"You what!?" Adam asked.

"I killed it," Gladwyn said matter-of-factly.

Beck shook his head. "You should've tried talking to him first."

"He jumped out at me in the darkness, of course I'd think it was an ambush!" the Defender argued.

"Adam and I didn't try to fight it," Beck said.

"You're too trusting," he shot back.

"Did you get anything?" Adam asked.

"You bet," Gladwyn replied. "I got an inert version of the Abyssal Tooth, which was Epic rarity. I sold it for 500."

Beck shook his head again. "You've lost access to that vendor forever now."

"I still think it was worth it," he said.

"Even if Skǫll has some interesting stuff to buy, trying to get the currency to buy them is a bad idea. You'll have to kill other Players after all."

Beck shrugged. "They'll come back when we clear the Trials though, so what's the issue? They might not even remember dying."

Adam shook his head. "Actually, I don't think they'll come back. From how the octopus phrased it, it seems like the sacrifice is permanent."

"I don't even understand why we'd get something like this," Gladwyn said. "So far the Stages are just fighting NPCs. Are they planning on pitting us against each other?"

"More importantly," Beck said, staring right at Adam, "how did you know about Weaver and the Lucky Stone? You also knew about how the Goblins fight. How??"

"Someone else told me," Adam lied.

"That's suspicious," Gladwyn said.

Adam shrugged.

"I know you're not telling us the whole truth, Adam! Maybe you're not actually a Player, but instead something like the Observer sent here to lead us astray and ultimately betray us when we least expect it!" Beck speculated wildly.

"That's crazy," Adam replied.

"Is it really?" Beck asked, raising an eyebrow dramatically.

"A little bit," Gladwyn admitted.

"I'm watching you," Beck said, gesturing with two fingers from his eyes to Adam's.

Adam just laughed. "So, how did you do in Stage Two?"

"I got the Flawless Bonus again," Gladwyn answered proudly.

Beck huffed. "I got the Speedrun."

"How many Points?"

"1415 Points for me," Gladwyn said. "I think my time was something like 320 seconds overall."

"I got a speed of 215 seconds," Beck gloated. "But I took 70 damage, so my Point total was 1335."

"Damn, wouldn't that almost kill you as a Spellcaster?" Adam asked.

"It's okay, I have 75 Health."

Adam frowned. "That's pretty reckless, Beck."

"That's what my ex-wife always said when I was driving too, but a near-miss is still a miss!"

Adam laughed. "Well, regardless of how fast you went, the result is that you're the loser," he said.

"What!? Why? What did you get?"

Adam puffed up his chest a bit. "3530 Points."

Gladwyn and Beck shared a glance.

"Liar," Beck accused him, aiming the mustard-covered sausage of his hotdog at him.

"That shouldn't even be possible," Gladwyn agreed. "The seconds are clearly detracted from the overall score by 1 point per 1 second spent, and then there's the fixed score for killing the enemies. So, even if you completed the entire Stage in 100 seconds without taking damage, that would only be 1885 Points with the two bonuses."

Wow, he's already figured out the math behind it? That's quite impressive for just clearing two Stages.

"It's simple, I bought and activated the Hardmode that Alivida sells, then I also killed the Secret Boss."

"There are secret bosses??" Gladwyn and Beck both blurted out.

"This one required an item from the Secret Boss in Stage One," Adam revealed.

"I need to know…" Beck said. "How fast did you complete the Stage?"

Adam grinned. "145 seconds."

"Are you like a time-traveller or something?" he asked.

Adam laughed it off. "I wish!"

Damn, these two are pretty smart… I need to be more careful.

He tried bullshitting his way out by saying, "If I was a time-traveller, wouldn't I already have known about the Nickname system?"

Gladwyn shrugged. "You could just be kind of a slow learner."

"Yeah, everyone knows that the heroes in time-loop stories are all pretty clueless at the start. It's a pretty common trope."

"Ouch," Adam replied. "I mean, if you don't trust me, you could ask the Eye to look up any Player that has looped back in time."

"Don't think I won't call your bluff!" Beck said.

Then he turned away and his hologram vanished.

Gladwyn shook his head. "He always gets fired up about random stuff."

Adam smiled.

A moment later Beck rejoined them.

"The Observer got really mad that I asked about time-looping. Apparently, such a thing would defy the Trials."

"Isn't that the whole point?" Adam said, playing along.

"So no one appeared?" Gladwyn asked.

