Meditating to recover his Spirit Power, only to exhaust it soon after, using it to Forge his body and Spirit, or for practising his Martial Styles, Arcanas, and Glyphs. Other than the time he spent Wandering the Origin Sea, or facing the challenges of the Lost City, that was how Alnea usually spent most of his time. As for the rest, a part of it was reserved for meeting and discussing the affairs of his team, while another part was reserved for completing some tasks for the team.

  Yet, Alnea was still not satisfied with himself. He was lagging behind his peers by too large of a margin. Especially Yuri. Although the Lotus clan’s pressure was not small, as long as they played within the rules, he was sure that he would be able to deal with whatever they would throw at him. And if they dared to break the rules, then his master would help him deal with them. As such, he was not too worried about what he would have to face a year later in the Rising Wanderer Trials. It was what he would have to face after getting rid of the Lotus clan that worried him so.

  Going to the Union… to Yuri’s clan… Although she had not said it specifically, Alnea was able to guess a few things of what he might have to face in the future. Especially from the Faed clan. After all, he was not naive enough to think that just Yuri’s words and a pair of rings would be enough to convince her entire clan to believe in him. Maybe the Goddess’ warnings would help him a little, but the leaders of an Origin clan would surely not be so stupid as to let everyone know about the Goddess’ warnings.

  Alnea himself would never disclose such important information. Especially if it concerned the survival of his clan. Leaving aside the fact that it might draw the attention of his enemies, giving them the perfect opportunity to take advantage of him, such information might incite widespread panic among his people, and might even lead to most of them fleeing away for their lives.

  Even if an Origin clan could forcibly subdue such a turmoil, they should not be stupid enough to risk the safety of their clan on their arrogance. In such a situation, the best they could do for him would be to give him an identity, and perhaps provide him with some conveniences. Though, doing so would probably come with its own risk.

  After all, a behemoth like the Faed clan should not be free from internal competition. Yuri had already expressed as such from her words. Giving him some preferential treatment would be akin to declaring to everyone that he was from her faction. A declaration that was bound to earn him quite a few enemies, both from within and without the Faed clan. And that was in addition to the enemies that he had already made.

  But they were probably still going to go ahead with that declaration anyway. Rather, it would be better if they made the declaration in an even more grandiose manner, earning him as many enemies as they could. The more the enemies he would have to face, the more dangerous the situation he would find himself in, the easier it would be for him to convince the leaders of the Faed clan. After all, if he could not even handle a few Wanderers, how would he help them get through the Great Changes of the world?

  The problem was, he was not ready to face such challenges. As just a False Wanderer, an Advanced Stage False Wanderer at that, it would already be good for him to overcome the challenges of the Lost City. After all, those challenges were designed just to train the younger generation of Wanderers. In contrast, the challenges he would have to face in the Union would be about the survival of an entire clan. Maybe even the world. To face such challenges…

  How long did he have left to go to the Union? A year? Two, if he counted the time they would have to spend on travelling. If they took their time in travelling, that is. In case his master decided to go back to the Union in a hurry, then it would probably take them only a month or two. Such little time…

  That was not even enough to let him break through to the True Wanderer Rank. Rather, it would be good if he could reach the Peak Stage of the False Rank in the next year. After all, his current Spirit Power was only around two thousand units or so. About twenty thousand when counted in units of the Seed Rank. To reach the Peak Stage, not only would he have to break through ten bottlenecks, but he would also have to increase it almost double its current amount.

  Twenty thousand units. That was what he had built up over almost two years. Although becoming a Wanderer, and switching to the Art of Spirit Rebirth had increased the rate with which he increased his Spirit Power, it was still not enough to break through to the Peak Stage in just a year. Unless he experienced a few more Fortune Springs.

