The moment Sora activated his new supreme skill, Mana Evolution, everything shifted. Mana became more visible to him—its flow, its currents—appearing like swirling streams of energy moving through the air. With Mana Eyes, he could see it in ways he hought possible, zooming in on its fiails or pulling back to see the rger patterns. It was as though the world had beore alive, brimming with energy waiting to be trolled.

  But what truly astonished him was Loved by Mana. The mana in the air no longer fought against him; instead, it seemed to embrace him, cooperating at the slightest thought. It felt alive, attuo his will. And every time he called upon it, the effeana Growth became clear—his trol grew more precise, the energy being purer and stronger with each use.

  He smiled, gripping the hilt of his sword.

  "I o test this."

  He focused, eling his mana into the bde. A faihereal glow surrou. Fake Sword Strike—his new skill—was ready. Though weaker than the inal Sword Strike, Sora could feel its potential growing with his mana.

  A rustling sound caught his attention, and from the dense underbrush, a massive [Level 11 Wood Bear] emerged. It snarled, its eyes glowing with primal fury as it stomped forward.

  Sora wasted no time.

  He lunged, infusing mana into his sword and unleashing Fake Sword Strike. The bde sliced through the air, cutting deep into the bear's thick hide. The bear roared in pain but barely had time to react before colpsing.

  [XP Gained! You're now Level 10 (10%)]

  Sora smirked. "Not bad," he muttered, feeling his power already starting te.

  Further ahead, he entered a hulking [Level 12 Stonecw Bear], its enormous body covered in jagged, rock-like scales. It charged him, but Sora was ready. The bear's speed was no match for his newly refined senses.

  He dashed forward, his sword once again glowing with mana. With one swift motion, he brought down the Fake Sword Strike, the energy-enhanced bde slig through the bear's defenses like they were paper. The beast fell with a heavy thud.

  [XP Gained! You're now Level 10 (30%)]

  As the hours passed, Sora's pace quied. He moved with precision, dispatg creatures with ease. A group of [Level 13 Ironpaw Bears] appeared in his path. They roared in unison, surrounding him with sharp cws and brute force.

  But Sora didn't falter. His trol over mana had grown, each strike more effit tha. He focused, allowing the Fake Sword Strike to evolve with every swing. His mana flowed perfectly into the sword as he took down each bear one by one.

  [XP Gained! You're now Level 11 (20%)]

  More time passed, and the challenges kept ing. He stumbled upon a [Level 14 Frosthide Bear], its fur gleaming like ider the fading sunlight. This one was faster and strohan anything he had faced today. It lu him, its icy breath freezing the air around it.

  Sora smirked, eager to test his limits.

  He rushed forward, g with the beast in a flurry of strikes. Fake Sword Strike ected again and again, the mana in his swrowing more respoh each attack. The bear fought back viciously, but Sora's instincts—and his newfound power—kept him oep ahead. His movements became a dance of sword and mana, his bde cutting through the Frosthide Bear's icy defenses.

  Finally, with o, powerful strike, the Frosthide Bear colpsed, defeated.

  [XP Gained! You're now Level 12 (50%)]

  By the time Sora had reached [Level 15], night had fallen, but he felt unstoppable. The supreme skill Mana Evolution had transformed him—his power was growing faster than he had imagined. His mana flowed like a sed skin, alresent, always improving.

  [XP Gained! You're now Level 15 (0%)]

  Sheathing his sword, Sora smiled to himself. This was only the beginning. With every battle, his strength—and his trol over mana—would tio evolve.

  As Sora settled down to rest after an exhausting day of leveling, he decided to open his skill panel and che his progress. The familiar, glowing interface appeared before his eyes, and he quickly navigated to the skills se. The first thiiced was that Mana Evolution hadn't ged much. It still pulsed with potential, but it would take time for any noticeable improvements to show. Mana, after all, was a slow and steady process of refi.

  What caught his attention, though, was the update to his Fake Sword Strike [Evolvable] skill.

  [Fake Sword Strike (Evolvable)]Type: OffensiveCss Requirement: NoneDescription: A cssless imitation of the standard Sword Strike ability. The Fake Sword Strike is a powerful blow given to the enemy with the sword imbued with Mana instead of Sword Energy.pared to its css-based terpart, this skill is 5% weaker.Evolution: As the user's mana improves, the skill improve, or evolve.]

