Chương 74: Chapter 71: The Mechanics of Time

Nolotl had discovered something interesting that at his Gnosiamancer level his physical and mental consciousness had grown so far apart that he stayed conscious even though his body was definitely not. That wouldn't have helped in any other scenario, but Disembodied Sight allowed him to see even when his eyes were closed and his body was unresponsive.

"Ah!" Clonazepam yelped in surprise at her own strength and rushed at the fallen terian's side, immediately starting to cast healing spells upon him. Nolotl wanted to admonish her for not running a diagnostic beforehand, but he realized that the best healer of the empyreans had probably done so with just a quick glance as she knew far more about the body than him. The dryad did say something else, but his spell was called Disembodied Sight and not disembodied hearing.

Even the scream was something he extrapolated from reading her lips, but he wasn't that competent at that art because he had never needed it in his life. Now that I think about it, I haven't even heard the scream, my mind just autocompleted the sound because it felt like it. The rest of the people training at the arena looked at the prone empyreans, but they didn't seem to worry much as they were well aware of Clonazepam's competence as a healer. Only Azithromycin rushed to his side.

"-ord Nolotl! Lord Nolotl!" chanted the ocelotess after he finally regained his consciousness and therefore his hearing.

"I'm fine," he said softly and sluggishly raised his torso from the sand. Once upon a time he would be annoyed by getting his clothes so dirty, but Beta could clean them instantly once he went back to the tower.

"I'll only be bruised and aching for a handful of days."

"I really, really must apologize about this outcome, Lord Nolotl," Clonazepam bowed deeply in apology.

"I was the one that incited you to do this, so please, don't apologize," Nolotl chuckled, though the gesture was accompanied by a cough as some mucus made it inside his lungs. Or rather, mucus would have been the most harmless thing.

"Also, can you not call me 'Lord Nolotl'? It's weird dealing with two people calling me that when I'm still dealing with a concussion." You are clear of Confusion. Not that I was that confused in the first place. Who would have thought that having such a colossal separation between brain and mind would be beneficial? His Boons and Blessings granted him resistance to mental effects, and whilst Confusion was mostly physical, it targeted the brain, an organ he was starting to rely on less and less.

"Of course, Nolotl," Clonazepam promptly added.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, your healing has worked superbly," Nolotl tried to stretch his arms and shoulders, but the gesture made him cringe from the pain. The healing hadn't been that thorough and the dryad renewed her efforts upon seeing that.

"Though I must say that I'm curious about that lust punch. I don't deny I can see your fist withstanding a spear, but wood of that quality doesn't shatter like that. You did something, didn't you?"

"Yes, Lo-Nolotl," the dryad corrected herself with a wry smile and the twiceborn smiled at her with an actual one.

"It's one of the few pugimancies that I know: Iron First."

"A fist-based pugimancy, what a tautology," he chuckled again. Pugimancy was the hybrid school of Life and Space and was usually called the 'martial art school'. Perhaps the school literally meant 'fist magic', but just like sonomancy, the effects of the school went a bit beyond the name. Sonomancy indicated that it should only be sound yet music was also included, so here the same occurred. Pugimancy was a school that transformed martial techniques of any kind into spells.

A hybrid school that was almost as popular in Tezlan as hemomancy.

"I recently learned it as it was part of the curriculum," Clonazepam extended him a hand after she finished healing him and Nolotl took it with a soft grunt.

"Out of all the pugimancies, this one granted some defensive bonuses so it seemed like the most adequate spell for my lifestyle."

"You're still taking classes?" That was the only thing Nolotl took from her explanation.

"Well, I became an Empyrean soon after being born and I still have many gaps in my knowledge, so yes," the dyad nodded, a single vine of her mane drooping from the gesture, "I'm still taking classes as I have a lot to learn."

"I think you're the first Empyrean I've heard doing so, but it's good that you know your limitations."

"You don't take classes, Nolotl?" Clonazepam inquired.

"I take... private lessons as typical classes are too slow for me," he explained.

"But I will admit that I have many gaps in my knowledge because of it. The curriculum of the towers might be a sludge to trek through, but at least it's rather complete." Nolotl stretched his extremities again now that he was standing up and let out a mighty groan, mostly out of satisfaction rather than pain. He then activated his tattoos and recalled his true form, his blonde hair darkening again as the corvid headwear retreated along with the colorful wings.

