Chapter 6: Magiwatch

After deciding to make himself strong, the first thing he did was visit the library. He needed to know everything about the magiwatch.

So from 8 am to 10 am was an arduous study. Abbas - the friendly librarian serving on the floor - came in shortly after ten. He passed by his table and unless he was imagining it, the man had smiled courteously at him.

Gaus nodded in return.

The librarian selected books from the bookshelves and put them on his seat. Whenever he passed by Gaus' seat, he would look at his collection and made a face. Finally, he couldn't resist and he pointed at one book. "Is that Magiwatch by T. John?"

Gaus looked at the name on the cover before he nodded. "Yeah, why?"

The man harrumphed. "That's class 1 basic, why do you bother reading such an old book? That one and that one are all basic as well." He picked a bigger one closer to him and read the cover. "The Watch, even this one is class 3 basic. What are you doing with all these books?"

'Basic' was like kindergarten.

"My magiwatch is malfunctioning," Gaus said lazily.

Abbas fell silent seemingly in thought. After what seemed like a few seconds, he put the two books in his hand on the table and pressed the crown of his watch twice. The usual dark blue light appeared and covered the watch like a blanket. He moved closer to Gaus and shone the light on his watch.

"Check it now," Abbas said after a minute.

Gaus didn't know what he did (or even if he did anything), but it was supposed to remedy the malfunctioning he mentioned. More importantly, Gaus didn't know he could press the crown. He'd been turning it back or forward but had never pressed it.

He looked at the watch expectantly and nodded. "We will see when it does."

"Sure, I learned these things in college and it would be a waste not to try them now and then," Abbas said before he picked his books and went to his seat.

Gaus pressed the crown twice, repeating what the other man did.

<Skill

Name

Description

Level

Skill formula

Longevity

Mana

Press to see more.>

He stared silently at the panel, trying to guess where he should press. It said 'press to see more' but where was he supposed to press? Was it the crown again? After debating for a while, he decided to check it out in the books.

He spent the next few minutes flipping through books but he still didn't know where to press. The books considered it to be common knowledge such that none had cared to explain it. The only option left was to ask the inhabitants of the world. But who should he go to...? His eyes fell on the librarian and he grinned.

Gaus waited till lunch.

"Abbas, can you help me with something?"

Abbas gently knitted his brows more in surprise than an annoyance. "What?"

"I was involved in an accident a few days ago and because of that, I'm having problems with my memory. It has gone to the extent that I often forget how to use my magiwatch. Tell me how to use it properly before I messed something up," Gaus explained with a serious expression.

Abbas raised a brow. "You were involved in an accident?"

Gaus inhaled slowly and looked through the window with a dramatic nod. "I fell into a river and drowned for a couple of minutes." Yes, that was the easiest way to get amnesia back on Earth. Right?

Abbas burst into laughter. "You are telling me you lost your memory after drowning for a couple of minutes?" He stopped laughing to catch his breath. "Are you kidding me?"

Gaus furrowed his brows.

Abbas ignored his blatant expression and went on, "This is a very good one, you know how to do it. 'A mage drowned to death after falling into a river', this could sell."

Gaus ignored him and just Rewound for a few seconds.

***

"Abbas, I want to discuss magiwatch and its uses. You know, to remember the old days. What do you say?"

Abbas shook his head almost instinctively. "Nope. Why magiwatch, that's class 1 basic?"

Gaus tried to argue his point but the other man was vehement. He sighed in defeat and Rewound.

***

"Abbas, tell me everything you know about magiwatch."

"Magiwatch? Are you serious?"

Gaus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Look, there's a research going on about how mages easily forget about their basics once they receive their license."

"Okay." Abbas sighed in relief. "I like participating in research, but it'll have to wait until later when I'm going home. It's already evening and I've got a lot more things to read before I can safely go."

Gaus shook his head. "No, you don't understand. It's just two questions, not some page-long questionnaire."

Abbas thought about it for a moment before he reluctantly agreed.

Gaus smiled internally. "Tell me the uses of magiwatch."

"There are four basic uses: one, keeping track of time and date; two, providing information on biodata; three, providing information on skill; four, providing information on the physique." His tone was clear he didn't want to talk about this mundane topic. It was like forcing a university student to discuss their first-grade courses.

