(A/N: You say 'Where is the chapter?!' I say 'Here in these boxers')
...
(3rd POV)
Subaru, walking alongside Emilia, finally arrived at the garden of Roswaal's mansion. The sun filtered through the trees, casting dappled light on the neatly maintained hedges and pathways. Today, Subaru was eager to test his newly acquired physical abilities.
"Hey, Emilia," he turned to her with a grin. "Would it be fine if I tested my physical capabilities out here?"
Emilia nodded, smiling warmly. "There's no problem, Zero. Though… I'm guessing Ram will have something to complain about," she added with a chuckle.
"She will definitely complain," he agreed with a small laugh, and they both shared a lighthearted moment.
Puck, hovering nearby in his small, spirit form, narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened to their banter. 'Didn't he just meet Ram? Must be because of that earlier conversation they had… still, strange how comfortable he already seems with her.'
"Alright then," Subaru said, stepping forward and taking a running stance. "Let's see how fast I can go around the garden."
With that, he launched himself forward.
The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly from the force of his movement, and in an instant, his body blurred—disappearing from sight. He zipped across the entirety of the garden, circling the massive estate grounds at speeds that were almost impossible to follow with the naked eye. Within seconds, he came to a skidding halt right back where he started, a small cloud of dust rising behind him.
"Woah!" Puck blinked in surprise. "Your running speed is seriously impressive! Only the top-tier elite knights of the Kingdom could match that level of movement."
In fact, Subaru had just clocked a speed that was roughly one-third of the speed of sound. Not something an ordinary human—or even an ordinary knight—could pull off.
Satisfied but curious, Subaru turned to Emilia. "Hey, Emilia, do you happen to know how long the outer perimeter of the garden is?"
Emilia tilted her head and answered, "Hmm… if I remember correctly, it's around 1670 Vallian, or approximately 1500 Shaku."
Subaru blinked. He didn't recognize the first unit at all, but the second one? That was familiar.
'Shaku…? That's a Japanese unit of length. From what I remember, one Shaku is about 30.3 centimeters. So that means… 1500 Shaku is about 450 meters…'
His eyes widened slightly. 'And I crossed that in, what? Around five or six seconds? Damn, I'm faster than a bullet train!'
Encouraged, he turned to test his punching speed. He began to throw rapid punches into the air. With each motion, the wind around his fists shifted violently, generating small gusts with every swing. It was clear that both his strength and velocity had taken a significant leap.
'Thankfully, it's not just speed I gained. My senses, reflexes, reaction time, body balance, and even flexibility have probably been enhanced. Otherwise, this kind of speed would be more of a liability than an asset.'
To Subaru, it seemed like his biggest improvement so far was in raw speed. But then a curious theory crept into his mind.
'What if my base stats are actually being multiplied every time I die and come back? My vision is ridiculously sharp now—I can clearly see distant objects and even read text from far away… it's not normal.'
Turning back to Emilia and Puck, he asked, "Is there any way to measure speed or strength here? Like, in some kind of numbers or units?"
Emilia shook her head gently. "Not really. We don't have tools for that kind of precise measurement, at least not here."
She glanced at Puck. "What about you, Puck? Do you know any way?"
The spirit gave a small shrug and spread his little arms dramatically. "I'm pretty sure we'd need something on the scale of a meteor to measure the impact of your strength or speed."
Subaru sighed in mock defeat. "So basically, no help here either."
Trying to shift gears, he asked, "Anyway, Emilia, Puck—can you both help me learn magic?"
Emilia nodded instantly. "Sure! I don't think there's any problem with that."
Puck floated closer and tapped his paw against his chin. "If Lia's fine with it, then as her father, I'm on board too. First things first, though—we need to figure out what your magic affinity is."
He floated closer and gently tapped Subaru's forehead with his fluffy tail. The spot where he touched began to glow softly for a few seconds.
"Alright, I've got your affinities figured out," Puck said, giving a satisfied nod.
Subaru's heart skipped a beat. 'What kind of affinities do I have? Original Subaru only had a single affinity—Yin. But now… things might be different.' He looked at Puck, both nervous and excited.
"You've got Shadow and Earth affinities," Puck revealed. "But not just that—you also have an absurdly high affinity for spirits. Your mana gate is in good shape, and your mana reserves are well above average. Among humans, you'd be considered more than decent."
Subaru's eyes widened.
'So I have Shadow affinity from the original Subaru… and Earth, probably due to my second identity. But that spirit affinity—Puck said it was absurdly high…'
Curious, he asked, "Wait—you said I have a strong affinity with spirits? Like, really strong?"
Puck floated back slightly and crossed his tiny arms with a serious look. "Yes. It's not just strong—it's unusually potent. I rarely see humans with spirit affinity this high. Honestly, with some training, you could form contracts with multiple spirits if you wanted."
Subaru blinked, both intrigued and surprised. He already knew from memories of the original Subaru that he had a natural inclination toward spirits, but hearing it confirmed directly by a Great Spirit like Puck carried more weight than he expected.
"Not just high—I mean absurdly high! I genuinely thought Lia's spirit affinity was the best I'd seen," Puck replied, eyes wide with a mix of disbelief and admiration.
Subaru grinned excitedly. "Okay! Now that we know my spirit affinity, can we finally begin the magic lesson, Sensei?"
Puck gave an approving nod. "Sure. But first, do you want to start with learning Shadow Magic or Earth Magic?"
