YM778.TV Chapter 97 : Status update
As they passed through the crowd of thousands of players, Sora asked, "How many regions are there in our Kingdom?"
Emily glanced back and replied, "This year, it’s 20 regions. It was only 15 last year," she said casually as they neared the main group.
Kim Dong, catching Emily’s smug expression, raised an eyebrow. "Judging by that smile, I take it they both passed?"
"They passed, of course," Emily shot back, looking as if their success was her personal triumph. "What about your group?"
"They all passed as well," Kim said, clearly annoyed by her tone. Turning to address everyone, he added, "Take the rest of the day to recover. We’ll regroup tomorrow."
Sora and Kara, along with the others, exited the assessment area, their thoughts already on the upcoming Ascension event. Emily stayed behind, studying the other regions, in a good mood because of her guild’s accomplishments.
Once outside, Sora and Kara exchanged a glance, their understanding unspoken—it was time for one final round of training. Without hesitation, they headed to a level 140 zone near Fukuoka, taking advantage of its experience bonus. As soon as they arrived, they vanished into the [Time Space], fully loaded with condensed mana that pushed its effects even more.
Inside the realm, Kara turned to Sora with determination in her eyes. "Do you remember when you told me to try condensing life force? I’ve been working on it ever since, and I think I’m close to a breakthrough. Maybe I can reach my goal before the event. I also have another technique I’m working on, so let’s train separately for now."
Sora blinked, surprised. ’I barely remember mentioning it, back when I was first exploring my [True Mage] class...’
Smiling, he nodded and said, "You’ll get there. Good luck." He then headed toward the lake within the [Time Space] to focus on his own skill training.
’Last time, I worked on strengthening my mental power. Now, it’s time to push my arsenal of skills to the limit. I’ll show them that one can not have too many skills...’
As they immersed themselves in training, their perfected clones and Kara’s summons would fight, engaging the beasts lured inside the realm by Kara. Together, the clones and summons handled the occasional monster with ease, ensuring Sora and Kara’s bodies would focus on their main tasks.
Kara, maintaining full control over the [Time Space], monitored its surroundings, to ensure no intruders could enter the realm. In this protected space, they pushed themselves one last time..
Sora and Kara arrived at Nara’s Adventurer’s Guild just before 8 a.m. Their levels had risen again, and a sense of excitement their eyes. Fresh from their recent training successes, they were more confident about their chances in the Ascension event.
Sora took a moment to observe the groups forming in front of the Guild. Most players were clustered together by region or guild. Using his [Mana Eyes], he scanned the area, hoping to gain information about the competition. The highest-level players he could spot hovered above level 160.
’Emily said talent matters more than levels here,’ he mused, ’but if players at that level also have incredible talent, doesn’t that make them monsters?’ Despite being reminded how some players were currently leagues above them, Sora did not lose confidence in himself.
The first group to catch his attention was from Russia. Refusing to join the New European Union early on, Russia was now considered an intermediate-level zone with an average player level higher than Europe’s but lower than the East Asian regions. This group was led by a young man who exuded confidence and pride. Sora focused on his mana flow and noted the player’s level—148. His mana hinted at a strong magic-related class, reminding Sora of his early experiments with [Condense]. Some members of the group wore uniforms resembling those of special forces or soldiers from before the World Update.
The next group he noticed had no flags or obvious signs of origin, but Sora guessed they were from the Middle East. They had a few players at level 140, but their overall levels were even lower than Europe’s, with some players even below level 100. ’That’s quite low... that region is lagging behind others.’ He thought.
Just as he was moving on, Sora nearly jumped. He had been examining another group’s levels and mana fluctuations when one of their members turned and locked eyes with him. A sudden wave of pressure crashed down on him, making it feel like death was moments away. The man grinned arrogantly, raised his middle finger, and activated a barrier that cloaked their entire group.
"Was that an attack? Nigerian region... They’re built different..." he muttered, trying to regain his composure.