Gaus ignored the man's tone and went on, "yes, that's correct. Second... er... Last question: how do you check out these uses?"

Abbas pointed at his watch disinterestedly. "This is time and date." He pointed to the blinking panel on the lower left of the dial. "For biodata, press the crown once; for skill, press twice, for physique, press thrice."

"But if you press the crown twice it will say 'press to see more', what does that mean? Where are you supposed to press?" Gaus cut in unable to keep his cool.

Abbas raised a finger to stop him. "You said two questions, remember?"

Gaus smiled. "Oh, sorry. I got carried away." He couldn't help mentally praising the Rewind and all the opportunities it had given him.

***

"What does 'press to see more' mean?"

Abbas gave him the 'what are you talking about?' look.

"If you press the crown twice to reveal your skill, what will be the next step? Where should you press next?" He rephrased the question.

"Isn't that obvious?" Abbas said. "Just press each item to see more about it."

Huh, that simple?

Gaus narrowed his eyes. "Does pressing the blue panel on the thin air work?"

Abbas nodded. "Of course, it does. If you want to see about any item, just press it."

Great. Just great. One hour of reading and he couldn't figure it out. The whole thing worked just like a smartphone: you could control it by pressing the individual parts. Being taught by experienced people seemed to work better than self-study.

From there on, he asked Abbas every question that came to his mind before allowing the man to go.

It was time to do some tests. He pressed the crown once to reveal his biodata.

<Biodata

Name

Tribe

Race

Bank account

Reputation

Guild

Press to see more.>

He pressed Name.

Gaus

Well, that was unexpected. How did the watch know his name? Food for thought.

He moved to Tribe.

<N/A>

What?

He thought it would be 'earthling' since he was from Earth. Or maybe something like outsider or stranger, but there was just nothing, meaning even the 'almighty' watch didn't know his Tribe.

He kept that aside and moved to Race.

<N/A>

Again?

So the watch wasn't omniscient. He would have to fill these gaps on his own but that could wait. He moved to Bank Account.

<Account balance : 0

Save money? Y/N?

Withdraw? Y/N?>

This one was straightforward. Although, he didn't know how the banking system works. Would it be just like the modern banks on Earth or maybe something else entirely?

He moved to reputation.

Abbas told him any positive number meant you were friends with the corps. Most people remained at zero all their lives.

He moved to Guild.

Guilds were registered magical organizations that gave jobs to licensed mages. Anyone with the right skills could visit a major guild branch and register, just as he had been doing with the fairy guild in previous loops.

He scrolled down to see each item again. Tribe and Race were absent which could mean a lot of things, but the rest were there and were somewhat self-explanatory. He would study each later.

He pressed the crown twice.

<Skill

Name

Description

Level

Skill formula

Longevity

Mana

Press to see more.>

He moved to the first one on the list: Name.

The name immediately reminded him of how he used a remote control to rewind his favorite scenes in a movie.

"Rewind..." He rolled the word on his tongue. "Truly a befitting name."

He moved to Description.

<Turn time back with a simple touch of your watch. By Rewinding, you are erasing every record of existence, but the watch will protect your memory. Use the crown for activation.

Cost: 4 mana/sec>

Everything would depend on how much mana he had. And that was why he could only rewind for about 70 seconds at a time.

He moved to skill formula which, according to Abbas, was the most important aspect of any skill. Beyond a certain level, it was instrumental in leveling up any skill and also learning how to master it. But the problem with skill formulas was they were written in the Runic Tongue of the old world which was exceedingly difficult to comprehend. Very few mages were capable of reading it. While nobles and students of the Royal Academies had their skill formula translated for them almost as soon as they awakened, rogue mages like Gaus must pay other independent organizations to translate it for them.

He pressed the tab. This time the writings came in the form of a hexagonal drawing several inches wide. It pulsed and glowed with different lights that forced him to squint. To read and translate it he needed a skilled enchanter who specialized in the Tongue, and that would need money, time, and trust. Abbas told him he shouldn't give his formula to anyone unless he trust them because it could be used against him. At least, he didn't need it now.

