Loopbreaker

“I’m sorry, you what?” Kels asked. “How can you expect me to let you go into the forest, being what you are?”

“And how do you plan on stopping me?” Francis asked.

Kels frowned and shook his head. “You do realize that I’m now tasked with keeping you safe? With all of the magical protection gone, and our camp in the state it is, Stenson felt I should… watch you.”

“I’m not looking for a babysitter, so unless you're planning on beating or tying me up, you can either stay back or go with me.”

The young warrior rubbed his eyes for a moment.

“How is it the youngest sage anyone can recall wants to go sneaking through a forest potentially filled with creatures that can kill him? If you die, do you understand what kind of blow that would be to our camp? To everyone’s morale?”

“I do,” Francis replied. “Which is why I’m fortunate to have one of the best fighters as my guide. Now, are you going to come or are you going to stay?”

“Fine, let’s get you geared a little better, and then we’ll head out--but so help me, if you die I’m going on the record I said this was a bad idea.”

If only he knew…

Francis smiled and let Kels lead him toward a large tent set near the back of the newly formed rows of barracks.

***

“You two shouldn’t be here,” whispered the scout they had come up on. “About two hundred yards farther in, we have reports of some creatures ambushing anyone they encounter.”

“How many?” Francis asked.

“How many what? Animals? We didn’t stop to count. In these woods, with how dark it is, they see far better than we can and drop out of trees on us. One of our best was lost to an ambush like that. We took out the four that attacked us, but it cost us dearly.”

“And the traps?” Kels asked, his frown visible even in the shadows.

“They rarely work. If someone asked me, we’d be far better off setting the entire place on fire. We’ve already given up half a mile from the first venture in, and every hour it feels like they push us back even more.”

Francis said nothing, kneeling behind the shrubs the scout had set up to help conceal his presence near a tree. It was a good blind that hid the scout from three sides but still allowed Francis and Kels to spot him from behind as they approached.

If that magical reaction happens again, they need to be ready to set the forest on fire. Most likely, the forest on the other side of the battlefield is probably experiencing the same thing. I guess I would need to tell the king to set the trees on fire before the battle. I’m not sure what that would do to the creature that sets up in the forest and tries to make people flee.

Every thought he considered made Francis feel flustered. Having learned the hard way that just saying something different had resulted in not getting a good helm, Francis knew every loop could change greatly, especially if he tried new things.

“I don’t like that look on your face,” Kels whispered. “What are you thinking?”

“That he’s right,” Francis said. “We should burn this place to the ground on both sides. The problem is, I don’t think we can get it lit. It’s too wet, so it would take forever for the flames to spread. What’s your name he asked the scout?”

“Levi, sir,” the man replied.

“Ok. So, Levi, if I wanted to try and see one of the creatures in this forest, which way would I most likely encounter one?”

“Sir, please don’t do that. Trust me, it’s suicide.”

“And yet I feel the gods telling me I must,” Francis lied.

Levi glanced at Kels, who sighed and shrugged.

“That way, sir. But –”

“Kels, stay here. I’ll be right back.”

“Screw that,” the warrior replied. “There’s no way I’m letting you go in there alone.”

“I’ve scouted before, and I’ve also hunted game,” Francis replied. “Besides, I have leather armor. You’re the one in chain and will make far more noise than I will.”

“You’re just going to go look? Not fight?”

“Please, we both know how much I suck at swordplay,” Francis said. “I just need to see something.”

A few seconds passed before Kels grunted.

“Which way?” Francis asked.

Levi’s finger shook slightly as he pointed ahead of them to the right.

“Thanks, now stay put. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Without giving them another chance to protest, Francis stayed low and crept through the darkness, moving from shadow to shadow as his eyes scanned every area he could see.

The hair on the back of his neck almost stood as he moved deeper in, knowing that he was the prey in these woods.

A sound from above caught his attention--before he could react, pain erupted for a moment along his neck.

