Adam had eaten two of the croissants before he made it to the Market, but at this point he’d reached his limit. He halted as he saw the Wasp strumming the guitar.

  “Hello Adam,” she said in a sultry voice.

  “Hi again, Yenna,” he greeted.

  The response confused her by the looks of it, as she tilted her head while her black compound eyes stared at him.

  “I mean, nice to meet you.”

  “Do you like my melodies?”

  “They’re quite nice, yea.”

  “If you’d like, you can request any instrument or melody that you want.”

  He thought about it for a moment, then asked, “Do you know Estas Tonne?”

  “I do. Would you like me to play some of his melodies?”

  “That’d be great.”

  Yenna lowered her head and started strumming the guitar strings. He recognised it as the beginning to ‘Internal Flight’.

  Adam continued into the Market, but walked past all the vendors until he got to the freaky spider that sold Relics.

  Despite thinking he’d gotten used to the sight, he still couldn’t help but frown as he stopped in front of her stall.

  “Welcome, Adam. I am Lucca.”

  “Seriously, Shitbox. Why couldn’t you have made the vendors human?”

  [I was not the one who chose their appearance.]

  Lucca chittered. “I prefer eight limbs to four,” she said.

  “I’d just be way more comfortable if I was looking at a human face at least.”

  “If it is any consolation, your countenance is also upsetting to my eyes. You are very flappy.”

  Adam frowned. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

  “I sell Rerolls and Relics,” Lucca said, returning to business mode. She then reiterated her prices just like the first time he’d been here, while four items popped out of the black chest next to her, hovering above the lid. “My Rerolls cost 100 Points. The price of the Relics is based on their rarity, with Common being worth 150, Uncommon 300, Rare 500, Epic 1000, and so on. If you do not like the options I have, you can always Reroll them.

  “I will also buy any Relics of yours for half their worth. For example, you could sell me your Bark Armour for 150 Points.”

  Adam looked at the four options on display. There were two Commons and two Rares.

  < < Relics For Sale > >

  < Healing Apple (Common) — If the Player’s health falls below 25%, this apple is consumed, healing them back to full. Once consumed, the Relic disappears >

  < Slime Coating (Common) — The Player's weapons are coated with the essence of a Blue Slime, imbuing them with 10% additional Corrosive Damage. The Relic lasts for 3 Stages >

  < Boomerang Pendant (Rare) — Returns thrown objects. 15-second cooldown >

  < Scope of Insight (Rare) — Any target viewed through this Relic has their weaknesses laid bare >

  The Healing Apple must be a guaranteed option no matter what.

  Oh, that’s the Relic that Ilya was talking about.

  Still, I have 693 Points. I should probably reroll and see what I can get. A Rare is 500 after all.

  “I’ll buy a Reroll Die and use it immediately,” Adam said.

  “Excellent,” Lucca chittered ominously.

  < < Relic Purchased > >

  < Reroll Die (Uncommon) >

  < 593 Points Remaining >

  The die lifted itself from the red velvet pillow and began spinning. Light shone from the ten numerals etched into it and the four options were sucked back into the black chest. Then the die popped in a small golden explosion.

  The chest rumbled for a moment as though alive and golden light leaked out from under its lid. A moment later, the lid shot open dramatically and revealed four new options.

  Adam immediately noticed the purple glow of the Epic item. It was a crown.

  < < Relics For Sale > >

  < Slime Core (Common) — The brain and heart of a Slime >

  < Committed Attack Ring (Uncommon) — All Cooldown-based Relics gain a second use that can be triggered within 10 seconds of the first activation, but the cooldown is tripled >

  < Green Slime Glove (Rare) — Player can touch corrosive materials | Fire a glob of highly-corrosive green slime. 60-second cooldown >

  < Slime King’s Crown (Epic) — Become the King of Slimes | Player turns into a humanoid Slime with four cores that each hold 25% of total health >

  The Slime Crown sounds quite interesting. Although, if I become a Slime, then it’ll be quite easy for someone to kill me with a piercing weapon.

  Wait there’s another option with 2 effects. It’s Rare.

  Adam looked at the strange green jelly glove.

  I can afford that. Shooting green slime sounds kind of cool.

  I could also sell my Bark Armour, reroll again, and see if something useful comes along. However, it seems that all options are changed when a Reroll Die is used.

  He couldn’t decide what to do.

  “Lucca, do you think I should get the glove?”

  “Yes, please use all your Points on my wares.”

  Adam frowned. “That doesn’t help me…”

  [The Dimensional Tavern can be utilised if you’d like to obtain information about a Relic,] Shitbox advised.

  He sighed. “Guess I’ll go back there.”

  From the position of the sun, he figured there was only about an hour of daylight left. He needed to hurry.

