Adam told Willow everything he knew to prepare her for the Goblin Village. Even though she had a grim expression when he described the best way to kill the goblins, he knew she was a fighter. When they parted ways, she promised she would practice against the target dummy as much as possible to get used to her sword and shield.

While Adam was worried, he remained hopeful that she'd be fine. If she could get enough Points to be able to afford switching weapons again after the Stage, then there was a good chance she might get the bow. She would be behind in terms of upgrades and Relics, but it was a small price to pay for survival.

As he walked back to the Player House, he felt a weird mix of feelings in his chest. He had already resigned himself to this universe not panning out, but his friend was here, and he owed her so much, even if she might never know it.

In the end, Helena had never showed up at the Tavern, though Adam constantly checked to see that she was still alive.

If she survived the first Stage, she might survive the second.

But I really wish I could've seen her.

He'd tried talking to Lenard as well, but no sooner had Adam struck up a conversation with him under the pretence of the Brawler weapon he'd picked than the guy had just got up and left the Tavern.

It's like this universe is cursed.

Though I suppose it's not the first one that's this bad.

When he got to the house, Yenna the wasp musician was waiting outside. She obviously couldn't remember anything about him, but she'd nevertheless agreed to come sing him a lullaby.

As he walked up to the door, the Glass Acorn he'd been carrying lifted up out of his pocket and planted itself in the grass near the apple tree and the little slime that appeared after the first Stage. For some reason, Finnian, the special slime denizen he'd been awarded for perfecting the Magical Forest, hung upside-down from a branch with his arms slumped against the ground. The little slime kept bumping into him.

"Adam, have you brought me cores?" Finnian asked in his strange ASMR whisper of a voice.

"Already sold them," he replied and went through the door, holding it open for Yenna to follow him in.

Annoyingly, Finnian slipped through the opening just as he was about to shut it.

"Mind if I use your bathtub?" Finnian asked.

Adam massaged the bridge of his nose. "Why?"

"Even slimes get dirty. We pick up a lot of detritus when we move about, you see."

"Are you going to leave when you're done?" Adam asked.

"Do you not want me here because I don't look like a wasp?" Finnian replied.

Adam frowned. "That's not…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the white humanoid slime shaped itself into a pretty good replica of Yenna.

"Now I am a wasp as well and I can stay," Finnian said.

Instead of getting offended or annoyed at the mockery of her appearance, Yenna simply spun her magical instrument around in her hands, turning it from a flute into a small drum that looked Japanese and had ropes that she grasped with her other hand. She struck it once and it produced a strange sound unlike anything Adam had ever really heard before.

Instantly, Finnian's body lost all rigidity, turning into a puddle on the floor of the house.

"My body!" he exclaimed in horror.

"This is a private party, so scram slime spawn," Yenna hissed at him.

Finnian was somehow still able to move as a puddle, and he quickly escaped by going under the front door and disappearing out into the garden.

"I had no idea you could do that," Adam said in surprise.

"Don't underestimate the power of the right melody," Yenna replied. "Now, am I singing you a lullaby or what?"

When Adam awoke in the Goblin Village, he was moving the second his eyes opened, telling the Eye to skip the buffer period before the first Wave.

With the Hardmode still active, the two goblins that appeared were armoured. But Adam knew all the spots their bone defences didn't cover, and his axe chopped into their necks and heads in a rapid flurry of motion, killing the two green club-wielding goblins within just a few seconds of their arrival. Adam collected Weaver's cocoon from the hut with the hole in the floor in the interim, as well as the ears of the two he'd slain.

He continued into the next Wave, dealing with the first blue spear-wielding goblin before it could even react, and managing to get the second just as it was about to swing. The third and last of the Wave was a bit more trouble though, as it put its spear to good use and dodged one of his attacks to strike its head. But then he turned its weapon into firewood and smacked the back of his axe-head into its skull with enough force to kill it.