"Shadow Magic," Subaru responded immediately, not even considering the second option. For him, there was no hesitation. Shadow—or more accurately, Yin—Magic had saved his life more than once in his past loops. Increasing his survival chances was always a top priority.
Puck began the lesson without wasting any time. As it turned out, magic in this world wasn't as simplistic as yelling a word and having something happen. Each type of magic spell had a prefix and a suffix. The suffix denoted the type or element of magic, while the prefix determined the level or potency of the spell. There were three known power levels for prefixes—'El', 'Ul', and 'Al'—in increasing order of strength.
For Shadow (or Yin) Magic, the suffix was Shamak, while Earth Magic used the suffix Dona.
Puck continued explaining. "Now, magicians use something called a gate to channel their stored mana. It's like an internal valve. They release mana through their gate to cast spells. On the other hand, spirit arts users—those who form contracts with spirits—channel ambient mana from their surroundings through the spirit, using it as a pseudo-gate. But here's the catch," he raised a finger dramatically, "you need an exceptionally high spirit affinity to even be eligible for that."
Listening carefully, Subaru felt a strange spark of realization. 'Wait a second… does this mean that my gate, the amount of mana I possess, and even my spirit affinity increase every time I die?' The thought felt both ridiculous and terrifying.
He gave it more thought. 'If that's the case, it's completely broken… and honestly, it would explain a lot. The original Subaru had an extremely weak gate, barely any mana, and no ability to use magic effectively. But now… I've already surpassed that version of me ten times over.'
Unbeknownst to Subaru, he had hit the mark perfectly. His soul, cursed and twisted by the hands of fate, grew stronger with every death and return. Every beneficial stat—his body, mind, mana, and more—doubled with each death, evolving him far beyond a mere human.
Finally, Puck gestured for him to give it a try. "Alright, now let's test your first spell. Begin with Shamak. Focus on the flow of mana from your core, direct it through your gate, and speak the word."
Nodding, Subaru extended his hands and closed his eyes. He concentrated, imagining his mana as a liquid swirling inside him. Slowly, he directed it toward his gate, guiding the flow to his palms.
"Shamak," he whispered.
Instantly, a cloud of darkness burst from his palms and began to spread. The thick fog enveloped him, shrouding him in pitch-black mist. He didn't let his mana surge too much and managed to contain the spell's radius to just around himself.
Subaru was stunned. 'Damn! I can't see anything… not just that, I can't hear, I can't smell—hell, even my balance is completely shot! This spell's insane!'
"Very good," Puck praised. "Now try to dissolve the magic. Withdraw your mana and release your control."
Following the instructions, Subaru reversed the process, slowly pulling back the mana from the air. The fog thinned before vanishing entirely into nothingness.
"That was impressive," Puck said. "Though I recommend we don't try Earth Magic here. If you mess up and blow something up, Ram and Rem will murder both of us."
Subaru gave a dry laugh and nodded in agreement.
In truth, Subaru didn't care what the twins thought of him—so long as he was being honest and doing the right thing, it was their problem if they still decided to be hostile.
After thanking both Emilia and Puck for their help and guidance, he made his way back into the mansion. His next goal was to finally seek out Beatrice—the mysterious loli Great Spirit he remembered from his prior timelines.
"Hmm… let's see. Which door could it be?" he muttered under his breath, wandering the mansion's long corridors. After testing a few doors, he eventually opened one and struck gold. Inside the dimly lit room stood an ornate chair, atop which sat Beatrice, quietly reading a book.
She looked up with her usual cold expression. "How rude to enter someone's personal library without permission, I suppose."
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "What is this place? I could've sworn there wasn't a library here the last time I checked."
"This is the Forbidden Library," she replied matter-of-factly. "Its location shifts constantly throughout the mansion. It doesn't stay in one place."
"I see…" Subaru nodded. "Well, can I come in?"
Beatrice frowned, clearly annoyed. "It's rude to disturb someone while they're in the middle of reading, I suppose."
Realizing it would be better not to push his luck, Subaru gave a short bow. "Got it. I'll take my leave then. Sorry for intruding."
As he stepped out of the room and gently shut the door, he smirked. 'That actually went better than I expected. She didn't try to blast me out of the room or anything.'
He genuinely wanted to help Beatrice—he felt a strange kind of empathy toward her. Both Subaru and Ayan had been loners in their own ways. But Subaru had it worse—struggling with depression, anxiety, and the crushing weight of a repeating world.
'I'll try again later. For now, I need to deal with what's in front of me. The biggest current issue… is still Rem and Ram.'
He didn't know how much he had changed the timeline already, or what sort of butterfly effects might be spiraling out from his presence. But he couldn't afford to wait and find out. He sighed quietly and decided his next step.
"Time to go visit Ram," he muttered, "and get her to start tutoring me. Might as well begin on a good note."
To be continued…
(A/N: Guys, just a quick note. There's someone who seems to be targeting me, trying to prove me wrong in the reviews of The Demon God in Marvel. Ironically, it's the same person who gives his character both breasts and a d*ck, combined with an overpowered system—yet now he's complaining that I've nerfed my Marvel characters?
I've already explained my stance multiple times. If you choose to be blind to my reasoning, then there's not much more I can do. He's entitled to his opinion, but trying to dictate how I write my story infringes on my rights as an author.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Let me know if you want that Campione fic with Subaru to be posted here too. Updates for it would be slower though, since I still prefer writing for this version of Subaru.)