Prestige Grinding : I Can Reset My Level

Hearing him, Alius, who had just resumed eating after sharing his skill description, nearly choked on his food. He quickly set his fork down, wiped his lips, and looked at Sora with an expression caught between shock and confusion. "Why are you asking that out of the blue? I don't want to fuse anymore. How do I even say this? I feel like I've become a different person."

He hesitated, conflicted, his gaze faltering before he strengthened his resolve. "If you help me free Hope, and swear to take good care of my legions… I'll accept. I'll give you back what was yours."

The struggle in Alius's voice was unmistakable, and Sora felt a pang of guilt. Memories from his time in the 13th and 14th trials flooded his mind, as he kept his thought to himself, 'I have often thought about you when I was hiding in my tent, afraid of the next military order. I've always wondered what you were up to, or if you were having fun.'

Looking at his alter ego, Sora thought, 'I never forgot about you, my other self. I've imagined you started a new life, found friends, found love. The first thing you asked about today was Hiyoko. How lonely have you been? I'm glad you built your own family with countless familiars, but now you even lost your oinly human friend…'

Caught in his thoughts, Sora stayed silent, trying to process his emotions. 'Fusion? I've thought about it countless times. It would be so strange. Would I still be me? Would you still be you? Would I start loving the people you loved? And how could that even make sense? If I became part you, wouldn't you have to relive my traumas too?'

His chest tightened. 'You're more fragile than I was back then, even more innocent than me. Now that we meet again, I can see it… I've abandoned you. I should have have been there for you.'

After a moment, Sora took a deep breath, his mind finally clear. He looked at Alius, his expression soft yet resolute, and prepared his response.

"Alius," Sora began, his voice steady, "I'm not planning or willing to fuse anymore. I don't see you as my missing half. To me, you're like Nathan… you're my brother. I don't want your power, or your skills anymore. I just want you to live your life to the fullest and be happy."

The warmth in Sora's words struck deep.

Alius froze, the fork that he was putting back on the plate still in his hand. The eyes that were dull at first mention of fusion lightened as Sora's words sank in. For a moment, it was as if the weight of the world was removed from his shoulders.

"A brother…" Alius repeated, as if remembering a word he used for Nathan in the past. His hand released the fork, letting it fall to the plate as he stared down, his mind racing.

For so long, Alius had thought of himself as a fleeting existence—a temporary phenomenon, a byproduct of Sora's skill. The concept of fusion had always loomed over him, both as an inevitable end and a return to emptiness. But now… now Sora was offering him something he had never dared to hope for: freedom, and a chance to live his own life.

Slowly, Alius lifted his gaze to meet Sora's. His vulnerability was raw, an expression Sora hadn't seen on him before. "Are you joking?" Alius's voice was quiet, trembling with a mix of disbelief and fear. "You're not just saying that out of pity, are you? Don't… don't lie to me, Sora."

Sora's expression remained serious, but his gaze was filled with warmth. "I'm not lying, Alius. You're not a part of me, and you're definitely not my clone. You're your own person, with your own story to live. I don't want to take anything from you, and I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything. All I want is to be your friend… your brother."

Alius gaze changed as if Sora's words had struck a deep chord. His hands clenched into fists, the tension in his body clear. A flood of emotions played across his face—surprise, disbelief, gratitude, and guilt. "It cost you so much to create me, back then. To make it fair, I'll help you increase your Soul Level."

"You don't have to," Sora said confidently. "I gained quite a bit from the Tower, and I feel like I can easily reach the peak in Soul Level. A hundred thousand [Soul Pearls]? I can probably manage that in a day or two."

Alius, feeling lighter as if the world itself had brightened, burst out laughing at Sora's words. "Good luck with that. Come back to me if you change your mind."

Seeing the mischievous grin on his friend's face, Sora frowned, a hint of suspicion creeping in. "What do you mean? Why are you wishing me good luck? What are you hiding?"