"This has been a marvelous lesson, but I will have to remove myself; I have some things to do at other towers."

"Thank you for training with me, Lord Nolotl," Azithromycin bowed in traditional Tezlan fashion.

"Fighting a twiceborn means a lot to me."

"I also need to train, so there are no problems, Azi," he said with a smile.

"I have to thank you likewise, Nolotl," Clonazepam bowed but by clasping her forearms together in front of her bosom.

"Physical combat has proven... more exhilarating than I thought."

"Glad to hear that," and he removed himself from the arena before the Empyrean of Life decided she wanted to fight again. Taking advantage of the fact that he was outside of the Void Tower, Nolotl wanted to take care of some other tasks. He could actually have performed them with the Simulacrum, but there was virtue in doing them in person.

The moment he entered the printing press workshop, an excitable and young Peni Cilina assaulted him, though she was less ecstatic than other loops by virtue of his projection not having spent that much time in the Archives as other times.

"That's all fine and dandy," Nolotl added after a moment, putting a stop to the redhead's onslaught. He hadn't paid much attention to it, but it didn't feel that different from other loops.

"Could you go to the floor keeper and tell them that the Empyrean is searching for Cillin Amoxi? Oh, and also tell her to prepare the academy's obituaries and the what-she-knows-about."

"Obituaries?" the 14-year-old asked in confusion. Normally a curious young mage would be interested more in the cryptic 'what-she-knows-about' but asking for the obituaries was a magnificent curveball.

"Yes, so please transmit that message while I conclude some business here."

"Will do!" Peni instantly stormed out of the workshop, glad to fulfill a petition for the recently-famous Empyrean of Information. He could communicate with Cillin telepathically, but he had the feeling she would tell him to fuck off if he wasn't a bit official with it. I wonder if I can cultivate a reputation good enough to do more things than just excite 14-year-olds, he mused to himself whilst inspecting the printing presses and machinery around him.

Everything remained the same as always because he hadn't interacted with them. I wasn't famous before the loop, but I did have a serviceable reputation with all scribes thanks to my work at the status offices and my workplace policies. Whilst the Title of Empyrean had been his main focus, Nolotl wouldn't deny that he stole the position from Cillin just so he could give the workers of the academy more rights. After all, he had been one of them.

He had told Peni that he had some business here, but the moment he saw Enala alive was enough for him. Just like other loops, he used the Simulacrum at the Archives to summon the workshop's head and slightly intimidated her into not killing herself. Yet, as he was about to remove himself, he had an idea. Nolotl pressed his bottom against the workshop table Enala was working on and it still took her a solid moment to notice his presence as she was absorbed in her work.

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"I've told time and time again to not bo... Oh, E-empyrean," Enala's erupting tone instantly became accommodating when she spotted Nolotl and she stood up in a panic.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, marvelously so," he smiled at her, but that only seemed to intimidate the woman more.

"I was inspecting the installations when I had a hypothetical question."

"And which might that be?"

"What do you think would happen if the head of the printing press workshop were to suddenly disappear?" Enala's eyes shot wide open.

"W-w-why are you asking that?"

"Curiosity," Nolotl shrugged. He was aware what he was doing here, but it was actually important for the loop, and he didn't know many ways to ask this better.

"As I've said, a hypothetical question. You seem to be competent at your job, but what would happen if you were no longer the head of the workshop and someone else took over?"

"Oh, pulsars, the question goes in that direction," she sighed in relief after he elaborated.

"I cannot say with certainty, but... probably most of the projects would be scrapped."

"How come?" he asked in earnest interest and the enchantress seemed to notice that.

"I have personally invested resource and time to convince higher-ups to pursue new and innovative printing presses, but that mostly comes on the condition that I manage the place," Enala explained.

"If I weren't in the position any more, all of the budget and manpower would go to work the existing standard printing presses that can only regurgitate the same document over and over again."

"So all of these projects would just be gone?" Nolotl pointed at the whole workshop with a wave of his hand.

"Yes," the enchantress nodded solemnly. Time assimilation progressed by 1%.