After collecting the ears, he started the third Wave early, flying down through the village to the two raised platforms upon which the archers stood. He activated his Duellist's Glove and chopped right through one of the trees holding up a platform, crashing it down onto two of the green goblins and disabling the yellow archer atop it. Then he hurried up the other one and dealt with the archer there quickly, before hopping back down, landing on the last two club-wielders as they tried to get up to him, killing one with his body weight and chopping the head off the other. With a confident stride, he reached the downed archer, killing it with a single hit.

He once again collected all the ears, but this time he also took a moment to clean his axe-head and handle, since they were slick with blood.

Adam knew he was playing it pretty fast and loose, but he didn't have that much to lose in this universe, and it was making him reckless. Still, it was worth it for the extra Points, and the Woodsman certainly benefitted from blitz tactics. And besides, he'd gotten three upgraded rewards so far, so it was hard to argue with the results.

Since he wanted to be able to use his glove in the last Wave against the boss, Adam didn't hurry through the wait before Wave Four, instead letting it pass by normally.

When it started, he sprinted down the open space in the forest past the village, running down the archer, two spearmen, and four club-wielders. The yellow goblin clearly panicked, because its first shot went wide and he easily dodged the second. Then it was dead, its neck hacked open.

Again, the blue goblins gave him trouble, and while they dodged out of the way of his attacks, the green ones tried to mob him, forcing him to deal with them. He managed to block a club aimed at his knee, and a little after, when all four green goblins were dead, he deflected a thrust at his groin, sending the spear sliding between his thigh and left hand without touching him.

That's certainly not the way I'd like to go out, he thought with a grimace.

Once the spear-wielders were dead too, the Eye announcement revealed he hadn't been quite fast enough to get the upgraded reward.

This Wave always gives me trouble…

Adam waited out the interim again, since his glove still needed more time to finish its cooldown.

The moment the final Wave started, he sprinted down through the tunnels, avoiding all the ambushes that lay in wait on the way. Once he reached the final chamber with the Hobgoblin, he pulled off his crown and threw it at his feet where he sat on his throne of bones. While the boss went through his transformation, Adam ran into the room adjoined to the chamber, finding Belamouranthe kneeling on the smelly weeds in there.

"Have thee come to aid me?" she asked.

"Definitely," he told her. "Just give me a second."

He grabbed the Lucky Stone before returning to the boss chamber just as the Hobgoblin turned into a Lord by putting on the crown.

The moment the Secret Boss announcement arrived, Adam finished charging his Duellist's Glove and swung his axe at the boss' neck. Thanks to the Relic's special property, his blade moved through the bone armour protecting the Hobgoblin like it was just smoke, and it even sheared his spinal column, sending the boss' head flying into the ceiling before bouncing down onto the seat of the throne.

The six green goblins from the tunnels had come into the chamber just as he killed their leader, and the sight made them all pause long enough for Adam to kill three of them. But then the remaining three suddenly went feral and psychotic, forcing him to take defensive manoeuvres and carefully strike them down one by one.

He let out a sigh of relief when they were finally dead, his axe-head dripping blood onto the ground.

Thanks to switching to Gram's stats, he had an abundance of Stamina, and it was only really now he felt any sort of exhaustion looming.

[Excellent! You cleared the Wave within 15 seconds.]

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

That charged attack worked incredibly well.

I guess you can't really survive a lethal strike if it removes your head. Good to know.

< < Wave Five Complete > >

< < Stage Complete > >

< Tallying Score >

< < Score > >

< 90 Seconds Completion Time >

< 500 Point Secret Boss Bonus added >

< 400 Point Flawless Bonus added >

< 250 Point Speedrun Bonus added >

< 150 Point All Secrets Bonus added >

< 0 Damage Received >

< 3790 Points Awarded >

I did all that in just 90 seconds??

3790 Points is quite the accomplishment too. I really doubt I can do it much better than that, though maybe if I find a way to clear Wave Four a bit faster, but that's only a difference of a few dozen Points in the end.

Belamouranthe came out of the side room and into the chamber as the Relic Chest appeared and the Eye unfolded into an upgrade podium. One of the options from the chest were new to him. It looked like a pair of wooden clogs with small metal spikes underneath.

