3 3

Slipping out of the tavern, I merged with the flow of the marketplace, the press of bodies a welcome anonymity after the scrutiny of the barmaid's gaze.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on my back, a phantom itch between my shoulder blades.

Maybe it was just nerves.

Dying repeatedly does tend to leave one a bit jumpy.

Or maybe it was the ale, stronger than I was used to.

Either way, I decided to put some distance between myself and the tavern.

Just to be safe.

As I turned a corner into a quieter side street, a sudden tightness around my neck yanked me back.

A thin wire, nearly invisible against the rough stone wall, had caught me like a snare.

Panic flared as my air supply was cut off, vision blurring, the world tilting sideways.

Then, nothing.

The tavern smells slammed into me again: roasted meat, stale ale, unwashed bodies.

The barmaid stood there, expectant, as if I'd never left.

My hand was half-raised, about to signal her for another drink, when the pieces clicked into place.

The barmaid.

My questions about the royal selection.

Those hooded figures she'd been talking to.

It wasn't paranoia, it was a setup.

Anger simmered, but mostly I felt stupid.

Of course someone would see a well-dressed outsider asking too many questions as an easy mark.

Lesson painfully learned.

I lowered my hand, turning away without a word.

The barmaid's confused face faded behind me as I paid the barman and left.

I pushed back into the crowd.

Time to find a new watering hole, one with less treacherous staff.

And this time, I'd keep my mouth shut and my ears open.

The second tavern was smaller, dingier, and reeked of stale cabbage.

A definite downgrade, but that suited me just fine.

The fewer eyes on my fancy clothes, the better. I snagged a corner stool, nursing a mug of watery ale while trying to tune out the off-key singing from a group of drunkards.

Instead, I focused on the snippets of conversation swirling around me.

This crowd wasn't as interested in the royal selection, which was a relief.

Instead, they talked about more mundane things like crop prices, local gossip, and grumbling about taxes.

Occasionally, though, a tidbit about the wider world would slip through.

"-heard things are tense in Gusteko," a merchant was saying, his voice low. "Gustekoan raiders causing trouble again and Kararagi's pissed."

"Kararagi's even closed its borders," another man added. "Something about a plague, or maybe demons, who knows with those westerners."

Interesting.

It seemed this kingdom wasn't the only one facing troubles.

Knowing the state of neighboring countries could be valuable information, especially if things went sideways here.

After a while, I shifted my focus, straining to catch any mention of swordsmanship schools.

If I was going to survive in this world, I needed more than just information and resets. I needed skills.

"son's training at the academy in the capital," a woman was saying proudly. "Says he'll be a knight someday."

"Bah, knights are all show and no substance," scoffed a grizzled old man. "Real fighters learn on the streets, or from a proper mercenary guild."

That gave me a few leads. A knight academy, a mercenary guild.

I guess these were the places where I could hone my fighting skills and hopefully learn to use this fancy sword I'd acquired.

Finishing my ale, I tossed a few coins on the counter and headed back out into the streets.

It was time to start my training, and maybe, just maybe, turn this endless cycle of death and get the hell back up again into something more.

Looking down at the noble attire I was wearing, I chose to train at the knights academy.

I moved towards the knights training facility after asking where it was from a nearby guard.

I arrived and noticed The Royal Knights Academy was a sprawling complex of stone buildings and training grounds, bustling with activity.

Squires sparred with wooden swords, knights practiced mounted combat, and instructors barked orders with an air of authority.

Feeling like a child playing dress-up amongst seasoned warriors, I approached a group of knights, hoping to inquire about training.

"Excuse me," I began by bowing slightly like the nobles. "I am interested in learning swordsmanship. Would it be possible to receive instruction here?"

One of the knights, a burly man with a thick beard and a scar across his cheek, sized me up with a critical eye.

30 minutes of impressively terribly flailing later.​

"Strength seems decent enough," he grunted, "but your form is atrocious. You barely even know how to hold that sword."

Embarrassment flushed through me as I fumbled with the hilt, acutely aware of my lack of skill.

"We offer private instruction," the knight continued, "but it'll cost you. 1 gold coin for an hour."

It was a steep price, but I had the money, and the need was dire.

"I accept," I said, handing over 8 coins.

The next few hours were a blur of grueling exercises, footwork drills, and basic sword techniques.

The knight instructor was merciless, correcting every mistake with a sharp bark and a swift rap on the knuckles.

By the end, I was sweating profusely, my muscles aching, but I had grasped the absolute basics of swordsmanship.

"Here," the instructor said, tossing me a scroll. "A technique for drawing in mana and strengthening the body. Practice it diligently."

I unfurled the scroll, my eyes scanning the unfamiliar symbols and diagrams.

As I deciphered the text, a sense of familiarity washed over me.

This technique, while crude and inefficient, bore a striking resemblance to the initial stages of the Time-Space Divine Death Law.

A daring idea sparked in my mind.

Perhaps I could merge the two techniques, combining the always on mana drawing and cycling aspect of this knightly training with the superior foundation and power of the Time-Space Divine Death Law.

It was a risky gamble, but the potential reward was too tempting to resist.

Closing my eyes, I attempted to weave the two techniques together, guiding the chi according to the principles of the Time-Space Divine Death Law and the constant drawing of the Knight tehcnique.

For a moment, I felt a surge of power, a sense of harmony as it drew in.

It then continued.

then it didn't stop.

I couldn't rotate this chi fast enough!

everything went white.

