Ignore this Chapter and move on to the next one.

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What happened in Sunset City wasn’t just a passing event...

It wasn’t just an auction... or a successful deal...

It was a turning point.

Something heavy enough...

to make me disappear.

Disappear from eyes... from questions... from anyone who might try to understand what really happened.

I had to vanish...

until the tournament begins.

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I gained many privileges and agreements...

And at the same time...

I made enemies.

That’s the natural price.

You can’t win without disturbing someone...

And you can’t rise without someone trying to pull you down.

Among the most important advantages I gained...

was the accumulation agreement with the city.

An agreement that seems simple on the surface...

but in reality...

it’s one of the most dangerous cards I now hold.

And also...

A tool that increases one of the three attributes:

Strength... Speed... or Stamina...

by 5%.

.

After all the battles I’ve fought...

in the training dimension... and during the invasion...

5% is not a small number.

It’s the difference between a hit that lands...

and one that misses.

The difference between standing...

and falling.

In real combat...

small percentages create massive gaps.

But...

as usual...

good things never last for me.

.

I obtained two tools of the same type and level...

(Sky Enhancer – Level 3)

At first...

I thought I was lucky.

But it didn’t take long to realize...

luck doesn’t work that simply.

I wanted to assign both to strength.

That was the most logical choice...

or at least...

the most tempting.

More power means faster outcomes...

shorter fights...

higher chances of survival.

But...

it didn’t work.

It wasn’t allowed.

It was as if the system itself...

refused to let me become unbalanced.

I used the first tool to enhance strength.

As for the second...

I assigned it to stamina.

.

I exhaled slowly.

I think my speed...

is sufficient for now.

Not perfect...

but not a fatal weakness either.

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As for the enemies I made...

while gaining all this...

You could say...

"Everyone..." I whispered with a laugh.

A short laugh...

but not a comfortable one.

The reason...

was that question.

That one question...

that made me look like an absolute victor.

I didn’t mean it.

I wasn’t trying to provoke anyone...

But the result...

still happened.

And in this world...

intentions don’t matter.

Results are everything.

.

Now...

back to the present.

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Today...

a new batch of ancient weapons is supposed to arrive.

The fourth batch.

Which means...

it’s time for the third-rank healing flower agreement.

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I sat on the edge of the bed...

my thoughts moving calmly...

but deeply.

I considered many formats for the deal...

Asking for more accumulation...

was the obvious choice.

But...

what I have now is already enough.

More than enough.

Greed here...

could break the balance I built.

.

Better...

to try my luck elsewhere.

Things I actually need.

But...

what do I need now?

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The auction tournament is about to begin.

And I can’t say I’m ready...

Nor can I say I’m not.

That feeling...

is the worst.

Being in between.

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Facing a fourth-rank master like myself...

won’t be easy.

So what about...

an entire tournament?

Where everyone there...

is not just strong...

but prepared...

and insane enough to risk everything.

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Anything short of reaching the top four...

is failure.

A complete failure.

.

My strength will be exposed...

My cards will burn...

And in the end...

I’ll gain nothing.

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So...

I need to prepare.

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I closed my eyes briefly...

then began organizing my thoughts.

So...

Do I need more power?

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I thought for a moment...

then shook my head.

My strength is sufficient.

Not perfect...

but within acceptable limits.

But...

what about defense?

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What if my opponent uses poison?

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I opened my eyes calmly.

No.

That won’t matter.

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I have...

the white flower.

The thing...

that saved my life before.

Without it...

I would already be dead...

inside the mushroom forest.

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But...

what about cutting attacks?

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I went silent.

That...

is a problem.

Clean...

sharp...

direct strikes...

They don’t rely on poison...

and can’t be easily ignored.

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Yes...

That’s what I need to fix.

Regeneration.

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The ability to restore my body...

or at least...

reduce the impact of fatal injuries.

But...

does something like that even exist?

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I frowned slightly.

In this world...

everything has a price.

