"Isaac von Wright! Step into the arena!"
[Ending 'Loser of the Sacred Duel' reached.]
[You have failed to reach the true ending.]
[Deaths: 03]
Isaac blinked.
A huge arena stretched out before him.
The protagonist stood before him. His face was warped in anger. The students sat around, excited for the duel.
'I'm back.'
A sense of melancholy seeped into Isaac's heart.
The anger on Merlin's face told him this person was not his friend Merlin.
His friend was dead. Forever.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his emotions. This wasn't the time to stand frozen.
"Isaac von Wright! Please step into the arena!" the referee announced again.
Isaac ignored the referee and looked at the screen before his eyes.
[Ending 'Loser of the Sacred Duel' reached.]
[You have failed to reach the true ending.]
[Deaths: 03]
'The ending is how Merlin died.'
'This confirms it. This screen has been showing me what kind of conclusions Merlin is receiving in each loop.'
'Whoever put me in these time loops wants me to help Merlin.'
'Does this mean Merlin is involved in creating these time loops? Maybe he started them before he gave up his Godhood and reincarnated as a human?'
Isaac's brows creased. He suppressed the anger that was beginning to rise, and tried to think rationally.
He came to the conclusion that it was not possible for Merlin to be involved in the creation of the time loop.
Merlin died to protect children he barely knew for a few months. The protagonist was an idiot, but he was not a bad person.
He would not do something as horrible as putting someone in a time loop and torturing them.
'The time loop was most likely created by Merlin's acquaintance—a God—to help Merlin.'
'I doubt Merlin knows that someone is doing this to help him.'
The question arose.
Should Isaac help Merlin?
If Merlin got a happy ending, then perhaps Isaac would be allowed to leave the time loop.
'No.'
Isaac crushed those ugly, weak thoughts as soon as they reared their heads.
'I will not give up until I can kill the bastard who caused my family's death.'
If that meant Isaac must suffer in these time loops, then so be it.
As for giving Merlin a good ending, Isaac would neither go out of his way to harm him nor help him.
Merlin, who was Isaac's friend, was dead. Still, Isaac knew the Merlin in front of him was a good person.
Isaac should normally help him.
But he would not—could not—do that.
Helping Merlin would mean doing exactly what the person who trapped him in these time loops—and caused his family's death—wanted.
For Isaac, that was impossible. He could not be that kind.
It was ugly to blame Merlin, when Merlin likely knew nothing, but Isaac was still a human.
He couldn't not listen to his heart.
If he could, he would not have gone to fight the Knight of Death to take revenge for Merlin, despite knowing it would lead to his death, and would've instead lived in hiding to grow stronger.
'I will live to get stronger. That is still my goal.'
'But....'
He would try to be better in this life, like his friend wanted.
'As for Merlin, I will treat him normally.'
Only Isaac knew what sort of wrath he was suppressing. Not harming Merlin—who was perhaps the cause of these time loops—was hard for him.
He stopped himself from attacking Merlin only because he knew Merlin was unaware of these time loops, and because Isaac thought of the previous Merlin as his friend.
"Isaac von Wright! Son of Duke Wright! This is the last warning! Enter the arena!" the referee shouted with a red face.
Isaac nodded and entered the arena.
Fighting was a good way to clear his head.
"The Sacred Duel will begin! As decided before, the winner can demand anything from the loser!"
As the words of the referee fell, the protagonist, Merlin, raised his wand.
He chanted swiftly. Multiple magic circles appeared around him, through which seven Ignis Spears came out.
The crowd gasped.
Merlin fired the spell.
Seven Ignis Spears of fire tore towards Isaac.
Isaac used the Mana Breathing Technique to power up his dormant Weapon Element.
[Weapon Element: Unawakened → First Layer (Beginner)]
His sword flashed and the first Ignis Spear was cleaved.
The protagonist froze for a split second, shocked, but he quickly regained his composure and aimed the other six Ignis Spears.
'I am still Unawakened, so if even one hits, I'm losing a body part,' Isaac thought.
He dodged two Ignis Spears with minimal movements, cleaved three, and nearly took the last one to the face. He used the physical boost from Weapon Element to dodge it.
The protagonist became alert.
"When did you awaken your Weapon Element?" Merlin asked.
Isaac didn't answer. He was checking his own condition.
'I can boost my body two more times. Anything more is impossible since I'm still technically only First Layer (Beginner).'
Element Mastery could not be higher than one rank above Magic Core rank, and vice versa.
Unless Isaac reached Awakened (Beginner) in Magic Core, he could not advance to First Layer (Intermediate).
Still, thanks to his experience, he could now boost his body for a longer duration, since he was already at the precipice of reaching First Layer (Intermediate).
'In my last life, I was able to boost my body only once during this duel. This time, I can do it three times.'
'My mastery of Weapon Element has increased by leaps and bounds.'
Isaac could've used the same trick as in his last life—ambushing—to win the duel.
But he wanted to see his own progress. That's why he didn't ambush Merlin, and instead revealed his own hand.
Fighting against the protagonist while he was trying to kill you was a quick way to gain combat experience.
That was also why Isaac spoke his next words.
"Is that all?"
"…What?" Merlin asked.
"I'm asking, is that all you have? Weren't you going to bring justice to Zara by 'defeating' me here?" Isaac taunted.
Merlin fell silent for a second. Then, mana exploded out from him.
...
Author's Note:
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