The crates were filled to the brim with dark metal blades. Several stacks of them, actually. All black steel. I wasn’t sure why they’d been thrown into a locked room in a shutdown orphanage, but I wasn’t going to complain about an easy win, either.

  Assuming it remained an easy win.

  After finding the crates, we’d searched through the rest of the orphanage’s several floors, but we’d found no sign of anyone. The place had been cleaned, of that much I was positive. There was almost no sign of the children other than the long rows of beds in each dormitory wing of the floors, and the smell of the kitchen—that sickly sweet scent of cooked but almost rotted food—still clung to my nose.

  Someone had wrapped the place up like a neat package for us to find. Every instinct told me that we should run. Get the hells out before the trap was sprung. But I couldn’t just turn my back on the crates of weapons. We needed them.

  Ophelia and I sat in the center room of the orphanage’s second floor, waiting. I’d sent Yen running off to meet with one of Lilan’s contacts who I knew had set up in another tavern nearby. Hopefully, he’d be able to bring some people in and get the crates moved before things went south.

  That was the biggest problem with having Woldroff turn out to be a snake. We no longer had muscle we could even remotely trust to move things around. I was still banking on the possibility that Woldroff had no idea I knew of his betrayal.

  Hopefully, we’d be able to cut ties with the group on our own terms. It would probably be bloody.

  Turning from the crates, I found Ophelia leaning against the wall, staring out at the door. It was the first time we’d really been alone since she’d returned, and the first time in far too long that I could remember her looking lucid for this long.

  “How are you doing? Really?” I asked into the quiet of the room.

  She glanced my way, and her shoulders rose and fell in what I thought might be a shrug. “It’s strange being back after living in a fog for so long.”

  I nodded. “Do you remember anything about what we talked about while you were out of it?”

  A shake of her head. “Nothing. It’s all foggy. I can remember seeing your face or Sil’s sometimes. Even that old woman—”

  “Henrietta?”

  “Yeah, her. But I don’t remember any of the details. It’s like looking back at my life and only seeing a blank spot when I do.”

  “That has to be tough,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I know the feeling. Mine aren’t completely blank spots, which I guess makes it better. But they are hazy. Sometimes I try to think about things that mattered before…” I shook my head slowly.

  “What do you think it means?” She asked when I didn’t continue.

  I met her eyes. “I wish I could say. Henrietta thinks maybe the empress messed with your head somehow. She said everything should have been fine—that you were completely healed. But you just stood there for days after. Sometimes you wouldn’t even eat.”

  I didn’t say that’s why she looked the way she did. She was smart enough to figure that out.

  “Sil stayed with you most of the time.”

  That seemed to surprise her.

  “He doesn’t even know me.”

  I shrugged. “He’s a tough one to crack. I’ve been trying to figure out what he wants from getting involved with us, but I keep coming up empty. Maybe we’ll figure it out one day, if the two of us think about it enough.”

  There was also the news that he’d shared in the cave when we’d gone through the doorway. But that wasn’t my story to tell. Not until I understood what it all meant.

  “What is our goal?” Ophelia asked, repositioning to her other side.

  “At this point? Survive. Grow stronger. My System access has been restricted for weeks now, since it told me that the person I’m trying to stop had arrived in the world early. I have no idea where he is or what he can do right now, but he’s here, and I’m falling further and further behind.”

  She frowned then. “Your System is restricted? That’s strange, I haven’t had any issues.”

  “You haven’t? It’s still giving you quests?”

  “Well, not exactly. Mine seems to be pushing me more toward doing things like using my skills and completing challenges.”

  That was interesting. I’d assumed that her System would be similar to mine, and that her experience would come from quests. But if she had an entirely different way of earning experience, how would that affect me?

  “That is strange. Hopefully I can learn more soon. My restriction should lift tomorrow sometime, though exactly what that means I have no idea. I can still use my abilities and skills, so it hasn’t locked me out. It just also hasn’t supplied me with anything new to work toward.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Our conversation trailed off as noise on the bottom floor caught our attention.

  “Sounds like Yen is back,” Ophelia said, starting for the doorway.

  I quirked my head to the side, listening to the sounds from below. Two men let out laughs that carried up to the landing we were on. Footsteps plodded up the stairs loudly.

  “I don’t think that’s Yen,” I told Ophelia, rushing forward and pulling one of my daggers.

  I tucked against the side of the doorway as she did the same, both of us staring across the open door at each other.

  The men’s conversation died down as they approached the second floor. They must have seen the open door. Lantern light flickered through the doorway, illuminating the floor. I had to squeeze my eyes shut for a moment to stop my eyes from tearing up at the brightness of the light.

  They stepped forward and the first man passed through the doorway, lantern held up before him. He was tall—far taller than either of us—and he had broad shoulders that met a stocky neck. Dark hair rushed down his head and over his shoulders, and a great beard hung down from his face.

  The second man looked similar, though his facial hair was trimmed into a neater appearance and his long hair was pulled into a tail that flapped behind his head as he moved.

  When they had both entered the room, their backs to us, I nodded to Ophelia and we struck.

  The element of surprise is a powerful tool. That was one of the many lessons I’d learned from the [Hero]. We took down both the guards quickly, me jabbing my daggers into their calves so they collapsed forward, while Ophelia jammed her throwing knives into the sides of their necks.

  Within moments, both the large men lay sprawled across the floor, the lantern on its side. I blew out the light before it could catch fire to the floor, and then the room fell back into darkness.

  “Think there will be more?” Ophelia asked as we both took up our positions on either side of the door again.