And every powerful ability...

is either rare...

or nearly impossible to obtain.

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The other thing...

I need...

is mobility.

No—

something better.

A movement ability.

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The ability to change position...

escape...

attack...

or reposition—

instantly.

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In combat...

position is as important as power.

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Then...

another problem surfaced.

An annoying one.

What about running out of accumulation?

.

I clenched my teeth slightly.

That...

is a real danger.

Everything I rely on right now...

depends on accumulation.

And if it runs out...

I fall.

Simple as that.

.

But...

I shook my head.

Not important right now.

.

Thinking about everything...

won’t help.

Right now...

I need to keep crafting weapons.

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Having access to accumulation...

is a massive advantage.

And it would be foolish...

not to exploit it fully.

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Quickly...

I got up.

Moved toward the furnace.

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The fire ignited...

The heat rose...

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I began forging more ancient weapons...

and also...

advanced weapons.

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Time passed...

slowly...

heavily.

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Every strike...

every formation...

every adjustment...

drained my focus—

but also...

built my future.

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After two weeks...

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I stood there...

looking at everything I now possessed.

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More than 4 million accumulation points...

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20 ancient weapons...

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6 advanced weapons...

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30 first-rank yellow healing flowers...

30 second-rank green healing flowers...

40 third-rank red healing flowers...

5 fourth-rank blue healing flowers...

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And one white flower...

and one black flower.

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I exhaled slowly.

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So far...

everything is going well.

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No collapse...

No critical mistakes...

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But...

this calm...

is deceptive.

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What I need now...

is only one thing.

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Focus on my goal.

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And the path to it...

goes through...

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Reaching the fifth rank.

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And here...

lies the real problem.

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A problem with two sides.

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The first—

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I don’t know the requirements to ascend.

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And that alone...

makes every step a risk.

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But the deeper problem...

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My heart still beats violently...

every time I remember...

what happened before.

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That white dragon...

representing the white flower...

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And that volcanic mountain...

representing the Flame Art weapon...

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Both of them...

are still a major threat to me.

.

Even if their existence...

is in a dimension where I can’t die...

.

their impact...

is real.

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They affect the density...

and weight of my rank aura.

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Last time...

luck was on my side.

.

The battle between the dragon...

and the mountain...

lasted longer.

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And that...

granted me a massive amount...

of fourth-rank aura...

and weight.

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But this time...

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It won’t be the same.

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The white flower...

is of a higher rank...

than the Flame Art weapon.

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During the last ascension...

its power was sealed.

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Even so...

it dominated...

and eventually crushed the mountain.

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If I try to ascend...

to the fifth rank...

.

then it’s obvious.

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The flower...

will be stronger.

.

Much stronger.

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And the Flame Art...

won’t stand a chance.

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At all.

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"Ugh..."

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I placed my hand on my head...

running it through my hair.

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Overthinking...

is ruining my hair...

Heh...

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I laughed—

but briefly.

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Because the truth...

is clear.

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I...

am not ready yet.

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But...

I don’t have the option to delay.

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Either I ascend...

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or...

I get crushed.

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The other part of the ascension problem...

is the three attribute points.

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My points must reach 100 in each:

Strength. Speed. Stamina.

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And these points...

are the hardest to obtain.

They can’t simply be bought...

or created.

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I have to fight for them.

And judging by their amount and difficulty...

I’ll need to fight...

a lot.

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Will the auction tournament help?

I don’t know.

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I need a solution.

Maybe...

the secret space.

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I could fill it with creatures...

and fight them repeatedly.

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Would that work?

...Maybe.

---

...

Would that work?

...Maybe.

.

But "maybe"...

is not enough.

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Not at this level.

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I lowered my head slightly...

thinking deeper.

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Every decision from now on...

has to be calculated.

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Not guessed.

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Because the gap between success and failure...

is shrinking.

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Too much.

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I raised my hand slowly...

looking at my fingers.

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No tremble.

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That’s good.

.

