Sora woke early, the m light filtering through the small window of his rented room.

  He found Hiyoko awake, pying with his Diamond Badge and a shiny ... watch ?

  "Did you go out to steal things ?" His voice was full of suspi as he looked at the little bird.

  Hiyoko shook her head, showing a pder the bed. "You found this here?... You keep it until we return it to the Inn then"

  His familiar, uanding the meaning of those words, turo face a er and sulked on her shelf. Sora smiled at her as.

  The sight of the Diamond Badge was a reminder of what he had achieved yesterday. But instead of satisfa, a strange restlessness filled him. He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his temples as he repyed the fight with Areva over and ain in his mind.

  The truth was clear: his mana trol was leagues beyond anything he could have hoped for a cycle ago. His [Speed Surge], [Mana Shield], and [Amplify] worked fwlessly together, keeping him in the fight despite the odds. But the problem remained—his body was gging behind his mana trol. He o upgrade his defensive abilities if he wao survive in the long term.

  He stood up, stretg his still-ag muscles as Hiyoko fluttered onto his shoulder, chirping softly.

  "You've been watg me the whole time, haven't you?" Sora smiled as he reached up and lightly scratched the bird's tiny head. Hiyoko puffed up, preening uhe attention.

  "You know, I'm thinking about pushing myself even further," Sora muttered, almost to himself. Hiyoko tilted her head, listening as if she did not uand the reason. She seemed to think that he was already the stro existen the universe.

  Sora's thoughts drifted back to the file that Areva had handed him the day before. A high-level dungeo where her disciple needed backup. It was a tempting offer. A dungeon raid meant experiereasure, and perhaps an opportunity to test his limits once more. But he also khat accepting such a quest would e with its ow of risks.

  The other adventurers had said the team was mostly hopeless, save for Areva's disciple. Could he really trust a group that couldn't even hold their own? Sora sighed. He was still hesitant about giving others his back. His journey had been a solitary one so far—trusting people wasn't easy after Rachel's betrayal. But the prospect of a new challeugged at him.

  "Maybe it's time to see what the world has to offer," he whispered, turning his gaze out the window toward the bustling city of Paris below.

  With a resolute nod, Sora dressed quickly and grabbed the file from the table. It was time to see what this quest was all about.

  ---

  The Adventurer's Guild was just as lively as it had been the previous day. Sora navigated through the throngs of adventurers, merts, and guild staff, making his way toward the pce where he had agreed to meet with Areva before livierday. The m sunlight streamed through the grand windows of the guild hall, casting long shadows across the floor.

  He spotted Areva, seated with a few h-ranking adventurers, but her attention shifted as soon as she saw him approach.

  "Good to see you back," she said with a small grin, nodding toward the file he carried. "Did you take a look at the information?"

  Sora handed her the file. "I did. It seems… iing."

  "Iing is one word for it," Areva replied, a hint of sarcasm ione. She leaned ba her chair, crossing her arms. "The dungeon itself isn't the problem. We don't have information about the sed part of the dungeon and it's the team that worries me. Like I said before, I don't trust them to make it on their own. But with you in the mix… I think they might have a ce."

  Sora raised an eyebrow. "Why is your disciple w with people you don't trust?"

  Areva shrugged. "Everyone has to start somewhere. But I didn't expect her to end up with a group this... unskilled. She didn't want to ge teams, are they are her best friends. They're enthusiastic, I'll give them that, but raw enthusiasm only gets you so far in the game. My disciple, Kara, is strong, but she 't carry the whole team alone forever."

  Sora nodded, uanding the situatioer. "So, what exactly would you wao do? Just support them?"

  Areva stood up, her gaze serious now. "Support them, yes. But more than that, I want you to make sure they survive. Kara's capable, but she's still learning. If things go south, I need someorust to pull her and the rest of the team out. If that means stepping in to finish the fight yourself, then do it."

  Sora sidered her words. It was more responsibility than he initially thought, but the challenge was exactly what he had been looking for. And perhaps, through this quest, he could test his limits once more—both with his [Martial Titan] css and his mana trol.

  "I'll do it," Sora said, his voice steady.

  Areva smiled. "Good. Head back here tomorrow m, and I'll give you all the details you he team's already prepping for the dungeon run, so you'll meet them before setting off."

  Sora nodded, feeling the excitement bubbling up inside him again. He had a goal. And whether it was his curiosity or the thrill of battle pushing him forward, he khis quest was the step in his journey.

  "See you tomorrow," Sora said, turning to leave.

  "Ralph," Areva's voice stopped him just as he was about to walk away. He turned back, and she gave him a knowing look. "Don't hold back during the quest. If they're in danger, use every bit of power you've got."

  Sora smirked. "I don't pn on holding back."

