The walk to orientation should have been simple.
Elias moved with the crowd of freshmen toward the main quad, surrounded by nervous chatter and excited energy. On the surface, he matched them perfectly another anxious sixteen-year-old heading into the unknown. But underneath, his mind was dissecting everything with seven years of hindsight.
That building on the left housed the combat training halls where Marcus Vrell would corner him in three weeks. The fountain ahead was where Lyra studied alone because other students whispered about scholarship trash. The administrative tower beyond had Professor Aldric's office, where he'd eventually be called in to discuss his "academic inadequacy."
All of it familiar. All of it waiting to happen again unless he changed it.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
The blue interface flickered at the edge of his vision, and Elias resisted the urge to react visibly. Instead, he kept walking, kept his expression neutral, and mentally focused on the notification.
[ACCESSING SYSTEM MENU]
The interface expanded like a thought given form. Not physical technology nothing any of the students around him could see but somehow more real than the cobblestones beneath his feet.
[MAIN MENU]
QUESTS (1 Active, Additional Available)STATSSKILLSINVENTORY (Currently Empty)WARNINGS (2 Critical)
Quests first. He needed to understand what the System expected beyond just "attend orientation."
[ACTIVE QUEST: FIRST STEPS]
Status: In Progress
Objective: Attend orientation without drawing suspicion
Current Progress: 23%
Twenty-three percent. Just for walking to the quad with other students. The System was tracking everything.
But there was another listing. Additional Available.
Elias focused on it as they rounded the corner toward the main assembly area.
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: SMALL SAVES]
Objective: Prevent minor injury during orientation
Target: Classmate (Identity will be revealed at critical moment)
Difficulty: Easy
Reward: +1 Agility
Failure Penalty: None (First quest bonus available)
Time Limit: Today's orientation session
System Note: Major timeline alterations carry unpredictable consequences. Small, precise changes recommended for initial interventions. Build strength. Learn the cost. Prepare for larger challenges.
Accept Quest? [YES] / [NO]
Elias accepted without hesitation. Someone was going to get hurt today, and he could prevent it. That's why he was here, wasn't it? To save people.
The interface pulsed once in acknowledgment, then shifted.
[QUEST ACCEPTED: SMALL SAVES]
[AWAITING CRITICAL MOMENT FOR TARGET IDENTIFICATION]
He'd deal with that when it came. For now, he needed to understand the full scope of what he was working with.
Stats next.
[ELIAS THORNE - STATISTICS]
Age: 16 (Regressed from 23)
Academy Year: Freshman
Class Ranking: Unestablished (Previous Timeline: 94th/100)
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES:
Strength: 12 (Base: 10, +2 from future muscle memory)Agility: 11 (Base: 10, +1 from future experience)Endurance: 13 (Base: 10, +3 from post-academy labor)
MENTAL ATTRIBUTES:
Intelligence: 18 (Base: 14, +4 from seven years additional life experience)Wisdom: 16 (Base: 11, +5 from learning from mistakes)Perception: 15 (Base: 12, +3 from observing patterns)
MAGICAL ATTRIBUTES:
Mana Capacity: 10 (Base: 10, regression reset)Mana Control: 11 (Base: 9, +2 from future technique knowledge)Spell Power: 9 (Base: 9, no improvement available yet)
SOCIAL ATTRIBUTES:
Charisma: 10 (Base: 8, +2 from confidence)Reputation: 0 (Fresh start)Influence: 1 (Minimal)
SPECIAL:
Foreknowledge: ACTIVE (Seven years future memory)Timeline Deviation: 0.3% (Minimal changes so far)System Access: FULL
Interesting. His physical stats were slightly boosted from his future self's experiences, even though his actual body was sixteen again. The System had transferred something intangible muscle memory, maybe, or just the confidence of knowing how to move efficiently.
His mental stats were significantly higher than they'd been the first time. Seven years of life experience, even terrible life experience, had made him smarter, wiser, more perceptive.
But his magical stats were essentially reset. Made sense his mana capacity was tied to his physical age and development. He'd have to rebuild that the hard way.
Timeline Deviation at 0.3% was good. Low. The Administrator had warned about causing too much disruption. He'd need to watch that number carefully.
The crowd flowed into the central quad, and Elias let himself be carried along while he explored further.
Skills section.