At least...

my body is stable.

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But stability alone...

won’t carry me forward.

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I need pressure.

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Real pressure.

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The kind that forces growth.

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The kind that either breaks you...

or reforges you.

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The secret space...

might be that place.

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But to use it properly...

I need structure.

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A system.

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Not random fights.

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Not chaos.

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I need layers.

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Weak creatures first...

to warm up.

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Then stronger ones...

to push my limits.

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Then something close to my level...

to test survival.

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And if I survive that...

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Then maybe...

just maybe...

I’ll be ready to face the tournament.

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I exhaled slowly.

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This isn’t training anymore.

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This is preparation for war.

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A silent war...

that hasn’t started yet.

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But will.

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Soon.

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Very soon.

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I stood still for a moment...

then walked deeper into the cave.

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The ground beneath my feet...

was uneven.

Rough.

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Familiar.

.

Every step here...

I’ve taken before.

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Every corner...

every shadow...

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I know them all.

.

And yet...

today...

everything feels slightly different.

.

Heavier.

.

As if the cave itself...

understands what’s coming.

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I stopped near the wall...

placing my hand against the cold surface.

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Stone.

.

Solid.

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Unmoving.

.

Unlike me.

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I’m changing.

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Constantly.

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And that’s dangerous.

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Because change without direction...

leads nowhere.

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I closed my eyes again.

.

And this time...

I didn’t think about power.

.

Or enemies.

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Or the tournament.

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I thought about something simpler.

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Control.

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Because no matter how much strength I gain...

if I can’t control it perfectly...

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Then it becomes a liability.

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Not an advantage.

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I remembered the last fight.

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The chaos.

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The moments where everything moved too fast.

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Where instinct took over.

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Where I acted...

without thinking.

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I survived.

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Yes.

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But survival...

isn’t mastery.

.

And I need mastery.

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Especially now.

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My breathing slowed.

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In...

out...

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In...

out...

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Gradually...

my thoughts aligned.

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Clear.

.

Sharp.

.

Focused.

.

Good.

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I opened my eyes.

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No hesitation left.

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No scattered thoughts.

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Only direction.

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I turned back toward the center of the cave.

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Toward everything I’ve built.

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All the weapons.

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All the resources.

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All the preparation.

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This...

is my foundation.

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And now...

I need to build on top of it.

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Step by step.

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No rush.

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But no delay either.

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Balance.

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That’s what I need.

.

Too slow...

and I fall behind.

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Too fast...

and I collapse.

.

I walked toward the furnace again.

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The heat still lingered.

.

Faint...

but present.

.

I placed my hand near it.

.

Warm.

.

Not burning.

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Controlled.

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Just like it should be.

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Just like me.

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I began preparing materials again.

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Not because I needed more weapons urgently...

.

But because repetition...

builds precision.

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Every movement...

every strike...

.

refines control.

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And control...

is what will decide everything.

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Time passed.

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Minutes...

or maybe hours.

.

It didn’t matter.

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Not anymore.

.

Because I wasn’t counting time.

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I was building something else.

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Consistency.

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And that...

is far more valuable.

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Eventually...

I stopped.

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Not because I was tired.

.

But because I felt it.

.

That subtle shift.

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That slight improvement.

.

Small...

but real.

.

I nodded to myself.

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Good.

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Then turned away.

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No need to overdo it.

.

Excess...

leads to mistakes.

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And I can’t afford mistakes.

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Not now.

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I walked back slowly.

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Sat down again.

.

And this time...

I didn’t think.

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I simply observed.

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My surroundings.

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My breathing.

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My state.

.

Everything.

.

Calm.

.

Stable.

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Ready.

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But not complete.

.

Not yet.

.

There’s still a gap.

.

A clear one.

.

And until I fill it...

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I won’t move forward.

.

Not to the fifth rank.

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Not to the tournament.

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Not to anything.

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Because moving forward unprepared...

.

is just another form of suicide.

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And I’ve come too far...