"No, there was a person. This blonde chick with creepy purple eyes."

Adam decided to shift their focus away from himself and did his best to pretend to be shocked. "Did she wear a red sweater?"

"She did."

"That's the person who told me about Stage Two!" Adam exclaimed.

"Crap…" Gladwyn muttered. "She's definitely a time-traveller then."

"I'm gonna confront her," Beck decided.

"Hold up," Adam said.

"What?"

"First you've gotta change your Nickname."

Beck blinked several times in quick succession. Then he frowned. "Shit."

"You made the rules," Gladwyn told him.

"You did," Adam agreed.

Beck sighed deeply. "Get it over with, just tell me what to switch it to."

Adam grinned deviously.

"Becky."

While Beck and Gladwyn went off to the Market to spend their Points, Adam leaned back in his recliner and absent-mindedly played with the barrier floating in the air. At the same time he was watching Belamouranthe and Finnian running along the tables.

The two of them were duelling for some reason, using the bones from the girl's boar stew as weapons. She was surprisingly adept with the improvised weapon as she deftly deflected and riposted the slime humanoid's swings and jabs.

Migraine came into the tavern and waddled over to sit down next to Adam. He smelled like dirt and cooking oil. He looked down.

Adam sighed and finally asked, "What's wrong?"

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Is already dark and nobody want shag."

The answer caught Adam so off-guard that he lost his concentration on the barrier and it unfolded itself with a loud woosh.

"Actually, forget I asked."

"Nobody love Migraine," sobbed the goblin.

"You've probably just gotta tone it down a bit. Maybe you're coming on too strong."

"Bulge said strong the only way."

Adam sighed deeply, unsure of how to get himself out of this conversation.

[Another Player is trying to communicate with you. Do you wish to talk to them?]

Oh thank God!

"Who is it?"

[Player Emelia.]

No last name…

She must've set her Nickname like me, all just to avoid me finding out her full name.

That's kind of suspicious.

"I'll talk to her."

Emelia appeared opposite him.

"Great timing!" he said. "Migraine was starting to ask some uncomfortable questions."

"That one is a menace. I've banned him from the Tavern," she said.

"Didn't know you could do that."

"I thought you said Weaver would make you a shirt," she commented, looking at his exposed torso.

"It might be at the Player House, I just haven't picked it up yet." He grinned. "Is it making you uncomfortable?"

She ignored his jab and looked at his right hand, before moving her gaze to his eyes. The purple swirls pulled him in and he couldn't look away.

"You accepted the Abyssal Tooth," she stated, clearly having noticed the scale on his thumb. "Are you going to use it?"

"I don't know," he replied.

The Challenge Stone appeared in Emelia's hand.

"I will stop you," she said decisively.

"Have you ever used it?"

"No. Arturo warned me against it."

Adam nodded. "Because it messes up your universe."

"Exactly. He dealt with someone that got to Stage Twelve by hoarding all the Points from the group Stages. After killing the Player, he used the Tooth on her. In his next loop, all the groups ended up composed of different people. Even the rewards he got were changed, all because just one Player didn't exist in the Trials anymore. If you kill someone in a loop, like with the Challenge Stone, it doesn't drastically alter everything that comes afterwards, like drops and rewards."

This means that the seed is planted at the start of the Trials, Adam realised.

But that's quite an impact. I guess this is Nwetrou's way of usurping the perceived unfairness of the Self-devouring Eye.

But if you're confident enough in your own power and have enough meta upgrades, then it can be a great way to mix up the odds and try to attain a better outcome. Of course, if you don't know or aren't prepared enough or just get bad luck, then it could ruin your chances of getting the Divine Relic again.

"Wait, what do you mean killing someone doesn't drastically change things?"

"As far as I can tell and from what Arturo has told me, the groups are decided at the beginning of the Trials somehow. In my last loop, someone that I have to fight in Stage Five died earlier because of my actions somehow indirectly changing his decisions. When I got to Stage Five, the rest of the group was the same, but that person was missing and someone who normally never survives to that point had replaced him."

Weird. I wonder what Mórrígan meant by my actions making her run unsalvageable then. I guess it's just because a small ripple of change can lead to bigger consequences?

"But even if I don't use the Abyssal Tooth, someone else might," Adam remarked.

Emelia looked grim. "I always keep an eye out for anyone who has obtained the Abyssal Tooth. Besides you and your two friends, there was one other. I have already dealt with him. So long as I can get rid of Nwetrou's adherents before Stage Five, there is very little chance they will use it. Of course, they might use it on one of the Island's denizens, but that doesn't affect anyone else."