  “Show me everyone who got the Green Slime Glove.”

  The tables of the Tavern filled with holograms of people, then flickered a moment later and replaced everyone, repeating again a few seconds later.

  Okay, that’s quite a lot…

  “Filter by those who know how it works and haven’t unlocked Speedrun or no-hit bonuses.”

  The holograms flickered and there were now about twelve people scattered across the hundreds of seats, with one even seated up above on the first floor.

  That’s actually a good way to find useful trades, he realised. I should do that next time I’m looking for info.

  Adam addressed them, “I’m looking to trade info about an integral Trials feature to the first person who can explain how the Slime Glove functions.”

  “I’ll trade!” a female voice immediately called from above. The accent was British.

  The other holograms flickered out before they could even say anything. Then the woman appeared in front of Adam. She had dark skin and black hair cut in a bob. Her apple-cheeks made her seem friendly. In front of her was a chai latte and a half-eaten cinnamon palmier.

  Just like him, she was wearing the Bark Armour Relic, which covered her white blouse. On her left hand was the Green Slime Glove. He frowned when he saw that her bones were visible within the jelly that’d replaced her skin and flesh.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Hello!” she greeted eagerly. “Oh, we picked the same clothes. Awkward…”

  “Hi there,” he replied. “I guess I should start?”

  “Don’t worry, it isn’t possible to run away from a trade when you’ve agreed to it,” she told him. “You physically can’t pull yourself out of the seat until the trade is done.”

  That’s good to know. But also kind of scary. Hopefully there are protections in place to avoid someone getting locked into a trade they can’t complete.

  “I’m Adam,” he said.

  “Kate,” she replied, raising her hand above the table.

  Adam grinned and leaned forward to high-five her, although their fingers passed through each other.

  “Okay, so,” he started, “the first Stage had both Speedrun and no-hit bonuses.”

  “I must’ve been really close,” she said. “Eyebox told me I was fast on some Stages. Those spiky bastards gave me quite a lot of trouble though.”

  “I think the threshold must be something like 200 seconds. I call my guy Shitbox by the way.”

  Kate laughed. “That’s much better than my nickname. Is no-hit just avoiding damage?”

  He nodded.

  “That’s good to know.”

  “They give bonus Points, with the no-hit one giving the most, at least in the first Stage.”

  “I suppose I should try to get that one then. I got hit quite a lot in the first Stage,” she admitted with a frown. Then she lifted her left hand. “Putting this on wasn’t pleasant either. Quite cruel these Trials, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Sadistic,” he agreed, nodding. “Is it good? The glove’s attack, I mean.”

  “It is,” she replied. “The projectile it shoots completely destroyed the target dummy in my Player House. It even damaged the floor.”

  “I think I might get it then,” he said.

  “What weapon do you use?” Kate asked.

  “A spear. It was perfect against the slimes.”

  “I picked the Rapier,” she said placing the weapon on the table.

  “What Weapon Type is that?”

  “Duellist.”

  Ah, I think I got that option at the start as well.

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

  Adam turned to look back at Shitbox hovering behind him.

  “Sure, I’ll talk to them.”

  [Understood.]

  “It seems someone else wants to trade with me,” Adam told Kate.

  “Talk to you later,” she said with a wave. “Thanks for the trade.”

  Then she winked out, only to be replaced by a woman with dark hair in a ponytail. She wore a light-grey blouse with long sleeves and there was a pink milkshake in front of her.

  Adam blinked in surprise. “Willow?”

  The woman looked pretty surprised herself. “Do you know me?”

  “Sort of,” he told her.

  “You got the Speedrun bonus and the Secret, right?”

  “That’s right,” he replied. “Did you get those too?”

  “I did. But it seems there’s only two of us.”

  “There were actually two other guys,” he told her. “A German and a Russian.”

  “Maybe they’re not here right now.”

  “They went ‘shopping’,” Adam explained. “I was actually about to leave for the Market as well.”

  “I see. I was hoping we could talk a little bit about the Stage.”

  She seemed less sure of herself than the first time they’d spoken, but perhaps it was due to the dynamic being different this time around. Or maybe it was because he’d called her by her name.

  “If you can wait like 20 minutes, then I’ll be back. My name’s Adam by the way. Adam Fischer.”

  “I’m Willow, although you somehow already knew.”

  “And your last name? It’ll make you easy to find. There are quite a lot of people in Australia called Willow.”

  She blinked in surprise, then laughed. “Are you stalking me?”

  “I promise you the answer is way more bizarre than you can guess, but I really need to get going before it becomes dark.”

  “Don’t leave me hanging, Adam Fischer,” she said. “My full name is Willow Martin.”

  “I’ll buy the Green Slime Glove,” Adam told Lucca.

