Time Looped

Chaos spread through the city like ripples in a lake. When the neon golem first emerged, there was a sense of curiosity, even interest. People in the surrounding area grabbed their phones to mark the event, some even rushing out to get as close as possible. The entire internet was abuzz with everyone posting and reposting everything and anything before everyone else could. People made jokes, speculations, even current and obscure game and movie references.

A minute later, everything drastically changed. It wasn't any action of the golem itself that had caused that. The construct, along with the goblin on its shoulder, remained focused on something below—as well as a strange swarm of insects flying around it. Luke and Will's actions were barely even registered by the mass public. Instead, it was the goblin lord's scream that triggered it all.

The noise was disturbing, causing some of the nearby onlookers to drop their phones and cover their ears. That was only the start. Just as the scream ended, thousands of mirrors had emerged all over the city. Then, the goblins came pouring out. Without warning, they flooded streets and buildings, mercilessly charging at anyone they set their eyes on. The slow and confused were the first to die, some capturing their own death and transmitting the feed for thousands to see online. At that point, the amusement was over. Screaming in panic, people rushed into the street. None of them had any clear plan. All they knew was that they wanted to be elsewhere.

Cars slammed into people and each other, creating a gridlock that kept the local authorities and all those equipped to deal with the issue from doing so.

"Focus on the golem!" Will shouted as he and his mirror copies killed off the goblin squads rushing into what was left of the arcade.

"How many are there?" Luke had difficulty dealing with everything that had occurred. So far, he had consistently fought a pack of wolves at a time. Seeing the entire city descend into chaos around him was more than his psyche could handle.

"They'll be gone when the loop is over," Will said as he performed a horizontal slice. Close to a dozen goblins were split in two, causing the ones out of reach to flee.

The massive fist of the neon golem went down, aiming at the spot where Will was. Without hesitation, the boy leaped to the side, then performed a series of strikes.

Two of the golem's fingers were chopped off. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Will drew a knight sword from his mirror fragment and threw it straight at the goblin lord.

The large weapon slammed into the invisible barrier surrounding the creature. Sparks flew. For a moment, Will even saw a serious crack emerge on the protective bubble. Even so, the protection held on.

The goblin lord glanced at the boy with a smug grin, then screeched something to the neon golem. The giant entity pulled up its hand, taking a step back.

Behavior was as familiar as it was different. Back during Will's tutorial, the goblin had quickly proceeded to the edge of the loop area where it had waited for the participants to reach it. In the goblin realms, in contrast, the creature was always cautiously on the offensive.

A boar rider charged from the street, heading straight for Luke. Unused to the sight, the boy instinctively let out two shots. Both of them missed.

A mirror copy charged into the creature, striking it from the side.

"Don't worry about them!" Will shouted. "How many shots do you have left?"

Luke stared at him, too stunned to say a word.

"How many bullets?" Will repeated.

"Some," Luke replied. "Five, I think…"

Five shots. Not enough to do anything against the goblin lord. The protection it had was a lot greater than the dark enchanter. Yet, Will knew that if they didn't take advantage of the current moment, achieving victory would be a lot tougher. If the golem managed to retreat, a sea of goblins would fill the space between it and the participants, not to mention that hidden bosses would be summoned.

"Have you practiced your disenchant?" Will asked.

The following silence didn't sound promising.

"Hey! Did you use it?"

"Yeah," the enchanter sounded reluctant, almost defensive. "It's crap. It removes everything, not only what I want."

So, that was the catch. It sounded a bit too good to be offered at level one. For all practical purposes, the skill was the absolute equalizer when it came to enchantments. No wonder it wasn't used during the mirror image battle. The one who used it had a lot more to lose than to gain.

Will swung the chain above his head, then threw it at the golem. At this distance, it wasn't difficult for it to hit its mark, entangling itself around the giant's leg.

"Get ready!" Will shouted then dashed towards Luke.

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Conceal. The rogue thought, grabbing the boy by the waist.

The confusion was so immense that Luke wasn't able to react. One moment he was in the roofless arcade and the next, he was flying through the air. A larger part of the city came into view, revealing the chaos and slaughter the goblins had caused. Cards and buildings were destroyed and on fire. Despite not being accustomed to technology, the invaders had no issues destroying it, and they didn't at all seem afraid of fire or explosions.

"Stay with me!" Will shouted. They had only one shot at this. If they failed, that would be a very long and tedious prediction loop waisted.

Less than a hundred feet away, the goblin lord reached into the air. Sparks emerged from the palm of his hand, yet quickly fizzled out.

Tutorial restrictions, Will thought. Isn't that a shame?

Twisting mid-air, the rogue threw Luke straight at the small creature.

"Disenchant now!" Will shouted.