< < Relics Available > >

< Yellow Trophy (Rare) — Increase Player Speed by 15% for 10 seconds. 2-minute cooldown >

< Bone Armour (Uncommon) — Increases Player Defence by 30%. Breaks after 6 hits >

< Potion Belt (Uncommon) — Carries up to three potions and makes them indestructible | Uses the right-most potion when its associated resource is exhausted >

< Skittish Skaters (Rare) — Dodge the next attack aimed at you. 90-second cooldown >

Adam looked at the Potion Belt intently.

I might have been able to block one of that Voidspawn's attacks if I'd actually used the belt defensively at the time.

He thought back to that moment, losing himself in the memory of Emelia's gruesome death.

There's no way it would have worked, he concluded. Even if it's possible, I wouldn't have had the reflexes to pull it off.

He picked the Skittish Skaters, both because they were new to him, but also because the ability seemed useful.

< < Relic Selected > >

< Skittish Skaters (Rare) >

Then he went through and picked his upgrades. From the entire Stage, these were the six upgrades he ended up with:

< < Upgrades Selected > >

< Impact (Uncommon) — Increases the power behind attacks by 10% >

< Axe Speed (Epic) — Increases axe attack speed by 50% >

< Axe Damage (Uncommon) — Increases axe damage by 10% >

< Impact (Common) — Increases the power behind attacks by 5% >

< Block (Rare) — Increases block effectiveness by 15% >

< Deflect (Uncommon) — Increases deflect effectiveness by 10% >

Adam once again reached an evolution milestone as his axe hit level 12, and finally the evolution he'd been waiting for appeared.

< < Select an Evolution > >

< Huntsman — Gain a Bear Trap Relic >

< Predator — Turn the blade into blood-drinking metal that can track any creature whose blood it has imbibed >

The Huntsman axe was the same as what he already had, but next to its hologram was the bear trap. The weapon for Predator was like something that belonged to a cruel vampire as its axe-head was pulled down into a deeper and more brutal curve at the front, and a spike poked out at the other end that'd been blunt before. A round red jewel was embedded into the middle of the blade, which had turned a dark-grey, and it looked almost like the eye of a serpent.

Still, even though Predator surely had some interesting uses, Huntsman was the one he wanted.

< < Evolution Selected > >

< Forester => Huntsman >

< < Mastery Shard Obtained > >

Now I can start focusing on getting affliction-based upgrades to really take advantage of this.

He quickly inspected the Relic after it appeared on his belt in a miniature version.

< < Relic > >

< Bear Trap (Common) — Inflicts 100% Player damage to anyone who triggers the trap, along with the Trapped affliction, marking the target until their health is restored to full. 2-minute cooldown >

Adam had once again sacrificed his shirt to carry the trophies, but since he'd gotten Weaver's cocoon, his impropriety would only last a short while. And besides, he'd gotten 23 ears, so even though they were disgusting and soiled his white shirt, all he really saw them as were a boatload of Points.

The Eye transported him back to Interim Island, and though Luvicidix paused time to say hi, he told her he'd be back after selling his wares and ran off to the Market. It was fortunate that the price he could get in exchange for cores and trophies still remained at 100, since it hadn't been a sure thing, due to Lucca obviously forgetting him when he looped. But it seemed that the special denizen quests were the triggers for the value rising, so he didn't need to fear losing his 30% increased earnings, since Finnian and Migraine weren't going anywhere.

< < Relics Sold > >

< Goblin Ear (Common) x23 >

< 6610 Points Remaining >

Excellent.

His arrival to the Market had also summoned Weaver, who he dropped by to visit so that he could order a free replacement shirt delivered to his house.

I should also check on the lighthouse, Adam realised.

There hadn't been any announcements or alerts about it, but he thought it might finally have evolved.

Belamouranthe had, like every time before, followed him to the silk-weaving spider's stall. She was already busy describing the dress she'd like to have made.

A dark part of Adam's mind wondered what Stage Six would look like if he didn't save her, but his curiosity was not worth permanently losing her, and he felt guilty to even have considered it for a second.

