The sky was the same. The forest was the same. Everything was the same.
"Ugh, perfect. Now we've got a pervert, a crazy girl, and a half-asleep guy. Wonderful." Tohime groaned, unaware that she had repeated the same line again. This was the fourth loop, and even changing our route hadn't broken it.
If the area itself wasn't the cause of this time loop, then the source might be closer than I thought. The possibility was clear, it might be Arthur, the protagonist himself.
I glanced toward Arthur's group. They looked just as before, exactly the same as in every loop. I had a hypothesis. If it wasn't the protagonist causing this, then what else could it be?
"Hey, where are you going?" Tohime called out, but I ignored her and walked straight toward Arthur's group.
"Hi, you must be Arthur, right?" I greeted him with a friendly smile. I didn't actually want to get involved with Arthur, but if this loop was happening because of him, then I had to interfere.
"Yes? Who are you?" Arthur asked, confused. As expected, he and Elena didn't know me because they lived in a village. Misty and Quri, however, had noble backgrounds.
"What do you want, Leon?" Quri asked warily.
"I just wanted to introduce myself. Believe me, my name's Leon Moriet. You might've heard of me. I'm kind of famous for causing trouble," I said, offering my hand to Arthur.
Though hesitant, Arthur shook my hand.
"Can I ask you for a favor?" I asked, and behind me, my team finally caught up.
"Hey! Don't just run off like that!" Tohime grabbed my arm, but I pulled free. I couldn't let things go the same way as before. I needed to find a way to break the loop.
Arthur looked puzzled. "A favor? About what?"
I gripped his hand tighter, holding it long enough to test whether the world would react. But nothing happened. No tremor, no distortion, no glitch.
"Would it be possible for our groups to travel together?" I asked. They all looked surprised. Tohime frowned, clearly annoyed at the idea of teaming up with Arthur's group.
Arthur seemed taken aback, while Misty tilted her head slightly, analyzing my words.
"Together?" Arthur repeated. "But isn't this test designed to evaluate each team separately?"
"True," I replied quickly, "but wouldn't it be easier to defeat monsters if we worked together? There's no rule that says collaboration is forbidden."
Quri gave me a sharp look. "You sound like someone who knows more than he should, Leon Moriet."
I gave a thin smile. "Maybe."
Tohime scoffed behind me. "You're insane, Leon! We don't need their help."
"If I'm right, Tohime, this isn't just a test," I said quietly. "And if I'm wrong... we'll only waste a little time."
Arthur exchanged glances with Elena. He hesitated, but curiosity won. Finally, he nodded. "Alright. Just this once. We'll help each other in the forest, then go our separate ways."
"Agreed," I said.
"How will we meet up? We're separated pretty far apart after teleportation," Misty asked. She was right. The system was designed so teams wouldn't clash early on.
"There's a large, leafless tree deep in the forest. You can't miss it from above. Anyone in your group able to use wind magic or fly?" I asked, and Elena raised her hand.
"Good. We'll meet there. Think of it as healthy cooperation," I said and turned to leave.
Tohime hit me on the head. "Are you out of your mind? Making decisions like that without talking to us first? And how do you even know there's a leafless tree when you've never been there?"
"I get it, you want to reach the Elite class," I said, and Tohime fell silent. She'd mentioned that goal in every loop. But in the game, she was placed in Class B. "But what if I told you there's a better way to reach the elite class?"
That caught her attention immediately.
"Are you serious?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Yes. Just follow my lead, and the Elite class will be ours."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"It will. One hundred percent." My tone was firm enough to convince her.
"Fine. But if it fails, I'll smack you on the head again," she said and walked off. Fortunately, among my teammates, Tohime was the only one that stubborn.
Now, if my hypothesis was correct, then Arthur's death was the trigger for every loop.
We traveled through the same forest, but this time, instead of hunting monsters, we searched directly for the leafless tree. Not because I knew where it was but because, in the game's prologue, it was a landmark. Arthur and his group always passed it; it marked the turning point of the story.
"There it is! I see it!" Penlope shouted from above.
We hurried there, but Arthur's group was nowhere to be found.
"Were we tricked? I knew it! They must've suspected you the moment you asked that question," Tohime snapped. But I wasn't so sure.
"Penlope, check the area," I said. She was experienced in tracking if something was off, she'd notice.
Penlope moved slowly around the tree. "There are signs of someone being dragged, and multiple footprints following. Whoever it was, they were taken by force," she said. The trail belonged to Elena. In the game, the rebels kidnapped her.
"They were here, but it looks like someone or something took one of them," I said.
"What? If it was another student, the bracelets would've alerted the instructors. They monitor every movement," Tohime argued.
"True. But what if it wasn't a student?"
That statement made everyone go silent. But also uneasy.
In the original story, Diabolos had a hostile relationship with the kingdom. Realizing that most nobles and royal heirs had studied at the Arx Lumina Academy, Diabolos, after joining the Dark Divine organization, made Arx Lumina the target of his revenge, intending to slaughter the future leaders of the kingdom there.
Diabolos began his revenge by killing the new students in this forest as a warning to the Arx Lumina Academy.
"So, what now?" Tohime asked.
"Follow the tracks," I said.
The tracks led us to a cave. This was it, the same place where, in the prologue, Arthur fought Diabolos, the leader of the rebellion against the academy.
Arthur could fight, yes, but the system at this stage limited him. His mission was only to survive Diabolos's attacks for five minutes. Facing him head-on was suicide.
We followed the tunnel until we saw light ahead. The closer we got, the louder the sounds of battle became.
"What the…" Everyone stopped. Shocked. Confused. There, Arthur raised his sword as his companions lay unconscious around him.
The timing matched perfectly with when we usually defeated the Stone Grizzly. And then I saw a purple beam pierced Arthur's abdomen.
And in that instant, the world stopped.
Thump… thump…
My hypothesis was right. Arthur's death was the cause of the loop.