The instructions were too vague for Luke to make any sense. In the back of his mind, he could see himself flying straight at the goblin creature. He was also vaguely aware that the skill only did anything on contact. After everything that had happened in the last ten minutes, however, he had gotten used to following Will's instructions without too much doubt.

Gritting his teeth, the enchanter clenched his free fist. His left hand swung forward, aiming to hit the goblin, yet before he could, he felt his entire body crash into an invisible barrier, like a fly in a mirror.

"Fuck you, Will!" Luke managed to say, emptying what was left of his pistol into the goblin.

Several bangs followed. Now that the weapon had lost its enchantments, it was no different from a standard weapon. Normally, that would be enough to cause serious damage. The goblin lord still had its protection, however. Several pieces of jewelry shattered, crumbling to pieces as they absorbed the damage.

The creature swiftly turned around, grabbing Luke by the throat.

"Stop!" The edge of Will's knight's sword slammed upon the creature's arm.

Several more rings cracked. With a confident snarl, the creature turned its head, giving Will an overconfident glance, all but proclaiming its victory.

In response, Will smiled as well.

"Shadow wolf," he said.

A wolf's head emerged from the shadow of the blade, biting off the goblin's head in one bite. This time there was nothing that would prevent the damage.

Time froze to a crawl as the message appeared.

An orange rectangle appeared in front of Luke's face. Will could see it clearly. With the exception of the coin amount, it was exactly the same his own party had received after they had passed their tutorial. In addition, there was one more floating message visible only to him.

On the surface, it didn't seem much. So far, Will hadn't actively used skills against an original class. The knowledge that he now could was greatly appreciated. In the last week he had focused on getting Luke to speed, but his real enemy remained Danny, and now that the enchanter had completed the tutorial, Will was one step closer to an actual encounter against his former classmate.

Will's autopilot skill kicked in.

"Yes," he said.

A moment later, he was back in the endless whiteness of the mirror realm. The main in his temples was gone along with the levels of adrenaline.

Cautiously, Will looked around, making sure that he didn't see another version of himself standing anywhere. There wasn't. As far as he could determine, this was a real loop, which meant that so had to be the reward.

"Can Luke take part in challenges?" he asked.

That was good. It meant Will had ninety loops to skill up the enchanter, as well as get a few rewards himself in the process. The major concern now was how to keep him from attracting attention. It was a small miracle that Lucia or any of the others hadn't gotten involved. The likely explanation was that everyone was focused on getting the good challenges before they were scooped up by someone else. The first week of a phase was the best time to gain skills. After that, everything worthwhile would be picked dry, and participants had to rely on class-based challenges or such that were irrelevant enough for anyone else to bother.

Will looked at his mirror fragment. As he suspected, only a few dozen challenges remained. The enchanter solo remained unclaimed, as was the rogue one. Sadly, it was unlikely he'd be able to take advantage of that. Thanks to the eye, though, he could also see a number of hidden challenges as well. Those were the ones they had to go for.

"Shadow," Will said.

The shadow wolf emerged a few steps away from him. The creature's behavior had changed significantly since the first time Will had won its compliance. Back then, it had been exceedingly picky, only bothering to show up when he was in mortal danger. Now, it was an actual friend.

"Ready for some more fights?"

The wolf yawned, undubiously indicating that all fights so far hadn't presented a challenge.

"They'll get tougher from now on," Will said with a smile. "Besides, I'm not the only one you must protect now."

In response, the wolf leaped into the floor, turning into a black dot. It was difficult to interpret that, though Will didn't feel concerned. If anything, he was looking forward to it.

To be on the safe side, Will went through his inventory. All his weapons were there, including the binding chain. Apparently, completing a challenge even if he didn't hold his weapon physically, ensured that it was returned to him.

"Merchant," Will called out.

The entity immediately emerged with its customary bow.

"How much will you buy enchanted items for?"

The merchant stared back, remaining completely motionless. Unlike the guide, theoretical items weren't its strong suit.

"Fine, I'll ask you later." Will stared his way towards the enchanter's mirror.

The world beyond had returned to its normal calm self. The horrors of yet another loop were swept away from everyone's minds as the trivialities of the day continued. Their lives were simultaneously blissful and terrifying. The people of reality would have no memory of what participants had seen throughout their existence. At the same time, they had to live with the consequences of each started loop.

Finally, Will reached his destination. As he looked, time beyond the mirror started moving. Leaving his friends behind, Luke went to the class mirror and tapped it. The standard orange message appeared.

Luke waited for a few seconds, then tapped the mirror again.

Cheeky guy. Will smiled and reached out of the mirror. Once the other grabbed hold, he pulled him in.

"Congrats," Will said. "You're a full participant now."

"Yeah…" Luke remained on guard, keeping an eye on the shadow wolf. "You could have warned me about that last fight."

"Why? It only gets more difficult from here on."

"Great…" Luke sighed. "So, what now? I face two giant monsters?"

"No. Now, we go skill hunting."