Adam was in the middle of talking to a Scandinavian guy named Sven, who’d picked the Slime King Relic, when Shitbox announced:

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

  “Yes please.”

  [Understood.]

  “Sorry, Sven, but I’ve gotta go.”

  “Thank you for the information, Adam,” he said. Thanks to the Relic, he was now made of the same stuff as the slimes of Stage One and four cores floated around within his body. He only had the outline of his previous features, but no visible mouth, eyes, hair, or anything. A rusted metal crown sat atop his head, the only part of him not made of jelly.

  Nevertheless, from his description of how it functioned, Adam thought it might be great for a ranged setup, since the ‘King of Slimes’ effect interacted with projectiles in a unique way.

  “Likewise,” Adam replied.

  The guy’s strange hologram flickered and vanished, before Willow took his place.

  “You weren’t lying!” she exclaimed, speaking quickly.

  “You met Alivida?”

  Willow nodded. “Although, it wasn’t a woman like you said, but another guy.”

  “Another guy?” he asked, confused.

  “Yeah, all the insects are guys. Isn’t it the same for you?”

  “No, they’re all women. Or well, their voices are.”

  “Weird.”

  Adam grimaced. “They’re supposed to be our ideal companions.”

  “They keep calling me flappy…” Willow grumbled.

  He couldn’t help but laugh, which didn’t go over well with her.

  “They said the same about me,” he quickly added.

  A moment passed in silence, but then Willow said, “So…”

  “So?”

  “How do I become like you? How do I gain the ability to go back in time?”

  “Well… I’m not quite sure.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I killed Shitbox and the explosion sent me back in time. Then, when I died a second time, it happened again. Aside from the initial death, I’m not quite sure what’s causing it…”

  Willow frowned. “You have to die to go back in time?”

  He nodded sombrely. “It’s not great, yeah.”

  “I’m not keen to try that,” she replied.

  Few people would be…

  “You might not have to,” he then realised. “Luvicidix, the white moth, hinted that there’s a Relic which can send you back in time.”

  She perked up. “Really!?”

  “Yeah. But it’s Divine rarity.”

  “Divine? I didn’t even know that was a rarity,” she replied.

  “Me neither. Apparently it’s called ‘The Self-devouring Eye’.”

  “There’s a lot of eye-based symbolism with the Trials…” she remarked.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty creepy,” he replied, thinking of the eye in the darkness.

  Willow and Adam spent the next couple hours eating and talking, mostly just getting to know each other more. Despite her initial apprehensions about him, she seemed to have warmed up and become comfortable talking about herself.

  While Adam had worked as an accountant before the tesseract had stolen him away, Willow had been a talented athlete in the sport of Archery. She’d apparently represented Australia in several international competitions. Her dream had been to enter the Olympics.

  It’s a shame she didn’t get the Archer Weapon Type this time. It’s the perfect fit for her.

  She was using the magic staff offered by the Spellcaster type, which she said was hard to get used to, but would be powerful when she mastered it. Considering that she’d gotten the Speedrun bonus and Secret Relic with an unfamiliar weapon, she was clearly extremely talented and observant.

  Meanwhile, I only got those because I had already completed the Stage before…

  Adam couldn’t help but feel that someone like her would be better served with having his looping ability. Although, it seemed like a curse as much as a boon.

  And if I die, Willow is going to forget me.

  Despite knowing that it would hurt to be forgotten and have memories about him erased, he didn’t want to hold back on getting to know people. After all, that would be a coward’s way to live.

  I will treat each life with the respect it deserves.

  At some point, he was pinged by Lenard and the German guy ended up joining them. After introducing him to Willow, the three talked the rest of the night.

  Lenard opened up about himself as well. He’d been a policeman in Munich and had been on patrol when the tesseract appeared before him. His goal for beating the Trials was to save his wife and two kids. Adam didn’t have it in him to reveal that anyone not in the Trials had been consumed by the All-Seeing System.