"Pulsars! That was it!" the diviner slammed the table with a clenched fist in realization, with his Lesser Alignment Assimilation implicitly agreeing with his school of thought, though the sudden gesture scared Enala.

"Sorry, that was an unrelated thing." So that's why none of the gnosiamancers were present on the enhanced ambush, Nolotl connected the dots of the desecrated sanctity of his mind. If the printing press prototypes get scrapped, the Finil twins lose their project and Luminol his investment. Is that enough to make them kill me...? Perhaps it is. I didn't focus on the future of the workshop on the zeroth or second loop, so the twins might have gotten radicalized by that. And judging Luminol's behavior...

that might have just been the excuse he needed. It wasn't just Enala's death that triggered all this, but the aftermath! Nolotl looked at the still shellshocked Enala and sighed.

"Once again, sorry for that," he stepped away from the table.

"I just realized that I need to do something. And before you say anything, no, the workshop is completely fine and I won't act against it. Rest assured."

"... alright?" he didn't blame the enchantress for being confused. Without speaking another word, Nolotl made his way out of the workshop, though not before being stopped by a Peni who returned from her errand.

"I've been told that you should seek her at the Archives," the promising youngster informed him.

"Thanks, Peni!" and he rushed away.

"... Did I tell him my name?" Peni uttered those words weakly in doubt, but the Empyrean was long gone by then.

"Why the obituaries?" Cillin asked the very moment she sensed Nolotl's Cognition. She hadn't even raised her head and pointed at a series of papers resting next to her. The Tamorean was far more composed than during the start of the loop as she had had time to sleep by now. She wasn't exactly rested, but she was far more composed than two weeks ago. Or six in the future for him.

"I needed to cross-reference some information," Nolotl said whilst pulling a chair backward and sitting on it, his eyes already locked with the mountain of papers. Academy obituaries were compiled monthly in books because deaths were somewhat common, but because Enantyum's loop always started at the very end of the 1st of Space, that meant that only scattered papers would linger for the time being.

Technically speaking, it was better to check the obituaries at the end of the loop to have a greater pool of evidence, but there was virtue in having several checkpoints of evidence. Nolotl revised all of the papers and cross-referenced them with his Perfect Recollection to find changes, and surprisingly, he did. One such Steve from the Chaos Tower has died from spontaneous combustion when it didn't happen the first time I checked the obituaries at the end of a loop.

Nolotl instantly knew what this meant for the loop and magic as a whole, but his first thought was led elsewhere. I mean, what the fuck did the man expect performing wild magic with a name like Steve? That's not a mage's name! There was a lot of discussion on what a mage name was, but the overall consensus was that mages could tell what was classified or not from the vibes.

Surnames also mattered in the nebulous concept of a 'mage name' and it didn't help poor Steve's case that he was Original and surnames were optional things for them.

"That's not a very mage-y name," Cillin commented as she peered over his shoulder.

"Steve," she sneered.

"I was thinking the same," Nolotl nodded.

"So what interests you so much about this bankrupt ataxiamancer?" Bankruptcy was a term attributed to ataxiamancers that bet their luck on wild magic and paid the price. Often with their lives. This was due to their whole shtick being related to gambling. To insult one such ataxiamancer you didn't say they were courting death or being morons, you just said they were 'filing for bankruptcy'.

"Can't a man be interested in the periodic instantaneous combustion?" he mused mockingly, which prompted Cillin to roll her eyes.

"But no, I was running a demographics study in the functions of wild magic, and this specific case was what I needed." It wasn't a massive worry, but now Nolotl knew that wild magic and ataxiamancy were completely random and non-deterministic. This would mean that he would never be able to exploit wild magic in the time loop to always produce the same result, but that was the minor result. Between Enala's explanation and this tangible result, he was now one step closer to understanding the mechanics of time.

Of coiling time. Time assimilation progressed by 1%. Chaos assimilation progressed by 1%. Time had gone from increasing by a single digit in a whole year to twice in a day, but the revelations were powerful in a scientific manner. Slowly but surely, he was building a theory of coiling time in his mind. The Chaos notification was just a bonus.