Beside him, Emily muttered, "That was bloodthirst... What a monster. Ralph, I introduced you to the main regions for a reason—to avoid incidents like this. Stop probing everyone, or you’ll paint a target on our backs. In this era, privacy is sacred, and probing someone stronger than you can be fatal."
"I didn’t think they’d notice..." Sora admitted, embarrassed.
Emily sighed. "Thank God you didn’t try that with the Chinese or American teams. Nigeria’s team is overpowered, but at least they like to make friends. The others? They won’t give a South Korean guild any face."
Sora let out a breath of relief, grateful he hadn’t caused a worse situation. ’Even with [Mana Eyes], I can’t spy on people in peace... I guess I need a better way to gather information in the future.’
Emily added, "You’ll meet plenty of people inside the tower. Don’t go around provoking anyone, or I’ll kick your ass after the event."
As they stood with the others in front of the guild, a towering structure suddenly materialized out of thin air.
Sora glanced up and read the words in the sky:
[The Ascension Tower is now open!][Adventurers, enter and find glory in Ascension!][Description: Enter a different space and face trials. The more progress you show, the higher your final reward!][Warning: The Tower is a PVP zone.][Candidates: 0/400]
Kim Dong turned to the group, his tone serious. "Let’s go."
Without hesitation, the group stepped forward, toward the entrance to the tower.
[Welcome to the 1st floor of the Tower]
[Please choose a setting: Solo, Duo, Trio, Squad]
Sora recalled Emily’s earlier advice:
"If you’re confident in damage, recovery, and tanking, pick solo mode. It has the best rewards. If you want to go far, it’s the way to go, as you’ll get stronger and stronger while climbing. The more people with you, the more they can compensate for your weaknesses, meaning lower rewards. But it’s a good way to beat the early floors."
Turning to Kara, he smiled. "See you later, Kara." Sending a telepathic message, he added ’Take care, let’s meet on the fourth floor.’
He selected [Solo].
[You have chosen the setting: Solo][Reward multiplier: x2]
As soon as the notification disappeared, Sora felt his body dissolve and reform without any pain or effort.
[Welcome to the 1st floor of the Tower][Trial: [Endurance] Defeat endless waves of enemies without using active skills.]
[Please set difficulty][Easy: Enemies at your level][Normal: Enemies 10 levels higher][Hard: Enemies 20 levels higher][Extreme: Enemies 30 levels higher][Maximum: Enemies 50 levels higher]
Sora pondered for a moment, smiling. "My god... If I had reset my level before entering, I’d be crushing this."
Curious, he opened his status profile:
[Status Update]Profile: Ralph Eden (Sora Hashino)Status: Alive (Prestige 1803)Talent Level: 1048576Growth Factor: 1Class: True Mage (Level 120)Soul Level: 450
Body Level: Omega 29Energy Level: Omega 26Mental Power : Omega 21Supreme Skills:• [Mana Evolution] (Click to see effects)• [Eternal Body Craft] (Click to see effects)Innate Skill:• [Prestige] (Click to see effects)
Skills: (see more...)
He had reached level 120 thanks to Kara, who had spent the previous day and entire night siphoning monsters in the zone near Fukuoka. However, the respawn rate was too slow to sustain both them and the few other players frantically grinding there at the last minute.
Those players desperately chased after disappearing monsters, frustrated as the creatures vanished before their eyes. Kara ensured that no one was accidentally teleported inside their training zone.
His Status Profile, however, was a mess...
Years of passive and active body forging had propelled his [Eternal Body Craft] to incredible heights. Meanwhile, his [Mana Evolution] struggled to keep up. Despite this, his control over mana had reached an extraordinary level, allowing him to create and comprehend skills in an instant.
’I even developed something that make up for the disparity between my Energy and Body levels...’ He smiled, thinking of his latest creation. ’Raw power isn’t the goal for [Mana Evolution]. It opens the door to unimaginable paths, and I need to dig into that.’
’My mental power is still my weakest point. I’ve hit a wall and can’t push further for now,’ he admitted with a sigh, frustrated by the limit he encountered without a Supreme Skill to surpass it.
He selected the difficulty, and monsters started to appear around him.