  “That will be 500 Points,” the spider replied, a sinisterly-gleeful tone in her voice.

  I could sell the Bark Armour and get 2 Rerolls, or more Points to spend on Luvicidix’s upgrades.

  No, it’s better I keep it.

  “Deal,” he said.

  < < Relic Purchased > >

  < Green Slime Glove (Rare) >

  < 93 Points Remaining >

  Then the Green Slime Glove appeared on his right hand.

  Adam screamed in sudden indescribable pain.

  He was immediately reminded of his previous run, where he’d destroyed his hand by sticking it inside a Blue Slime. This was way more aggressive, since the slime was green.

  Kate you bastard! You could’ve warned me it was this bad!

  After ten brutal seconds spent in jaw-clenching agony, the pain subsided. From his wrist to his fingertips were now only bones, with the green slime replacing his skin and flesh.

  Adam flexed his fingers and could easily move them. In fact, there was no discernible difference.

  Hopefully I can still use my weapon.

  He shifted the spear he’d been leaning on to his right hand, but even as the green jelly touched the wooden shaft, nothing happened.

  I can even feel what the glove is touching. That’s very peculiar.

  What happens if I unequip the Relic though?

  The sun was setting, so Adam bid farewell to the spider.

  See you in my nightmares…

  He managed to return to the centre of Interim Island, where he’d first met the White Moth, before it became night.

  Time froze as silver scales rained down around him.

  “Hello again, Adam,” came the voice of Luvicidix from above.

  Then she landed before him on the street, her arrival utterly silent.

  “You came just in time.”

  “Why do you have to leave when it becomes dark?”

  “I cannot say.”

  Adam suddenly remembered something he’d wanted to check during his first life.

  “Is it because of that tent in the Garden?”

  “I… cannot say.”

  That pause seems like a clue!

  “Anyway, I wanted to put my remaining 93 Points into one of your Upgrades.”

  “Which one?”

  “The Rewards Upgrade.”

  “Of course.”

  < < Meta Upgrades Progress > >

  < Rewards — Increase Reward Options by 1 — 93/4000 Points >

  “You have used up all your Points,” Luvicidix stated. “I will now take my leave.”

  “Hey, wait!”

  The silver scales floating in the air all pulled themselves back to the Moth’s white wings. Then she flapped them once and shot into the air, disappearing into a sunset-coloured cloud.

  I guess I’ll go to the Garden before I return to the Tavern.

  He’d only been gone for about 10 minutes, but he was worried Willow would leave before he returned.

  From the centre of the island, he headed west. As he moved past the many dumpy buildings, the sun fully set and submerged the houses and streets in darkness. A few minutes passed where he fumbled around, trying to stay on course.

  Then the moon arose from the east and cast a silver light across his surroundings. It had the intensity of the sun, but its light was cold and unwelcoming.

  After a few minutes he found the garden with the strangely-shaped flowerbeds. Just like the first time, they were placed in three layers like some kind of strange symbol, with parts missing to allow people to walk through without trampling the flowers. The outermost layer was a square, the middle was a ring, and the centre was a triangle. Inside the triangle-shaped flowerbeds was a dark-blue tent.

  All the flowers were Dahlias and, in the silver light of the moon, all of them were black.

  Well, that’s new.

  “Still got nothing to say about this place?” Adam goaded Shitbox.

  [It is recommended that you visit the Player House and get proper sleep before tomorrow. The Player House is located on the edge of Interim Island to the east. Stage Two will commence tomorrow at dawn.]

  He shook his head.

  As expected.

  Adam walked through the gaps in the patterns the flowerbeds were arranged into. When he reached the centre and stood before the tent, he realised that another thing had changed. The door flap was pulled down and purple light spilled out from within.

  His heart started suddenly pounding against his ribcage.

  I wonder what’s inside.

  Adam cautiously lifted the flap. Incense and smoke wafted out, obscuring his view. Despite not knowing what awaited him inside, he entered.

  As the flap closed behind him, the obscuring fog dissipated. A round wooden table stood between him and a small black moth, which crouch-perched atop a high-backed chair. Its body was as dark as its black compound eyes. It was like it was a piece of shadow sculpted into physical form.

  Tiny ash-like scales floated around in the air, orbiting the brown table and chair. A fine silken shawl full of intricate patterns was spread over the table and atop it stood a glass orb that gave off the purple light he’d seen.

  Another merchant?

  It’s a moth like Luvicidix, so maybe that’s a clue to its purpose.

  “You do not have… what I seek, Adam.”

  The voice was predictably female, but the tone was bored and tired, as though she didn’t want to be here.

  “Can I still see what you sell, even though I’m out of Points?”

  “It is not Points… that I seek.”

