Sora’s breath came in quick, trolled bursts as he stood over the lifeless body of the defeated Ice Bear. He and Kara had been pushing themselves relentlessly all day, determio close the gap between them and the stronger adventurers in the guild. With this test kill, they had hit a critical milestone.

  A notification fshed in front of him:

  [Level Up!]Above their heads, their levels were showing.

  [Ralph Eden: Level 68][Kara Spirine: Level 70]

  Sora turo Kara, a small but genuine smile breaking his usually calm expression. “grats,” he said, his voice carrying a hint of pride. Kara had reached a major milestone, ae the long day of grinding, it felt like a step closer to their goal.

  Kara was still catg her breath, eyes focused on the flood of notifications appearing in her vision. She looked almost in a daze, her attention locked onto one in particur. Sora noticed the shift in her behavior and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

  “Everything alright?” he asked.

  Kara’s gaze was fixed on something only she could see, her eyes widening with excitement. She muttered something under her breath, too soft for Sora to catch.

  “What was that?” Sora stepped closer, watg her with i.

  Kara’s voice came out as a whisper, filled with wonder. “[Time Space]...”

  Sora’s curiosity spiked. “[Time Space]? What’s that?”

  For a moment, Kara remained silent, her mind rag as she processed the details of her new ability. Then, finally snapping back to reality, she grinned and opened her status window, sharing her newly unlocked ability with Sora.

  [Time Space: Accumute mana iime Bead created by your innate skill. Onough mana is accumuted, you access your Time Space]Sora’s eyes sed the description, his owement rising as he realized what it meant. “You create a personal time space?” he said, almost in disbelief. “That’s incredible!”

  Kara nodded, her excitement matg his. “Exactly! Maybe It’ll let us train for hours, maybe even days in there, while only a few minutes pass outside. We really o try this skill. It's eveer for training than what I had... I thought my innate skill would only be useful in bat, but this be amazing for training.”

  Sora’s mind raced with the possibilities. This was the edge they hey had been fighting tooth and nail to keep up with stronger pyers, and now they had a tool that could potentially help them bridge the gap faster than he had imagined.

  “We o test it,” Sora said, his tone filled with determination. “If we train in your [Time Space], repare for the war without losing any more time out here.”

  Kara nodded eagerly. “Right. I just o gather enough mana to activate it. We'll then see what it is worth”

  Despite the exhaustion from their long day of grinding, the promise of Kara’s new ability filled them both with renewed energy. Sora could see it in her eyes—the same drive to bee stronger.

  They were on the cusp of something great. With Kara’s abilities and their determination, nothing could stand in their way.

  “Let’s farm more monster so I hit level 70 before we charge your Time Bead. Even if we ot bee det leaders for the uping war in three days, we o at least bee strong enough to carry the teams we lead. That's the least we do to avoid bringing shame to ourselves and our fa” Sora said, his voice resolute. Kara looked at him, a fire of determination bzing in her eyes, and nodded.

  She also had no idea how to lead a group, and her experieh Thierry, Amélie and e was the best proof of how bad of a leader she was.

  They weren’t preparing to deserve their rank through leadership, but through power..

  As Sora and Kara pushed forward, cutting through the monsters ireacherous zone, each level-up came with a surge of strength.

  For most pyers, getting stronger was like p water into a recipient. Eaew level made the recipient bigger, allowing them to hold more water— power. But the recipient had limits—it could only hold the volume it enpassed. Pyers had to wait for their level-up to expand it. Otherwise they could only refiheir skills to reach higher levels of mastery over their strength, filling the recipient.

  But Sora’s Supreme Skills—[Mana Evolution] aernal Body Craft]—ged everything.

  Where other pyers had a simir-sized recipients, Sora’s recipient refined by supreme skills was bigger and sturdier. His foundation allowed him to support more power without the risk of leaks or stagnation. And with denser tent, his power was more effective. When others were trying to fill a 'gss' with 'water', he was already filling a swimming pool with a liquid dehan mercury..

