The st three skills Sora had unlocked were immensely powerful, eae pushing the boundaries of what he thought ossible. They weren't just mere imitations anymore—like True Mana Strike, they had evolved into something greater. These eiques transded the inal css-based skills they once mirrored, making them potent ons in their ht.

  But with this newfound strength came a sequence.

  Snced down at the broken remains of his sword. It had finally given out in his st battle against a relentless Silvercw Bear. He ched the hilt in his hand, knowing the bde wasn't built to hahe raw force he was now able to el through it. His mana had outgrown the on.

  He sighed, knowing it was iable. He had spent the st seven days out here in the wild, lohan he had pnned. His supplies were running low, and his iory was nearly full with the spoils of his hunts. But more importantly, he was out of food. Only two loaves of bread remained, and that wouldn't be enough to sustain him for much longer.

  "Time to move on," he muttered, wiping the dirt off his armor. He couldn't afford to linger without a on and with his supplies so low. Cordoba awaited, and he o reach it before his situation worsened.

  Opening his iory, Sora sed through the items he had collected over the past week. Monster cores, high-quality bear pelts, rare herbs, and assorted drops filled the spaces between his equipment. It was a det haul, enough to fetch a good price he reached the city markets. Still, his bag was almost at capacity, and he'd o offload much of it soon.

  "Let's see… A few good monster cores, some materials I sell to bcksmiths," he said to himself, mentally tallying the loot. "Enough to upgrade my gear aock supplies."

  But that wasn't all that was on his mind. The broken sword hanging at his side was a stant reminder of the fragility of his curreup. He needed better gear, but more importantly, he o find a ot for the power it would grant him, but for the knowledge it held. He wasn't ied in growing strohrough the css itself; that wasn't his path.

  His real goal was to learn how each css ied with mana. He inteo steal every skill he could from these csses, uanding their inner ws so he could use them ter, even after resetting. If he could learn how different csses eled, filtered, and maniputed mana, it would only enhance his own evolution and open up new possibilities for his future growth. Every reset would be a ce to start fresh, with even more knowledge and abilities.

  Finding a css was a step toward unraveling the mysteries of mana, not just gaining brute strength.

  As for job opportunities, Sora couldn't t oo earn too much gold for now. What he was truly seeking was knowledge. Certain jobs—especially specialized ones—could provide insights into the world that would affect his prehension of mana and his path forward. Some jobs could even influence his growth dire, him the ce to learn things that could be ied into his cultivation.

  With Cordoba only a few hours away, Sora's pn was clear. He o sell his items, get better gear, and then explore the city's css s and job opportunities. Every piece of knowledge he gained, whether through bat or work, would feed into his rger goal—being something beyond the limitations of any one css or path.

  His mind already raced with possibilities as he set out, leaving behind the wilds where he had spent the st seven days. It was time for the stage of his journey—Cordoba, and the knowledge it promised.

  Sora stood at the edge of the wilds, the st stretch of ween him and Córdoba in front of him. The distance was about 100 kilometers, but to him, it might as well have been 10. His body was buzzing with mana, his senses sharper than ever. He no longer cared about the dahat lurked in the wilds—because he was the danger now.

  As he began his sprint toward Córdoba, the ndscape blurred past him. His strides were powerful, his legs moving at a speed that would have been impossible just days ago. Low-level beasts barely registered as obstacles. He could have stepped on them if he wao, but most fled before he even got close. His presence alone was enough to send weaker creatures running for cover.

  For the few that dared to cross his path, Sora dispatched them with a sirike, not even slowing down. His [True Mana Strike] cut through them like a khrough butter, leaving nothing but falleures in his wake. He didn't even stop to loot them—his focus was oing to Córdoba, and his iory was already nearing full capacity.

  When it came to the higher-level beasts lurking in the wilds, Sora used his mana in a different way. Instead to overpower them, he used his uanding of [Supreme skill : Mana Evolution] to mask his presence. By subtly maniputing the mana around him, he made himself nearly uable to these creatures, slipping through their territories without drawing their attention. The teique wasn't perfect, but it worked well enough to keep him out of trouble.

  Ihan half an hour, the t walls of Córdoba came into view.

  As he approached the city gates, the familiar sight of guards and bustling traders greeted him. He slowed his pace, walking up to the guards with a fident stride. After a brief exge, he paid the entry fee without a sed thought and stepped into the city.

  The first stop on his agenda: the Au Hall.