  ---

  From there, Sora's mind wao his [Martial Titan] css, sidering how he wao evolve it. His usual strategy after reag level 50 involved resetting, being cssless, and slowly recreating the skills he had trained in his previous life by filtering and refining mana. This method allowed him to recreate 'fake versions' of the skills that eventually evolved into alternate versions and, ultimately, perfect versions.

  With newfouermination, Sora headed to a nearby hunting ground to train in peace.

  He wondered if he could recreate his css skills without resetting.

  "What if I resisted the css's natural guidance?" Sora thought. Could he recreate those abilities from scratch, f a path that didn't rely on the guiding light of his css?

  His usual method involved following the css's path fuiding mana, but what if he could block that path? Could he fe a pletely new dire, ohat wasn't reliant on the css itself?

  Sora began to focus, blog the css's guiding light in his mind. Immediately, it felt like walking in a dark room. The path forward was unclear, and his mana scattered in all dires.

  For hours, he attempted to navigate the unfamiliar terrain, switg between [Bone F], [Muscle F], and [Limit Breaker]. With each teique, he sought simirities, looking for the underlying principles that ected them.

  He became so absorbed in his efforts that he didn't even notice the stant notifications of unlocked skills fshing in the er of his vision. All that mattered was the mana—the way it flowed, dispersed, and ied with his body.

  Each of the f teiques led to new insights, but they weren't enough. Sora craved something deeper. The perfect skills he had created so far were impressive, but they weren't satisfying anymore. He didn't want just to perfect teiques—he wao uand the bigger principle behind body f.

  "Why settle for the css's limitations?" Sora muttered to himself, growing more and more intrigued by the idea.

  Taking a deep breath, he decided to push further. What if he could fe not just his bones and muscles, but something more intricate—something more vital?

  He focused on his heart.

  At first, his [Martial Titan] css resisted. It was like being held back; the css was advising him not to go in that dire, as if telling him he was not ready for that. But S. He guided his mana, slowly and carefully, into his heart.

  The pain was immediate, sharper than any battle wound he had received. His heart strained uhe pressure, threatening to stop altogether, but Sora kept going.

  He started vulsing, coughing blood, and could barely trol his mana uhe pain.

  He felt his life flickering, as if he could die any sed.

  He couldn't afford to back down now. Slowly, however the mana began to refine his heart, making it stronger with each pulse. The process was excruciating, painful, and crude, but eventually, it worked.

  His heart was beating stronger, faster, more effitly.

  Sweat dripped down his forehead, but the excitement in his chest overpowered the fatigue and his injuries. He had succeeded. His heart was now slightly stronger, more durable. He could feel it.

  "Could I do the same with my blood?" he wondered.

  The struggle was eveer this time. His body resisted the ge fiercely, but Sora persisted. With each pulse of mana, he refined his blood, f it to carry more energy, to move faster, to flow more effitly. Again, success.

  Just like that, he discovered two dires he could improve his body with.

  Enced, Sora's thoughts drifted to his brain. He hesitated. The risk was too great. What if he lost trol of his thoughts, and passed out?

  Instead, he returo [Muscle F], eager to revolutiohe teique. The traditional method involved saturating the muscles with mana, strengthening them through nourishment. But why did it always have to hit a limit before he used [Limit Breaker]?

  His mind fshed back to the old days, before the world upgrade, when muscle growth came through destru and recovery. Why not try something simir?

  Sora transformed his mana into something violent, guiding it to destroy his muscles—tearing them apart—while simultaneously bathing them in calmer mana for recovery. It was like using [Limit Breaker] and [Muscle F] at the same time.

  Pain coursed through his entire body. Blood dripped from his skin as his muscles screamed in agony. His [Titan Regeion] worked tirelessly to heal the damage, but Sora remained focused. His Mana Eyes sed every cell in his body, searg for ges.

  It was w—but not perfectly. Something was missing.

  Suddenly, he realized he had overlooked a critical part of his css: [Titan Regeion]. It had always been a passive skill, w silently in the background, but what if it held the key?

  He trated on simuting the way [Titan Regeion] funed, trying to recreate its effects manually. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing happened. He couldn't and the mana to a the same way.

  He kept trying in many ways and after hours he started losing patience.

  Frustration boiled over. "Just heal me already!" he yelled, anger and vi seeping into his voice.

  And then, something remarkable happened.

  As if responding to his frustration, the mana ged color. It shifted away from his trol, surrounding his muscles and healing them indepely. The mana acted as if it had a will of its own, obeying the and embedded in [Titan Regeion].

  For the first time, Sot a glimpse at assive skills truly were. They gave mana a mission, a purpose that went beyond direct trol. This was the essence of passive abilities—they transformed mana into something that acted of its own accuided by a mission.

  Sora stared at the shimmering mana around him, a slow smile spreading across his face. He was on the verge of something moal, a breakthrough that could revolutio just his [Martial Titan] css, but his entire approach to power.

  "This… this might be is the answer," he whispered, feeling a surge of excitement. "This is how I'll fe my body."