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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 33 No One Cock-Blocks Me, Like I Cock-Block Me From Myself

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Chapter 33

No One Cock-Blocks Me, Like I Cock-Block Me From Myself

The Endarian Military Academy was much as I expected, in that I had no clue what to expect when I arrived. Then after touring the campuses, I still had no clue how everything would work out. My arrival came with several students and cadre, a few of the cadre I instantly understood were there to watch me. I was guessing that they, and by they I mean the human leadership, messed up by keeping me confined to military posting for so many months when I first arrived.

I had to admit that the aesthetics of the place was impressive, even though the Academy seemed to be willing to concede functionality for appeal.

"That's you?" Rayquel said, point off to a human youth with sandy blond hair and brown eyes. Seeing the kid with his noodle arms, I couldn't help but take in a deep breath. Especially as the person next to him was her, my future-ex from another dimension.

"Yeah." I manage to say without too much strain in my voice, I hope.

"You look better, stronger than he does." Rayquel states, as she compares the two of us.

"A lot is likely due to the fact that I started with higher overall Physical Attributes, especially with my Agility and Dexterity being at the fifteen-point threshold."

Hearing that she raises an eyebrow. "That would make a huge difference in your ability to improve."

I nod, I knew what I was doing when I wanted to avoid speed drills. Not only were they painful, but they were so repetitive that I felt I would go mad with a thirteen time through the same process. Even if this was still technically my first time through.

"I see that you work out daily, but your Dexterity, or your hand movements have also increased. What are you doing for that?" She asks.

With that I smile and tap my trusty violin case at my side. Even in this universe I am allowed to carry it with me. Fortunately, the Endarians seem to be more amenable to having aesthetics over uniformity, as such I think they would rather force everyone that came to carry an instrument than not.

Quirking an eyebrow she asks, "for Dexterity?"

I nod.

"Now this I have to see." Rayquel said as she bit her lower lip in what was clearly a forced human form of flirtation.

"I'll do it, so long as you don't do that, again."

"What?"

"That cute flirty thing you just tried." I say gesturing to her lips.

With that she just smiled coyly. "A girl has to try." This is part of forced integration with Endarians, most female Endarians tend to play up the overly cute female role to win trust and build camaraderie earlier. This tactic almost never works out how the humans think it will, as such I try to cut it off early.

Shaking my head I say, "I understand your ways, but I am taken." With that I pull out the violin and begin playing. Since I am on Endar, I don't do anything as monumentally stupid as play Endar Rising, see I can learn.

Instead, I begin with begin with one of my all-time favorites, Beethoven's 9th Symphony. After the intro, I close my eyes and am lost in the music. Turning every portion of the symphony into a violin portion, at times playing so quickly and violently trying to get overlapping sounds and competing cords to harmonize in one resonance. That is the true way to increase one's Dexterity, at least after the fifteen-point Attribute threshold.

I cast Cleanse on myself quite a few times. I also continue to press myself. Being as this is the morning workout time; I figure my spending part of my morning improving my Dexterity isn't a complete waste of time. So, I continue.

This event right here proves a huge difference between Endarian and Human cultures. If we were at the human military academy, such an event would never be tolerated. In fact, while I had to continually train with the violin by my side, I was never allowed to play until the day was over. Here I was allowed to use it as it added to the aesthetics of the place. At least that was what I assumed to be the case as I continued to play in the morning practice field.

Finally, the song was over as I went through all the different portions that I could recall. I was drenched in sweat, but it was a good deep sweat. The type of sweat that comes from doing something that you love.

Only after I was done did I open my eyes to see Rayquel there, eyes wide in something. Again, I am not good at reading Endarian emotions. If I could smell her pheromones, I might be able to understand more of what she was saying, but as it stood, I could only stand there and watch.

It was at about this time that Rayquel's glances around showed that I had become the center of attention. Most of the Endarian instructors moved their formations closer to us. One of the formations was the human platoon. It appeared that at least for morning formations they would all be training together. No doubt to still build unity, before they were broken apart to fulfill their different obligations.

"That was good. Your music is so passionate and violent." Rayquel said.

With that I feel a bit of embarrassment as I try to defend one of our truly great composers of history, "I don't know if the song is truly meant to be violent, but it feels best to play it as such. Not bad for a song that is close to a millennium old." I admit.

Hearing that her eyes grew wide. "Wow, I never knew you had such long and varied culture."

Hearing that I smile, "well if you were impressed by that perhaps I could interest you in a composer who is almost as old."

"Oh, who might that be?"

"The artist known as David Bowie." I say picking up my violin as I prepare to play one of the all-time greats.

Before I could play however, we were interrupted by General Fellina. Once again, her eyes glowed in a way that I don't remember from my universe. I almost wonder if this is her use of Precognition? She always seems to have something different going on with her eyes every time I see her in this universe.

Then again with my unique universe theory, this might be something that just happens to her eyes in this universe. I make a mental note to follow up on this.

