. The thing he attached to Lia's shoe was a marker linked to his phone. Alvis could follow its whereby and could locate it with his phone. With this gadget, Alvis could find out where their hideout was.
And with that, the second phase of his plan started!