Adam felt uncomfortable at the mention of Gladwyn and Beck, and the casual way with which she talked about potentially having killed someone else.

I should probably warn them about Emelia…

"My friends won't use it. Also, only Beck got the Tooth, Gladwyn killed the octopus."

"He killed Skǫll?" Emelia asked, sounding concerned for some reason.

"Is that bad?"

"It will cause problems in Stage Eleven. But he won't make it that far."

Adam frowned.

"I could be wrong," she then said. "After all, his friend survived Stage Two thanks to you."

Holy shit, Beck was supposed to die to the goblins…

"They're both quite clever," Adam said. "I think they can go far together."

"Did they find the deep place without you?"

"Kind of, although I told them about Weaver. They found Alivida on their own."

"There's a shortage of curious people who make it far," she said. "It's almost always the same type who makes it to Stage Ten, those that are resilient to despair and don't take unnecessary risks."

"How many make it to Stage Ten usually?"

"In my last loop it was about 3.000 Players. Before that it was 4.500."

"Damn."

"I'm hoping for at least 10.000 this time," she said.

"Why is it so few?"

"Well, Stage Five is a big reason. It cannot be defied. Even Arturo couldn't do it and he looped more than twenty times before handing me the reins. It always reduces the Player count by at least 80%.

"After that, most survive Stage Six, but then they learn how the Points are distributed for group Stages and greed takes over. Don't get me wrong, the Stages themselves become quite difficult and barely anyone would be able to beat one alone. But the number one issue is always the Player factor. There's also a lot of paranoia going around since many Players choose to worship Nharlla, and his first boon randomly introduces the human mimic to Stages."

Human mimic??

And who the hell is Nharlla?

"What do you mean by worship?" Adam asked. "Is that what Skǫll was talking about?"

Maybe it's tied to the Forbidden Altar?

Emelia paused as though realising she'd revealed too much.

"I'll explain more after Stage Four," she then said.

"What about the Point distribution? What's the issue there?"

She shook her head, so he dropped the topic for now.

I think Willow and I were right about the reward distribution for group Stages.

I hope she's alright. It feels weird not having her here.

I think I'll try and ask Gladwyn to approach her on my behalf later.

"I ended up picking Summoner," he said, breaking the silence. "Before you say anything, it's a lot stronger than you think."

Emelia paused, mouth half open. Then she smiled at his prediction. "Why was I wrong?"

"It works with the Dented Crown and it can trigger itself. Stage Four is going to be a bloodbath since I'll be able to just burn through the waves of enemies."

She contemplated it for a moment. "So you're going for a summoner build?"

"That does seem to be the way it's going."

"Arturo used the Shaper very offensively. He could fold and warp the barrier into a needle. It was able to pierce and kill almost anything in a single hit. It was essentially just a glass cannon build that prioritised damage, but it worked well. A lot of builds are like that. They focus on damage for the most part, either through stacking multiplicative buffs or by boosting speed and impact. Although a few defence-oriented ones do appear after the rules for the Flawless achievement change in Stage Six. I haven't seen anyone make it far with summon-based Relics though."

"I think it can do well."

"We'll see," she replied sceptically.

"Do you know what the evolutions are for Summoner?"

"Only the first set. They're Elementalist and Invoker. The first one, as the name implies, adds four elemental boosts to the set of wand spells."

"What about Invoker?"

"It increases summons by 1," she said.

Adam grinned. "Guess I know what I'm levelling next."

"If you have a reliable way of triggering the Wraith Lantern, then it could potentially be strong."

"It should also give me another barrier," he said.

"It's hard to say for sure," she replied. "I don't know the exact wording. For both the Zealot and Pit Fighter the descriptions just say 'Weapon Damage', which is why they apply multiplicatively to whichever weapon you're holding."

"I'm surprised their effects work even when they're not equipped."

"It's one of the quirks that's good to know. Normally the evolution descriptions are either specific, such as with Shaper which only says you can shape the barrier, but a few have broader wording. It's all about figuring out the loopholes."

"The Spear Dancer applied its effect to all damage."

She nodded. "That one is popular. It combos well with a lot of stuff."

"I used the Spring Boots in my last run," he said. "It worked really well with my Relics."

"Then why didn't you make it past Stage Five?"

"Part of it might have been because of the Fiendbarb Relic I was using."