I know there are so many other things that I should possibly pay attention to, like finding out who all my human informants are. Find out what types of reports are being sent back to the humans about me. Finding out why this universe's version of myself and my, well his, girlfriend are here? Well scratch that I have a pretty good reason for that last one. The last one is likely to see if I will react in any way shape or form to that version of me.

"Cadet Goldman." General Fellina says, locking eyes directly with me.

"Ma'am." My voice calls out, but it isn't me. We all turn as one to the confused Cadet Goldman who is still in the human formation. A quick glance shows that he is in the push-up position. I almost want to tell him to keep going, but then think better of it.

"Not you, the other Goldman, Goldman-X." She says, remembering my unique designation that the humans bestowed upon me. I know, super original, new person comes from unknown origin, slap a dash 'X' on their name and be done with it.

With that the here me nods and lowers his head though I can tell he is still listening. In fact, everyone from the human platoon is listening. I think their listening is just human nature and not a sign that they are all spying on me. Then again, maybe they are. If that were the case, then my handlers would make sure there was plenty of annoyed in my paranoid. It sounds better than it reads.

"There is a matter of your classes." General Fellina says, drawing the attention back to me.

I raise an eyebrow. Apparently, she either understands the human gesture, or my pheromones tell her to continue, because she does just that.

"I need you to fill in as a teacher for the Spirit and Healing classes." She asks.

Hearing this I raise an eyebrow at her. Spirit I can sort of understand as I am listed as a top percentage user for this universe as well. Though healing does seem to be an odd choice.

Perhaps sensing my hesitation, she continues.

"We know of your relatively low affinity with healing, but after seeing what you were able to do with both Rayquel and yourself." She says, gesturing to our stomachs. The gesture alone is enough to cause a hot spike of pain to strike through my gut, as I mentally experience the phantom pain of being stabbed by a branch of the sacred tree again. Speaking of which I have both the fertilized world tree seed and its branch in my room here. The branch still feels like a weird trophy for that mission, like here is the knife that stabbed you. But still, I can see the reverence that the Endarians have towards the tree and its branch and can't quite bring myself to discard the branch. I almost feel like there is something I should do with the branch, like turn it into a wizard's staff from legend or something. Still every time I pick the thing up, I feel the foreign power of the world tree still locked within the branch, but nothing happens.

"…Which is why we would like you to teach your effective use of healing magic. Especially as the techniques of your home universe seem to drastically out pace our own methods."

Right, she was talking that entire time. Totally spaced out there. I just wish people would get to the point. Just state your intention and then boom wait for a response.

Silence.

I look around to see that everyone is looking at me. Right, they are waiting for a response.

"Sure." I reply. I've found that I generally get out of a lot of trouble by saying that over can you say that long annoying speech again, but get to the point quicker?

General Fellina's eyes glow brightly for a bit, then she seems to come to some type of conclusion. "Rayquel, go with him and make sure he doesn't get lost."

Was she on to me? No way, I totally played that up.

Finally, the General left, along with a few other instructors who had dismissed their morning formations. Only once they were out of earshot did Rayquel say anything.

"You should pay more attention. Well, that, or not be so obvious that you spaced out on her comments."

"I was obvious?" I ask, but then realize that is almost like admitting my own guilt. "I mean, what do you mean?" I say trying to sound overly offended with a grandiose tone.

"Your pheromones." She said, doing a wafting motion with her hand as if to smell the funk coming off of me. I am mildly concerned as I know I have been sweating a lot this morning and this can't be all too pleasant of a smell that I am giving off.

Seeing me and perhaps reading something in my pheromones she answers my unspoken question. "Don't worry, it doesn't smell that bad. Again, to us it is likely one of the strongest smells I have come across. This is also why you need to be careful about…" She trails off.

Just when I was about to get into my own head about what to do next, she stopped talking abruptly. I stop to turn to her.

"Well, that was rude."

"What was?"

"You were about to zone out on me, like you did for the General." She states.

I was about to deny such a claim, but then thought better of it. "This is going to be a quick learning curve, isn't it?" I ask.

"You better hope so. Most people won't be as tolerant as the General."

Hearing that I nodded. Making a note to see if I could use healing magic to alter my pheromone smell.

"Whatever you are thinking stop."

"What?"

"You smell devious, that is not a good smell to come from anyone. Especially not you."

"Devious?" I say, I am about to protest when a voice cuts in.

"Um, excuse me." A familiar voice speaks up, and I almost feel my heart begin to race at the sound and sudden closeness of the voice. Turning I look to see, her.

The smell of vanilla and honey instantly fills my nostrils and I wonder almost immediately if this is an odd part of my Endarian physiology kicking in. Why I always associate that complex smell with her.

She is still beautiful, especially in her tight uniform made even tighter as sweat causes her uniform to form to her body.

"Hey." I reply, not a single hint of nervousness in my voice.

"Sorry. I just wanted to say that was amazing. Beethoven, right?"

It takes me a moment to realize what Jess, no Cadet Childers I need separation, is talking about. Only after ward do I remember the impromptu performance this morning. "Yeah, his ninth." I say.

