Fifteen mier, Sora sat in a er, watg as Kara y on the floor, exhausted. She had been mercilessly beaten by their new "boss," her body now refusing to move. Sora had e first, taking a brutal beating just minutes before Emily shifted her focus to Kara. For ten long minutes, Kara had been pushed far beyond her limits.

  "Well, well, well. That was iing," Emily said with a smile, clearly amused by their suffering.

  "You both had me curious about your talents, and now I’m a fa me properly introduce myself—I’m Emily Frekk, born and raised in South Korea, half German, half Ameri. I fouhis guild with Kim Dong, and I’m dedig everything to making it the best. But I need help, and talented rookies like you are exactly what we need."

  Her gaze shifted to Sora. "Ralph, your potential is... terrifying. I’ve never seen someoh a body like yours at this level. The amount of damage resistance you’ve built is ridiculous—it celed out quite a few of my attacks. I had to push hard to break through. Your body training is an enormous asset, so don’t it. And your teiques—while polished to an incredible level—are still too basic."

  "It’s true that basic skills bee deadly when mastered to their extreme, but you’re not there yet. Your mana trol, quantity, and regeion are exceptional, but you’re wasting a lot of energy on moves with low impact."

  "The first thing you should do is pick a on and it to mastering it. Let everything else support that. With your body’s strength, it would be a waste not to use it alongside magic. Physical prowess and spells—blend them. And your staff? It’s way too weak for your level. You need something stronger, so go get yourself a det on. The good news is, being an all-rounder will be your most powerful asset in the upi."

  Emily then turo Kara, her expression ging to one of admiration. "Kara, you’re a real surprise. A healer who summon hundreds of es with exceptional swordsmanship? I’ve never seen anything like it. Your path is unique, and I respect that. But—and this is a big but—your body is too weak. You have an amazing life ford health pool, but your speed, strength, aahey’re too g. You’re much weaker than your summons. A speedster or brute could easily break through your es and take you down in a minute. Some might even isote you for a one-on-one duel. You o either improve your physical defense or find a way to shield yourself while your es wreak havoc."

  Her tone sharpened, critical. "But the biggest problem for both of you? Your mental defense is a disaster. I’ve never seen pyers over level 100 with such weak mental resista’s ing, holy. How are you both so clueless about this?"

  Finally, her gaze locked onto Sora—'Ralph'. "There are universal skills everyone learn. [Meditation] is the most basie to raise mental power. There are dozens of mental skills, ranging from weak to powerful. These skills were developed through research long before the world ‘updated.’ Some people even exclusively fight usial power."

  Emily shook her head, a hint of exasperation in her voice. "With the whole world pushing limits and experimenting, the least pyers like us do is study these findings and learn the basics. Even that girl Rachel didn’t know about [Meditation]. We should really make more tutorials to guide beginners or we'll be doomed in the long run."

  "Our levels soared and we did not have the opportunity to train our minds yet." Sora said, aware of such weakness but aking the time to address it. "It isn't too te, right? we work on it before the event?"

  "It’s too te to pletely solve the problem," Emily shook her head. "Usually, uild has a way to help. It’s why we’ve mao keep up with the best in South Korea. Unfortunately, the special pce we use for training is currently occupied, so you ’t use it yet. However, I’ll give you these to speed up the process. You at least get started."

  She hahem a few items, and access to the guild skill depository.

  [Prayer Carpet: A special tool created by a peerless seamstress to facilitate meditation and prayer.][fortable Sofa: A special tool created by a peerless seamstress to enhance rexation.][Co-leader Emily Frekk has given you access to [Meditate] in the guild skill depository.][Co-leader Emily Frekk has given you access to [Focus] in the guild skill depository.][Co-leader Emily Frekk has given you access to [Faith] in the guild skill depository.]"Each of these costs a hundred million gold," Emily warned. "So don’t damage them. If you put too much strain on them while training or let your mana damage them, they’ll lose their properties."

  Sora, who had been pnning to bombard his body with elements while meditating, sighed at the news, clearly disappointed.

  "Train your minds while you ," Emily tinued. "Your foundations in other areas are solid, so you don’t o train thht now. The Assio will push you to your limits and beyond. Pyers with obvious weaknesses will fall first, so use every opportunity you get tthen your mental defense ahe basics at least."

  Curiosity tugged at Sora. "What will the Assio be like?"

