Sora had spent the entire week slaughtering monsters of all levels, developing exceptional skills, and pushing his body to its breaking point to ensure his Body Level kept pace with his frantic progression.
And all of that came at a cost.
Sora stared at his inventory and sighed. Every sword he had was shattered. His armor was reduced to scrap metal. And his consumables were... consumed.
'And here I am, back to square one,' he thought, looking at the pitiful state of his gear.
He could have kept the broken equipment to try and sell it, but scrap was only valuable to blacksmiths. The merchants at the Auction House likely wouldn't touch it.
'Too bad. I would have preferred to keep them for a few more lives,' he thought.
Since the XP-bonus sets had finally given out, he equipped the gear he had retrieved from the bank: the [Titanium Armor Set], the [Aetherblade], the [Phoenix Feather Cloak], and the [Lunar Tear Pendant]. He was missing a few accessories, but it didn't bother him; he had the essentials.
Taking another look at his inventory, he smiled. It was full with equipment and loot acquired during the week. He had even discarded everything looted at Level 10 to make space, filling every slot with higher value items.
'Monster cores are in high demand for blacksmiths, rare flowers are needed for a ton of professions, skins will likely go to a tanner, and the blood should find a buyer too.'
He ran through the professions of the wealthiest players in his mind, his mouth watering at the prospect of making serious money simply by hunting.
'It's a blessing to be able to farm this many monsters this quickly. Maybe I'll have more time to focus on getting stronger if I don't have to grind professions for cash.'
After a brief moment, he closed his inventory and shook his head.
'Thanks to [Prestige], I experimented, managed to recreate a skill from the past, and was rewarded for it... The System handed me a Supreme Skill for trying something completely suicidal and succeeding.'
Sora felt like he was on the verge of understanding something crucial.
'I have to keep experimenting. With mana, my body, classes, and even professions. If there's another extraordinary feat required to obtain another Supreme Skill, I have to find it...'
Although he had found a new way to make money, Sora decided not to cancel his plans to rediscover his old professions or learn new ones.
'Whether it's professions, classes, or something else, I want to understand how they work.'
Ever since gaining access to [Mana Eyes], the active effect of [Mana Evolution], Sora hadn't stopped using the skill to try and decipher the world around him.
He had spent hours observing monsters and how they manipulated mana, the flow of mana in the atmosphere, the currents within the trees... and he constantly found himself with more questions than answers.
'Am I stupid?' He wondered.
Sora wasn't optimistic about his chances of solving the world's mysteries, but he felt like he held one of the keys to eventually doing so. He didn't want to waste his new power.
He shook his head and unequipped the heavy training gear he wore over his armor. Feeling weightless and liberated, he stretched his limbs and looked in the direction of his destination.
After a few hops in place, he launched into a sprint through the forest. His destination was Córdoba.
As he ran, he cleared his mind, narrowing his field of vision to exactly what was happening in front of him. The path ahead cut through several zones he would have avoided just a few days ago.
The distance to cover was 100 km, but for Sora, whose body was now superhuman, that was nothing. His body was surcharged with mana, his senses heightened as he entered the first zone.
It was an area populated by Level 30 to 39 monsters.
When a Level 35 beast appeared on his path, trying to block his way, Sora side-stepped at the very last second, spun around, and continued in the same direction. The roll was so fluid that he never lost momentum, disappearing from the monster's field of view in a heartbeat.
He didn't look back. He just kept running.
Higher-level monsters tried to stop him from time to time, but Sora managed to evade them or lure them away using [Mana Mirage] as a movement technique.
When Sora reached the edge of the zone, he noticed that the border opened into two adjacent regions: one to the right with Level 20-29 mobs, and one to the left populated with Level 50-59 monsters.
'If I set even one foot in the Level 50 zone, I'm dead in a second... I don't feel like dying today, so I'll just follow the map.'
Sora looked up from his minimap and veered right. He crossed the next zones rapidly, and in less than half an hour, he found himself facing the gigantic walls of the city of Córdoba.
