In front of me is a door that is a little bit taller than me. It is made out of wood and it leads to our academy’s gymnasium and behind it are my friends Lin, Belle and Mifumi.

Currently, Lin and Mifumi are down on their knees, forced into this position by the sheer power behind Belle’s words of power.

Normally, this would be something quite normal for my day to day life and usually, I would be there with them, beaten and bruised due to the harsh training that is ‘granted’ to us by the Empire’s most powerful tactician but today is a little different.

Fuck that. It is completely different because this is the second time in my life that I have experienced this same exact scenario. Things are different because I have already died once and I seem to be reliving one lifetime repeatedly. Crazy, right?

I understand that I could be dreaming or that this could be mere coincidence or that I am simply overthinking things and these are all fair assessments, however, I am right here right now.

Usually, these time-centric stories would begin with the owner or the caretaker taking great care to avoid doing anything out of the ordinary for fear of a time paradox but it has happened and it will again – lest I fail to accomplish certain things, of which I am yet to understad for myself, that would finally help me break this cycle of dread – and of course, to keep me from dying – again.

Taking all of this into account got me thinking and so, I unknowingly stared at the gym’s door like an idiot waiting for someone to tell him what’s up – but with that regards, I really am an idiot with no idea on how to fix this dilemma.

As I was thinking to my poor, troubled self, I sense a wave of killing intent sent to my current position. Everything around me slows down – from my breathing, to my heart rate to my thoughts – everything is clear and everything is visible.

I hear a crack coming from the gym door and sure enough, I see the tip of a sword that I know very well. With no time to react as the sword slowly pierces through the wooden material, I roll over to the side and I used myself as a fulcrum as I kicked the tip of the sword, breaking it in half due to the momentum.

Pressed for time, I stood up and anticipated the next move as the broken half of the sword is falling to the floor, “Shit, is this Laser Beam?”

True enough, I see the door breaking into itself as a sudden burst of force is slammed into it from the other side. I see Belle’s hair slowly waving as she hits nothing but air after I hid myself during her first attack. She notices what I did to my sword and before she could even face me, I stand from my position, evading the remaining half of sword as she swung it at me, using its momentum to deflect her strike I move her sword hand away and I ram my knee up her stomach as I grabbed her neck from behind, applying just enough pressure to keep her in place.

What the fuck just happened? Did I manage to get some sort of magic to stop time? No, I have to think about this logically. I managed to see Belle’s move and I managed to counter it in such a short time. The only logical answer for now is that I can think better and faster than the average human being. Also, I must have caught Belle unaware. She is my instructor and she is Rafflesia’s human avatar in this cycle after all, though she doesn’t know that yet.

Belle is on her knees, clutching her stomach as she shakes and convulses because of the pain. All of this happened in a span of 2 seconds. I feel awake and vivid. Coughing, Belle looks at me with a look of surprise on her face.

“What…what the hell was that, Keith?”

“Keith! Are you okay? What happened to you and the Instructor!?”

Mifumi and Lin rushes towards us, clearly as confused as Belle was.

Trying to steady her breathing, Belle looks at me. “That was an impressive show of skill, Prentice. No one has ever been able to block my Laser Beam, much less use it against me in that manner. Is this the result of your training, Keith?”

I chuckle at her. “You have been driving me into the ground for these past couple of months and what’s with your welcome for me? It’s too early in the morning for you to rush me with your sure kill move.”

Lin, still confused and quite frankly surprised at this turn of events turned to me. “You are much stronger than you were yesterday, Keith. Much much stronger.”

Mifumi could only nod his head.

“Prentice, do you mind letting go of my neck now?” Red in the face, Belle asks me to let her go.

Realizing that I was actually holding her quite intimately, I immediately got my hands off her. I apologized and just shrugged the ‘accident’ off.

“Keith, you really are quite the womanizer aren’t you.”

I don’t want to hear that from you Mifumi.

“Keith! How about a battle?” Lin asks.

Having no reason to refuse, I answered in the affirmative.

“I will battle you as long as you team up with Mifumi.”

Massaging her stomach, Belle lets go of an ‘Oho’ kind of laugh.

“What a confident brat. Lin, let’s take him on. No crying if you lose, Keith.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Come at me.”

Lin and Mifumi ran towards me. Honestly, they were pretty fast. As they were running, they drew their weapons and started running with a zig-zag pattern, obviously devised to confuse their enemies. They reminded me of the way Yuriko and Chie fought back then.

I readied my stance and as Lin jumped in the air ready to lunge at me, I breathed in the air and suddenly, I can see clearly again. Lin is up in the air, slowly gaining speed and if I were to get hit by her sword, it would probably be the end for me. Mifumi, on the other hand is at my blind spot. This is a really troublesome way to get cornered. Sword at the ready, Mifumi prepared to lunge at me should Lin fail to hit me with her move.