He left her in the Market as he returned to the centre of the island. Sylvia passed him on the way, and he almost stopped to buy one of her permanent spells but ultimately decided against it for the moment.

Adam spent another 5,000 Points with Luvicidix, getting his Relic Saving up to the third tier.

< < Meta Upgrade Unlocked > >

< Relic Saving — Start every loop with 3 Saved Relic Slots >

Think that's a good place to leave it for now, he decided and saved his remaining 1610 Points.

After she took off into the clouds again, he went to the Tavern, eager to hear how Willow had fared and hoping his sister was still alive.

On the way he asked the Eye how many had survived.

[434 million Players survived Stage Two.]

More than my third loop, but way less than my fourth.

When Adam made it to the Tavern, he sat down on a stool, transforming it into a lounge chair by habit, and said, "Show me Willow Martin."

[The Player you are searching for has perished.]

"No!" he yelled in frustration and slammed the table.

A few seats down, Haoyang sat like an immovable rock, purple eyes scanning his surroundings with a cold and calculated gaze.

He thought about challenging the time-looper, since he had enough Mastery Shards to afford the Challenge Stone. But then he remembered his sister.

"Show me Helena Fischer."

[The Player you are searching for has perished.]

Damn it!

Fuck this fucking universe!

"Show me Lenard Schulz."

The German appeared almost directly opposite him. He had two beer bottles next to him and was absentmindedly scraping his thumb against the edge of his weapon, a large terrifying axe. It was part of the Berserker's kit, Adam realised. He had clearly swapped his weapons after Stage Two.

Then he saw the coloured dots above Lenard's head. He had obtained the Flawless and Speedrun bonuses.

"Lenard," Adam said, addressing his friend.

The German policeman turned to regard him. He had a dark look in his eyes, like he wasn't really there.

Then he vanished.

He just fucking blocked me…

Adam kicked his chair away as he stood up and marched out of the Tavern.

He returned to the island's centre and yelled into the sky for the white moth.

It took her a moment, but then her scales started orbiting him, freezing the Eye in place.

"Three times in a day. You must be really into me," Luvicidix teased.

"Put my remaining Points into Relic Saving," he told her, not bothering to play along.

< < Meta Upgrade Progress > >

< Relic Saving — Start every loop with 4 Saved Relic Slots — 1610/5000 Points >

"Excellent choice," she commented, but Adam had already left to go to the Player House, while unequipping his Skittish Skaters.

Once he got inside the house, he put the boots into the Relic Saving chest. Because he had increased the meta upgrade they weren't rejected, unlike when he'd tried with the Cruel Summoner's Gloves.

< < Relic Saving Activated > >

< 1 item >

< Skittish Skaters (Rare) >

He cast a glance across the wall of Stage awards he'd gotten. There was a new black one for Stage One, given to him by the Hardmode completion, although there hadn't been any tangible reward to accompany it, besides the doubling of Stage Points.

After leaving the Player House, he went to the lighthouse, crawling inside to check on the brazier.

< < Secret Relic > >

< First Light's Brazier (Uncommon) — Grows for 2 Stages >

It reset…

I have to beat four Stages in a row to evolve it, I guess.

Next time, maybe.

Once he left the flame, Adam went north, coming to a stop on the edge of the island. Clouds floated past below and above.

The sight reminded him of Stage Seven.

I wish I could've stayed in that world with Emelia for longer.

Pretending to be a pirate was a lot of fun, even if we caused our own mutiny through sheer pig-headed stupidity.

He sat down on the edge, continuing to look at the clouds.

[If you fall off Interim Island, you will die.]

"That's kind of the point, asshole."

[If you die, all of your loved ones die too.]

"I know you're lying. My sister's dead and I'm still here aren't I?"

The Eye went on, clearly trying to stop him. [If you are dead, who will save your family?]

"Can you just shut the fuck up?"

[Understood.]

Adam sighed.

This is harder than I thought it would be.

Sorry Willow.

I couldn't keep my promise.

Adam slowly leaned forward.

Then his body left solid ground.

Within moments, he passed through one of the clouds he'd been watching from above.

< < ADAM > >

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