***

The sound of the morning bell jarred Francis from his bed.

Well that was faster than I expected.

"It's earlier than usual," Michael grunted as he sat up. "What gives?"

“Just Phillip being a jackass. Come on, let’s go see what the day has in store for us,” Francis replied.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

***

"Left!" Francis shouted.

His blade cleaved another tiger-kin’s arm off. His brother, Gregory, and Henry finally stopped floundering as he continued to cut his way through the monsters that charged them.

Francis threw his almost-ruined shield at the animal’s face and drove the tip of his blade into its chest, ending its life.

[ Swordsmanship Skill Increased - 31 Proficient]

He smiled, yanking his weapon free and sidestepping a swipe from a wolf-kin. Francis brought his blade upward and hacked off a few inches of its snout.

Every second was chaos as the King and the lizard-kin in the woods tried to sway the army through words and power.

Flee! Run away!

Once again, Francis’ brother and friends stood there, blank eyes as the beasts pushed forward until Baxter lent his aid again.

"DO NOT FLEE! STAND STRONG!"

After finishing off the wolf-kin, Francis pulled a shield free of a dead soldier's body at his feet, then moved to intercept another monster that came at the stunned army.

“Keep fighting! Focus, Michael!” Francis shouted.

Part of him felt stupid for having chosen to fight in the main army this loop. Instead of warning the King or anyone else about what was going to happen, Francis instead chose to try and get stronger beside Michael. Their conversation the last time had made Francis want to be here, trying to push against an unending wall of beastkins.

Francis wasn’t sure if he could convince Baxter and the mages to start burning the forest before the battle. During the entire trip here, he had considered the possibilities of that single action. Burning down the trees meant using mana and spells, which would limit the army’s ability to fight. Causing the forests to burn would impact how the beastkins might respond. All that led to Francis not being able to even guess how the actual battle might go.

He had even considered trying to get the mages to start the fire at night. Francis knew if the armies clashed in the dark, the beastkin would probably come out on top due to the limited vision of humans.

Even now with the sun's light, they couldn’t stand against the onslaught.

A cry came, and Francis spun, distracted by his thoughts, seeing a wolf-kin biting down on Henry’s shoulder.

Gregory hadn’t fully recovered from the lizard-kins effect, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Like so many other troops, Gregory’s inability to resist the fear effect caused him not to protect Henry.

Claws raked across Francis’ new shield, and he swept the sword low, catching the tiger-kin’s knee.

As it stumbled slightly, Francis pivoted and thrust as Kels had shown him, the tip puncturing a lung.

“Francis!” Michael’s cry caused him to disengage, not getting a chance to end the beast he had been fighting.

A glance showed his brother being pushed back by a wolf-kin.

Letting out a shout, Francis got its attention, providing his brother a slight reprieve as it focused on him.

More bodies began to litter the area, and soon, another line of warriors arrived.

Francis could see it in their eyes, fear and yet also hope, seeing him and his brother standing, the corpses of the monsters they feared surrounding them.

He lifted a sword, letting out a war cry, trying to inspire them before death claimed them all.

***

The sound of the morning bell jarred Francis from his bed.

"It's earlier than usual," Michael grunted as he sat up. "What gives?"

“Ugg… not what I expected at all,” Francis groaned.

“When does Phillip ever do what we hope or expect?”

Ignoring his brother, Francis sat up and tried to think about what had happened.

A spell… something from behind.

Sighing, he pulled his boots on and stomped a few times, trying to ignore the fact that one of the leather strands that barely held it together had finally broken.

It’s going to be one of those days.

Hustling down to join the other teens, who were all unaware of what would befall them, Francis checked his stats.