As Alius casually ignored the question, Sora's patience began to wear thin. His voice gained an edge as he threatened, "You know, little brother, I haven't given you your first beating yet… so don't tempt me."

Alius leaned back in his chair, still grinning, and finally decided to break the silence. "Sadly, I know you're serious about beating me up. Alright, alright. I'll tell you. The truth is, you can't farm more than a thousand [Soul Pearls] a day through [Prestige]. So, yeah… it's going to take you a while to max out your Soul Level."

Sora's expression froze in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

From the side, Kara couldn't suppress her laughter at his reaction. "Who asked you to brag earlier?" she teased, her mood improving in the presence of the two idiots.

Sora sighed, trying to compose himself. "It's fine. I'm in no rush. But, Alius, if you help me reach the limit in Soul Power faster, I'll also help you with your training."

Alius, feeling like he was finally meeting Sora on something closer to equal footing, smiled and nodded. "Deal."

Without warning, Alius retrieved two small pouches from his inventory and casually threw them on the table. Sora and Kara took one each, and inspected the interior—ten thousand glowing [Soul Pearls] lay inside. "Here," he said nonchalantly, "I had some lying around. Maybe you and Kara can absorb these before I condense more."

The staggering amount of [Soul Pearls] made the two of them stand up in shock. Trembling slightly from excitement, they stared at Alius in disbelief.

"What the hell?" Sora blurted out, regaining control of himself as he forced himself back into his seat. His voice was sharp. "Don't tell me your Supreme Skill lets you create all of these?"

"Yes, I've condensed around fifty thousand [Soul Pearls], but I've already used more than half of them on my familiars and Soul Weapons. I can currently craft about seven thousand a day," Alius said calmly, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Sora's thoughts raced as the implications of those words hit him. "You can create a powerhouse with maxed Soul Level every two weeks! What kind of Supreme Skill is this? This is insane!"

Alius smirked at Sora's reaction. "It's actually not even my favorite part of the skill," he said. "Just like your [Eternal Body Craft] gives you two methods to forge your body—one passive, one active—or Kara's [Life Force Mastery] allows her to both generate and absorb life force, I also have two ways to create Soul Power. Honestly, I'm most excited about the [Soul Absorption] effect…"

Sora stared at Alius, trying to grasp the enormity of his potential. 'Soul Power is extremely potent, maybe millions of times more powerful than raw mana. It might even surpass solid mana, but I need to test that myself. Alius can generate this kind of power infinitely, and fuel his skills with it. His skill is incredible. I was thinking about helping him create more Supreme Skills, but with just this one, he could dominate after refining a few alternate versions of his abilities.

Feeling a surge of excitement at the possibilities, Sora stood again. "Enough chatting. Let's go out and wipe the floor with those guys waiting for you outside the city."

Kara, who had just finished storing ten thousand [Soul Pearls] in her inventory, gave him a sharp look. "Are you crazy? I've been craving [Soul Pearls] ever since you first mentioned giving me one, and now you want to leave before I even start absorbing them?"

Sora froze mid-step, realizing his blunder. He turned to her with an apologetic expression. "Sorry… I forgot about that."

Tensing at his casual apology, Kara glared at him. "For years?"

Alius watched their exchange, suppressing the urge to facepalm as Sora tried to defend himself. "You should've reminded me! The blame is shared here!" he said, looking genuinely indignant.

"Stop bickering in front of me and absorb the Soul Pearls already," Alius interrupted, shaking his head. "I can always make more later. Let's leave Mirny once you're done. I've got information on plenty of leveling areas, and it wouldn't hurt for me to gain a few levels."

Sora, regaining his composure, nodded. "Good point. Kara isn't far from reaching her limits in all aspects either. We could get both of you to decent levels after we deal with the pests outside the city."

Kara sighed, her irritation fading as she sat down, ready to begin absorbing the Soul Pearls. Alius leaned back in his chair, his familiars watching the group curiously, as they prepared for the adventures ahead.

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