With that she blushes and moves a particle of hair behind her ear. "Well, I just wanted to say, it was really good."

"Thanks?" I say, as I look around for a lifeline. Only to look and see that I, well this universe me, is looking at me with jealousy.

"Yeah, no problem." I say, with that I look around and turn to Rayquel. I hope that every pheromone I create right now is screaming help me out here. Seeing my plea for help Rayquel smiles devilishly as she moves next to me.

"He is good isn't he."

Jess nods.

"I will see if we can make his music part of our morning routines. You know, to help you all get acclimated to your new dwellings. This will also be good for us, as we can learn about your culture."

Culture? You are doing this just to torture me, aren't you? I think to myself.

"Thank you." Jess says, then grabbing my hand, well the me from here's hand, she walks away. As they leave me, well evil universe me stares at me with a look of jealousy and something else.

Once they are gone, I think out loud. "Man, I think I cock-blocked myself there."

"It's her, isn't it?"

"Her?" I ask confused.

"The girl from your universe that you are with."

I want to protest, to yell at her that she is crazy. But then I realize she is likely reading my pheromones.

"No. That was…" I trail off trying to think of what to say. "That was a different lifetime entirely. She and I could never be." Pausing for a second, I begin to think of Mel and how she is so much better, how we don't have any broken moments of cheating. "I have someone else." I answer.

Seeing my response, and likely feeling or smelling? My pheromones, she nods in understanding. "This is part of your PDD?" She asks.

I look at her wondering how they knew. Then likely figured it was part of my debriefing to be transferred. Like here is a broken toy, it is broken here, here, and here. Now play with at your own risk.

"Yes." Is all I answer.

Silence.

We both think for a moment. Then she finally cuts in. "Well come on. The general tasked you with teaching your Healing and Spiritual secrets to the students, didn't she?"

With that I nod and begin to follow her. So many deep emotions going through my mind all at this moment. The only thing I can think about is how this universe's version of me has it easy, as he will never have to worry about the betrayal of our brother.

At that a deep thought fills my mind, as I feel a shiver run down my spine at the fact that my brother is still up to his old tricks and abilities in my home universe. I look to the sky, and wonder what if anything is happening right now over there? I also wonder if Mel is safe.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

As promised. For this story having over one THOUSAND followers, here is the fifth of ten chapters that will be released this week.

Thank you all so much, and lets hope we can keep this story growing to two-thousand.

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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 34 Being Jealous of Myself

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Chapter 34

Being Jealous of Myself

"You know, that the you from here is strictly human?" Rayquel poses when we meet up after my quick shower and change after our morning exercise routine. "In fact, I probably shouldn't be sharing this with you, but since the Cadet Goldman from this world will be your student, at least for two of the classes it is only fitting that we share his Status with you."

Ping.

With that little introduction I receive the full student transcript of the Kyle Goldman from this universe.

Name:Kyle GoldmanAge:18Race:HumanMagic Class Type:Wizard

At first, I notice two main things. The first is that this Kyle Goldman is as Rayquel noted fully human. Did that mean that genetic manipulation wasn't performed in this universe? Also, what is up with that strange class? What is a Wizard?

Physical Attributes.

Strength:12Dexterity:12Agility:13Endurance:12

Mental Attributes.

Perception12Intelligence11Willpower12Power19

The attributes all looked the same. They were what I got my initial time through the trials, back before I started my looping process. I can see that he took my exact approach of putting all Attribute points gained to Power. If I am reading this correctly, he likely gained six free attribute points, all of which went to his Power attribute. I can also see that he has not been able to break through with his physical attributes, likely due to either poor work ethic. Or it could be that those early phases are as I remember and are tough to break through without constantly pushing himself.

It is at this point that I also realize part of why I can push my body so hard is that I constantly cheat by casting Cleanse on my own body. I make a note to show the benefits of Cleanse and other body purification spells to this Kyle. Well, that is assuming he has the same Magical powers I do. He is a Wizard class, whatever that means. With that I go to the last and final section of his status.

Magic Aptitudes:

Earth99+%Fire99+%Portal99+%Spirit98%Healing87%Air75%Water75%Time12%

Seeing his Magical Aptitudes, a number of emotions hit me all at once. The first and most glaring aspect is that I am extremely jealous. No seriously, what is Portal Magic? If it is like I think it is, then he can travel almost instantly anywhere. I mean, fuck speed drills, when you can tear portals in the fabric of space itself. Then what is the point of learning to run faster?

Also, at this moment I have a flashback to the two giant green spells the crazy amoeba generals cast, when I first got here. Focusing on those spell forms and memorizing them, I make it a note to try to work with this Kyle to see if he can open a portal to my universe.

Then I notice a few other things of note. He has Fire affinity, which seems to be an exact mirror of my Pyrokinesis, though his initial Affinity rating is much higher than what I had with Pyrokinesis. Then there is the odd aspect of Time magic. My mind pulses with fear and recognition at the possible advantages and disadvantages of such a powerful Aptitude. Mentally I rate it on the same level as my Precognition.