After several minutes, he committed the image to his mind and moved to the next: level.

He moved to longevity.

<Total longevity: 51 years

1. This is your lifespan and it determines how long you will live.

2. Identify: this is an innate function of longevity that allows you to see your opponents' level if your longevity is higher than theirs. You can identify the most common objects. Identify? Y/N?>

Abbas had explained it to him clearly so he just focused on him and pressed yes. A small, blue box with two lines of short words appeared by the side of Abbas' face.

<Abbas

Level 6>

He could see both the name and level of his opponent as long as his longevity was higher. He went on to see the names and levels of four more people in the library before he moved to mana.

<Mana: 288/305 (0.5/sec)>

Mana was simply the oil that powered all skills in the world. If high enough it could be used to control spirits, according to abbas.

Next was HP.

<HP: 100%>

This, according to Abbas, was a determinant of overall health status. It was affected by hunger, poison, injury, and any sickness. The effect depended on the severity and recovery depended mostly on rest and the removal of the injurious agent.

Last on the list was Physique. He pressed the crown three times in a row.

<Physique

Speed: 8

Constitution: 5

Strength: 7>

Speed was how fast you could move compared to the baseline which was zero. As a rule of thumb, if a normal human had zero then an average mage would have 7. Gaus had 8 which was just a figure above the average. Constitution indicated how much damage your body could take before your health was reduced to less than 50%. The average was 5 and Gaus also had 5. Lastly, strength. It represented the amount of damage you could make with a bare fist. Gaus fell below average because an average mage was expected to have a strength of 8 and he had 7.

"This marked the end of today's research." He sighed and closed the book.

It was dark. He should go back to the hotel.

"I'm going home," Abbas said.

Gaus raised his head to see the man standing in front of his desk.

"Home?" Gaus asked partly to himself. He also used to have a home too.

"Yes, home. See you tomorrow Wednesday," Abbas added.

Wednesday? Gaus couldn't help rolling his eyes at him. Poor man. There was every chance that there would be no Wednesday and he would be there tomorrow repeating the same thing he did today. Everyone would keep on repeating their actions endlessly until the loop was stopped. Gaus looked away from Abbas with a defeated sigh. Nothing mattered now. The time prison had put the entire world on hold. There would be no more human development or growth. Whoever died today would come back hale and hearty tomorrow, and if you were born today then you would die at the end of the loop and you would have to be reborn tomorrow. Even if Gaus were to die there was every chance he would still be alive as soon as the loop restarted, and he would find himself at the center of that street by 3 am tomorrow. What a terrifying reality!

He came back to his senses. There was still one question he forgot to ask. "Abbas, can two mages have the same magiwatch skill?"

"No, only if the skill is a Contract. A true magiwatch skill is one hundred percent unique. Even though everyone has a magiwatch, only a few people called pacifists have magiwatch skill, specifically one in one thousand," Abbas explained.

Gaus turned around in his seat to face the man.

"One in one thousand? You mean only one mage out of every thousand mages will have the skill?"

"Yes, I also don't have it. What I have is a lightning Contract." He clenched his fist and when he opened his palm, lightning danced on it. The surrounding people turned around with wide eyes.

"Huh, he's a mage."

"He has a Contract."

Abbas quickly dispelled the bolt.

"It's difficult getting Contracts you know," he said. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. "They're watching like owls."

Gaus was too preoccupied to appreciate the joke. He pulled a book from the table and opened page 322. "Look, man, read this line."

Abbas squatted to get a closer view. 'Every magiwatch has its ability which can be used by the owner,' the passage read.

"I told you every watch has its skill, why are you insisting it's one in every thousand?" Gaus deadpanned.

"Huh," Abbas opened his mouth exasperatedly. "Aldurish isn't your native tongue, is it?"

Aldurish was the most widely spoken language in both the north and the south, but there were still many tribes who had to learn it as they grew. One of the mysteries was how Gaus could speak it without actually learning it. His only difference from the natives was his bizarre accent and his inability to differentiate some closely related words like 'skill' and 'ability'.

Gaus shook his head. "No, it isn't."

