Looking at su, Sora's eyes were full of pride. The phoenix was growing fast, and his stats were being more impressive with each day. Sora spent the following days trainisu, who instinctively learned skills that seemed aligned with his natural path as his level increased and growth reached certain milestones.

  As Sora helped boost su’s intelligehe phoenix became more creative and eager to learn things, so Sora taught him extehrough the [Train] skill. At levels 50 and 100, Suided su through two evolutions, pleased with the results each time.

  Both Sora and Hiyoko grew fond of their new panioe his rapidly increasing power, the phoenix remained warm ale. A quiet pride shone in his eyes, yet he showed nance when with his friend and master. su fondly remembered pying with the tiny bird beside him when he was just as small and she was far strohan him. Now, even though his strength had surpassed hers, he still cared about her.

  Through tless training sessions, despite uanding the extent of his talent, he became aware that without his master’s guidance, he wouldn’t have e this far.

  su took flight, releasing a powerful roar that echoed in the space. He wao test his strength but knew he couldn’t unleash his power in this strange space.

  Sora chuckled, watg su py with the fire element. The six days of training were nearly over, and he felt satisfied with the phoenix’s progress.

  Gng at Hiyoko, Sora noticed her watg su with a hint of envy. She’d always been tent with her abilities, but now, seeing the majestic phoenix, she wished she could grow a bit taller and strooo. As the elder, she didn’t want to be overshadowed. The idea of su looking down on her someday made her sulk, a twinge of insecurity surfag.

  I should train Hiyoko too… maybe even help her evolve. Holy, looking that tiny when she’s such a high level is a bit embarrassing, Sora mused, sensing her emotions through their bond. He resolved to help her grow stronger.

  Over the past week, Sora had refihe effects of the [Nurturing] skill, disc its potential and room for improvement. Realizing it could aid Hiyoko as well, he was eager to perfect the skill.

  [The third floor test is now over]

  [Evaluation :

  Growth : 14400/14400. Perfect grade.Education : 50/50. Perfect grade. Affe : 100% Perfect grade.Evolution : 2 fwless evolutions. Perfect grade.Trainis : Not tested on this floor.Fiing : 100/100]

  [Your reward is : su (Male Phoenix)]'That's an iing floor reward,' Sora thought, relieved. He’d grown attached to su, and the idea of losing him had worried him more than he’d realized. 'Let's see how high I rahis time.'

  [Floor 1: Rank 1/4320][Floor 2: Rank 122/3456][Floor 3: Rank 6/2592]'Damn it, how did they get more than a perfect rating... This is ridiculous,' Sora frowned, feeling a bit of frustration.

  After maxing out su's intelligence, Sora had attempted to push it further, but he quickly realized it had reached an unbreakable limit. The same went for su's affe and growth—the tower simply wouldn’t let him advance his phoenix any more, despite his nurturing skill effects improving steadily.

  'It’s fine, I’m not in a rush. This isn’t a sprint; I’ll catch up to everyoually.' he thought, feeling a renewed focus.

  With all pyers on the 3rd floor having pleted their trials, Sora hat 592 had been eliminated. Recalling his familiars to the beast space, he stepped forward, opehe door to the 4th floor, aered without hesitation.

  [Wele to the 4th floor of the Tower.][Trial: [Battle of Familiars] – Join a team and perform to the best of your abilities in team battles between familiars!]

  [Top 400 pyers from the 3rd-floor test are categorized as Tier 1 pyers, with each successive 400 pyers grouped into Tiers 2, 3, 4, and finally Tier 5][Teams will be assigned randomly, with one pyer from each tier on each team.]Sora frow the setup. 'Don’t tell me my fate is going to depend on teammates?'

  Since his first reset, he’d avoided team py as much as possible, only beginning to work with others after meeting Kara. Even joining the war and the guild had been calcuted steps to boost his power or steps toward his revenge.

  Emily’s advice had been invaluable, and a pang of guilt surfaced at the thought of leaving the guild and its genuinely good people behind. But Sora reminded himself of his resolve—he was willing to do whatever it took to make Rachel regret ever crossing him.

  'I'll try to make it up to Emily and Kim...' He thought, trying to reduce his feeling of guilt.

