Prestige Grinding : I Can Reset My Level

Having trained his mind to what he considered a decent level, he hesitated between body forging and energy refinement.

'I feel like pushing my mastery over mana, and energy in general, can lead to the improvement of the other aspects of my power, so choosing that shouldn't be a mistake,' he thought.

Choosing the third option, Sora eagerly awaited the trial's content. Appearing in a space reminiscent of the one where he had nurtured Netsu, he quickly read the notifications.

Opening the [Ascension Shop], Sora was greeted by an extensive list of categories, similar to the [War Shop].

Noticing that several sections were greyed out, he ignored them and navigated to the [Skills] category.

The sheer number of sub-categories made him pause. Choosing a random one, he found yet another list of options. 'This is even more overwhelming than picking a familiar from millions of species,' he thought.

Spotting a search tab in the [Ascension Shop], Sora selected it and began searching for something specific.

'I need to find a way to perfect my lava form. [Lava in my Veins] is still incomplete.' he thought.

Seeing the numerous results, a smile spread across his face. Selecting the [Compress] skill, he noticed its striking similarity to [Condense], and was about to purchase it.

Remembering to check the price, he saw it was only 1000 Ascension Points and chuckled. 'This might as well be considered free... This Ascension Shop is too cheap!'

Confirming the purchase, a [Skill Book] materialized before him. Tossing it into his inventory, he checked the other skills and noted that most from rare classes were priced at 1000 points.

Skills from epic classes cost 10,000 points, while unique ones were priced at 100,000 points. Sweating at the steep increase in cost, he realized that skills tied to legendary classes were priced as high as 1,000,000 points.

'Wait, wait, wait. This is too expensive!! Who can afford these?' Despite his complaints, Sora knew how valuable such skills could be and didn't hesitate to buy one. 'Why did I jinx it?!' He regretted thinking these items were cheap...

Searching for terms like 'Solid Mana,' 'Mana Solidification,' and 'Mana Control,' he ensured he explored every area of interest. By the time he finished, he noticed he had already spent 19 million Ascension Points.

'I have everything I need to push my mastery of skills to the limit. But I was interested in another path, and I wonder how much it would cost to research it...'

Opening the [Element] sub-category, Sora selected the [Time-Related Skills] category and froze.

The list of skills was entirely grayed out.

'I can't buy anything?' He thought, disappointed.

A glowing arrow appeared, guiding him back to the previous category. It pointed toward an option that blinked, as if beckoning him to select it.

'This is amazing.' His mouth changed into a broad smile as hope ignited within him. Finally, a path to increase his affinity with the [Time] element seemed possible.

Scrolling through the dozens of elements listed under the option, Sora couldn't help but pause. 'What are all of these?' he thought.

Surprised at the long list and noticing even more grayed-out options, he thought, 'There are so many options... There is so much more than just elements.'

Selecting the [Time] option, he was immediately taken aback.

Seeing the ridiculous price for such a low-tier affinity, he hesitated. 'This is too expensive...'

Curious, he checked another element, selecting the [Space] option.

'What the hell? What am I supposed to do to reach a billion points? Are players supposed to select the maximum difficulty from the first to the last floor? Even then, I doubt anyone can ever reach a billion points...' He sighed, frustrated by the sight of such unattainable options in the shop.

Shifting to the items section, he browsed through high-level training gear. Tempted for a moment, he shook his head. 'With time on my side, there's no need to spend points on these,' he thought, deciding to save points.

Resolving to save enough points to buy the F-tier [Time] affinity after leaving the 20th floor, and a few other abilities, he closed the shop.

Sitting down to learn [Compress], Sora quickly realized what the trial meant by progress being five times faster. His understanding and proficiency soared, allowing him to upgrade the skill in just a few hours.

Creating his own version of the skill, Sora 'perfected' it quickly. Despite the rapid progress after that step, he felt far from satisfied.

'It would be a waste of time to spend six months inside the tower just training these skills. I'll work on them with Kara later,' he decided, unwilling to linger when the fivefold increase in efficiency was far less than what he was used to.

Without hesitation, he selected the [End Trial] option and confirmed his choice when asked to reconsider.

'Here we go again...' he thought, unfazed by the notifications. Selecting the [Body Forging] option, he once again appeared in an empty training area.

Opening the shop, Sora began browsing for skills that aligned with his vision of what he wanted to become, focused as he considered his future path.

'I want a way to create more clones, make each of them even more powerful, and possibly withstand more energy. I also need a way for my body to resist the effects of my lava form. I've crafted a strong body for myself, but it's lacking flexibility,' Sora thought, carefully considering the prompts he could use with the search option as he planned his future path.

Unable to find a better version of [Battle Instincts], he purchased the basic version of the skill. This skill promised to enhance his results when learning other fighting techniques and to guide him instinctively in combat. Since it was cheap, he wasn't afraid to experiment with it.

He also purchased [Celestial Circulation] to improve the quality of his mana and blood pathways, hoping it would reduce the strain on his body when circulating [Crystallized Mana].

He invested in the [Endless Furnace] with a similar thought in mind, as it was supposed to help his body withstand more pressure.

[Blood Burning], however, had an effect similar to [Lava in My Veins], making his blood boil and temporarily pushing his body beyond its physical limits. 'I might get inspiration from this skill to perfect my mana-based version,' he thought, optimistic about this skill.

[Life Core], [Blood Core], and [Clone Fusion] were skills he had chosen to enhance his clones. He could even use [Life Cores] to replenish his own life force or aid Kara in restoring hers when needed.

Having purchased even more skills he didn't bother reviewing again, Sora glanced at his remaining points and sighed.

'70 million. This should be enough, right?' he wondered.

'Now that I've built such a foundation, maybe it's time to train my combat skills... Unlike me, everyone in the tower seemed to be a master of some martial art or weapon.'

Deciding to move forward, Sora entered the 19th floor, and was greeted by familiar notifications.

Sorting through another mountain of skills, Sora carefully selected a few that he believed would benefit him in the long run.

Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

Afraid of the endless possibilities and overwhelmed by the content of some skills, Sora closed the [Ascension Shop].

His thoughts were already operating at a speed that was difficult to measure, but he hoped to push them even further with [Thought Acceleration]. [Insight] would enhance his understanding of events around him, offering glimpses into possible outcomes and the consequences tied to each decision.

[Fake Mind] allowed him to create an additional mental fortress, a construct designed to mislead attackers and shield his true mind. 'This might prove useful if I ever fall unconscious and can not defend myself...' He thought.

[Dream Manipulation] was a skill he could use to influence dreams. 'I'm tired of that dream, so maybe this can help me manipulate my own dreams?' he thought grimly.

[Powerful Suggestion] and [Memory Sculpt] lived up to their names. The former enabled him to plant ideas in others' minds, making them take root if their mental defenses were weak. The latter allowed him to see, remove, alter, or insert memories into anyone's mind.

'Some skills are too dark. Even the ones I've bought could lead to terrible outcomes if misused. But I'll need them to keep my secrets safe.' He thought, trying to justify his choices. 'I'm not turning evil, I'm not turning evil...'

Taking a steady breath, Sora walked toward the final door. His hand hovered for a moment before gripping the handle. He pushed it open, stepping forward.