  The German also raved about the croissants he had recommended him. Willow ordered one as well, and quickly joined in on the praise. Adam was happy to spread the gospel of Jameson’s magical pastries.

  When the talk came to Relics and Weapon Types, Lenard revealed that he hadn’t been able to find the Duellist’s Glove. He had instead bought an upgrade for his bow and managed to reach level 6.

  “The whole thing started glowing,” he described.

  “Did it evolve?” Adam asked. It’d been his main guess as to why the beetle smith had only sold upgrades up to level 6.

  Lenard nodded. “I had to choose between Ranger or Trickster. I picked Trickster.” He lifted his bow up to show that it’d gotten smaller. “It is worse in terms of power and penetration, but much faster and manoeuvrable. I tested it out in the Player House earlier.”

  “Maybe you’ll be able to evolve it again to get a crossbow or something?” Adam guessed.

  “Was the other option long-ranged then?” Willow asked.

  She’d for sure have picked Ranger if she had the chance.

  Lenard nodded. “I’m hoping for a crossbow, yeah. I didn’t get to try the Ranger one, but it did say longer range and more power. Sounded like a Sniper route almost.”

  “Might still lead to a crossbow,” Adam said.

  Willow frowned. “Crossbows aren’t superior to bows. Compound bows can beat them in everything except penetrative power.”

  Adam could immediately sense that the topic was a minefield, and didn’t know enough to make any conclusions himself.

  Thankfully, Lenard quickly provided an escape, as he said, “I got something else too. It’s called a Mastery Shard.”

  He pulled out a pyramid gem and placed it on the table between them. It was very similar to the Glass Acorn, as it was translucent and had amber-glowing light inside it.

  “This is what Alivida wants to trade for!” Willow realised.

  Adam nodded.

  So much for getting these things easily… The Vanity upgrade requires 10 of these, meaning I’d have to evolve a weapon 10 times… If it’s 6 levels per evolution, that’s a heck of a lot of upgrades. All just to turn one of the Interim Island insects into a human…

  He also had to wonder how anyone who didn’t loop was going to be able to afford the more expensive upgrades. It was clear that the All-Seeing System had designed the Trials of Defiance with looping in mind… just not the way Adam was doing it.

  Lenard obviously asked who Alivida was, and Willow and Adam went on to describe her location and upgrades, while silently agreeing to walk around the topic of Adam looping through time. Although, it seemed Willow mainly avoided talking about it because she still wasn’t fully convinced.

  It’d be impossible to provide definitive proof, he considered. Even if I came back and was able to recount her background story perfectly, she’d just assume I was a stalker or something.

  After the conversation naturally switched to what they expected for Stage Two, Willow ended up joining in on their bet about the enemy type they’d face next. She was certain it would be something that would require them to prove their skill, such as other humans. It was not lost on Adam that her guess matched Ilya’s, and he felt that it was quite telling that the two strongest Players he’d encountered agreed on their predictions.

  When it seemed close to midnight, although there were no clocks or windows to the outside to track the time with, Charlie the Tavernkeeper came up to Adam. Based on how Lenard and Willow turned away, it seemed this was happening to all of them simultaneously.

  “Adam, the Dimensional Tavern will be closing in a few moments.”

  Then Shitbox piped up. It had been mostly silent throughout the night, which he appreciated.

  [It is recommended that you return to the Player House and get proper sleep before Stage Two. It will commence at dawn. The Player House can be found on the eastern side of Interim Island.]

  “What about breakfast?”

  “You will be able to eat at the Tavern when you return,” Charlie told him.

  Adam looked to his companions.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “It seems we’ll have to go our separate ways for now.”

  Lenard and Willow turned back to face him.

  “Be careful out there,” Lenard said.

  Willow nodded. “I think I will try to aim for the no-hit bonus.”