  [You have been assigo team 23]'Well, at least it's a good number,' Sora thought, managing a small smile at the number, as it was Kara's birthday.

  In the moment, his surroundings ged as he felt himself dissolve and reappear in a massive waiting room.

  Fures materialized around him, and their sudden appearance was so ued that he reflexively drew his soul on and sshed at one of the pyers.

  A sharp, searing pain tore through his chest immediately, f him to clutch his heart as he felt his [Soul Pace] trembling.

  [Fighting is forbiddeween teammates. First and final warning.]Sora froze, stunned by the notification. The lingering pain in his chest left him breathless, his mind rag to prehend what had just happened. 'The system enforce its rules so directly?' The realizatio a chill down his spine. 'I’m at the mercy of this system... I hate this feeling,' he thought, anger building up within him at the thought of being forced into submission by such power.

  As his [Soul Pace] slowly mehe pain began to subside, as the Soul Power around his heart was on the move. Taking a deep breath, he straightened and turned his attention to his newly assigeammates'.

  They appeared rexed, each watg him with a distinct expression—some with pity, others with uanding, oh s, and the st with a hint of friendliness.

  The oh the look of uanding was a small, muscur figure with thick hair and a beard. ‘Is he a Dwarf? Or just a small human?’ Sora wondered. ‘But I’m sure no one like him was among the 400 pyers in Nara…’

  The Dwarves were one of the nine forces that had attacked the Human World. Sora khey now lived on one of the neeared tis following the World Update. The Dwarf Kingdom’s ti was located in what used to be the Pacific O, near South America.

  The teammate with the pitying expression was a strange creature. Standing at two and a half meters tall, it was muscur and covered in scales. With a wide jaw, sharp teeth, slit yellow pupils, and cws instead of hands a, it radiated an intimidating aura.

  Smoke escaped its mouth with each breath, adding to its uling appearance. However, its stare showed no hostility; instead, it held a strange, almost sympathetic look.

  'A Dragonborn…' Sora thought, surprised. ‘They were the stro enemies in the brief six months before the World Update. From what I’ve seen on updated maps, they live near South Africa… Why is she staring at me that way? Wait… why am I assuming it’s female? Is it because of the eyes?’

  Sora’s gaze moved to his third teammate, who was gring at him with a look full of disdain, as though Sora were insignifit.

  The figure was tall, with dark, rough skin and long, twisted horns. Red eyes burned with s, while sharp teeth curved into a grin. His muscur body was atuated by cws on his hands, and a tail swayed zily behind him.

  'A demon... They were the worst invaders in the distant past, the most brutal of all the invading forces,' Sora thought, recalling the horrifying is he had heard of before shaking his head. 'It's not time to remember those things.'

  Turning to his st teammate, Sora let out a sigh. It was someone familiar—the reason he’d instinctively drawn his on. Uhe others, this person looked at him with a smile that seemed almost friendly, even appearing amused.

  The familiar figure was the first to speak. "A gaze full of passion and fighting spirit... You should give up on those thoughts. Your level! You've reached this level in just a month... And you're a Tier 1 pyer in this trial. Truly monstrous."

  Sora felt a flict rise within him at the mention of his gaze but decided to ge topid asked instead. "How do you know my rank? I ’t see your tiers… Actually, fet that—how are you even here?"

  "In the party panel—you’re listed as team captain, so I guessed and you just firmed it," the figure replied, a teasing smile on his face. Sora nearly facepalmed, realizing he’d just fallen iher party's trick.

  "You’ve probably discovered a few secrets by now—assuming you have an innate skill, of course," the figure tinued, his expression shifting to something more ral. "All fas are io these events, in case you didn't know. Ihe Assion Tower, there’s no such thing as fa wars—at least in theory. It’s only about didates and their potential growth. "

  Sora locked eyes with the person in front of him.

  mimou

  The Patreon prices have been heavily reduced !!

  Join the discord server :https://disc/beVP9UaG5r

  Please sider leaving a ent / review / follow on the book if you like the novel! I'd appreciate the support

  ? 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?? From now on, Patreon will offer a free additional chapter daily! So, if you ever feel impatient for the update, Patreon has you covered! ??