There are a few powers that I have that don't seem to match up to what this Kyle has. For instance, my Mind Rend and Telekinesis don't have anything that look comparable to his Aptitudes. Instead, he has Earth, giving him the full gambit of elemental affinities. Is that what it takes to be a wizard class? Aptitude for all the different elements, along with Portal and Time magic?

There is also the fact that all his elemental affinities that we do share are much higher on him. Even his Healing ability is impressive. The only one that I am better than him at is in Spirit, which is likely why I have been asked specifically to teach Spirit.

Does this mean that this universe inspires people to be adept at one field of magic? I remember my brother Chet from this universe, he too had eight affinities related to Mental Powers.

"Does everyone in this universe have eight affinities as a standard?" I ask.

Hearing this Rayquel pauses as her eyes grow wide. Then she seems to realize.

"Oh, you mean that this Kyle and this universe's version of your brother Chet both have, or rather had eight affinities?" She asks.

I nod. I had to give her credit, she was fast on the uptake, being able to interpret my thoughts from that one question.

"No, it appears that you three are the odd ones. I for instance only have four affinities."

"So, what are they?" I ask.

She smiles and then gives a coy wink. "Show me yours and I'll show you mine?"

I pause, as it takes me a second to realize she is flirting with me? Or is she trying to be fun and coming across as odd? I can tell these are not normal expressions on her, which is why I am confused. Seeing my reaction, or more likely smelling my pheromones she visibly stiffens.

"I was trying for fun." She says in a way that tells me she might be trying to cover up something. Regardless, I am happy to let that awkward moment pass as part of the cultural learning exchanges. I want to say that I remember moments like this from my past lives, or visions, but I can't. This revelation about visions makes me realize the reason why this Kyle might be so different than me. Well genetic manipulations aside. This me, never got the chance to experience PDD in all its finer details.

It is at this point that I am jealous of him yet again. Then when I see him walking side by side Jess on the way to Magical Control class, my heart stops, and flutters for a second.

Seeing my sudden stop, Rayquel looks nervous for a second. Then pauses as she looks in the same direction I am.

"What is… oh."

I watch as the two duck down a corner quickly. With them gone, the tension in my chest loosens and I can walk again. Feeling relieved, I begin walking forward. Only to be distracted a few moments later when both Jess and Kyle return to view, racing to the door.

This happens to be the same door that Rayquel and I are heading to. We get there at almost the same time, then pause as the two love birds look at us with awe and confusion on their faces.

Seeing their look of panic that has been beaten into them by months of military training at this point I just smile. Then I gesture for them to enter before me.

There is an awkward moment before they nod and enter.

I pause for a second, before I turn to Rayquel and ask. "What exactly are we supposed to learn in this class?"

She smiles, then points to the sign above the door. There above the door is the Endarian word for Spirit.

"I also meant to ask, why am I offered the chance to be a teacher here?"

Rayquel smiles. "It was part of our psychological profile of you. We determined that you had shown expertise with breaking spells being used against you. Also, it was determined that you might react favorably to conditions where you were put in charge of others. You have natural leader potential and will likely feel attached to us if we put you in an environment where you are both needed and respected."

"So, you are manipulating me, socially?" I ask.

Rayquel just smiles brightly at the statement. "To be a part of society is to be manipulated in some way. The fact that you are not reacting angrily to my statement shows that you are more intrigued by our insights than anything."

I am about to argue how she can know that when the thought hits me. "Pheromones?"

She nods, "pheromones."

"So, is there a curriculum for this class?"

Rayquel just smiles. "Honestly Spirit is one of the new magical aptitudes that seems to only be inherent to humans. We have instructors there to take down notes on what you can offer. Your status indicates that you are quite well versed in Spirit, having five noted specialties. That alone was enough for most of our leadership to consider you for this teaching position. Also, this will give you a chance to interact with other humans."

I pause at that last statement. "So, you want me to interact with other humans?"

"Yes, the idea is that we will eventually woo you over to our side."

"Woo?" I ask, thinking this to be a rather odd term to use. Especially as she had to use the English word to make the point.

"Yes. Our goal is to show that you are not in fact half human, but more than half Endarian. With that you will likely feel more willing to stay with us." She states.

I pause for a second, then peer into the room. A dozen or so human students are all here. Jess and This Universe's Kyle being two of them. They are all staring back at us. I am about to comment that they can overhear everything we are saying. Then I realize they all look confused.

"No humans here know Endarian?" I ask, trying to remember this small detail.

"No, it is only recently that we have begun to interact with your kind. Most of the conversations comes from a few key people who have learned to speak some of the human tongues."

Hearing that I nod. I realize that Endarian is a complex language that is actually the assimilation of the top twelve languages of Endar. There was a theory used to explain the phenomenon of everyone moving to one key language. While different pockets and words will evolve, it becomes increasingly important for larger space faring races to focus on one universal language that can be related to. The term used to describe this phenomenon is Babel Harmony, the wish of everyone to ultimately fuse together to one universal language.