  “Me too,” Adam said. “See you both tomorrow.”

  Adam walked to the Player House in the moonlit night. In the light, the dumpy houses looked even less like buildings and more like failed clay sculptures. Unlike normal, Shitbox was leading the way this time, as though not trusting him to get there on his own.

  After some minutes, he arrived at the round patch of grass with the little house in the middle and brown wooden fence around it. A small variant of the Magical Forest’s apple tree stood next to it and a tennis-ball-sized blue slime huddled by its roots, fast asleep. The house had a rounded straw-brown roof and white walls with black stripes that looked like melted wax. There was a brown door and two windows, but he knew they were just decorations.

  [This is the Player House. Within is-—]

  “Skip.”

  He walked through the fence gate, eyeing the slime.

  < < Secret Relic Activated > >

  Adam blinked in surprise as the Glass Acorn lifted itself out of his right pocket. It floated over near the apple tree and settled into the grass.

  “Did it just plant itself?” he asked.

  [The Secret Relic’s effect requires it to be planted in the Player House garden.]

  “Are there other Relics like that?”

  [Yes.]

  Almost thought it wouldn’t answer that question.

  I wonder if the Acorn sticks around between loops.

  Adam walked over to where it’d settled itself into the ground and immediately its description appeared.

  < < Secret Relic > >

  < Glass Acorn (Rare) — Grows for 3 Stages >

  It should be fully-grown when I’m done with Stage Four.

  He suddenly yawned, the moment stretching for several beats, and realised he was actually exhausted.

  I guess I haven’t slept in close to three days…

  Unless dying counts.

  Yeah… It probably doesn’t…

  He went through the door to the Player House and was met with the familiar interior.

  A large bed with fluffy pillows took up an entire corner, and there were shelves, racks, and mannequins next to it. Unlike last time, there was a trophy on one of the shelves. It was bronze and shaped like a slime.

  Walking over to inspect it, he saw that the plaque read ‘Magical Forest Speedrun’.

  Wait. If this is bronze, that means there are two extra trophies for the Stage.

  No-hit is obviously one of them, but what’s the last one?

  Adam eyed the large bathtub in the other corner and decided to take a bath before going to bed. But first, he wanted to test out the Slime Glove on the straw dummy.

  He started off by just touching the dummy’s torso with the glove. It immediately started to dissolve the straw.

  Hmm, that’s an unlisted use.

  Good to know that it can be utilised this way though.

  After pulling his hand away, there was a handprint eaten out of the centre. He took a few steps back and tried to activate its projectile, but it took a few different gestures until he discovered one that worked.

  Clenching his fist and punching it forward while opening it caused a baseball-sized glob of acidic jelly to shoot out of his palm. The glove vibrated strangely after firing off a piece of itself.

  It struck the dummy and immediately dissolved the straw, turning it black before fully erasing it. The glob moved through the body, melting it down to nothingness. As it reached the floor, it continued eating through the wooden boards for a few seconds, before disappearing into itself.

  “I can change the dummy into a Slime, right?”

  [Correct. Would you like to alter the dummy’s appearance and resistances?]

  “Yes, make it a Purple Slime.”

  [Understood.]

  The air flickered and an exact replica of the enemy he’d picked appeared. The floor also returned to normal.

  Adam immediately tried the projectile attack again, but nothing happened.

  It took him a second to realise why.

  Oh, right. Cooldown.

  He swung his spear around in a flourish and nailed the two cores within the target in quick succession. The dummy fell apart instead of exploding like it would have were it real, then flickered and rematerialized intact.

  With two quick jabs, he killed it again.

  When it repaired itself a third time, he took a step back and then fired the Green Slime glob at the dummy. It struck its body and slid off harmlessly.

  “What just happened?”

  [Slimes are resistant to corrosive damage.]

  That makes sense. Don’t know what I was expecting to be honest.

  Anyway, I guess that’s enough experimentation. It’s much easier to use than the Blink Ring, that’s for sure.