  Uh oh. It’s probably some weird sacrifice thing then… This moth isn’t giving off the most trustworthy impression after all.

  “If not Points, then what are you after?”

  “Shards of Mastery.”

  “What’s that?”

  The black moth did not answer. Or, more likely, she wasn’t allowed to.

  He turned to look at the tesseract, but it was stuck in the doorway, frozen in time.

  “Are you another loop-based vendor?” he asked.

  “You have met my… twin?”

  “Luvicidix is your twin?”

  The moth inclined her head slightly.

  “I am Alivida. I am night. My twin is day.”

  “Uhuh… So, can I see what you’re offering?”

  “You do not possess… the shards.”

  He frowned.

  The moth didn’t seem to like that expression very much.

  “Fine… I will show you regardless. But… do not return without shards.”

  “Deal.”

  < < Mastery Upgrades For Sale > >

  < Hardmode — Unlock a toggleable Stage Hardmode — 1 Shard >

  < Second Sheath — Carry 1 additional Weapon — 2 Shards >

  < Orb of Insight — View info about the upcoming Stage — 3 Shards >

  < Visiting Stone — Visit the Dimension of a known Player — 8 Shards >

  < Vanity — Turn an Interim Island Denizen into a humanoid — 10 Shards >

  “Holy shit,” he muttered in awe.

  There’s actually a way to transform all these creepy insects into humans!

  And there’s a way to visit other Players!

  Man… All of these upgrades are great.

  I really need to get my hands on some shards!

  “These upgrades, are they like Luvicidix’s? Do they carry over between loops?”

  “They are and they do.”

  “I’ll get my hands on these shards and return as soon as possible!”

  “Take your time…”

  Adam pushed aside the tent flap and ran back towards the distant Tavern. A shit-eating grin was plastered on his face.

  “You’re back,” Willow said, surprised. “And right on time too.”

  Adam was breathing quickly from his spirited jog from the Garden to the Tavern.

  “I’ve got so much to tell you!”

  “First, you have to tell me how you know my name.”

  Adam put his hands on the table and leaned forward.

  Willow copied him and leaned in conspiratorially.

  “I killed the tesseract. Just like we talked about, the first time that I met you.”

  She pulled back slightly. “I don’t remember ever meeting you before,” she said with a frown. “But, I’m glad it’s possible. Fuck that little murder cube.”

  “The thing is. When I did it, it blew up and killed me. But for some reason, I went back in time. Although, things are different now. You had a bow when we first met, as well as the Blink Ring Relic.”

  Willow leaned back, narrowing her eyes. “You sound like a crazy person.”

  “I know!” Adam admitted.

  This time around Willow had a magic staff. It leaned against the stool next to her and was a gnarled wooden thing.

  “I would’ve picked bow if it was an option,” she admitted. She took a long sip of her milkshake, then fixed Adam with a suspicious look. “How do I know you’re actually telling the truth?”

  “Go to the dark-blue tent in the Garden on the western side of the Island, you’ll meet a black moth named Alivida there. Ask her if the mastery upgrades she sells carry over between loops. If she can’t answer that, ask about her twin, Luvicidix. She’s a white moth who sells meta upgrades that persist between loops.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” she asked. “I mean, if this is true, shouldn’t you be keeping it to yourself?”

  She’s right of course, but I can’t just keep this to myself.

  I’d go crazy if no one knew…

  He nodded and said, “You obviously don’t remember this, but the first time we met in here, you helped me out. Thanks to you, I was able to destroy Shitbox.”

  Adam looked back to where the tesseract floated, but it seemed to not be paying attention to their conversation. It was also possible that any talk of looping back in time was obscured from it by the All-Seeing System. Initially, it’d tried to interrogate him about how he knew things he shouldn’t be able to know, but then it had stopped, which was unsettling.

  Willow made to stand and put her hands on the table. He noticed that she had a strange ring around her right index finger. “I will go check the Garden. I’d like to trust you, but it honestly just sounds insane to me.”

  Adam smiled weakly. “More insane than being transported here by a floating talking box?”

  “I’ll be back.”

  Then her hologram flickered and vanished.

  The tavern fell silent.

  Adam waved over Charlie the red ant.

  “Yes, Adam?”

  “I’d like to try your cheeseburger,” he told her. “I have it on good authority that it’s delicious. Also, another milkshake please.”

  “Anything else?”

  He looked to the plate of croissants he’d brought with him. There were still two left.

  “I’m good for now,” he said.

  Don't forget there is still the possibility for up to 3 more bonus chapters based on how the story performs.

  The closest bonus drop is for Loopshard hitting Rising Stars All, but I still need a push to get onto there. You can help by .

  I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I'm having a ton of fun writing it, that's for sure.