[Wele to the 2nd floor of the Tower][Trial: [Corruption] - Resist your oppos mental attacks][Please set difficulty:][Easy: E your level][Normal: Enemies 10 levels higher][Hard: Enemies 20 levels higher][Extreme: Enemies 30 levels higher][Maximum: Enemies 50 levels higher]'Here we go again... Don’t tell me this is going to be the only format in the whole tower,' Sora thought, weighing his options carefully.

  His mental defense had improved signifitly, boosted by the gains from the first floor. After leveling up four times and boosting his talent level, he knew he was stronger. But the abrupt increase left him without the time to push his mental power any further.

  'My oppos scale with my level, so leveling up doesn’t give me any real advantage here. And to make it worse, I don’t even have an innate or supreme skill that could help me on this floor,' he thought, frustrated at the choice he was about to make.

  [You have chosen Normal difficulty][Your first oppo appears][Resist your oppo's assault for 30 minutes]Snced around the strange space around him as a figure began to materialize before him.

  [Level 124 Evil Spirit]The name floating above the ghostly figure caught his eye. The spirit looked like a person made of mist, with no eyes, and it wore a floating white robe that seemed to move on its own.

  The spirit raised one hand and ss fingers. Sora’s [Peak Meditate] skill was already active, so he braced himself as a heavy force smmed into his mental barrier.

  'The trial wants me to resist, so I’ll focus on that,' Sora thought, steadying himself.

  The spirit’s attack grew denser, pushing harder on one point of his shield. The force was strong, but Sora noticed it stayed at the same level after a while. It wasn’t getting stronger, just steady and unending.

  Uhe stant pressure, something surprising happened: his [Peak Meditate] skill got better. The attack was sharpening his mental power, and small pieces of the spirit’s energy were being absorbed, making his mental deferonger.

  'This feeling is amazing,' He thought, realizing the potential of such method to grow stronger.

  Sora stayed focused, barely notig the passing time until a sudden notification popped up.

  [You have resisted for 30 minutes][Your sed oppo appears]Ign the notificatioched as another Evil spirit appeared. Sora took a deep breath, readying himself for the additional pressure.

  The sed spirit ss fingers, ung a fresh wave of mental energy against Sora's defenses.

  'Thank god I chose the talent increase. Without it, my trial would be even more plicated,' he thought, having trouble keeping his thoughts calm. He reinforced his defenses, using more Mental Power to resist the increased pressure. He could feel his mastery over [Peak Meditate] improving rapidly uhe intense assault.

  'I’m close to advang this skill. If I endure a few extra levels, I'll reach the perfect stage of the skill,' he mused, letting the challeivate him. The absence of the [Soul Link] with Kara, severed wheered the tower, meant he initially had no way of quickly training his Mental Defense. But this new method of growth—through stant, focused pressure—roving effective as well.

  'Maybe the duo mode would’ve helped my Mental Prow even faster,' he sidered briefly. 'Soul Power surged when I was lio Kara. Adding this kind of mental strain on top of it could’ve worked wonders.'

  Shaking the thought away, Sora tered himself once again, fully immersing iask of training his mind.

  When another series of notifications appeared, he didn't bother reading them.

  [You have resisted for 30 minutes][Your third oppo appears]With each additional evil spirit, the difficulty escated, and by the end of the fourth period, Sora was suffering, barely holding on. Time dragged on, and after an exhausting two and a half hours, his sixth oppo appeared.

  As the figure began f, an intense malevolent presence filled the room, sending a chill through his body.

  [Level 124 Elite Evil Spirit]This spirit was unmistakably different. Its form was denser, more defined, as if it were more solid thahers. Though it still cked eyes, Sora felt its 'gaze' pierce through him, a sensation like it was staring directly into his soul. A faint, sinister smile seemed to take shape on its face.

  The moment it raised its hand, an overwhelming wave of mental pressure smmed into Sora’s mind. The force was unlike anything he’d entered before—uing and far strohan anything the previous spirits had thrown at him. Each strike against his mental shield reverberated like a hammer blow, threatening to break through his defense.

  'I could barely hang on against the five Evil Spirits... But this is too much. This one’s on a different level…' Sora thought, his face torted with pain as he focused his defenses on the points of impact.

  'There’s no way I survive this… Don’t tell me this is where it ends… I ’t believe I’m going to fail here, leaving the tower so soon. It’s just… humiliating.' Despair began creeping into his thoughts.

  After a few minutes of fighting the intense pressure, Sora felt his mental defenses begin to crack. His face paled from the force pressing around his mind, his focus slipping with every moment that passed.

  'Damn it! I ’t fail now!' he thought, desperately trying to hold his defeogether. But the harder he pushed, the faster the cracks spread. It was too much. The Elite Evil Spirit was destroyed his defense faster than he could rebuild them.

  The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. His mental fortress crumbling, Sora’s despair deepened as he accepted the truth.

  'I’m screwed.'

  Yet with that thought, a strange calm began to wash over him. 'If I’m not going to make it… I might as well push this skill as far as it’ll go. At least training this skill might be useful for my life.' The idea of failing iower was disappointing, but he knew he would find other ways to bee stronger.