[SKILLS]
COMBAT SKILLS:
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Level 2 (Beginner+)Magical Combat: Level 1 (Novice)Defensive Positioning: Level 3 (Competent)
MAGICAL SKILLS:
Elemental Magic - Fire: Level 1 (Novice)Elemental Magic - Ice: Level 1 (Novice)Mana Circulation: Level 2 (Beginner+)Spell Analysis: Level 2 (Beginner+)
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS:
Academy Layout: Level 5 (Expert - Future Knowledge)Political Awareness: Level 3 (Competent - Future Knowledge)Disaster Prediction: Level 4 (Advanced - Future Knowledge)Temporal Mechanics: Level 2 (Beginner+ - System Education)
SOCIAL SKILLS:
Deception: Level 2 (Beginner+)Persuasion: Level 2 (Beginner+)Reading People: Level 3 (Competent - Future Knowledge)
Defensive Positioning at Level 3 made him smile grimly. He'd learned that skill the hard way, getting cornered by magical beasts because he didn't know proper escape routes. At least that knowledge had transferred.
The knowledge skills were fascinating. The System had quantified his foreknowledge, turned future memories into measurable advantages. Academy Layout at Level 5 meant he knew this place better than most professors. Disaster Prediction at Level 4 meant he could see problems coming that others would miss completely.
But Deception was only Level 2. He'd need to improve that if he wanted to hide how much he knew.
Inventory was empty obviously. He had nothing but academy standard equipment.
Which left Warnings.
Elias took a deep breath and focused on the section marked with a red indicator.
[CRITICAL WARNINGS]
WARNING #1: CATASTROPHIC EVENT APPROACHING
Event: Founding Festival DisasterTimeline: 47 Days, 6 Hours, 33 MinutesProjected Casualties: 12 Dead, 34 InjuredCause: Stage structural failure during performanceCurrent Prevention Status: 0%Difficulty: HIGH
Event Details: Academy Founding Festival annual celebration. Main stage constructed by contracted builders (Corvin & Sons, known for cost-cutting). During evening performance, support beams will fail. Stage will collapse onto audience section. Twelve students will die, including several of your original timeline acquaintances. Thirty-four will be injured, some permanently.
Your Original Response: Frozen. Failed to act. Watched others save lives while you stood useless. Guilt contributed to academy failure and eventual death.
System Recommendation: Prevent structural failure before festival. Covert reinforcement. Avoid drawing attention to foreknowledge.
WARNING #2: SECONDARY CATASTROPHIC EVENT LOCKED
Event: [LOCKED - Insufficient System Progress]Timeline: 134 Days (Estimated)Projected Casualties: [LOCKED]Unlock Requirement: Complete 5 quests or reach Timeline Deviation 2.0%
Elias's jaw clenched. Twelve dead in forty-seven days. He knew their names. Knew their faces. Some had been his classmates. One had been a friend, briefly, before Elias's failures had driven everyone away.
Not this time.
The System was right about one thing he couldn't just charge in and prevent the disaster through official channels. Reporting that the stage might collapse would invite questions he couldn't answer. How do you know? Why do you suspect this? Suspicion would follow, investigation would reveal nothing concrete, and the contractors would probably still build the stage the same way.
No. He'd have to be subtle. Covert reinforcement, like the System suggested. Work behind the scenes. Make sure that when the moment came, the stage held.
Forty-seven days to figure out how.
But first, today. Get through orientation. Complete the Small Saves quest. Establish himself as a normal freshman who definitely didn't know the future.
"Hey, you okay?"
Elias blinked. A girl next to him was looking concerned. He recognized her vaguely from the first timeline, though they'd never actually spoken.
"Yeah, just nervous," he said, letting his real anxiety show. Not hard his pulse was actually racing from reviewing the warnings.
"Me too," she admitted with a relieved smile. "I'm Sarah. Combat focus track."
"Elias. Uh, not sure about focus yet." That was true from the first timeline, and it would be true now too. He needed to appear uncertain, exploratory, not someone who already knew exactly how everything worked.
"Well, good luck figuring it out," Sarah said as they reached the main assembly area.
The quad had been transformed. Wooden risers set up in rows, creating a natural amphitheater. Faculty members in deep blue robes stood at the front, and a massive banner read: WELCOME TO ASTRALHEIM ACADEMY - WHERE POTENTIAL BECOMES POWER.
Elias had always thought that was ironic, given how thoroughly his potential had failed to become anything useful the first time around.
The freshmen began finding seats, and Elias positioned himself carefully. Not front row that would draw attention. Not back row that looked like he was hiding. Middle section, slightly off-center. Optimal for observing everything while remaining unremarkable.
