Sora made his way to the bank, his mind already focused on the steps. There was ohing he had put off for far too lorieving the items he had stored from his previous cycle before his st reset. He had accumuted a massive number of items, from materials to ons, but he had akeime to sort or sell them.

  As he ehe bank, he approached the clerk. "Hello, sir. How I help you?" the clerk asked politely.

  "I'd like to retrieve the items from my ste vault," Sora replied with a nod.

  After a few quick motions and verifying his identity, the clerk granted him access to his private vault. Sora stood before the pile of loot and gear he had amassed before his st Prestige reset. As expected, it was a mix of trash, on items, and a few expensive pieces he had fotten about. There were potions, materials, equipment, and more.

  "Quite the colle," Sora muttered to himself as he began s through it all. Much of it was outdated, especially now that he had leveled up and acquired better gear. Still, there were hidden gems among the trash.

  He pulled out a high-grade space bag he had just purchased from the bank. The bag was a marvel—able to hold vast amounts of items while keeping them ly anized. Perfect for someone like him who teo hoard things. Sora began transferring the items he didn't want to keep into the bag, separating those that would go to the au house and those he would save for future use.

  Some items, particurly a few unique pieces of equipment, caught his eye. He decided to hold on to them—gear that might prove useful iain situations or with future csses. After making his seles, he tossed the rest of the items into the space bag, ready for sale.

  Satisfied with his anization, Sora left the bank and headed straight for the au house. He had far more to sell than he initially anticipated, and it was time to cash in.

  When he arrived, the mert who had sold him the Mana Phones gave him a surprised look as Sora unloaded the vast colle of gear and items onto the ter.

  "You've been busy," the mert remarked.

  "You have no idea," Sora said with a smirk.

  He started with the lower-level items, selling off everything below level 35. It was mostly junk by his current standards, but valuable to newer pyers or those training lower-level characters. The mert assessed the pile, and after a few calcutions, handed Sora a bag of gold that represented around 80% of the value of the lower-tier items.

  [You have received 200,000 gold.]

  Sora pocketed the gold without a sed thought. It was o add to his growing reserves, but it wasn't the real prize.

  came the more valuable pieces—everything from level 35 to 59. The mert's eyes widened as he assessed their worth. There were rare materials, epic-level gear, and even some uems that made the mert nod approvingly.

  "These will fetch quite the price," the mert said, rubbing his hands together. "As usual, we offer you a down payment of 50% upfront, with the remainder ohe items are sold."

  Sreed, not too ed with the final sum. Gold wasn't a priority for him at the moment, but it didn't hurt to have it piling up for when he . After a few moments, the mert tallied the items and handed over his share.

  [You have received 2,000,000 gold as a down payment.]

  Sora raised an eyebrow at the sum but didn't dwell on it. It was a hefty amount, but his focus was on improving his strength, not amassih.

  Notig Sora's nonce, the mert remarked, "You're ed about the gold?"

  Sora shrugged. "Not really. Gold's nice, but right now, I don't have much use for it."

  The mert ughed. "Well, you're one of the few who say that! Most people would kill for what you just earned."

  "Maybe," Sora said with a smile, "then don't tell them I'm getting rich!"

  With the transa plete, Sora left the au house feeling lighter—not just because he had offloaded so many items, but because he could now fully focus on what y ahead.

  Sora stood outside his home, feeling the weight of the decision ahead. He knew he had the strength to reset if he wanted—hitting level 50 in a day had been simple enough. But resetting now would feel like a missed opportunity frowth.

  Even at his current level, Sora could feel how much his affinity with mana had evolved. His trol over mana and prehension had grown so much that, even without fog on it, he was leaps ahead of where he had been just a few days ago at level 1.

  His [Mana Evolution] Supreme skill could now improve faster as his level increased. He wao uand mana on a deeper level, to wield it with the finesse and mastery that only true experience could grant. Resetting now would rob him of that ce.

  He had also noticed something new, something subtle yet thrilling. With each battle and every bit of training, he began to sense how others maniputed their mana. Thanks to the heightened power of his Mana Eyes from the [Mana Evolution] skill, he felt as though he could see the pathways and teiques behind their abilities. It wasn't just instinct; it was as though he could study and imitate their use of mana, grasping the intricacies of their csses and skills simply by .

  "Maybe it's time to start iing with others," Sora mused. He had spent the st week mostly in solitude—training, battling monsters, and pushing his body and mana to their limits.

  If he wao keep growing, he needed new experienew dungeons, raids, people, and teiques from all over the world.

  For that, he o move to a bigger city. Montpellier was nearby and rger than Ales, but it cked the opportunities he sought. Lyon or Paris seemed like better choices.

  Paris had bee the sed-rgest city in Europe sihe world upgrade, behind Moscow. It was a hub feniuses, where pyers from across Europe came to grow, join top-tier guilds, and pete for porestige.

  Briefly, his thoughts drifted to New York and S?o Paulo—two of the most powerful cities in the world, known for their advanced csses and unparalleled growth opportunities. But he quickly shook his head. Going too far from home wasn't an optiht now.

  He still wasn't strong enough to travel bad forth quickly, and it wasn't wise to attract the attention of the world's most powerful figures just yet.

  Paris was the best choice.

  "It's decided," Sora said aloud. "Paris it is."

  After calling his parents, he set off, heading north toward the capital. The journey would be long, but with his speed and strength, he could reach the city by nightfall.

  By the time Sora approached the outskirts of Paris, the sun had set, and the city lights glowed brightly in the distahe journey had been smooth—too smooth, in fact.

  [Level up! You are now level 50.]

  The notification appeared as he struck doarticurly aggressive monster, his final battle before entering the city. S the message a a surge of power wash over him. He had do—reached level 50.

  His new css, [Martial Titan], had unlocked a new skill—ohat allowed him to summon a e of himself. It didn't how good the skill was, and would train it ter.

  The option to reset was now avaible. He could press the button at any moment, return to level 1, and grow even faster. But this time, Sora felt no rush to reset.

  Besides, resetting too soo giving up the advantage he had worked so hard to build. He would save Prestige as a trump card, a secret on to use in a truly dangerous situation, or when his gains were enough to boost his cycle to make it worthwhile.

  Paris would be full of new challenges—guilds, rival pyers, and more dangerous monsters. But for the first time in a while, Sora wasn't afraid. He had fiden his abilities and his power to survive whatever came .

  The city's silhouette loomed ahead as he made his way through the outskirts. The streets were quieter than expected, but Sora khat Paris ruly slept. It ce where the strong came to grow stronger, and the ambitious fought for a pce at the top.

  This was where his step began. His goals were clear: grow stronger, uand mana at a deeper level, and keep pushing forward. And, as always, he kept one eye open for Rachel. Their paths would cross again, and when they did, he would be ready.

  For now, though, he had time. Time to explore the wonders of Paris a himself against the best the city had to offer. As he ehe city, his heart raced with anticipation, the flickering lights of the metropolis weling him to the stage of his journey.