I jumped back and seeing Lin’s landing spot and Mifumi’s trajectory, I prepared myself. Time resumes its normal speed and Lin, about to land, is surprised that I was no longer in her sight. I stepped in grabbed her leg. Wow, her leg is so soft and firm. Wait. Fuck that. I spun her around and throw her at Mifumi. Just before her body crashed with Mifumi, I used Laser Beam and elbowed Mifumi out of the way as I caught Lin out of the air and into safety.

Raggedly breathing, Lin looks at me and I can see that her face is very red. She’s also panting.

“You’re too strong. I knew you could use Laser Beam but to actually execute such a move in combat, are you really not a genius at fighting Keith?”

“You’re too kind Lin. This is a result of the training that we endured together. I also found myself in a bit of a pinch as I almost took your pincer attack with Mifumi. Was that something you were practicing before I got here?”

“Yes, Keith. The reason why the Instructor got mad was because we couldn’t do it right. Speaking of which, are you okay Mifumi? Geez, that was mean of you Keith, to only save me while you blew him out of your way. Mifumi is still our friend you know!”

Coming out of the wall because he was literally blew away to the next room, I see Mifumi smiling at us. “It’s okay Lin. That was a great move, Keith. You really are quite something.”

I smiled at him. I realize that Lin was still panting.

“Lin, you need to work on your stamina more. You’ve been panting for more than a few minutes now.”

With her palm in her face, Belle calls me an idiot.

Mifumi is laughing. “Keith, you may have become quite the fighter but you’re still the number one dense idiot.

Lin is looking at me with a “Umuuuuu” kind of face. She’s so cute. I put her down and I walked towards the training dummies in the room.

Curious, Lin and Mifumi were eyeing me.

I breathed in and I started practicing my normal katas and stances. I do this for a few minutes before Mifumi and Lin decided to join me in hitting training dummies. We spent the time talking about stupid things that aren’t worth sharing. We’re having small talk in other words. I decided to take the opportunity to ask them about the current situation. As I was speaking with them, I realize these things:

This is the same exact timeline that I came from. In short, I am not in another world nor am I in a different direction.

I am the same Keith that I was when I was Alphonse. I may have lost some of my more powerful abilities but I have retained my combat experience and my instinct.

The way I was stopping time was actually just me slowing time. According to Belle, the only people capable of doing that are fighters who have spent quite some time in earning experience in the field of combat. This is going to be pretty useful.

I also realized that I have already made some changes to this timeline by evading Belle instead of taking in her words of power. The situation for today should remain roughly the same the first time around but I have to be extra careful.

After a few hours passed with the training dummies beaten and battered, Lin, Mifumi and I decided to rest.

“What’s up with all of the questions, Keith? Are you feeling okay?” Lin asks.

Mifumi simply watched us.

“No, it’s just that I wanted to make some small talk. It’s kind of a way for me to practice conversing since I am not that interesting.”

“I see.” Lin purses her lips and after a short pause, she added, “Do you want to take your lunch with me Keith?”

“Sure as long as you are buying.”

“Why did you have to ask Mifumi and Belle again eh?!”

Mifumi chuckled. “Keith didn’t say anything like that.”

“Eh? Eh!?!?!?!” Lin started panicking. “So it’s just going to be the two of us?”

“Yes. Unless you want to avoid spending it with me to avoid rumors of us going out, we can invite the instructor and Mifumi to come with us.”

“No, that isn’t necessary! Please wait for me here! I will take a shower and change my clothes. I got pretty sweaty during that intense training session that we had.” Lin said as she started running towards the showers.

Now that I think about it, sweat seems to be glistening from Lin’s clothes. Her curves are emphasized because her shirt is sticking to her body like latex. In the middle were her large, soft breasts. They seemed to be a little too big for her body-type but I sure am thankful for this heavenly sight. As I was thinking about Lin, I sensed killing intent coming from Belle.

Yes, Yes. No sexually harassing my fellow Prentices. I know.

“I will take my leave too. Good match Keith. Thank you, Instructor.” Mifumi says as he takes off. Man, that guy has always been desperate to imitate his favorite hard-boiled soldiers.

I spent a few minutes of silence with Belle. I still can’t believe that I get to spend more time with my beloved instructor after I was forcefully separated from her during the last cycle. I guess I was a little more interested than I should have been in Belle but I’m sure she only sees me as a protégé or a younger brother at most.

I mean even the legendary Chief Warlock Rafflesia even spent her life as Ryner’s best friend during the Golden Age War as Ryner spent his days with Yui.