  This shift in mi, while accepti, allowed him to rex in a way he hadn’t before. By letting go of his frustration and fear, he settled into meditation more naturally, easing his mind into the flow of energy. To his surprise, this newfouion began to mend some of the cracks in his defenses, giving him just enough stability to endure a little longer.

  Miretched on, every instant pushing him to his limits, but he held on, surviving the trial for lohahought possible. His barrier was on the edge of breaking, and his mind strained uhe enormous pressure. He knew he wouldn't st much longer unless he fully mastered his [Peak Meditate] and pushed it to evolve.

  [You have resisted for 30 minutes]He sighed in relief wheification appeared.

  'Damn, that was close,' he thought, aowledging how near he’d e to breaking as the mental assault from the elite spirit ceased.

  Sora felt drained and uain about what to do . The level would begin soon, and he did not have much time to decide. 'Should I keep going? Fag five oppos was extremely difficult, and I could feel signifit progress from battling that sixth spirit… But if I tinue, I might just end up brain dead here.'

  He hesitated, afraid he would not rank very high. ‘Emily mentiohere are people specializing ial skills. pared to them, my ranking is guarao be far from first pce… But giving up after six rounds in normal mode? That’s hard to accept.'

  'Fet it,' he decided firmly. 'What’s there to be ashamed of? I’ll traiimes harder outside and make up for this loss. This isn’t running from a challe’s making a strategic retreat.'

  Even though Sora had been losing ter oppos frequently, he couldn’t shake the temptation of going for a high-risk, unknown-rey. But this time, he forced himself to be practical.

  Sora selected the [End Trial] option in the event panel, signaling his exit.

  As his surroundings faded, the strange grin oh moaunted him. He shook his head, letting the trial end.

  [You have survived 6 rounds in the 2nd floor trial, Solo mode, Normal difficulty.][Total points accumuted: 2,500 points.][Level up!][Remaining didates i floor trial: 1105][Floor 1: Rank 1/4320][Floor 2: Rank 95/3456]…[Floor 20: None]

  'Damn! The amount of point is pitiful. The ranking however is not bad, but not exceptioher, sidering there are still over a thousand didates irial rooms... But almost a hundred mao do better than me... With my years of meditation, that’s hard to digest.'

  Feeling disappoi settle in, Sora sat down, took a deep breath, and resumed his favorite task between trials : crystallizing mana. He even had the leasure to meditate and try to push his skill to the level. 'It's not far, I sense my mastery getting closer to a limit.'

  After what seemed like ay, the familiar ping of a notification finally brought him back.

  [The sed trial is over. Pyers ranked below 2592 are eliminated. Please leave the tower after colleg your reward. gratutions to all who remain. Please select your reward.][You chose Normal difficulty: Reward x1.][Reward Option 1: +1 Talent Level][Reward Option 2: +1 Growth Factor][Reward Option 3: +1 Soul Pearls]He checked his updated rank: Rank 122/3456.

  Sora sighed, 'These trials were supposed to bah pyer levels, and I should’ve had an advantage over the higher-leveled pyers sihe gap between higher levels is even higher. Yet more than a hundred did better than me in this field…'

  He took a steadying breath and, without thinking too hard about it, selected his reward.

  [You have chosen the +1 Talent Level reward!]Sora's thoughts were now calm as he started looking for ways and ideas to increase his mental power, and climb back up in the rankings.

  He was aware of the existence of pyers specialized in PvP, Pyer versus pyer tent, and he wao prepare against the hundreds of pyers who had the higher ground against him ial battles.

  Emily’s words rang in his mind. 'Floors Four, Eight, Twelve, Sixteen, and Twenty. Those are PvP floors. The trials there will involve all kinds of battles against other pyers.'

  mimou

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  ? Annou: Chapter 100 Milestone! ?

  Hello, amazing readers!

  This is the 100th chapter, and I ’t thank you enough for being part of this journey, whether you’ve been following closely or just cheg in from time to time. Your support means the world to me, and to celebrate this milestone, I’m some gifts as a token of my gratitude! ??

  ? Special Gifts for You:

  1?? I’ll randomly select 10 readers on Discord to enjoy free Patreon access for a month or more! ? Che there, and wait for the annou in a few days. You'll just have to react, and you'll have 10 ces to rice.2?? Starting tomorrow, Patreon will offer a free additional chapter daily! So, if you ever feel impatient for the update, Patreon has you covered! ??

  A huge thank you to everyone who’s made this possible, and ara-special shoutout to my Patreon supporters who make it easier for me to dedicate time to this passion. Your tributions have been essential support, keeping this dream alive! ?

  A Note from Me:I’ve poured myself into this story, always striving to improve and deliver something eveer for you. This journey has shown me how vast the world of writing truly is—an o of endless learning. It’s scary, but it’s also thrilling. As someone who aims for the top, I’ve realized there’s still so muaster. But I’m here to stay. ???

  While I used to release 3–4 chapters daily, I’ve slowed down to focus on building stronger foundations for myself (like they say in webnovels, right?). This may mean fewer releases for a while now, but it’s all to eter tent for you in the long run. My goal? To write and release even more sistently, with higher quality! ?

  Thank you again for your patience, support, and encement—it means the world to me. Here’s to the 100 chapters and beyond! ?

  Much love,Yrateful author, mimou??