[ Status ]

Francis Lancaster

Age 17

Strength: 16

Endurance: 20

Agility: 16

Wisdom: 14

Perception: 14

Magic: 10

Skills

Swordsmanship (Common) – 32 Proficient

Shield Use (Common) - 19 Novice

Tracking (Uncommon) - 11 Basic

Stealth (Uncommon) - 11 Novice

Traps (Uncommon) - 3 Basic

Rock Throwing (Common) - 7 Basic

Mental Resist (Uncommon) - 24 Novice

Blood of the Undying ( Unknown )- 100+ Sage

Fast Learner (Epic) - 1 Basic (Locked)

Mace (Common) - 6 Novice

Horseback Riding (Common)- 8 Basic

Horseback Handling (Uncommon) - 6 Basic

He had gotten stronger and faster, choosing to really push himself in the previous loop. Francis’s sword and shield skills had also improved, echoing the statement Kels had made about battles being one of the greatest teachers of all.

Impressed with his stats, Francis was in auto mode, listening to the same speech about the race and what would be given to the one who won. Francis surprised Phillip and everyone else with how fast he had made it to town.

A single thought kept playing itself over and over in his head.

Kels said that when one fights for real, the chance to improve is there. Could it be better to just keep throwing myself at them like that for a while?

Each of the animals he faced was a formidable foe, though one-on-one, he could hold his own and emerge victorious. They expected soft targets, running in fear, and those who underestimated him always found out he wasn’t an easy target.

A fire was growing inside him, so Francis decided to take a moment to see how far he could improve himself before returning to the camp and pretending to be a sage again.

Well I am a sage… but… I guess I’ll just have to do this the hard way.

***

“We have to move!” Francis shouted. Twice now, he had to pull his brother along, moving a little closer to the forest. He wasn’t sure where the spell would strike, as he hadn’t seen it coming, but he had already gained another point in swordsmanship from their nonstop fighting.

The eighth line reached them, men shouting as he yelled; their voices were drowned out by a massive explosion back where Francis had been last loop to the right.

Men of different sizes and shapes joined him, swords and shields colliding with claws and furry bodies. Carnage littered the battlefield, and the call for them to flee started coming less often.

Francis wasn’t sure if someone had found the creature, or if it had run out of mana or whatever those beasts use to cast magic.

A spell came at them, and as he prepared for it to flatten him, Francis watched a magical shield appear above them and send a wave of magical flames raining down off the edges.

Glancing around him, he realized they had pushed forward some--and then he groaned as the realization of what was about to happen next set in. His line had been holding its own, winning against the flood of wolf-kin and tiger-kins.

Francis saw a group of warriors appear, each of them in chain armor, swords striking down beastkins far easier than he or other men had.

Are those advanced warriors? If they are then--

His thoughts were cut off as pain bloomed in his chest.

Glancing down, he saw a dagger lodged in it.

A few yards away was a tiger-kin, slightly different than the ones he had been cutting down. This one was a bit more… curvaceous, and it had multiple belts wrapped around its chest and waist, each one filled with daggers.

Pain came again and again as more blades impaled his body, striking his leg, shoulder, and stomach.

A roar sounded, and glancing up, Francis saw an open set of teeth coming at his face from the side.

“NO!” Michael shouted.

The sound of a shield bashing into the teeth filled his ears as his brother came to his aid.

Francis tried to say something, tried to lift his arm and stab at the stunned creature, but a final dagger came, causing the world to turn white as it impaled his eye.

***

Once again, the sound of the morning bell jarred Francis from his bed.

As with most times, his brother spoke first.

"It's earlier than usual," Michael grunted as he sat up. "What gives?"

“Maybe Phillip wants to give us money and let us have fun in town?”

“Yeah, and maybe I’ll find a woman who likes being with the eighth son because of all the potential I have.”

“It could happen,” Francis replied, laughing a little.

As he prepared for what he knew was coming, Francis found himself smiling. This time was different--unlike all the other times when he wasn’t sure what he would do or how things would work out.

This time, he had a new goal to focus on.

A tiger-kin needed to die.