"Still you should know that ability is different from skill. Ability in that context refers to all the functions of the magiwatch, but skill is a skill. Look," He pointed at his watch (specifically the crown), "this is the remote control. It's late but I'll show you some tricks tomorrow morning."

Gaus sighed. There was a chance that he had misunderstood some (if not most) of the things he had read in the books. A consequence of not being a native speaker.

"Sorry, is there any chance I can become a librarian like you?" Gaus asked.

Abbas laughed. "I'm just a volunteer. It gives me access to the second floor twice every week. Most of the books in the place are gold."

Huh?

"How does one becomes a volunteer librarian?"

Abbas shrugged. "It's simple. I just asked the creepy woman on the reception outside and she signed me up."

***

The following loop saw a young man dressed as a scholar with ashy robes and a black cap walk into the library. His expression was solemn like his steps.

He stood in front of the reception desk. "Hello," he greeted the receptionist. A young woman with bright silver hair. She had a particularly cold expression on her face that seemed to indicate she owned the place.

"Hi," the receptionist said without looking at him.

The young man smiled, not bothered at all by her behavior.

Five minutes later, the woman raised her head and stared at him. "You're still here."

"I am still here, ma'am. As a scholar, I've been trained to wait and be patient."

She raised her brows as she scrutinized his cap. The dress cost him 100 bucks but it was worth it.

"And what might a scholar possibly want with us?"

"Are you hiring staff?" The young man asked.

She narrowed her eyes with a knowing smile. "So you want to work with us?"

"Yes, ma'am. I want to work with you."

She gave him a bland look which was shortly punctuated by a sigh.

"Er... don't get me wrong. I'm doing it for free. I just want to have some experience with it, that's all." Gaus added in response to her reaction.

"I'm sorry, scholar. You don't have what it takes."

Gaus clenched his jaw and put his fist on the table for emphasis. "What does it take?" He was set on getting the job because that was the only way to access the second floor of the library.

The woman grimaced. She narrowed her eyes in thought as she stroked her silver hair. After what seemed like a long time, she pushed his hand off the speckless table. "What's your name, scholar?"

"I'm Gaus."

"Well, Gaus, today is your lucky day. Stay there and wait," she said through her teeth.

Gaus fell silent, thinking about his next step. After a short debate, he decided to play along. "Thank you, miss...?"

"And stay quiet," she hissed.

***

"Look, it's been one hour. All I'm saying is you should tell me if you don't need my services."

"We don't need your services, Gaus," she said, still not looking at him.

"Then why the hell did you ask me to stay?"

"To punish you for disturbing me."

Gaus ground his teeth and glared at her. Too bad she didn't see since she was still looking at the papers on the table.

At this moment, five officers silently identified themselves to the guard at the entrance and strode to the reception desk.

"Huh?"

"Huh... what are they doing here?"

People gasped at the sudden appearance of the officers in the library.

"Move!" One police snapped at Gaus while another pushed him aside. Two rushed the woman at the reception desk while the last one stood calmly by the side.

"It's clever of you to hide in the library but we have eyes and ears everywhere. Did you think we couldn't find you?"

The woman opened her mouth but no word came.

He slapped the table hard. "Answer the damn question, woman."

"Yes..." She said hesitantly. Gaus didn't know whether she was terrified or confused. But she looked calm and her eyes kept darting to her magiwatch like she was waiting for something.

"You're under arrest for the attempted destruction of the police headquarters. Put your hands over your head, and do it slowly," the officer said.

"Do not try anything foolish, Minorita Salesal," the other warned.

"Destruction of the headquarters? I don't know what you're talking about," she said. Gaus found her words to be amusing. She sounded... casual. Like she was toying with them.

"Of course, you don't. But we do."

They cuffed her - which Gaus noted to be too easy and without any struggle from the woman - and dragged her out through the entrance door in front of everyone.

"Serves her right."

"She was mean. I wonder what she did to deserve such treatment."

The workers in the library didn't like Minorita very well. Gaus didn't know how he felt. On one hand, she was mean and she was accused of destroying the police headquarters; on the other, she was... Gaus stopped as he suddenly realized there wasn't anything good about Minorita. She was mean, lack any sense of humor, and to top it all wicked.

But without her, he wouldn't be getting any access to the second floor, which left him with one option.

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