Belle was sitting in her usual spot, seemingly defenseless. She was sipping tea as she fanned herself with her hands. I tried using my newfound abilities for the greater good. I breathed in the air around me and everything became clearer and slower. I could see further and I could sense further. I look at Belle’s hand in mid-fan motion and I walked closer to her. I looked at every detail of her body and I stopped at her nape, which was exposed when she removed her armor. I notice a bead of sweat slowly sliding down from her nape to her bountiful chest. I don’t know how long I stared but when I had my fill, I returned to my position, sat down and continued meditating.

From the corner of my eyes, I swear I could see Belle smiling. I wonder why.

A few minutes passed and when I felt rejuvenated (I think I actually fell asleep for a while), I stood up and headed to the shower room to refresh myself. I passed by Belle who smiled at me. I think my heart stopped for a bit. I bet she wants something.

“You were impressive today, Prentice. Who are you, really?”

“Instructor? Has the heat gone to your head? I am your apprentice Keith, sworn Prentice-Knight to her Highness the Princess Alicia.”

“I could see that but you seem different from the passive and idle Keith that I know. You seem..” pursing her lips, she added “driven.”

“I just want to graduate as fast as I can, go through my investiture as Knight and serve my country by protecting its Princess and you are the best instructor there is. I guess it should be normal for me to be different after training under you for a while, right?”

Belle looked surprised but I felt like she was considering everything first before deciding anything. A few moments passed and Belle finally answered me.

“You seem to be the Keith that I know but you are a little…different. Dangerous too. Try not to make trouble here, okay?”

“Sure, sure.” I wave at her as I walked towards the shower area.

I entered the Male Shower room and got a glimpse of Mifumi’s junk. I was traumatized and stunned for a good 2 seconds before he realized that he needed to cover that gigantic monstrosity and he started apologizing as his…thing swayed up and down. I passed out and Mifumi started running. What a fucking way to get knocked out.

I stood up and took my clothes off, got in the shower and cleaned myself up. As I was scrubbing my body, I noticed that I had a scar where Ryner ran his sword through me. This is bizarre. There has to be a reason for this and I need to find a way to communicate with Ryner in order to find the answer.

Finishing up, I stepped out and wiped myself down.

I went to my locker and got a change of clothes. It’s my usual Military Academy Uniform. I do need to get to classes after lunch after all. I stepped out and saw that Belle was still there, meditating. I sense an oppressive aura coming from her and it sent shivers down my spine.

What’s with this level of danger coming from her? Every fiber of my being is shouting hostile and are literally begging me to run away. I couldn’t move and I couldn’t say anything. Not even my heightened battle senses could do anything to make a dent against this monstrosity. Belle really wasn’t being serious earlier.

So is this the true power of one who is truly powerful? I still have a long way to go. If I were to put this into perspective, the normal human being is somewhere around level 10 and I am at level 12 or 13. Belle would probably be somewhere beyond that, maybe even more than level 40.

Facing my limits, I resolve to become stronger, at least strong enough to move through this dense field of aura. The ominous feeling around me dispersed and I could finally move and breathe again. I’m sweaty and trembling. I look at Belle and see her looking at me with a troubled face.

“You weren’t supposed to be here, Prentice.” She says.

“I took a shower but more importantly, what the hell was that, Instructor?”

“I was simply practicing my Battle Meditation. If used, it will utterly crush the enemy’s morale and heighten and encourage our allies. It’s an advanced technique that only I have mastered.”

“It’s that awesome then. Will you teach me?”

“No.” She smiles at me. “It’s terribly difficult. Maybe one day but not right now. Your body wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“I see.”

Obviously crestfallen, she perks up and smiles at me.

“We’ll get there slowly my dear student.”

“Yes!” I gave an energetic reply.

“Run along now. You must not keep Lin waiting.”

I thank her and ran out to find Lin waiting for me where the door used to be. She’s dressed up in her usual uniform but something about her seems a little different. She’s airing out a delicate feeling that seems to rest on the boundary between cute and mature.

“Do I look weird, Keith?” She asks.

“No, you look good. Something’s different about you.”

“Ah! You noticed! I’m wearing a touch of make-up.”

“Well I think that it makes you look mature and cute. Maybe you should also tie up your hair?”

“Ara, are you forcing your preference on me Senpai?”

“Maybe.”

She giggles at that and she locks her arms with mine and she started pulling on me.

“Let’s go grab some lunch Senpai!”

I am caught unaware. Her fragrance smells of shampoo and a touch of a fruity perfume. It mesmerizes me and she catches me staring at her.

“W-what is it?”

“Ah, no. I was just surprised that you were using that particular shampoo.”

“Ah, yes. I bought it earlier. Is it to your liking?”

“Yup! Definitely.”

“Yay!”

We started walking towards the cafeteria and by now, we reached the field separating the various buildings in our Military Academy’s Campus.

Author's Notes

Hey everyone! Enjoy!