As students settled, Elias scanned faces.
There Professor Aldric in the faculty row, already watching the crowd with those sharp, too-knowing eyes. Elias looked away quickly. Couldn't afford extended eye contact yet.
There Lyra Ashwyn, sitting alone near the edge because no one wanted to sit with the scholarship student. She was studying the welcome banner with an intensity that suggested she was memorizing it. Beautiful and brilliant and lonely. His chest tightened with remembered guilt. He'd had a crush on her the first time, but he'd been too intimidated to ever speak to her until after he'd failed out, and by then she'd been too kind about his failure, which had somehow made it worse.
This time would be different. This time he'd actually talk to her. Help her. Be the friend she'd deserved back then.
There Damien Cross, sitting ramrod straight in the front row, looking like he was about to take notes on the welcome speech. Intense, competitive, brilliant. They'd been rivals, sort of, except rivals implied equal footing and Elias had been nowhere near Damien's level. Later, much later, Damien had become someone important, someone whose name appeared in newspapers for heroic actions while Elias rotted in obscurity.
Now, with the System's help and his foreknowledge, maybe they could be actual rivals. Maybe even allies eventually.
And there, unfortunately, was Marcus Vrell. Big, muscular, with a smirk that promised trouble for anyone who looked like easy prey. He was scanning the crowd too, probably already cataloging targets. Elias deliberately looked away, trying to project "not worth the effort."
The System pulsed gently.
[NOTICE: Multiple key timeline figures identified in vicinity]
[Social mapping available if desired]
[Warning: Excessive focus on specific individuals may draw attention]
Right. Can't just stare at everyone he recognized from the future. That would be creepy and suspicious.
Elias forced himself to relax, to look around with appropriate freshman curiosity rather than targeted observation.
"Welcome, students!"
The voice cut through the ambient noise. Headmaster Valdris stepped to the front an older man with silver hair and a beard that looked like it had been trimmed with magical precision. His voice carried effortlessly across the quad, probably amplified by subtle magic.
"Welcome to Astralheim Magic Academy, where for the next seven years you will transform from curious students into skilled mages ready to serve the kingdom and protect its people."
Seven years. Elias had managed less than two.
Not this time.
"Some of you come from magical families, raised in traditions stretching back generations," Valdris continued. "Others come from non-magical backgrounds, newly awakened to your potential. Here, in these halls, that background matters not. Only your dedication, your growth, and your mastery of the arcane arts will determine your success."
Noble sentiment. Completely untrue. Background mattered enormously. The wealthy students had private tutors, advanced equipment, family connections. The scholarship students like Lyra had to fight for everything.
But Elias kept his expression neutral, nodding along with the others.
"Your first year will be foundational," the Headmaster said. "Basic magical theory. Elemental manipulation. Combat fundamentals. Potion brewing. Enchantment principles. You will be tested regularly, and your performance will determine your class ranking and, eventually, your specialization track."
Rankings. That cursed system that had labeled Elias a failure from day one.
"But more than knowledge, we teach responsibility," Valdris's tone grew serious. "Magic is power. Power without wisdom leads to disaster. You will learn not just how to cast spells, but when, and why, and what consequences your actions may carry."
Ironic. The Academy taught responsibility while running a ranking system that destroyed students' confidence and created exactly the kind of desperation that led to poor judgment.
But again, Elias just nodded. Normal freshman. Absorbing the speech. Not internally critiquing the institution he'd already failed once.
The Headmaster went on, discussing dorm assignments, class schedules, academy rules. Elias let the words wash over him. He knew all this. Had lived it. The information was already outdated in his mind.
Instead, he focused on the System interface, which had activated again.
[QUEST UPDATE: SMALL SAVES]
[CRITICAL MOMENT APPROACHING]
[TARGET IDENTIFIED: PREPARE FOR INTERVENTION]
Elias's attention sharpened. Where? When?
The Headmaster was wrapping up. "Now, before we dismiss you to tour the campus with your assigned guides, I'd like to invite our top faculty to introduce themselves. Starting with Professor Aldric, who teaches Elemental Theory..."
Aldric stood, and Elias felt that familiar prickle of unease. The man looked exactly as he remembered sharp features, dark hair graying at the temples, eyes that seemed to see through everything.
