You Died. Memory loss incurred: .017%

  Body Cultivation Reset FAILED.

  What is the…?

  Sorry, should’ve given you a heads-up, Cal said. We have a better tracking system that should be able to track things where tracking would be nice and not bother you with the rest.

  That seemed less than eloquent…

  I lose two-hundredths of a percent for each death?

  Don’t be so dramatic. It is only one thousand six hundred sixty-seven hundred-thousandths of a percent. I had the system round up to simplify.

  Thanks? I said a bit sarcastically. “How—

  Hold that thought, Cal said.

  Death Count: 170

  Memory Lost: 2.83%

  Given the current slate of notifications, I was not feeling too keen on Cal’s system. A numerical weight had been added to my deaths. The number was low… but for how long? Panic crept in. I could feel the careless hands of despair clutching my soul. My breathing was rapid as I paced between trees.

  I was losing my mind.

  Kip.

  I was already careful. No. Not nearly careful enough.

  Kip.

  Plans needed to change. No more visits to Tom. No more funerals. I’d live each life to the fullest, maximizing my gains. If I was going to lose two-hundredths of a percent of my memory each loop…

  “KIP!” Cal shouted, projecting his voice audibly, and sending a tremor through me, shaking me from my impromptu breakdown.

  I braced myself for the incoming Calm Down lecture. In preparation, I reduced my rapid breathing and directed my pacing toward a productive destination.

  The memory loss is tough, and I am sorry I cannot remove the wiper. I was not trying to scare you. The intention was to be informative and helpful. There is some silver lining to this. With the last couple of your deaths, Cal 2.0 watched the memory wiper. Your precautions are working. Even better, the split can direct it toward the memories to erase.

  I appreciated the delicacy with which Cal presented his new findings. His words contained the perfect portions of guilt, excitement, and understanding, making the information easier to digest.

  Can he stop it? I knew the answer before I asked. Cal would’ve said so otherwise. It needed to be asked.

  I am sorry, Kip.

  You mentioned it can monitor the wiper as it removes memories.

  He forgets the memory as soon as it is initiated. I tried having him make a note of what was lost this time. There is no gap between the initiation and the process either. Cal 2.0… The system barely has enough time to direct it.

  Rats. I was quite disappointed to hear that. If the split could have noted the lost memory before or after the wipe, we could have tried to restore it.

  Could he direct it to specific memories? I asked, not quite ready to give up on the idea.

  It would be harder than finding a specific grain of sand in the desert. The memories we are dealing with are tertiary. They are insignificant details of insignificant memories, details that are already lost if they are not recorded in a written record. These memories could only be called upon with additional help.

  They are already lost.

  Exactly.

  Do you know how much? I asked.

  Based on the system's calculations, it is about twenty percent. You still have one thousand thirty loops before you lose all the tertiary memories. Then there are the secondary memories.

  That’s enough, I said, determination solidifying. One thousand lives will be enough. That will give us plenty of chances to save Lana and sort out the rest of the problems… For a moment, I forgot about the trials ahead, only thinking of saving my friends. Unfortunately, that was only the first challenge to overcome. We need to work on extending our lives.

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  We are already working on it. We should have some solutions by the time you finish up with Tom.

  So you’re staying there? I asked.

  For the time being. I want to monitor the system closely, especially during resets.

  OK. I sighed heavily, lifting my head up. I’d reached the clearing in the forest. The battle hadn’t finished yet. I paid little attention to it, choosing to reflect on the conversation. Thanks, Cal,” I said after I cleared through my thoughts. No more dying…

  You Died. Memory loss incurred: .017%

  Death Count: 178

  Memory Lost: 2.97%

  I died eight more times trying to reset my body essence. Each time, getting further along in the process, only for my body to give out at the last moment. I would’ve abandoned the idea, but Tom insisted it was important. He said I’d never make it in the Silvers if I didn’t have a proper foundation, which he insisted I joined after the correct foundations were laid.

  The last one really got to me. I was close to setting a perfect foundation, only to lose it at the last moment. Based on the system’s calculation, I was only two percent away from finishing the task. I was confident that my foundation would be set this round or the next.

  The failures weren’t total losses either. I lived each loop to the fullest, only visiting Tom when my loop was ending. The time spent in my mindscape and the extended loops amounted to over eight years. That wasn’t calculating the split minds, either. It was about forty years with them involved. That was longer than my life before the loops. To me, it didn’t seem like it was that long. Instead, it still felt like only a day had passed since the forest battle… at least mentally. Emotionally, it felt like a long time.