"I wonder what unbalanced study you're conducting where the literal most common outcome affects it," Cillin responded with her usual passive-aggressiveness.

"None of your business," Nolotl looked at her with a shit-eating grin.

"And what about Luminol? Have you investigated him?"

"Yes," she sighed and deflated on the seat.

"Apparently he paid a private diviner a while ago to run a background check on me." Nolotl suddenly stood up.

"That's it I'm killing the man."

"It was only a background check!" Cillin countered, straightening in a panic.

"How old were you when he did that?" he asked with a scowl.

"Uh, 16?" You have resisted Rage.

"Okay, so death isn't enough," the diviner stated coldly.

"I don't want to add more books to my reading list, but it seems I will need to investigate torture methods."

"You don't even know why he did that, Nolotl!"

"And I don't care. Honestly, Cillin, how aren't you more outraged? Don't you see what's happening here?"

"I see it perfectly," she countered, standing up in front of him. Tamoreans were usually short so she stood nearly a head shorter than him yet she managed to peer directly into his eyes.

"It's my life and it's precisely why I need to keep my composure. Yes, something is wrong with him, but I'm the one who wants to manage this." Nolotl grimaced at her resolve. That was a good mentality to have, but she was young and way weaker than him. But wait...

"One question first. Do you think you could overpower Luminol?"

"In what sense?" Cillin frowned at the sudden question.

"In the sense of exploding his fucking pedophilic mind." For better or worse, the disgusting secretary hadn't done anything to Cillin so far and he might wait until she 'blossomed', but that only moved him from pedophile to stalker at best and rapist at worst. Both outcomes that were utterly deplorable. Surprisingly, Cillin did ponder his words. She tapped her lips in thought before responding, "I believe I could. Not only my Information Alignment is greater than his, but he's also a hybrid mage.

His Resistance to Cognitive Harm must be pathetic." Something that Nolotl could personally corroborate. He couldn't exactly overpower the astromancer because he was way more experienced than him—he might be absolute garbage of a being, but that didn't make him a pushover—and the only way Nolotl was constantly able to beat Luminol was because the improvised coterie crippled him that much. Luminol would have fared better alone instead of picking runamancers, not even full gnosiamancers, to form a coterie with.

But regardless of that additional experience, Cillin was way stronger than him in the aspects of the mind.

"Well, if you can defend yourself, I guess I can leave you deal with this," he conceded.

"But if Luminol tries to attack me first, he won't live another day." Unlike Roxina who was also a Tamorean, Cillin didn't seem to be taken aback by his cruel words. Though I guess the scenario is completely different. Roxina was more horrified about having her creations used to kill people.

"I can live with that," her words showed that no love was lost between her and Luminol. Nolotl took a deep breath and relaxed his scowl. Unfortunately, the smile that followed was one of his old ones, a practiced diplomatic one that he didn't fully mean.

"Glad to hear that. But continue digging and be careful around him. If you run into problems, you always have a friend in me." Cillin looked at him lost in thought.

"Something wrong?"

"Are we friends?" she asked with the characteristic lack of tact of a gnosiamancer. Whereas an akyromancer might simply not notice such things in the first place like Beta, a gnosiamancer was perfectly conscious, they just didn't have the emotional capability to have tact most of the time.

"I would say that you just hurt me, but I would be lying," he fell a bit into his old self by reflex. Though it was mostly dry gnosiamancer humor that came out of his mouth.

"I mean, the other epithets to classify our relationship are few. The next best would be partners, but I feel like you would like that with another connotation." Cillin blushed.

"You knew?"

"I suspected," Nolotl responded with now a genuine smile. He was being a bit cheeky, but he liked pestering Cillin from time to time, something that—ironically—he couldn't do much in the time loop now. The massive difference between confronting her about her purely physical attraction at the start of the loop and now was that her mind was completely composed so her thoughts didn't spill into the Cognition.

"We will talk about this more when I deal with that man," Cillin stomped on the ground in a cutesy manner and walked away.

"Hey! What about all of these documents?" he shouted at her.

"Do some work for once in your life and store them yourself," Nolotl couldn't help but snort at that verbal counter. He couldn't deny Cillin was speaking the truth, even before the time loop he had been avoiding work as much as possible.