  For most adventurers, leveling up fast could crack their foundation—skills would fail, or they’d ihemselves after using too many skills, and mana would leak out of the body, making their power stagnate or fall. But Sora’s foundation was solid. Each level-up would only make him stronger.

  'Pyers like Richard have os of power. So i should at least try go gain a few levels and catch up"

  Kara’s Supreme Skill: [Life Force Mastery] was the key to keeping pace with Sora. While his strength came from refining his body and mana, Kara’s power y in her trol of life force, which grew stronger with every battle.

  As she absorbed the life force of falles, with [Life Recyg] her own vitality and trol deepened, makironger over time. This stant flow of life energy allowed her to match Sora's rapid development.The boween them, formed through [Soul Link], further accelerated her growth. As Sot stronger, so did Kara, making them both more powerful together.

  Kara’s abilities weren't just defehey allowed her to actively groting to Sora’s increasing strength. With every victory, she evolved, ensuring she stayed right beside him.

  A few hours ter a notification soon fshed before them:

  [Level Up!][Sora: Level 70][Kara: Level 71]

  As the numbers appeared, Sora felt something shift deep inside him, a barrier breaking. It was a new limit being unlocked, a surge of power flooding his entire being. His [Mana Evolution] aernal Body Craft] kicked into overdrive, w to refine his body and mana further.

  He felt his muscles coil with newfound strength, his mana growing more powerful. The air around him seemed clearer, and for the first time, he felt like he could sehe elements more distinctly, uanding their flow. It was as if the world itself was revealing new yers of prehension to him, opening the door to a realm of possibilities he had only glimpsed before.

  As his body and mana adjusted to this new level, Sora immediately activated his refining skills, pushing them to their limits. His body began to absorb and perfect the newfound energy, making sure no potential was wasted. The familiar sensation of his skills w deep within him, pushing against this new limit, filled him with more motivation to grow.

  He opened his status window, eager to see the new effect of his [Prestige] skill. This skill was the reason he was alive and gave him an opportunity frowth. Hie heart raced with anticipation—Maybe this new ability could be the key to closing the gap between him and those who stood far above him.

  [Status Update]Profile: Ralph Eden (Sora Hashino)Status: Alive (Prestige 2)Css: Martial Titan (Level 70)Power Level: 742 billionBody Level: SEnergy Level: STalent Level: 4 Growth Factor : 1Skills: (...in progress...)

  Supreme Skills:? [Mana Evolution] (Click to see effects)? [Eternal Body Craft] (Click to see effects)

  Innate Skill:? [Prestige] (Click to see effects)Sora’s firembled slightly as he opened his status window, feeling the rush of anticipation. His gaze locked onto his [Prestige] skill , the very skill that had defined his journey so far. He knew something had unlocked now that he had reached level 70, and the thought of gaining a new advantage was exhirating.

  With a deep breath, he clicked on it.

  The familiar description of the skill appeared in front of him:

  [Innate Skill: Prestige]

  Description: The ability to reset your training and experiences upoh or by choice after reag Level 50. When activated, all levels and skills revert to zero, allowing for a fresh start.

  He scrolled past the first effeew Identity, his eyes now firmly fixed on the sed option that had been locked until now.

  [Option 2: Soul Pearl]Upon activating the skill after reag Level 70, or dying when the skill is off cooldown, a Soul Pearl is created.And that was it. ailed expnation, no further description. Just the promise of something called a Soul Pearl.

  His brow furrowed as he stared at the words, waiting for more information, but none came. “That’s it?” he muttered under his breath. For all the moal power his [Prestige] skill had already granted him, the ck of expnation was uling.

  What was a Soul Pearl? What did it do? How was it meant to help him?

  There was only one way to find out. He’d have to experie firsthand.

  “Looks like I'll have to end my life,” Sora thought, the anticipation rising within him. The mystery of the Soul Pearl teased at his curiosity, hinting at new potential.

  mimou