Emelia gave him a look as though she thought he was stupid. "You do understand that the main benefit of going fast and increased damage is that it can tear through armour, right? Using the Fiendbarb basically negates the main purpose of Spear Dancer's boost. You can use paper-thin armour and you'll survive against that Relic… Even the stuff Weaver makes can protect you from the Fiendbarb."

"Alright, I get it. It was stupid to use it."

"It's good in certain situations, certainly, but the Fiendbarb mostly gets Players killed because it becomes a crutch."

"In my defence," Adam started, "Mórrígan basically hand-picked the person who killed me in the Forbidden Altar. She knew he would be in my group, so she taught him everything he needed to kill me. I had no chance of surviving that. And even if I had, there was another hitman waiting for me in Stage Six."

"Did she find out you were a time-looper? Is that why she was after you?"

"Yeah. She was talking about the loop being unsalvageable because of me."

Emelia frowned. "I hope I don't end up like that…"

"I don't think you will," Adam said sincerely. "Your goal is to help people. I think Mórrígan wanted power more than anything else. I don't think she was even trying to complete the Trials."

Emelia smiled at his words, but then her expression hardened. "Arturo said that the power of the Divine Relic was addicting. So far, all I feel is this great responsibility to use the power well. I don't like experimenting with people's lives, but I have to help as many people survive as possible. Even just one or two extra people making it past Stage Twenty could make a huge difference."

There's quite a lot of Stages it seems…

"You won't tell me how many Stages there are, right?"

"If I knew, I would."

"So the furthest you've gone, the place where you found the Divine Relic, it's not the end?"

"No."

Adam could tell she wouldn't reveal what Stage it was and, though he understood why, it still frustrated him. She had all this knowledge and he was the ideal person to impart it to, and yet she was unwilling to do it.

With a small sigh, he decided to ask about something else. His eyes briefly shifted to where Finnian had turned into a big blob and Belamouranthe was splayed out on top of it, fast asleep. They were like two kids who'd played until their bedtime, with their improvised bone weapons on the floor nearby.

"How can I save Bel?" he asked.

"You have to get the Secret Relic from Stage Three. It's on the driver's body."

"The All-Mother's Wrath."

"That's right. It has several hidden effects. One of them is that it breaks and permanently curses you with lethargy if you're wearing it and act with malice towards a child. Another is that any child who wears it will be protected from harm thanks to the All-Mother's benevolence. If you want to save Belamouranthe, you have to give it to her."

"That's what I thought," Adam said, relieved.

"It's not completely straight-forward," she continued. "If you give it to her before Stage Four, it will disappear during that Stage when she and her mother are preparing the ritual. My guess is that her mother knows it will interfere with the ritual, so she gets rid of it. You have to give it to Belamouranthe just before you take the final chest after killing the boss and end the Stage. That's the only way to save her."

"Does it change anything?"

She nodded. "It's one of the variant triggers, although a minor one."

"Variant triggers?"

"That's what Arturo called them. Basically, it's possible to alter Stages in certain ways. The most common one is by every member of a group fulfilling the same requirement. Anyway, it's not important to you right now. The variant from saving Belamouranthe doesn't come into play until Stage Six."

Emelia paused and looked to a seat further down the table. "It seems your friends just returned."

She's keeping tabs on them? Does she have some kind of query going just to inform her when certain people arrive?

Suddenly two holograms appeared opposite Adam, then Emelia flickered and reappeared next to him. The two older guys were both wearing newly-spun clothes, courtesy of Weaver. Both of them had bought Relics as well, with Gladwyn getting the Bone Armour and Avalanche Boots. Beck had bought the Curse-Giver Necklace and probably spent the rest of his Points on upgrades.

The tall guy looked between Adam and Emelia suspiciously, while Gladwyn said hello. Beck fixed Adam with a stare.

"I knew you'd betray us," he said.

"It's not like that at all," Adam defended himself.

"Hello Beck and Gladwyn. My name is Emelia," she greeted.

Gladwyn was looking at her eyes, while Beck continued to stare at Adam.

"Actually, he recently changed his name," Gladwyn said.

"Oh right, I almost forgot," Adam added.

Beck deflated. "I'll win the bet for the next Stage, I swear."

"That's actually what I wanted to help you with," Emelia revealed.

"You're a time-traveller, right?" Gladwyn asked.

She paused for a moment, then smiled slightly.

"That's right," she said. "So listen up, unless you want to die."

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