Humans were still quite a way off from this phenomenon, but with multiple generations and millennium spent in space, the Endarians and Dwenvarians both have proven this, as they both have a base universal language.

"Why would you even want someone like me?" I ask, still speaking Endarian.

She smiles. "Well aside from the fact that you are the first being we have on record as having both Magical and Psionic abilities. You seem to come from a universe that has vastly different rules governing it than we do here. That alone would be worth trying to keep you. Added to that, the fact that you come with knowledge of the ancient scourge of the soul, and yes, we are very curious about you. You seem to be a very gift from the heavens."

I pause looking at her as some of her words finally catch up to me. "Wait, you are saying you have already faced the Prolaxians?" I ask.

She pauses for a moment, then nods. "Yes, many millennia ago our ancestors fought the ancient monsters. Fortunately, we were able to react quickly at the time, eliminating them with only minor losses of life. All samples of the monsters were burnt and only a few trace recordings remain of them. But their lessons live on."

Hearing that, it sounds like this universe's Endarians had the same encounter that my universe's Endarians did. The only difference being that this universe was able to destroy the ancient monsters.

"That was part of why we made the operation to invade the human lab. Going so far as to burn everything when we left. That wasn't meant to destroy any survivors, but rather meant as a failsafe to destroy any Prolaxian samples that survived. We explained this as part of our peace treaty and armistice. We wanted to be forthright and honest. We had thought that our science had advanced enough to maintain controls over the ancient menace, but we were wrong."

Hearing this, a lot of different emotions came over me. They weren't caught in some sort of theft gone wrong. No, they were likely trying to protect us from our own ignorance. Even though methods had been made to safeguard the research, the facilities clearly weren't prepared to take out a small team, let alone an infestation of the Scourge.

I am about to ask another question when a voice speaks up from the classroom.

"Um. Excuse me?" I turn to the voice speaking English and instantly pause as I realize it is Jess.

"Yes, J…Cadet Childers?" I correct myself at the last second.

She pauses for a second, then continues. "Who is going to be our instructor for this class?"

With that I give a final glance to Rayquel. I am hoping that my pheromones are at least helping me convey the point that this meeting isn't over. She nods, which I take to be a sign that maybe I articulated with my sweat glands what my words could not. Then took a step into the classroom.

"I am your teacher for this class. You can call me…" I pause trying to think of a name. I am about to use my last name when I realize Kyle is right there. So, I go onto the new portion of my name. "Call me 'X'."

"Um, isn't professor 'X' copyrighted?"

"Good point. Don't want that big scary mouse coming after me. Just call me, Powder?" I manage, still being terrible at names.

"Powder? Is that because of your hair?" Another female cadet asks.

"You, know I don't get it either. Tell you what, you take a vote after class then tell me what you want to call me." I state.

There looks like there is going to be some words, so I wave a hand trying to stop them. "Look we have already wasted enough time on pointless introductions. This is Spirit Class. This is the one truly unique magical affinity for humans. If you master this, you can destroy any mage."

I begin, as a faint smile forms on my lips.

"Any mage?"

"Yes, this is the affinity needed to become a Mage Breaker."

Everyone looks at me in confusion for a moment. "I will demonstrate." I pause for a second, looking to see if anyone looks like they can cast a basic spell. Realizing we are still early in the term; I opt for one of the Endarian observers.

"You." I say in Endarian, pointing to a general officer who is wearing the colors of a Mage.

The Endarian mage looks confused for a second, even going so far as to point at themselves. "Me?"

"Yes. I want you to create an attack spell and target it towards me."

The mage looks confused, for a second but a quick nod from Rayquel by my side gives him the courage he needs to continue. With a shrug, he forms a weak fire burst spell that I instantly catch. Then I pump more energy into the spell, so it becomes visible.

"Ohh!" Everyone human, and Endarian alike look at the spell.

"This is a spell." I say as I walk up to the spell in question. "This spell is in the locked position. With this, one can easily prove a few things. The first is the intent of the spell." I say as I point to the center portion of the spell. "Here you can see that this is a weak fire spell, meant to at most maim or likely frighten the intended target."

From there I raise my finger to the top of the spell and point out the next portion, "this is the targeting rune of the spell. This helps identify where the spell was going. While I told this man to target me, he only targeted the area where I would be standing. This is good as it shows a minimal want to exert force or violence."

"Thank you." I say in Endarian at the mage who likely had no clue why I was thanking him.

From there I go through and point out the other main components of a spell, showing each. Helping the students all come up and at least get used to the idea of what a spell is.

"Now from here a Mage Breaker could do multiple things. We can, if our spirit is high enough, or if our affinity in Spirit is higher than the user's affinity with their spell we can take control of the spell. Or use this for forensics to prove intent of a crime."

From there I go about the process of creating a replica of the spell. To taking control of the spell and directing the flame burst upwards. I then conduct a second one where I drain the mage in question and get them to cast a far more devastating attack than initially planned.

Ding.

A chime sounds, letting me know that it is now time to stop for the day.

