Prestige Grinding : I Can Reset My Level

They spent nearly an hour absorbing [Soul Pearls], their [Soul Levels] soaring as waves of powerful energy settled within them.

Meanwhile, Alius meditated in silence, while Nyx and Magnus learned the rules of a game of cards.

As the last of the energy faded, Sora stretched before glancing at Kara. "So, what did absorbing [Soul Pearls] do for you?"

Kara, still focused on reading through her notifications, looked up. "I don't have a [Soul Palace] like you, but… it felt like 'she' was being nourished for the first time."

She then turned toward Alius. "Earlier, you mentioned that Hope believed developing Innate Skills was the key to increasing [Soul Level]. I spent what felt like an eternity refining my skill, but I only unlocked my [Soul Level] thanks to you..."

Alius paused, considering her words. "Hope said one of the four Innate Skill abilities should specialize in growing both the skill itself and the [Soul Level]. For Sora and me, it's clearly our second ability, [Soul Pearl]. For her, it was something called [Collect], which rewarded her for completing countless collections. The quest to catch all monsters that I mentioned earlier? It was literally called 'Gotta Catch 'Em All'."

He continued, "You probably have something in your skillset that lets you gather or farm a specific resource. Mind sharing your Innate Skill description again? I've gone through too many skills lately to remember the specifics."

Kara nodded, scrolling through her skill description carefully, her eyes lingering on the final option. After a moment, she shared the description with them. "Are you talking about this?"

Kara hesitated, her expression darkening slightly. "The fourth option lets me extract time from items and living beings. When I tested it on a [Brown Rat]... it was horrifying."

She exhaled slowly before continuing in a lower voice. "It started aging instantly. First, its fur turned gray, then white, before falling out in patches. Its muscles withered within seconds—like it had lived through years in moments. And then… only its bones were left as I stole all its lifespan."

She paused. "I realized quickly that using it on living beings wasn't something I wanted to do again unless absolutely necessary. Since then, I've only extracted [Time] from loot I find. At least items don't suffer… probably."

Sora's curiosity was piqued. "And what do you do with the harvested [Time]?"

Kara explained, "Well, it serves as an alternative energy source for my time-related abilities. I can use it to fuel skills like [Time Acceleration], which makes them stronger and last longer than if I had used mana. It's useful when my mana reserves run low."

She then glanced at Alius. "The [Time] I collect gets stored inside my [Time Palace], which exists within my [Time Space]. It integrates into the environment, much like how Sora stores mana in his [Soul Palace]."

Alius raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever tried channeling more of this harvested [Time] into your [Time Palace]? Maybe it could enhance or evolve it."

Kara shook her head. "I haven't focused much on that. I prefer selling my loot for gold to upgrade my [Time Space] rather than harvesting it with my ability. It always felt wasteful."

Sora rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But what if absorbing [Time] unlocks hidden potential in your abilities? Have you considered what would happen if you kept accumulating more?"

She thought about it, then nodded. "It's worth testing. I've avoided this ability for too long."

Sora grinned. "That's the spirit! Your [Time-Bending] is already broken—who knows what else it's hiding?"

Kara chuckled. "Alright then. Let's see where this takes me."

Changing topics, she glanced at Sora, who was scrolling through his system panel. "What's wrong? Are you messaging Sin Soo-Yun?"

Sora shook his head. "No, Kim Dong is asking if we want to join a guild activity."

Kara pouted. "Why isn't he contacting me directly?"

Sora smiled. "He knows wherever I am, you're usually nearby. No need to ask the two us. I told him we're busy and will drop by when we have time."

Pulling out his [Mana Phone], he stepped away for a quick call to his parents. A few minutes later, he returned. "Alright. I'm ready. You?"

Alius nodded but gave Sora a critical look. "Yeah, but before that—your gear is awful."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Alius crossed his arms. "With your [Prestige Forge], you could be fully equipped in T1 [Soul Gear]. Why are you still wearing outdated trash?"

Kara chimed in, "He's got a point. I should upgrade, too." Pulling out her [Auction Mailbox], she scrolled through listings for PvP-optimized gear, spending most of her remaining gold on a new set.

Meanwhile, Sora entered his [Soul Palace].

He paused.

The small house where his other body slept had transformed into a spacious villa. Surrounding it, several smaller homes had appeared in an orderly fashion, along with an empty plaza and larger structures with purposes he had yet to explore.

"Is this turning into a village?" he muttered, studying the evolving place.

Pushing aside his curiosity, he headed toward the [Prestige Forge], planning to craft a full set of armor, five accessories, and nine weapons. He spent a total of a thousand [Soul Pearls].

He reviewed each item's description, before frowning.

'Even with all these upgrades… I feel no change.'

His stats had improved significantly, but something was missing. He could tell. These items, while powerful, weren't enough to push past his limits.

Dissatisfied, he attempted to enhance his sword.

A full day of grinding Prestige for a single upgrade. Was it worth it?

His fingers twitched. Then he smiled. 'I have a friend who can farm for me.'

'Let's hope the next level will allow me to gain some power.' He thought, optimistic.

His sword pulsed with light, changing as its very essence evolved. When the glow dimmed, he quickly opened its new description.

Sora tightened his grip around the hilt, feeling the subtle rise in power.

'The raw damage boost is nice, but I don't need it for now. What matters is the [Soul Damage]—attacking the soul directly could be a game-changer.'

Satisfied, he exited the [Soul Palace], only to be met by Kara and Alius deep in discussion. His eyes moved toward Alius' gear—every inch of it shone with light.

"This rascal has full T2 gear already... What a showoff," Sora muttered under his breath.

Approaching them, he asked, "Are you both ready now?" Seeing their nods, he added, "Let's get this over with as quickly as possible. I can't give Rachel time to grow. We're leaving now."

The three of them headed toward the city entrance and exited Mirny through the main gate. They had agreed that Sora would handle all the enemies, so Alius and Kara watched silently as fifteen of Sora's clones appeared around them, vanishing just as quickly as they had materialized.

Sora, having just left the safe area, wasted no time and unleashed his full power without hesitation. Extending his [Psychic Hold], his mental energy instantly encompassed a thousand-kilometer radius even though such an extensive range seemed unnecessary.

'There might be more rats hiding, forming a second net.' He thought, focused on finding enemies.

Simultaneously, every player from the [ASS] guild and from the [GODS] guild in the vicinity lost control of their bodies, passing out before they could even attempt to resist. The two level 180 players, despite their strength, had not honed their mental defenses sufficiently to resist such a devastating attack.

As their bodies slumped to the ground, a figure appeared next to each of them, effortlessly grabbing them and transporting them to Sora's group, throwing them on the ground.

Alius stared in disbelief at the pile of unconscious players who had tormented him, now lying before them mere seconds after Sora's clones had vanished.

His voice was showing traces of excitements as he turned to Sora. "How... did you do that?"