  “Maybe,” I told her, glancing at the two men. It had been a while since I’d looted anyone beyond taking the weapons from dead bodies, but I couldn’t help but wonder what they might have in their pockets.

  Would there be anything to tell me about who they were?

  I decided to risk it, and kneeled down beside the first man we had killed.

  “Are you looting his body?” Ophelia asked in mock disgust.

  “We take what we can get,” I told her as I jammed my hands into his pockets. His body was heavy, and he smelled like he hadn’t bathed in at least a few days. I stifled my nausea and instead focused on thumbing through their belongings.

  Both had a few coins, including some Gold, hidden away in their pockets, and one of the men even had a ring on that showed up as a [Basic Silver Ring] when I used [Insight] on it. I grumbled to myself.

  I really missed the enchanted items I’d had going into the palace. If I could find anything like that again…it would really help with giving us some extra strength to rely on. Even something that empowered my magical abilities would be welcome at this point, especially if it might give me access to some of my other draconic abilities.

  I wasn’t even sure what was possible when it came to enchanted and magical items, or even how the System chose to provide them with different bonuses. I just knew I wanted some for myself.

  Sighing, I left the bodies and returned to my place by the door. Silence enveloped the room again before Ophelia spoke.

  “Find anything good?”

  I chuckled. “No, just some coins.” I held up the small pile and they clinked together in my palm. It was a small pittance compared to the sum we’d inherited from taking over the inn.

  The corner of Ophelia’s mouth rose into a smile. “You remember how we met?”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, you stole my coin purse. Ripped it right off my belt.”

  She shrugged. “You were carrying it in broad daylight. It was practically begging to be grabbed.”

  I shook my head. “It’s strange how things come together the way they do, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah… I went and saw Felix.”

  “Wait, you did what?” I turned and looked at her, a bit of panic rising in my chest.

  “When I woke up. I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I went to the one place I knew I could trust. But I couldn’t trust it. He was different.”

  “Aurelion did something to him.”

  “Something like what you did to me?”

  I ground my teeth. “Not exactly, but maybe? Do you feel any different since it happened?”

  “A little? It’s hard to explain, but I feel like I trust you more now than I did before.”

  “Anything else?” Had she felt the call earlier when I’d used it? I wasn’t sure. She had mentioned nothing since rejoining us, but it wasn’t like I had really asked, either.

  Another shake of her head. “I don’t think so. But I knew when I saw the way he was that I couldn’t trust him anymore. That’s why I came back.”

  Relief washed over me. She hadn’t realized that the call had pulled upon her—or either it hadn’t worked. I’d need to ask Yen if she’d noticed anything different at the inn. It was clear something had stirred within her because of the confusion I’d seen in her face. But just how much had she been able to tell about that little push?

  I’d need to be careful not to push either of them too quickly.

  More voices approached from below, and I peered around the corner to see three figures coming up the stairs.

  “Aria?” Yen’s voice called out from the darkness.

  “Watch your step,” I told her. “We had to kill a couple of brutes.”

  *** *** ***

  Moving the weapons took us far longer than I would have liked. The only thing that allowed us to move them that night not abandon them was the fact that Julin, the man that I’d sent Yen to get, had a house he’d taken up residence in just a few blocks over.

  That allowed us to move the crates quickly, while also letting us stay out of the guard’s sight using alleys and darkened corners of the street. The patrols also weren’t as heavy around this area for some reason—perhaps it had something to do with the building being circled on Seytrough’s map, which I made a note to investigate later—so we only had a couple of close calls. Maybe it was just dumb luck.

  Despite how many weapons were stored in the room, the crates were much lighter than if they’d all been made of iron or regular steel. It was honestly impressive.

  Unfortunately, we didn’t find any of the armor in any of the crates. But even getting our hands on the weapons was a massive step forward. It would at least help equip my people and the rebels with the weapons they needed to be able to withstand the false empress’s ploys, especially if her army had already obtained access to them.

  I checked the restriction timer on my System access and sighed.

  Still several hours to go.

  “Let’s head back to the inn and get some rest,” I told Ophelia and Yen when we’d managed to move the last crate to Julin’s. I turned back to the empty room and looked around.

  It was strange they’d left the weapons so unattended. Ophelia thought maybe Aurelion had become preoccupied with other events happening after I updated her on everything I knew. But the state of the place and the smell in the kitchen still left me worried.

  Maybe she was right.

  Or maybe there was something else going on here. My stomach twisted like the waves in a storm at the thought of this being an elaborate trap. If it was, then we’d fallen directly into it.

  Everyone dies, but I get to live again. And again. And again.

  When I died, my soul followed the usual cycle of reincarnation… until I was caught by higher dimensional pirates. Fortunately, I was saved before anything came of that, and along the way I picked up a special skill that made me immune to the usual loss of memories between lives. It also let me keep my stats and my skills—the elements of my new System—which I would gain in each life, carrying them into the next.

  So what’s a guy to do when he’s reborn as a baby in a new world? Learn the local magic, for starters. Navigate how my System works, and learn how to pick up stats and skills to help me survive and thrive in my new life, and all the lives that will follow. Maybe, along the way, figure out how to find some meaning in all of this, setting goals for myself in each life and trying to find fulfillment and happiness across the vast collection of worlds in the multiverse.

  This is my life—or rather, these are my infinite, endless, serial lives. And I’ll keep living them… as long as I don’t get soul-killed or encounter some other disaster I can’t even comprehend yet. Hopefully, I can live them right.

  A slow-burn, slice-of-lives serial reincarnation LitRPG about the journey of living through multiple isekai fantasies.