  Emily’s eyes lit up. "It ges every year, but it always tests three things: skills, talents, aal fortitude. The weakest pyers are eliminated tinuously. Even if you perform poorly in one field, excelling in anht still give you a ce. However, the event always has surprises, and you’ll never know what to expect. After each test, you’ll grow stronger! You'll even pete against pyers so get ready to fight every four floors!"

  Sora frowned slightly. "Do you participate every year? How ewers stand a ce if veterans keep ing back?"

  Emily ughed. "No, no. Each pyer only participate ohis is the first time uild is sending people. In previous years, only Kim and I could make the cut, but we chose to keep training new recruits and solidifying our foundation. Now, it’s our time to shine."

  She eheir discussion. "That’s enough talking for today. You two, train your minds. At least reach basic profi one of the skills."

  As Emily left the room, Sora let out a deep sigh. "That’s a lot to take in."Kara nodded, a slight frown on her face. "So, the Assio is going to test us in all fields… so being an all-rounder isn’t such a bad thing after all. I’m so weak iain areas… I'm jealous."Sora turo her, a mischievous glint in his eye. "We always cheat and train our mental defense your way if we want to stand a ce."

  Kara chuckled softly. "Yeah, I don’t think we have much of a choice here."

  They left Seoul immediately and opehe skill descriptions ohey were ihe [Time Space].

  [Meditate : The user trains their mind to remain calm and unshaken in any situation, developing an unmovable mental foundation.

  Effect : Resist fear, illusions, charm effects. Clears thoughts]

  [Focus : The user strehe mind’s ability to narrow its attention and maintain that focus under intense ditions.

  Effect : Resist fusion, charm, decoy skills. Increases time perception.]

  [Faith : It is the mental strength derived from believing in something. This belief provides fidend mental fortitude. A ge in belief shake the strength fed through the skill.

  Effect : Resist bewitt, charm, fear, illusions. Increases Charisma]

  All three skills seemed to have their uses, with Faith appearing the most powerful, though it seemed harder to train. With the items provided to facilitate meditation, Sora felt that Emily was subtly guiding them toward choosing that path.

  'I should start with [Meditate].' Sora thought, summoning a [Prayer Carpet].

  'Let's try without the skill first.'

  Sora sat down, in the house Kara had prepared for him, legs crossed, his back straight, and closed his eyes. The room around him was quiet, but his mind was not. 'So how do I meditate?' he thought, unsure where to begin.

  He khe basics—rex, focus, clear the mind—but doing it seemed more plicated. The pressure of wanting to achieve a result weighed on him, making it hard to rex.

  He took a deep breath and tried to focus on nothing. Just silence. But within moments, thoughts began crowding his mind.

  ‘What if this doesn’t work?’

  ‘How long should I do this?’

  ‘Am I wasting time?’

  'Is Hiyoko sleeping above my head right now?'

  Frustrated, Sora opened his eyes. "This is harder than I thought," he muttered. But he wasn’t oo give up easily.

  He tried again, this time fog on his breathing. Eahale, each exhale. He ted the seds as the air entered a his lungs. It helped, but his mi wandering, and he found himself lost in distras after a few minutes.

  'This isn’t w,' he realized. 'Maybe I’m trying too hard.'

  He ged his approach, deg to let go of the desire to “achieve” something. Instead, he would just sit and observe his thoughts, not f them away, but not attag to them either. His mind still wandered, but each time a thought popped up, he gently aowledged it a go, returning to the rhythm of his breath.

  It felt stra first, like trying to hold onto water that kept slipping through his fingers. Thoughts about Rachel, his battles, and his past struggles kept rising, but instead of fighting them, he let them flow.

  Days passed, and something began to ge. His mind started to feel lighter. The thoughts didn’t disappear, but they no longer bothered him as much. A sense of calm began to spread, though faint, like a small light flickering in the darkness.

  But just as he felt he was getting somewhere, sometimes a wave of impatie.

  He sighed, realizing that patience art of the process. 'Okay, don’t rush it. This isn’t about getting it perfe the first try.'

  He sat for days, trial and erruiding his practice. At times, his mind would wander wildly, and at others, he’d find brief moments of calm. Each time he waoo far, he would gently guide himself back to his breath or just the feeling of being still.

  It was during one of these moments—where his thoughts seemed to fade into the background and a siletled in—that he felt something click within him. It wasn’t loud, just a subtle cli his mind, like a door slightly opening.

  Suddenly, a notification fshed in front of him:

  [You have unlocked Meditate]mimou

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