With that every one of the humans begin to leave the classroom suddenly excited about the possibility of being a Mage Breaker as I called it.

On their way out this universe's Kyle stares at me for a second. I nod to him, but there is an odd tension before Rayquel walks by my side and looks at Kyle. Seeing Rayquel by my side, whatever anger, or emotion the boy had seems to vanish. Then he walks out with Jess, who looked like she wanted to ask me a question, but then thought differently of it.

"He is jealous of you." Rayquel states.

I nod. "Well, the feeling is mutual. What he will be capable of later, that will be amazing."

She just shakes her head. "No, he feels that you will steal his woman from him."

I look at her, then I realize something. "You read emotions?"

She nods.

"Not fair, not only are you able to psychically read my mind, but you can also get my pheromones too." Then I have a second train of thought. "Can you read his pheromones?"

She shakes her head, "no, I cannot. He is not like you. Again, you are unique."

"Yeah, unique, just like a two headed cobra. I can't do much more, but I look intimidating."

Rayquel looks like she is about to say something, then stops herself. "Come on, let's go to lunch."

With that I follow Rayquel. I once again wonder how odd my life has gotten that I am an eighteen-year-old professor for an alien species, especially after I just technically awoke four, no five months ago?

"What is it?" She asks.

"Nothing. Just thinking." With that I follow her out of the classroom and towards the next unknown portion of the campus.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

As promised. For this story having over one THOUSAND followers, here is the sixth of ten chapters that will be released this week.

Thank you all so much, and lets hope we can keep this story growing to two-thousand.

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Chapter 35 Pairings

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Chapter

Chapter 35

Pairings

"Today we will begin pairing you off with an ideal candidate. This will be your permanent partner while here at Thessia Academy of Excellence." General Fellina began, though apparently, she was not known as General Fellina in this Universe. Here she was just called Pouncing Tiger, or Tigran for short. For me though I still had her as Fellina due to the Russians butchering her name in their first translation and the subsequent re-translation into my native language of English. This was but just one of many subtle differences between this universe and my own.

"The ideal minimum pairing is a team of two that possesses both Mage and Mental abilities. This means that the more you two works with each other, the less residual resonance from your individual class will build up. You will no doubt be taught more about this as time goes on, but for the moment we wish to take a moment and pair you with the operative who will be your bonded partner for all eternity. At least during your stay here at Thessia Academy, and hopefully during your time in service as well." General Fellina, or Tigran said.

I nodded. This made sense to me. I knew I had a particularly hard time with my Psionic resonance, so I wondered if they were in fact able to find someone who would be on the same power level as me, at least magically. From what I observed Rayquel was a Mental Magic specialist. Idly I wondered who her partner is, no doubt she had already gone through this very training with someone who was her paired bond. No doubt I could use her experiences to help me with my career.

Looking at it rationally I could logically be linked up with a Mage or Mental user, though a mage would make the most sense. Again, they would just have to be exceptionally powerful and able to notice the signs of mental strain early. When thinking about it, the only real candidate who came to mind was me. Well not me, but the me from this universe. Wizard me.

I looked out amongst the crowd of human cadets and saw that this universes version of me, wizard me, was already getting close to Jess. Seeing that, a pang of sadness filled my heart. That was a seemingly perfect pairing, as Jess too had mental powers. It turns out she wasn't supposed to have been at the Mage Breaking class, but apparently after my performance as a teacher no one objected. In fact, I had been asked to give a larger demonstration to everyone later on. By everyone, I mean everyone. All the cadre, Endarian cadets near graduating, special operatives who were being called back for the eye-opening experience, everyone. It was sort of intimidating, but I didn't think it would be that bad. What's the worse that happens? I teach a few people the number one biggest defense we humans have against mage practitioners.

I look at the pairing students and suddenly I realize one very important thing. Just like playing neighborhood games as a kid, when I tagged along with my brother, I was once again the odd kid out.

Looking around, I saw that the number of human cadets were exactly even. There were fifty mages, who were pairing with the fifty mind users, then there was me.

I look around and my pheromones must have given me away, as Rayquel moves in by my side.

"Don't worry. We have a special assignment for you." She states.

I look at her, a slightly puzzled expression on my face. One that I think is also mirrored in my pheromones.

"Also know that we have a special announcement. No doubt many of you have noticed that several your classes are done as a language immersion. This speech is likely a welcome reprieve to your day thus far. Don't worry we have made plans to help your integration be as seamless as possible." The general began but paused as fifty paired groups of humans all stared up in confusion. I too stared on in confusion.

"As of this day we have an official language immersion expert. No doubt you all have noticed the talented human representative with you." General Fell…Tigran said.

I was in the middle of thinking about how Tigran was a terrible name. Not as bad as Tigger, or something else that was equally absurd, but still terrible.

"…Goldman-X…" The word caught me by surprise. Suddenly my mind which had been passively listening in the background suddenly raced forward and tried to rewind the conversation that had just happened. In a second my mind recreated the speech almost exactly.