Wasting no time, he crossed the barrier protecting the outskirts and walked toward the city entrance. He greeted the guards, paid the entry tax, and passed through the gates. Having already planned his route, he headed straight for the [Auction House].
He ignored the bustle, the loud players, and the busy merchants, walking directly to an available auctioneer.
When he approached, a young woman greeted him.
"Good morning. How may I assist you today?" she asked.
The familiar words made Sora smile. "Good morning. I'm selling my items."
The young woman waved her hand over the counter, and everything placed upon it vanished.
Sora nodded and extended his hand, mentally commanding his inventory to empty. As if by magic, items began to pour out of his storage one by one.
The young woman's smile, initially professional and practiced, quickly transformed into genuine delight. Her eyes lit up.
"Magnificent!" she exclaimed, as the cascade of items continued to fall from the inventory and vanish into the counter.
Sora remained silent, simply watching the items rematerialize as projected icons above the counter.
However, when he saw the estimation, he didn't react.
[Estimated Value (Total): 284,060 gold]
The woman seemed to sense his lack of enthusiasm. "Amassing such a collection in so little time... is impressive! Do you specialize in commerce?"
Sora was taken aback by the question but nodded. "Something like that," he lied.
She had likely realized via identification that these were all fresh drops looted within the week.
'I hope she assumes I'm just a mule for a guild farming nearby, just here to offload their stock.'
'284,060 gold. It's not bad at all, but it's not quite what I expected. I killed thousands of monsters this week, and the loot just kept piling up. With the weapon drops, rare items, and skins, I'm actually surprised it's not more...'
Sora thought about the thousands of low-value trash items he had tossed to make space and shook his head. He decided to put it out of his mind and move on.
"I want to put everything up for auction." Since he wasn't in a rush for the cash, Sora was willing to wait.
The young woman smiled and nodded. Sora knew the 2% commission was shared between the employee and the Auction House, so he understood her excitement. After a few seconds, the icons on the counter disappeared, and the woman spoke again.
"You will receive the 141,030 gold advance for your items shortly. If you wish, I can add the proceeds from your previous sale to that transfer."
Sora nodded. "That works. How much did the bow sell for?"
"31,000 gold. After deducting your advance and our fees, you have 17,880 gold remaining for the bow," she said with a bright smile.
Sora received a notification.
[Payment Received: 158,910 gold]
Sora watched his total gold balance breach the 280,000 mark. He thanked the woman and headed for the exit.
The sum didn't leave him indifferent; quite the contrary, Sora was happy. He had certainly amassed similar amounts in less time during his previous life, but back then, he had relied on his professions or his much higher level to generate revenue.
'Level 10 monsters drop a maximum of 10 gold per kill, and Level 20s drop between 15 and 25 gold... I didn't realize killing monsters could be this lucrative at my level.'
Sora, having killed countless monsters, had stopped counting and hadn't realized just how efficient he had been in the moment. Quickly putting the money out of his mind, he walked out of the Auction House, deep in thought.
'Now I have several options, and I need to make a choice...'
Sora sat at the top of the Auction House steps and listed his possibilities.
'I could choose a class... The urge to combine [Mana Evolution] with a new class is becoming unbearable.'
Sora imagined choosing a strong class and bypassing its mana restrictions entirely.
'I could stick to the original plan and dig into jobs, see what I can exploit there.'
'I could wander around and look for opportunities, but I'm afraid that would be a waste of time.'
'I could go back inside and buy the gear I need for this life and the next... But with [Mana Evolution] upsetting my plans, I'm not sure that's wise. Especially since it might lock me out of other options.'
He thought about it for a few seconds before standing up and heading to an inn. He booked a room and ordered a meal. In the time it took for his food to arrive and for him to eat, he was able to think in peace.
After eating, Sora decided to head to the Job Hall, the hub where people went to either advance their professions or earn money through their labor.
'Let's see how this goes with Talent Level and Growth Level at 2, plus [Mana Evolution].'
Sora knew that the majority of professions utilized mana in one way or another, and he was eager to discover if his Supreme Skill could help him exploit the crafting system in an unexpected way.
When Sora entered, he immediately identified the two types of people in the Job Hall: the Innocents and the Players.
