4

Panic clawed at my throat. 5:30 PM?

How?

The last thing I remembered was the library freezing over, my body shutting down.

I should be back at the carriage incident, 10 AM sharp.

That was how the resets had worked so far. So why...?

Then it hit me.

The Time-Space Divine Death Law.

My attempt to modify it, to incorporate that crude mana technique.

It had backfired spectacularly, but maybe, just maybe, it had also affected the reset somehow.

A crazy, desperate hope bloomed in my chest. If I could control the resets, even a little, it would be a game-changer.

Ignoring the curious glances from other library patrons, I settled into a meditative posture, closing my eyes.

I focused on the familiar pathways of the Time-Space Divine Death Law, I recalled the sensation of the botched merge, the uncontrolled influx of chi.

This time, I would be more careful, more precise.

I visualized the flow of time as a river, picturing myself stepping not just back to a fixed point, but navigating the current, choosing my destination.

It was a monumental task, trying to influence something as fundamental as time itself, but the alternative was unacceptable.

Another death, another blind reset

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I concentrated, The correct flow snapped into place.

The energy was still too much.

I arrived at Houtian rank 2.

The flow increased twice as much and I exploded.

My eyes snapped open.

I looked around.

I was standing on the street where the guard would save the child.

However, It seems I had bought myself some time.

It was 6 AM and the sun had barely risen.

I instinctively knew it was the same day.

I grinned, time for a training montage.

I had immense wealth now, so I might as well buy an amulet enchanted for training speed.

I went to a shop that sold enchanted jewelry.

I then realized it wasn't open, so I went to an open field and trained with my sword.

At this point, after training, yes I was durable, but 2 of 9 Houtian ranks made me barely above peak human.

So I trained and I continued to train.

9AM Luganica field across from the noble shopping district.​

Stopping the exercise I realized that the gear I had really heavily affected training to the point I was correcting myself mid-swing.

What if I added even more multipliers.

That enchanted jewelry sounded really nice around now.

The store was open, so I sheathed my very expensive sword, and moved towards the magic item and jewelry shop.

I opened the door, and I heard a male voice, "One moment, customer."

Emerging from a back room, a man appeared, his smile as bright as the polished gemstones adorning his fingers.

He was dressed in flowing robes of a style I didn't recognize, adorned with intricate embroidery and shimmering with faint magical energy.

In fact, one of those rings had what seemed twice as much energy as my houtian 2 explosion contained.

"Welcome," he greeted, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I am Kasimir, purveyor of fine wares and curiosities from across the planes. How may I assist you today?"

I was a bit weirded out but he seemed to be the real deal. "I'm looking for something to enhance my training," I stated, getting straight to the point. "Jewelry, perhaps, enchanted for increased learning speed and skill training."

Kasimir's smile widened. "Ah, a seeker of knowledge and self-improvement. A worthy pursuit indeed. Come, let me show you what I have."

He led me through the shop, which seemed to expand and twist with each step, revealing a seemingly endless array of shelves and display cases filled with objects that defied description.

There were amulets that pulsed with inner light, rings that whispered secrets in unknown tongues, and bracelets that hummed with a power I could barely comprehend.

When the world stopped moving around us, I only had one question.

"What the hell is this place?"

He grinned at me when I asked.

"I am Kasamir." His grin turned strange.

"And I am a wandering bazaar. A purveyor of fine wares and curiosities from across the planes." his strange grin turned into a smile.

"The pendant," Kasimir explained, "works on a different principle from the ones of the waterfall world, as I like to call it. It attunes your body to the flow of physical movements, improving muscle memory and coordination by a factor of three. Your reflexes will sharpen, and learning new techniques will become significantly easier."

"The rings," he started as he waved to the other side display. "Are a set of five, each additively increasing training speed by 10 when all are worn. A multiple of 2 added for each ring worn."

I considered his words carefully. The enchantments were impressive, but I knew from experience that even greater enhancements were possible.

My current attire, when worn together, tripled my learning speed for combat skills and other physical disciplines and I only spent 32 gold on them.

Each ring only cost 20 gold, and the amulet 50.

"I appreciate the craftsmanship," I said, "but I'm looking for something more...potent. Do you have anything that surpasses these enhancements?"