"Students," Aldric's voice was quieter than the Headmaster's but somehow more commanding. "Magic is not mysterious. It follows rules, patterns, logical progressions. In my class, you will learn those rules. Understand those patterns. Master those progressions. Some of you will find it comes naturally. Others will struggle. Both are acceptable. What is not acceptable is assuming magic is beyond understanding. If you approach my class with curiosity and discipline, you will succeed."
His gaze swept the crowd, and for one heart-stopping moment, his eyes met Elias's.
There was something in that look. Recognition? No, impossible. But assessment, definitely. Like Aldric was measuring something.
Then the moment passed, and Aldric sat down.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[PROFESSOR ALDRIC: HIGH THREAT LEVEL]
[NOTICE: Subject possesses advanced temporal perception]
[Recommendation: Minimize direct interaction until better prepared]
Well, that was terrifying. Aldric had "temporal perception"? What did that even mean? Could he sense timeline disruptions? See through the System somehow?
Questions for later. Right now, the System was flashing red at the edge of his vision.
[CRITICAL MOMENT: NOW]
[TARGET: Female student, third row, auburn hair]
[HAZARD: Unstable riser support about to fail]
[INTERVENTION REQUIRED IN: 10 seconds]
Elias's head snapped to the third row. Auburn hair there. A girl he didn't recognize, listening intently to the next professor's introduction. She was leaning back slightly on the riser, putting weight on
The support beam. It was going to fail. She'd fall backward, hit her head on the stone ground. Not fatal, probably, but serious enough. Concussion, maybe worse.
Eight seconds.
Elias stood up, casual, like he was just stretching his legs. Walked along his row toward the end.
Six seconds.
Faculty member glanced at him, but he smiled apologetically, mouthed "bathroom," kept moving.
Four seconds.
He reached the third row, started walking along the back of it.
Two seconds.
The girl shifted her weight. The beam creaked.
One second.
"Excuse me," Elias said, deliberately stumbling forward. His hand shot out, grabbed the girl's shoulder, pulled her forward just as
CRACK.
The riser support behind her gave way with a sharp snap. The wooden seat tilted backward, and students around her scrambled forward with startled yelps.
The girl Elias had pulled forward jerked away from him, eyes wide. "What—"
"Sorry!" Elias said quickly, stepping back with his hands up. "I tripped, didn't mean to grab you like that."
Other students were standing now, looking at the broken riser. Faculty members were moving forward, concerned.
"Everyone alright?" A professor called out.
"Yeah, just the seat broke," someone said.
The auburn-haired girl was staring at Elias with a confused expression. "You... did you know that was going to break?"
"What? No," Elias said, probably too quickly. "I just stumbled, honestly. Lucky timing I guess."
She didn't look convinced, but a faculty member was ushering students away from the broken riser, and the moment passed.
Elias returned to his seat, heart pounding.
[QUEST COMPLETE: SMALL SAVES]
Reward Earned: +1 Agility
Status: Success (First Quest Bonus Applied)
Timeline Deviation: +0.2% (Now 0.5% Total)
Consequence: Minor (Student injury prevented, suspicious saved)
System Note: Well executed. Timing acceptable. Cover story weak but functional. Subject successfully altered minor timeline event without major disruption.
New Stat: Agility increased to 12
Elias felt a strange tingle in his muscles. The stat increase was subtle but real he could feel his body adjusting slightly, reactions sharpening.
First quest complete. First life saved, even if it was just preventing a concussion.
It felt good. Better than good. It felt like maybe, possibly, he could actually do this.
But the auburn-haired girl was still glancing at him occasionally, suspicious. And Professor Aldric was watching the broken riser with narrowed eyes, like he was analyzing something only he could see.
Small changes have consequences, the System had warned.
Elias had just learned that firsthand.
The orientation continued, but his mind was elsewhere. Forty-seven days until the Festival. Twelve lives to save. A System to master. Costs to pay he didn't fully understand yet.
And somewhere, Administrators were watching.
But for the first time since dying in that alley, Elias Thorne felt something he'd almost forgotten: hope.
[QUEST UPDATE: FIRST STEPS]
Progress: 67%
Status: Ongoing
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: SUBJECT PERFORMANCE]
Assessment: Adequate
Recommendation: Continue learning System mechanics. Prepare for larger challenges. Remember: balance must be maintained.
[WARNING REMINDER: CATASTROPHIC EVENT IN 47 DAYS, 4 HOURS, 12 MINUTES]
The message hung in his vision like a countdown to judgment day.
Forty-seven days.
He'd better make them count.