  Ihe hall was buzzing with activity. Rows of merts and clerks handled various transas, and pyers moved from ter to ter, selling and buying loot. Sora quickly made his way to a free clerk, ready to offload the spoils of his week-long hunting spree.

  One by ohe items he looted from the wilds were sold, each adding to his growing pile of wealth. The total from the loot he had collected came to 14,520 gold. Not a bad haul, sidering he hadn't been focused solely on gathering items.

  But that wasn't all.

  He checked his iory and smiled. He had also gathered a tidy sum of 9,750 gold directly from killing monsters. Adding that to his total:

  [75,000 gold + 14,520 gold + 9,750 gold = 99,270 gold]

  The final step was cheg oems he had put up for au before leaving the st vilge. He had already received 28,500 gold in advance, but now it was time to collect the rest. A notification appeared as he pulled up the details of the aued items:

  [All items sold for a total of 85,500 gold.]

  After subtrag the 2% au fee and the 28,500 gold advance, Sora was left with an additional 55,290 gold to collect.

  His total earnings now stood at:

  [99,270 gold + 55,290 gold = 154,560 gold]

  With over 150,000 gold in his pocket, Sora was more than ready for the phase of his journey. He could buy better gear, look into learning new csses, and maybe even experiment with different jobs. The possibilities were endless, and now, so was his potential.

  He left the Au Hall with a smirk, knowing that this was just the beginning.

  Sora stepped out of the Au Hall and into the bustling streets of Córdoba. The weight of his earnings was a satisfying reminder of his progress, but there were other things on his mind now. Buying new gear could wait. Before that, he o explore the city, get a better uanding of portunities y ahead, and maybe—just maybe—figure out if there was something he hadn't sidered yet.

  He made his way to the inn, checked in for a room, and quickly ordered a meal. The food was simple but hearty, and it gave him time to think. After eating, Sora decided to head to the Job Hall, a pce where people went to either advaheir professions or earn some mohrough their jobs.

  The Job Hall was massive, filled with people from all walks of life. Some were seasoned adventurers, while others looked like regur townsfolk, eager to find a job. The hall was divided into ses based on various professions, with boards dispying avaible tracts and apprenticeships. Some people were here to increase their profi a skill, while others were simply looking for a way to make gold.

  Sora walked over to the board dispying the bcksmithing jobs, his most developed profession. As he sed through the avaible tracts, his face twisted into a frown. Most of the jobs required a rge upfront iment—paying to learn rather than earning. The system was clear: if you wao improve your bcksmithing skills effitly, you had to pay for materials, equipment, and advaraining. Otherwise, you could spend years trying to gain proficy slowly, f basic items on your own.

  "Great," he muttered to himself. "Pay to work. And here I thought I'd be earning."

  Disappointed, he moved to the Herbalism se, hoping for better luck. But once again, the options were less than ideal. The board dispyed taths for advang herbalism.

  The first option was the traditional method: go out into the wild, gather herbs, and train for free by using what you collected. But Sora khat this method was incredibly time-ing. It could take years to bee profit enough for the job to pay off.

  The sed option was to pay for efficy—buy herbs that others had gathered, thehem to craft potions and other products to advance faster. It was faster, sure, but also expensive.

  Fishing wasn't aer. The jobs on the board involved either spending days out oer hoping food catch or paying for access to prime fishing spots where rare and valuable fish could be found. Both options seemed like a huge iment of time or money with little immediate reward.

  Frustrated, Sora began to walk toward the exit. None of these options fit with his pns. They were too slow, too costly, or too tedious. He was about to give up and leave when he remembered there was still one job he hadn't checked.

  [Human Resource Assistant.]

  Sora made his way to the se for administrative jobs, half-expeg it to be empty. But when he reached the board, his eyes widened in surprise.

  Twelve panies were actively looking for a Human Resource Assistant. On top of that, there were eight public offices that were tracts for the same role. The pay ranged from 100 gold per tract, which wasn't bad sidering that most tracts didn't take too long.

  "What the…?" Sora muttered. He hadn't expected such a demand for this job. He had received the skill when the world upgraded, but he had hought much of it. After all, it had been a refle of his previous life—his degree in human resources and his brief experien the field before Earth was transformed. The system had trahat into a job, but he never imagi would be useful.

  And now, staring at the board, he was beginning to resider.

  Was it worth a shot?

  The tracts were lucrative enough, and he was curious about how the job worked in this new world. Could he apply his knowledge from before the update to make easy gold? Or was there something more to it that he hadn't yet sidered? Sora stood there for a moment, pting his move.

  It looked like he was going to give this job a try after all.