"We are hereby recognizing one of you as an official Endarian Officer, hereby promoting him to the rank of Lieutenant. This person will now be your official human Cadre member related to linguistic questions and cultural integration. We of course are referring to the easily identifiable Cadre member Goldman-X." The general says, while gesturing to me with one hand. "You will no doubt have an easy time identifying him around campus due to his noticeable characteristics. If you do not know what I am talking about, take a quick look at him there. There you will see he is next to his permanent partner, known to many of you as the Iron Butterfly."

With that, several things hit me all at once. I feel like I am being thrown for a loop. Rayquel, the Iron Butterfly, smiles as she comes over to me, and removes my cadet straps that are over my shoulder.

"We had these made specially for you." Rayquel says as she slides off my shoulder sheaths that mark me as a five-month-old cadet in good standing. Then they are replaced by the Endarian Military officer rank of Lieutenant. Or the equivalent of Lieutenant, it is something that translates to blind child of the military, but really the meaning translates flawlessly to English. There is no distinction of second Lieutenant or first Lieutenant in the Endarians military either. Either you are a blind child of the military, or you are one that has eyes and can react. That is what the rank of Captain at least translates to. Looking at Rayquel, it is clear that she is a Captain plus two distinction marks. I'm not quite certain what that means exactly, other than she is overly qualified to be a Captain and should be promoted here shortly.

As soon as Rayquel places the sheaths over my uniform's shoulder straps, she pins them each in place with the customary button at the top of my shoulder. Then proceeds to slam her fist down hard into the buttons. She then proceeds to slap me across the face twice, a sign that she has taken me as her junior partner. Then gives the customary kiss, to show that we can make up at the end of the day.

Mentally I am going through the different steps in a clinical approach. I have heard about the pairing rituals of the Endarians. But to read about them, and then experience them is an entirely different circumstance entirely.

I am so lost in thought, especially at what only needs to be a slight peck of a kiss on the lips, that I am distracted when the kiss goes deeper. A flash of moisture against my lips, and then before I know it, I am kissing Rayquel again. I don't want to protest this, first protesting your partner is a sign of bad relationships. Also, it is customary to have a longer kiss to signify the lengths we are willing to go for one another. But still my mind is going blank as I feel sucker punched again by the Endarians and their overly expressive shows of emotion.

I am so lost in the moment that it takes a few seconds for my brain to kick in, as to how wrong I am reacting. Parts of my body are awakening and reacting to this alien form of bonding that I suddenly feel like we are one step from going too far. As soon as this thought comes to mind, my pheromones likely tell of my sudden distress as Rayquel stops and stares at me.

She trembles slightly as our eyes lock.

I half wonder if it is just the sight of my odd glowing purple eyes that cause her to tremble or if there is something more to the stare. Still, she seems to pause for a brief second before she takes a half step back.

"This one is worthy. I shall take him under my wing to be as my shadow. So that he will learn to walk by mirroring my paces." Rayquel says in Endarian.

Badump.

My heart races, I'm not quite certain why exactly. The kiss had something to do with this, but really, I feel something deep inside me call forth at this sacred rite of passage. A rite of passage that to my knowledge has only been done between two Endarians. This is the sacred blending of souls, a contract to always have one another's backs regardless of what happens on the battlefield. I realize I am likely being chosen for several reasons, likely political, likely something to do with my being half-human, and likely due to my overwhelming Psionic powers. Yet, I still can't help but feel the faint lines of energy tugging at me from deep within.

Not wanting to be rude. Or maybe, because I truly feel compelled to do so, I complete my end of the ritual. Normally it is not necessary for the junior in the relationship to complete the quote. Just being claimed by the senior in the combat pairing is enough for a minor bond to form. Yet, I feel…

Honestly, I don't know how I feel. I feel something deep within stirring inside me. I feel like an unused part of me has suddenly found its purpose, a purpose that must be utilized as quickly and efficiently as possible. Before I even realize what is happening my mind draws upon the sacred words that are my portion of this ceremony. I am saying my portion before I even truly grasp what they mean. When I first read them, they were just words on a page. But once they are spoken, they suddenly became meaning to my existence.

"As your shadow, I will learn to walk and be a warrior. I will follow you though all fields knowing you will lead the way to the light. As your shadow I will always have your back, so that you can focus on constantly moving us forward as a team. From this day forward, I am no more..." I trail off.

The more I speak, the more the dormant part inside of me begins to burn with something bright. I can feel energy growing inside me. My eyes that are normally just a constant brightness even to me, suddenly surge to life with blinding purple light. So much that Rayquel and her uniform are all in different shades of purple.

"For we are eternal." Rayquel says, as she places her right hand on my shoulder, while bowing her head slightly. Again, this is more than enough. More than anyone could expect to have happen from a human taking on the ritual of soldier pairing with an Endarian. Still, I continue, feeling that I need do to more. That I am so close to awakening, to fully awakening a darkened part of me.