  The penalty had reduced from 20% to 5%, something he could already feel during the st few fights. His strikes had beore potent, and now the system firmed what he had suspected: his Fake Sword Strike was almost as strong as the inal skill from the Swordsman css. That meant he was closing the gap between a cssed fighter and his cssless, evolving approach.

  Sora couldn't help but grin. "Just a little more," he whispered to himself. The possibilities were endless. If this skill could evolve so quickly, what about others? He already had ideas about imitating more css skills iure, and maybe even surpassing them.

  He scrolled down further and noticed ges in some of his other skills. His Sword Mastery had jumped to level 5, a clear refle of how much sword bat he'd been engaging in. Even though he hadn't been actively thinking about leveling up those basic skills, they tio improve naturally.

  His Dodge skill had risen to level 7, and Critical Strike was now also at level 7. The higher levels in both of those skills had given him a slight edge in bat; dodging was quicker, and his attacks were more likely to nd critical damage. Though these were passive improvements, they still added up and tributed a noticeable boost to his bat effectiveness.

  Yet, Sora found himself g less about these traditional skills. His focus had shifted. These were minor bes, helpful but not essential. His real goal now was Mana Evolution and his evolving abilities, pushing the boundaries of what could be achieved without a css.

  "From now on," Sora thought as he stretched his muscles and leaned back, "it's all about refining mana and unlog the full potential of my evolution path. That, and figuring out how far my Prestige skill take me."

  He let out a slow breath, feeling the weight of his rapid growth and the excitement of what y ahead. Tomorrow, the path would tinue. For now, it was time to rest a his body recover for the battles yet to e.

  ---

  Sora woke up around 4 a.m., feeling fully rested. The night air was cool, and the quiet of the early m settled around him. He stretched, rolling his shoulders as he rose to his feet. His body felt fresh, but his mind was rag. He thought back to the pns he'd made just a few days ago—pns of spending months stag prestige resets, building slress.

  A chuckle escaped his lips. "What was I thinking?" he muttered, shaking his head. "Would I really have just chilled for four months if I knew about this?"

  There was no way he could go back to that mihe potential he had discovered in evolving without a css, in pushing his limits with mana, was far beyond anything he had imagihe idea of hitting level 50 ihan a month had once seemed impossible, but now… well, it didn't matter. Even if he didn't hit 50, he'd still be making progress in the one area that couldn't be reset—mana evolution.

  Supreme skills are ued by anything, he thought to himself, feeling a surge of satisfa. His mana trol, gaihrough hard work, experimentation, and failure, would stay with him no matter what. There was a real sense of permahere, and that drove him forward. He would train with mana, evolve his abilities, and push his knowledge of it as far as he could. The potential was limitless.

  But first, he had work to do.

  Sripped his sword, eyeing the dense forest ahead. He had to keep upgrading his Fake Sword Strike. The word fake grated on him every time he thought about it.

  "Fake," he muttered in annoyance. "Why does it have to be called that? It's not fake… it's real. It's my own skill."

  He gritted his teeth. He would push the skill to its limits, evolve it into somethier—something worthy of repg the inal. He started forward, hunting for more beasts. Every strike, every blow, would be aep toward that goal.

  He found a lone Nightcw Bear, its dark fur blending into the shadows of the forest. Without hesitation, he lu it, his bde glowing faintly with mana. The strike felt strohan before, but the name of the skill still irritated him.

  He sshed through the bear, his thoughts rag. "What makes this fake? Just because I don't have a css? I'll make it real… strohan any sword strike with a css behind it."

  As the beast colpsed, Sora stood over it, breathing hard. His irritation fred as he g his sword, knowing it still carried the bel Fake Sword Strike.

  "I'm going to drop the fake," he growled, his eyes narrowing. "Just wait. This thing's going to evolve into something way better."

  With that, he pressed on, hunting more monsters, testing his mana, and grinding his skills. Each fight was aep forward. Aep toroving that he didn't need a css. Not when he had the potential to evolve beyond anyone's expectations.