My power seemed to stutter in confusion for a moment then-

I found myself sprawled on the ground once more, the familiar scene of the carriage incident playing out before me.

Confusion washed over me.

It was morning, barely past 10, yet I distinctly remembered it being at least 4 PM in the afternoon when I attempted the technique merge.

Had my reset somehow gone wrong?

Dismissing the anomaly for now, I focused on the positives.

My money was back, the eight gold coins I'd spent on training returned to my pouch.

The knowledge I had gained, the basic swordsmanship and the flawed mana technique, remained etched in my memory.

This time, I wouldn't make the same mistake.

The knight instructor had mentioned my sword was shoddily made while he was training me, so I would start by acquiring a proper weapon and some decent armor.

With the straps and pockets of my noble attire conveniently refilled with coin pouches, I had the means to equip myself properly.

I moved towards the shop I overheard one of the trainees say had the best weapons and armor.

I would take that with a grain of salt, even if the instructor he was in front of seemed to agree.

10 minutes later, I stood in front of a shop.

In the back a strong looking man who looked no older than 30 was hammering at a nearly finished looking chestplate.

Being polite, I waited for him to reach a breaking point and for him to look up at me.

"Aye, thenks four be'en so polite-y your nobleship ser. What'n cane I doe for yeh."

His accent was thick, but I could make it out.

"I was looking for some tough armor with the same amount of straps or more than I have here. I could also use a sword that won't give out on me the moment I try to fight with it."

The man nodded. "That'n I ken do. Dun'che worry. I ken get et dun en bout en owwer."

I nodded, "An hour can be fine. How much would the leather set and the sword be?"

He nodded, "about'n 16 golde.'"

I nodded, "I'll stand and watch as you make them."

I poured out 16 gold and showed it to him.

"You'll get the full amount when it's done."

He nods, "Spousse I shulde' geet tew wurk."

He moved the finished chest-plate aside, and then pulled out some really tough looking leather from a hide I didn't know about.

He placed it on the table, made strange gestures. He muttered something about spirits and then spoke up as his sewing hand glowed.

He spoke up. "What'n kenda 'chantments ye went?"

I grinned, "Surprise me. I got another 16 for the enchanting budget." That would leave me with 10 left after I would have him enchant the armor and sword.

That would be enough for more training and then 2 gold for me to die with. assuming I didn't refill.

An hour passed and it was 11:10.

He began to explain the enchantments on the armor.

He pointed to the red leather upper suit that looked like it wrapped around my whole upper body. "Dis wun er hes de endlays storedge fo them people who wann carry lot eh crap wit em. Comes witt da standard increased protectins o' to awl dengs magic en de- cress weight ferr all yerself. Whol boddeh."

I nodded, Endless storage with magical protections and damage resistance. Decreased weight too. Nice.

I nodded, as I passed him the 32 gold for the set and the sword and he gave me.

The pants gave additional magic protection and defense with two pockets that linked to my endless storage.

The hood and circlet gave the same protections as the rest but increased the speed of knowledge gained and reading speed.

The gloves were linked to the circlet and hood which made my hands quick, and such things relating to the hands easier to learn and bonus protections.

The boots, finally, gave a bonus to learning how to move in battle as well as footwork learning speed.

The sword was just extremely durable to the point where it could cut through normal steel like butter with enough force applied.

"How did you know I needed a learning boost?" I asked, wanting to know the answer.

"Ye hold ye sword lik'n yor holden' et to lern. Lik'n ye just sturt'd lern'n"

Right. So I'm holding it like an amateur who barely trained at all. Got it.

I nodded, and handed him 2 gold for a tip.

I had 8 gold for training- but maybe going to the library to learn stuff wouldn't hurt.

6:30 PM Lugunica Library.

​I spent hours in the library and had to pay 50 silver for an hour.

This world's fantasy novels sucked.

I learned a lot about mana and magic, though, not enough to use it.

I reached for a book on world history, which is really what I should have started with.

Then a Shockwave of freezing energy passed through the library.

All the nobles around me looked around for a moment, started shivering for about 30 seconds and then went pale and died of the cold.

It was getting colder by the second.

At this rate, it would be colder than outer-space in about 10 minutes.

I decided to grab all the books on history and put it in my endless storage.

2 minutes and 15 seconds I started hearing explosions and the ground shook.

Then all the books on magic.

Books started falling down and floating around at around 4 minutes and 50 seconds.

Then all the breathing techniques that were guarded on the upper level.

6 minutes had passed and whatever was happening outside was a monumental disaster.

Then those books on magic that were guarded by a noble mage.

7 minutes had passed, and there was a lull in the battle.

I then looted the gold of every patron I saw.

Putting them all in endless storage.

9 minutes had passed and I was shivering.

50 seconds later and an explosion so large that the library seemed like it was being bounced up and down like a ping pong ball.

I continued to grab gold and a few shiny looking platinum coins that I had no idea what they could be for if gold had such amazing buying power.

I had about 90 of them.

9 seconds later I had to sit down.

As my body began to shut down from temperatures that would make pluto blush, I opened my endless storage and counted using the measuring function in my enchanted armor.

92 platinum coins I didn't know anything about.

172 large gold coins.

504 gold coins.

9052 silver coins.

And over 99999 copper coins because the armor stopped counting there.

As my brain failed me, I shrugged internally.

A good haul.

5:30 PM Lugunica Library.​

SHIT! Internally I was freaking out. It was 5:30.

Shouldn't it be 10 AM?!