  Needless to say, my skills had grown. I was slowly becoming a master with the sword and bow. Mana pumped through my channels efficiently, and I could control water with the skill of a sage. My domain had strengthened tenfold, allowing me to walk on the battlefield of mages. Ice summons were always at the density of black ice, and I had honed my skills as far as possible. Water anchor was the skill that saw the most gains and probably my favorite skill.

  My splits had all grown and expanded the faculty of my mind. It turned out that reaching platinum was just the beginning of mind progression. In a sense, the way to progress the mind was infinite. My defenses were almost impossible to get through, the monsters scarier and more challenging than anything I thought I could imagine, and the clones were ranking up all of my skills, which could be tracked thanks to Calypso—Cal’s split in charge of the system.

  As the battle in the forest ended, I made my way over to the clearing to grab the ring and stash Icy. I was ready for a change in the loop. It had been a while since I last visited any town. I could use some new food, interactions, books, and pretty much anything.

  A fast glide through the forest and down the trail brought me to Cyanne just as the sun was setting. I had a quick chat with the guards, who let me through the gate before closing and locking it. Then, I visited a tavern to get some food.

  Through a lens of ice placed at the door, I watched as I ate for an old friend to come find me. Purity didn’t disappoint. As she reached for the door, I kicked through it, pushing out with all my power. The door launched into the unsuspecting smoker, who got knocked down and ignited into flames. As she stood up, the door burned to ash.

  ”I will boil your blood,” Purity shouted. Balls of flame condensed in her hand. The temperature increased significantly, causing the tavern to smoke. Purity’s eyes met mine, and I could feel her hatred boring into me. She smiled wickedly and tossed fire everywhere.

  The assassin was crazy—or just didn’t like getting hit, which was fair. However, she was overreacting. Just because she was upset didn’t mean the world and everyone in it needed to burn.

  Smokers... It was practically their way of life. The whole lot of 'em were Sogg's bastards.

  Passionate and hungry energy burned all around us. The jester was relentless in her assault. Only my efforts kept the flames at bay, stopping them from consuming the tavern and the few patrons inside.

  “Hello, Purity.” I stepped out of the doorframe, forgetting the sage’s name wasn’t Purity. The slip-up earned an even more intense expression of hatred. It felt like the air I breathed offended her. “Sorry, I don’t know your actual name.”

  ”And you never will.” Flames burst all around me. The only thing louder than their roar was Purity's maniacal laughter. Had she been less of a smoker, she might’ve noticed me laughing as well.

  I mentally fought the sage thousands of times over the course of eight years. The fights were no longer close. I pushed back the flames with my domain. Vapors of water formed into a frozen fist the size of a cow. I swung my fist with a right hook, causing the frozen fist to follow the motion ten feet away.

  Anticipating the frozen fist, Purity condensed the area of her domain, causing her to burn hotter. She raised her fiery sword to counter, slicing through the punch. Black ice shattered around her and melted away. The sage stepped forward confidently, swinging her sword in my direction. Though I was out of her reach, waves of fire were released from her blade.

  I summoned a wave of water to counter her fire attack while pulling on the droplets behind her. Fire and water crashed, exploding into mist and steam. Purity sent a dozen more waves in under two seconds, forcing me to pour cyan energy out to meet her attacks. It felt so good to experience the battle in real life. As real as the simulations were in my head, they just couldn’t meet the intensity, randomness, and desperation of a real fight.

  The constant fire waves pushed me back a couple steps. Purity snickered, seeing her power overwhelm me. “To think a templar dared challenge me.” Steam erupted from her as she pushed out her fiery-orange mana. The steam blasted upward until it was blocked by a dome of ice. If Purity noticed, she didn’t acknowledge it.

  Mist and steam condensed into a thick cloud. The smoker tried burning it away, only to add more to the cloud. She was left to battle a fist of ice while I vanished from her senses, melding into the mist. As her battle became more chaotic, I summoned Snowpiercer, drew an arrow, and released.

  The air popped as I fired the perfect shot. Before Purity could turn, the arrow pierced her back. Then another. And another. Her body dropped to the ground, and the cloud rushed to cover her as if devouring the flame that gave it life. Through my water senses, I knew she was dead.

  There was no elation of emotions or celebration with the victory. Purity was only a small stepping stone on my path—one that I’d passed several times already. Despite my calm collectiveness, a smile broke through. This was just more confirmation that my mind would be a powerful tool.

  I collected the valuable gear I could from Purity, storing it in my ring. It wasn’t much, but it would allow me to spend more money. Which is what I was going to do after I fought the rest of the Jesters standing outside my ice dome.