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  Still, no matter how many Fortune Springs he experienced, it would not be enough to help him break through to the True Rank in a year. Or maybe even two. Let alone the Art of Spirit Rebirth, not even an Origin Grade Arcana would not be enough to help him increase his Spirit Power to over hundred thousand units, raising his Spirit to about five times its current strength, in such a short time. Not that he could use an Arcana anyway.

  Regardless, the matter of fact was that he had too little time on his hands, while the things that he had to do kept on increasing. Wandering the Origin Sea, taming Aspects, comprehending Mysteries, Forging his Spirit, Forging his body, practising his Martial Styles, Arcanas, and Glyphs, managing his team, completing the challenges of the Lost City… the list kept on going. Sometimes, he even wondered how good it would be if a day had thirty hours instead of just twenty five.

  There was nothing he could do to control the actions of the two celestial Gods though, so he could only make the best of what he had, managing his time even more strictly. Things like honing himself in the Mirror World, even if he knew that it could help him better acquaint himself with the Concepts he had comprehended, could only be kept to a bare minim of once a day. Even the time he spent on practising his Martial Styles was cut down.

  Knowing that she would not be able to meet him for a while, his master had left him with a collection of thousands of Martial Styles from the types that he had yet to master. But with all the things that he had to do, he never could get the time to master those Martial Styles. Still, at least he could find some time every day to practise the Martial Styles that he had already learned. He could not say the same about his Glyphs and Arcanas.

  Then again, that was probably one of the reasons why he struggled so much in the Glyph Trials. He did somehow manage to do well enough to earn a few Medals, but he was not sure if he could do the same in the Peak Stage Trials. Thankfully, he would not have to challenge the Peak Stage Trials for another couple of months or so. That should give him enough time to prepare for the Trials. If he could practise his Glyphs and Arcanas more regularly, that is.

  Yet, he did not have the time to even fill up the missing foundations of his Martial Styles. How was he supposed to find even more time for practising his Glyphs and Arcanas? Stop Forging his Spirit? How would he increase his Spirit Power then? Stop Wandering the Origin Sea? That was even more impossible. Let alone the missed opportunities of taming more Aspects and comprehending more Mysteries, or the impact on his Heart, a person who did not Wander the Origin Sea did not deserve to be called as a Wanderer.

  In the end, the only unaccounted time of his day left was his dinner time, and the time he spent in the Arena. But going to the Arena was just as important as completing the rest of the Trials of the city. Even if the time he spent in the Arena kept increasing as his ranking in the Arena kept getting better, there was nothing he could do about it. Rather, at one point, he had even thought about spending even more time in the Arena.

  Although he had given up on that thought later, he could not cut down on the time reserved for the Arena. Not until he had caught up with the rest of his teammates. Though he could think about finishing his battles as soon as possible. But then, that would mean giving up the opportunity of honing himself. Not to mention that as his ranking got better, his opponents kept getting stronger too. Like Ameria. Had he underestimated her, the result of their battle would not have been as simple as a tie.

  In any case, whether it was to hone himself, or to prepare for entering the inner city, he could not cut down on the time he spent in the Arena. As for his dinner time… He already ate much faster than the others. And much more than them too. Whether it was for Forging his Spirit, or Forging his body, he had to replenish at least three four times as much energy as his other teammates. And that was despite the fact that most of them were already Peak Stage Wanderers.

  Considering the amount of food he ate, finishing at the same as the rest of his teammates already showed how quickly he ate his food. He could not possibly skip his dinner, could he? Although he had grown taller than both Cecilia, and Yuri, he was still shorter than the rest of his teammates, including Vestia. Not to mention that Yuri and Cecilia had not stop growing either. If he did not eat enough, he would have to go back to the days when he was shorter than everyone…

  No, absolutely not. He could accept delaying going to the inner city by a few months, but he could never accept being the shortest. Maybe his thoughts were a little childish. Still, his height one thing that he refused to compromise on. And so, he was back to the point where he had begun. In the end, he could only go with the flow, and do the best with what he had. Then again, that was what life was all about. Doing the best with what one had.