  Also seems stronger than the Duellist’s Glove, although I’m sure corrosive resistance might show up again later.

  “Shitbox, how do I use the bathtub?”

  [Would you like to take a bath?]

  “Yes.”

  [Understood.]

  The entire jacuzzi-sized tub flickered and reappeared full of steaming fragrant water.

  Adam took a pleasant bath and then went to sleep.

  In his dreams, Adam saw the eye in the darkness.

  It was staring at him, boring into his soul.

  The vision of the eye scared him, because to him it was synonymous with death.

  Like every time before, the iris was his own silhouette.

  When the eye blinked, he suddenly felt like he was falling.

  < < Now Entering > >

  < Stage 2 >

  < The Goblin Village >

  < 5 Waves >

  Adam awoke standing on his feet. Below him was light-brown dirt. Nearby were simple huts, and the area was much larger than the first Stage’s.

  Damn, turns out I was the one who was right… he considered, seeing the name of the place.

  Not a fan of going to sleep and waking up in a Stage though.

  But at least I feel fully-rested.

  In the distance were trees not too dissimilar to the ones that’d surrounded the clearing of Stage One. The huts looked like they were made of thatch and straw, and they got bigger the further away from him they moved. There was a hill in the distance and what looked like a cave was dug down into it.

  [Stage Two is different from Stage One. Players must fight their way through the Goblin Village with each Wave.]

  “Does that mean they won’t just come to me?”

  [Yes.]

  That complicates things.

  “Status,” he said, bringing up his info.

  < < Player Status > >

  < Adam Fischer >

  < Lancer >

  < Level 5 >

  < Stats >

  < Health — 100 >

  < Stamina — 150 >

  < Mana — 0 >

  < Damage — 100% >

  < Defence — 125% >

  < Speed — 165% >

  < Upgrades >

  < Force (Rare) >

  < Movement (Rare) >

  The Movement should serve me well here. Force too, if the goblins have armour.

  [Wave 1 will begin in 60 seconds.]

  “Armament.”

  < < Weapon Status > >

  < Spear >

  < Common Quality >

  < Level 3 >

  < Stat Upgrades >

  < Spear Damage 20% >

  < Spear Speed 10% >

  Adam looked through the two pop-ups filling his vision, while walking towards the cave in the distance. The huts naturally guided him straight to it, but after passing the fourth building, he stopped moving forward. The sensation was almost like walking on a treadmill.

  He stared down at his feet. They were moving but going nowhere. “Why can’t I go further?”

  [Each Wave has a set perimeter. Every subsequent Wave expands the area.]

  [45 seconds remaining.]

  He ran back the way he’d come, seeing how far he could go. Past the four huts were another two rows and then a large rock. There was a boundary just in front of the rock that sat in the middle of the ‘street’, but he could see more buildings behind it.

  I’m assuming I’ll have to move towards the cave with every Wave and perhaps even into it, but it might be worth checking this area after Wave One.

  Maybe the rock will disappear? There might be a secret hidden away beyond it.

  Since the first Stage had a secret, it seemed all but inevitable that the Village would have one too. However, from the design of the surroundings and the fact that the ‘playable’ area grew with every Wave, there were a hundred different places to hide away something small like the Glass Acorn.

  [20 seconds remaining.]

  Adam quickly checked the sides near the huts and found that he could actually enter them. The boundary was on the other side of them. The interiors were all really basic. They each had a wicker basket of worms and bugs, possibly the resident’s food; a simple straw bed; and random knick-knacks like peculiarly-shaped branches and rocks.

  [5 seconds remaining.]

  Adam left the hut and returned to where he’d arrived.

  He scanned the surroundings, while clenching the shaft of his spear.

  I’ll have to watch my surroundings well. There’s no telling where they’ll come from.

  And goblins are small sneaky bastards, at least if they’re anything like the ones from games and fantasy stories.