Kasimir stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Perhaps...but such items are rare and come at a premium price. Tell me, what is your budget for this endeavor?"

I reached into my seemingly bottomless coin crevice and pulled out a handful of platinum coins, the ones I had looted from the frozen corpses in the library. "I believe these will suffice," I said with a confident smirk.

A gleam of excitement entered Kasimir's eyes. "Ah, platinum! Holy dragon coins of Lugunica! A currency of connoisseurs and collectors. Now we're talking. Follow me, my friend. I believe I have something that will pique your interest."

"Now, my friend, here is something very good!' He smiled excitedly. "I had found this in the ruins of Turudu on the plane of Mahadan. Very nasty place but the enchanters there are top notch!"

He pulled a cloth off of the three amulets.

"Now, the one on the far left is called the 500 hour amulet. It will force your mind and body in whatever you do to yourself, add skill to you as if you were doing it for 500 hours. I can sell this to you for your local platinum currency, the Holy dragon coins. Just 15 of them! A wonderful deal yes?"

I nodded, "what about the middle one?" I asked.

He obliged by explaining. "This is the 1000 hour amulet. The same as the first, but for 1000 hours and for 80 Holy dragon coins."

I nodded, it seemed this was the one for me.

I didn't have enough for the one on the far right. "I wouldn't suppose the third one cost only 92 holy dragon coins?" I asked just in case.

He just shook his head with a smile as the third one disappeared in a puff of smoke.

I nodded, and handed him 80 holy dragon coins.

He handed me the amulet and I put it on. The amulet seemed to sink into my body.

Upon putting it on, I realized my walking and standing was wrong.

I adjusted my body. I begin and continue making minute adjustments for reasons that flooded my mind.

"Ah yes, a doozy the first time! Don't worry! You'll get used to learning fast. Might I recommend this multitasking book for 10 silver?"

I nodded and touched it as I handed some of my mountain of silver to him.

Suddenly the book disappeared in motes of light and I knew how to manage my mind in a way that even if reasons to walk and breathe better.

"Now, a disclaimer. The ring indeed, cannot increase the speed at which you cultivate normally, but you will learn better ways to use the technique. Good yes? Eventually you can modify techniques to be even better at an insane rate." He smiled happily.

"Do you have any extremely top quality cloaks for below 12 Holy coins?" I asked.

"I have exactly what you need!" the shelves shifted around strangely as we arrive at a stand with a scarf with an attached mask.

"This is a wonderful scarf and mask set for enhanced stealth. I guarantee you a level 30 Rogue that has put all his 10 divinity levels into perception would never find you once active. It is completely indestructible! Once worn it will be integrated into your body like the amulet! The mask enables you to go unrecognized, creating a new persona that shifts faces and features for the one viewing. Both are toggleable to be viewed, and used! The mask, when worn, won't be felt or seen just like the cloak and decreases damage taken by slashing and piercing weapons by 90%! Usually the mask would be 12 holy coins and the cloak would be 12 as well! But I like you! So it's a buy one get one free!"

I nodded and handed him my last holy coins.

He clapped, "Do you wish to purchase anything else? Say with large gold coins?"

I shook my head.

He nodded happily. "It was a wonderful time doing business with you. Remember, if you want to come back and hand me more money in exchange for receiving goods, simply stand in front of any magic shop, no matter how dingy, fake, or bad, clap 4 times, say my name, and clap 2 more! Have a wonderful day Tereda Chouju!"

I found myself outside of the shop.

The only evidence I was even there was the strange adjusting of my posture and changes to my breathing.

I turned around and there was an alley there, which had a dingy looking magic shop in the back.

I shrugged.

Strangely, even after surely spending at least an hour in there, the clock in my mind still read 9:02 AM.

I went back to the training ground and swung my sword once.

The moment I did it I realized I was doing it wrong.

I corrected myself and it happened again.

It kept happening until my sword was an absolute blur.

The basic knight style was hammered into me.

Something snapped into place, I was houtian 3 and half way to 4.

I checked my clock and it was noon.

All my enchanted items are either integrated inside of me or as part of clothing.

in case of the mask and cloak, both. I disable the feature randomization of the mask and the stealth of the cloak.

I think I should check out the mercenary guild. I'll try to learn their techniques.