Without even thinking my body moves on its own. I mirror her movements. My right hand goes up to rest on her left shoulder. My head leans forward, until our heads are touching. Then as soon as our skulls touch, I feel a surge of energy flow up from me into her. Then I feel a similar current of energy flow from her into me. I am reminded of the balls dangling from a Newton Pendulum, where the energy gets transferred through the different balls at the same time. Where it doesn't matter if energy forces one ball to move seemingly independently of another, the balls are merely conduits for the energy that is being transferred from one direction to another.

With that transfer of energy, I feel a warmth enter me and anchor itself to my very soul. Just as I feel my energy bounce and attach itself to a portion of her soul. That is if we even have souls to begin with. I don't rightly know. All I do know is that part of me is forever resonating within Rayquel. I now know that no matter how far apart we are, I will always be able to guess the direction she is in, her general health, and her overall status. I will know this, as I am now a part of her.

I pause, taking a step back. With a shock I realize that Rayquel too took a step back at the exact same time. Part of me knows we are mirroring each other, as we both look on suddenly shocked at what just happened. We are bonded, that much is evident. She and I are both physically and mentally the same. Again, I didn't lose anything. At least I didn't lose anything I was previously aware of before. Instead, I now have a new part of me that is alive and awakened in another.

It is an odd feeling, one that slightly tingles as we both try to stretch out and move our new phantom limb. To describe the sensation is the same thing as suddenly realizing that you have a third eye. The only problem is that the third eyes isn't attached to you and can't truly be used to glimpse anything other than the life of your military partner.

This is a deep connection, but one that is wholly separated from a romantic relationship.

I am still feeling the new glowing sensation within my own body and my own glowing sensation within her body when words cut us off.

"As I live and breathe, may I never see another miracle quite so astounding." General Tigran says in Endarian. The saying is a lot shorter in Endarian, but the translation to English takes a bit more explanation.

Taking a moment General Tigran quickly composes herself. As she speaks, I once again see her eyes glowing brightly, again I take this as a sign that she is somehow seeing the future. Did she know such a bond would happen?

I had of course read about the bonding of Endarian soldiers and how truly bonded pairs were amazingly difficult to vanquish. I also remember how in all my previous lives Rayquel never had such a pairing.

Looking back, I am glad she never had a pairing, feeling the connection between us even in this initial phase is impressive. I could only imagine how fierce she would have been if she had a truly bonded pair during some of our encounters.

"In case any of you still have doubts about this alliance between ourselves and the humans, we need look no further." General Tigran said twice, first in English to the students. Then a second time to the cadre and the numerous recording devices that were all around the open room.

Now that I have a moment to think, I realize my cheeks still sting slightly. Well, my cheeks still sting, and my lips still burn. In a second, I realize it is my body's way of telling me where I last made physical contact with my bonded partner. It is an odd sensation.

"Now I will let you all perform the bonding ritual with your chosen partner." General Tigran says. With that the fifty human pairs all turn to each other and look confused for a second. Then almost as one they begin to shrug and then go through the ritual's motions.

I look to Rayquel, or eyes lock and I have so many questions rolling through my mind that I don't know exactly where to begin. Finally, I ask what is on my mind.

"Is this only because I am half-human?" I ask. The unspoken part of my question being about our bond that even now pulses strangely within me.

"I don't know."

FLASH!

A burst of light shines out from the middle of the gathered students. My eyes, much like everyone else's are attracted to the pure light. Within a second the surge of light dwindles slightly, allowing me to make out two forms. Two human forms, that look like a photograph I had on my refrigerator so many lifetimes ago.

I am lost in the moment as I remember the picture fondly, it was when Jess and I had both passed our practical psychic exams in our first lifetime together. We were so happy for each other that we just stared at each other. A friend of ours happened to take the picture and offer it to us. We liked it so much that it was our good luck picture that we used when we first moved into our military housing together.

Then the glare of the light fully fades, allowing me to see Jess and me holding hands. Well, it is not me, at least not the real me. This is Wizard Kyle, who seems to somehow be blessed with the perfect life. And for the second time that day, I felt jealous of what Kyle has, a future that is bright as the sky is wide. Part of me wishes him well, while another part of me that I try to squash almost immediately wishes his life would face a little bit of adversity.

A gentle hand pats my back. Within a second, I realize it is my military partner comforting me.

"Don't worry. This doesn't mean we are anything more than warriors who are linked on the same mission." Rayquel says reassuringly.

Then looking at her, I once again feel saddened as I realize she is holding back on her true feelings, because of me. Realizing her own personal sacrifice, I ask possibly the stupidest question I can think of.

"Do you have anyone you are committed to?"

Pain.

There is a faint pain coming from my chest. Within a second, I realize it comes from the open spot that houses Rayquel's personal spark within me. From that pulse of pain alone, I know this is a sore subject.

"Never mind." I say, but it is already too late.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

As promised. For this story having over one THOUSAND followers, here is the seventh of ten chapters that will be released this week.

Thank you all so much, and lets hope we can keep this story growing to two-thousand.

SUPPORT "THE 13TH LOOP [A PROGRESSION, GAMELIT, SCI-FI ADVENTURE]"

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8/11/2022, 12:15 PM

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