Staring at the rose, Sora thought, 'Can I take this out? It feels like there’s an infinite amount of Soul Power inside this flower.'

  As he stepped closer to the stone pillars and attempted to enter the octagonal formation, a barrier materialized in front of him.

  Used to the system’s warnings, he decided not to challenge it this time. Instead, Sora remained at the edge, narrowing his eyes at the rose at the center. The system’s restriction only deepened his curiosity. He had learned the hard way that defying the system rarely ended well, so this time, he would observe and analyze.

  'This rose... I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s radiating so much Soul Power. Could it be sentient?'

  He extended his mental power, careful not to touch the barrier, and focused on the surrounding stone pillars. Strange symbols etched across their surfaces pulsed, forming a slow rhythm. Using [Mana Eyes], he observed the flow of energy between them—threads of Soul Power wove a web, all converging at the rose.

  'These aren’t just decorations. This is a formation—or maybe an array?'

  The more he studied, the clearer it became. The pillars weren’t just supporting the rose—they were interacting with it. They acted as conduits, cycling an overwhelming amount of Soul Power into the flower. Strangely, the rose absorbed it, released an even stronger surge, then reabsorbed the energy once more. The process leaked excess power beyond the pillars, filling the entire garden with Soul Power.

  'Are the pillars amplifying the rose’s ability to generate Soul Power? Or stabilizing the process?' He hesitated before adding another thought. 'And with the barrier protecting it, the formation is clearly defensive as well...'

  Hours passed as he studied the energy flow of the formation. With each passing moment, his understanding of what he called "formations" deepened.

  'The flower is the core. Without it, the entire system collapses.'

  Hundreds of runes lined the pillars—most of them unreadable, yet through mana sensitivity, he guessed their purpose. He couldn’t yet decode them, but he could feel their intent, the way they redirected and reshaped energy.

  'If I could fully understand these symbols, I might be able to recreate something similar… but for now, my knowledge is far too limited.'

  Summoning a notebook from his inventory, Sora meticulously sketched and documented every part of the formation—the symbols, the structure, the energy flow, even the slight changes in the rose.

  Even with his near-perfect memory, he refused to leave anything to chance. 'I might find someone who can help me research this in the future… or figure it out myself.'

  After hundreds of pages filled with drawings and descriptions, Sora finally took a step back.

  More questions than answers, as always.

  But he had gathered enough to start unraveling this place’s secrets.

  Seeing the countdown nearing zero, he selected [End Trial], and in an instant, he was transported to the familiar waiting room.

  Unlike before, only one door remained.

  A notification sounded.

  Opening the shop, Sora’s mind immediately went to the items he had planned to purchase. 'I need to keep enough points to buy some affinity with [Time] and maybe a few time-related skills later,' he recalled, scrolling through other sections first.

  Typing 'blood essence' into the search bar, he examined the results:

  Reading the skill descriptions, he found two skills that matched his understanding of Brodus' skill.

  Sora’s curiosity only deepened as he selected the original skill that had inspired it.

  Sora's eyes widened as he compared the two. 'Don’t tell me… Dwarves can refine their enemies' Blood Essence? There’s no way such a cheat exists, right? If this is true, the dwarves are far more dangerous than I imagined.'

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  Excited, Sora attempted to purchase the [Blood Refinement] skill, as it looked like the superior version, only to be greeted with a disappointing notification:

  'Why show me the skill then...' Disappointed, he almost cursed the shop, when he had an idea. 'What if I can gain information about other races and skills through the shop?'

  Deciding to delay his research into the shop’s vast pool of knowledge, Sora refocused on his shopping. Planning to purchase the [Blood Essence Extraction] skill later as well, he shifted his attention to the item category and searched for Blood Essence.

  The list seemed endless. Thousands of results filled the screen, each more incredible than the last. Sora’s eyes moved from a result to another.

  'What are all of these? There are even more results locked under "Wait for update." And all of them are Level 180? How could there possibly be this many high-level creatures in the world? Where is all this Blood Essence coming from?' he wondered, suspicious of the system.

  Curious, he selected the first result that had caught his attention to read its description.

  Spending more time filtering through his options, Sora ultimately purchased [Blood Essence Extraction], along with several complementary abilities from the [Blood Master] class. These additional skills allowed him to infuse Blood Essence with Mana, Mental Power, and Soul Power, refine its quality at the cost of stored experience, and even fuse multiple Blood Essence drops together.

  To push his experiments further, he also bought a few low-level but high-quality Blood Essence drops, selecting ones that wouldn’t drain his resources but would still be useful.

  'I can't wait to test these out and see what I can do with them,' he thought, excitement rising as he reviewed his haul.

  Feeling energized by his shopping spree, he checked his remaining points and moved on to other categories. Navigating to the item section, he searched for tools to help him hide his identity.

  One item immediately caught his eye—a mask designed to prevent tracking while allowing the user to customize the information displayed above their head.

  Without hesitation, Sora purchased a [Liar’s Mask] for himself at 100,000 Ascension Points. He considered getting extras for Kara and his parents, but his enthusiasm quickly soured when he saw the price for a tradeable version—1,000,000 Ascension Points each.

  He closed his eyes and bought a few.

  Sora frowned.'This is annoying… Players with Supreme Skills can still see through it.'

  He found an enhanced version of the mask with even stronger concealment abilities, but the 100-million-point price tag made his stomach turn.

  For hours, he continued browsing through the shop, drawn in by its seemingly endless selection. The variety of races and worlds hinted at a much bigger universe than he had ever imagined.

  'Just from this shop alone, I’ve learned that there are thousands of races…' He paused, scanning descriptions that referenced “Ki,” “cultivation,” “magic,” and other concepts that once seemed confined to fiction. 'That means there must be other worlds—ones with higher levels, more races, and perhaps entirely different systems of power…'

  His mind raced with possibilities.

  Eventually, feeling satisfied with his purchases, he turned his attention to his remaining points.

  After some deliberation, he spent a large portion on [Time Affinity (F-Tier)], watching as the new element appeared on his status panel. Pleased with his choice, he used the rest of his Ascension Points to buy a few time-related skills.

  Sora smiled. 'Can’t leave anything behind.'

  Searching for items worth less than a hundred points, he only found junk. Shrugging, he bought a few low-level items and potions, draining his balance to zero.

  With a satisfied nod, he turned toward the exit.

  'Now I can finally leave.'

  A smile crossed his face as he opened the door, stepping out of the [Ascension Tower].