Innocents, just like players, had access to all professions up to Level 9. However, since access to mana was only possible for individuals Level 10 and above, Innocents couldn't use techniques that required its usage.
With a majority of Innocents populating the planet, there was a massive number of people fighting to generate profit by harvesting the same resources and crafting the same items, hoping they would sell at an acceptable price.
'Mom and Dad would have had a hard time making ends meet without Nathan and me. I wonder if they're managing today...'
Sora thought back to his parents, who had often refused the significant amounts of gold he had tried to offer them when he was wealthier, and sighed.
'I'll soon have the level to check on them myself.' He reassured himself as best he could and headed toward the experienced players' section. Spotting a crowd gathered around numerous contracts pinned to the wall, he identified the Blacksmiths' corner and approached it.
When he saw that half the contracts were requests for raw materials, he shook his head.
A voice piped up from behind him.
"If you haven't started the Blacksmith profession yet, it's not too late to pick another job, or start smashing rocks in the mountains."
Sora felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see a teenage boy grinning at him.
He wasn't offended, but he removed the boy's hand from his shoulder. "All blacksmiths need coal and iron ore to get started. But the quantities needed aren't that crazy, so why all these contracts?"
The boy responded with a burst of laughter before explaining. "Where did you come from? To be this naive, you must not be Spanish. There's way too much demand for raw materials in our kingdom, and since Spain is one of the poorest regions, all the miners auction off whatever they dig up. The rich folks from other countries buy everything we produce, and apprentices like you and me are screwed. So unless you feel like paying ten or twenty times the market price for ore, I suggest you go fetch your two tons of iron and ton-and-a-half of coal with your own two hands. For the rest of the materials, you can buy them at reasonable prices."
Sora was stunned by the kid's tone and was tempted to smack him, but he held back.
'The quantities he mentioned are exactly what's needed to hit Blacksmithing Level 10. Have prices really skyrocketed?'
Sora was surprised. He had received a nice investment from his brother to learn smithing, but that was back when materials were abundant and players were focused on leveling up.
'You were always a pioneer, Nathan. Thank you so much...' Sora thanked his brother internally before asking the young blacksmith a question.
"Is what you're saying specific to Blacksmiths, or does it apply to other jobs too? Fishing, for example, or Herbalism?" Sora hadn't focused on those professions for years and preferred to ask rather than rely on the potentially obsolete information in his memory.
The blacksmith motioned for Sora to follow him and pointed out similar situations in other parts of the Job Hall.
"You might not know this, but there are two ways to raise expertise in Herbalism. There are those who prefer gathering flowers, herbs, and plants. It takes forever, but it pays very well. And there are those who use what was gathered to make concoctions or potions to master their job. One doesn't prevent the other, actually. Many concoct with what they pick. On average, it takes an ordinary person one month to reach Level 10."
"Fishing isn't bad, but it requires you to be stronger than your catch and actually be near the ocean or the sea. As you know, we're nowhere near either. If you've got the right spot, the right bait and enough patience, it can be a gold mine."
Sora frowned.
'It took me months to hit Level 18 in Fishing back in France, and I hated every second of it. As for Herbalism, I don't have the gold or the time to grind it back up right now.'
Sora wasn't particularly tempted to spend his days picking flowers or sinking a fortune into experimenting with a profession he didn't even enjoy.
Disappointed, he was about to look for a completely new job when he remembered there was one last profession he hadn't checked. He doubled back and headed toward a deserted section of the hall.
[Human Resources Assistant]
The sign above the counter was clear, bringing a smile to Sora's face as he remembered his job before the world changed. He didn't approach the receptionist; instead, he scanned the available job postings.
'Twelve companies are looking for a Human Resources Assistant, and there are eight government positions available too. What exactly does this job entail here? It pays 100 gold per contract, apparently.' Sora dissected the ads, understanding some parts while finding others confusing. Not knowing if the pay was good or bad, or if the work was easy or hard, his curiosity was piqued.
'I've spent too many days slaughtering monsters. I want to do something different today.' Using the excuse of needing a break, he walked up to the counter.