  The boundary setup meant that, for Wave One at least, he’d be fighting in fairly close quarters.

  Ranged Players will have a hard time here, I think.

  < < Wave One > >

  < 60-Second Timer >

  Alright. Here we go.

  From where he stood were four huts on either side of him running down the ‘street’. From the second on the right and the third on the left emerged a green goblin each. Both wielded thick clubs made from branches, with handles carved into them.

  The goblins were diminutive creatures. They screamed when they spotted him, perhaps in an attempt to be frightening, but Adam was already moving.

  With a fast lunge, he speared the one on the right through the eye, immediately killing it.

  As it died, it pulled his weapon down with it. He tried to yank it free as the second one charged him, but the spear-tip was trapped inside the skull’s eye socket.

  Adam pulled his gloved hand off the shaft and aimed it at the goblin running straight at him, its club lifted above its large head.

  With a punch and release motion, he shot a glob of the highly-corrosive green jelly right into its face.

  It immediately began to squeal like a pig on fire. The sound was horrendous, but it was dead after only a couple seconds. The acid continued to devour its flesh as it ran down its body.

  Holy fuck!

  That’s way too gruesome!

  He looked down at the green glove on his right hand, frowning at just how destructive it was.

  With a grunt of effort, he tore the spear free from the dead goblin’s head, while pressing the heel of his shoe against the side of it. In the process, he fractured the skull and the creature’s head deflated.

  Adam swallowed down the urge to vomit.

  [Excellent! You cleared the Wave within 10 seconds.]

  [Completing a Wave this quickly results in the rewards going up one rarity level.]

  He took a few steps back from the goblin he’d slain. It wasn’t until then that it really struck him.

  I just killed a sapient creature… Two of them. Without even hesitating…

  The goblin he’d speared was about 1.2 metres tall, with the head twice as large as it would’ve been on a human. Its skin had a greasy sheen and was covered in coarse black hairs. It wore no clothes, but was fortunately shaped like a Ken doll. The hands and feet were also larger than they should be, and each digit was capped with a black claw. It had a big nose and large droopy ears. Strangely, the eyes were the same size as a human’s, but given the size of everything else, they looked tiny. There was a strong resemblance with pigs going on.

  The other goblin was basically just a skeleton with a few patches of resilient skin and flesh here-and-there. The acidic glob had almost devoured it entirely.

  Bile rose in Adam’s throat again.

  Unlike the slimes which conveniently evaporated when they were defeated, the goblins remained where they’d died.

  < < Wave One Complete > >

  < Choose your Upgrade >

  Shitbox was in the middle of unfolding into an upgrade podium, when he asked, “Will the corpses persist between Waves?”

  [Yes.]

  That might cause problems… he considered.

  He thought about dragging the bodies off to the side, but he really didn’t want to touch them.

  Familiar symbols appeared over the podium’s three steps. One of the spear upgrades was rare, but he already knew he wouldn’t be picking it.

  < < Upgrades Available > >

  < Spear Growth (Uncommon) — Increases spear length by 30% >

  < Throw Speed (Rare) — Increases throwing speed by 35% >

  < Bleed (Uncommon) — Attacks inflict bleed dealing 10% weapon damage over the course of 10 seconds >

  More reach might be good. I just have to be careful not to make the weapon too long, in case I have to fight inside the cave.

  Although I do have the Slime Glove as backup, which is reassuring.

  < < Upgrade Selected > >

  < Spear Growth (Uncommon) >

  The caramel-brown wooden spear grew to about two metres in length, with the dark metal tip barely getting any longer.

  It seems to mostly increase the length of the shaft, which is not ideal.

  The centre of balance also shifted quite a lot.

  “Shitbox, how long until my Glove is ready to fire again?”

  [25 seconds.]

  I should’ve spent more time before selecting, he realised.

  He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, preparing for the next Wave.