One Last System

Two nights have passed, bringing me to the auspicious day of the formal auditions. Yet, as strange as it might be, it didn't change my routine at all.

After waking up and doing my daily dose of morning stretches followed by a quick breakfast, I moved over to the garden.

Sure, the auditions started today, but that wasn't a reason to cut back on my daily training! Especially given how close I was to achieving my long-lasting desire of filling all the gauges of my status!

I stood in front of the training pillar with a solemn expression on my face. Glancing over at my status, I could see just how close I was to fulfilling my objective.

PROGRESS STATUS WINDOW

***

- Body status: Mortal

- Growth status: Mana Condensation

- Body status modifier:

- Endurance:143/200

- Willpower: 92/200

Mana Condensation 889/900

{

Mana Pool 300/300

Mana Flow 300/300

Mana Density 224/300(+75)

}

***

Only a single point of Mana Density separated me from reaching the maximum level of the points stipulated by my system for the mana condensation stage.

This statement only held true for the assumption that my bonus points were counted in the same way as the normal ones did... But it was hard to doubt this guess with how the general count of points for the stage as a whole included them.

I took a fighting stance, lowering the center of my mass and putting up my guard.

Given how I only needed to smash the stone with a full focus and in a perfect way, raising the guard could seem a bit excessive... But I actually believed that it would do me good in the long term.

After all, even though I have yet to reach the point of actually learning how to fight, this was the obvious next step for all the training I have done so far. As such, keeping up the guard was a good practice that was likely to pay off in the long term.

I cleared out my mind from the spare thoughts by slowly breathing all the air from my lungs out. And when I reached the tranquil state of mind, I struck my first forward!

The attack connected, making the flesh of my body vibrate due to the sudden change of momentum. For a moment, I kept my body frozen, with my fist glued to the training pillar. Only when my body regained its full composure, I retracted my hand.

'Sweat hard, bleed a little.' This was the motto of some kind of ancient Russian general who revolutionized that ancient state's army.

But I actually expanded on it quite a bit. By repeating all my moves in a slow manner, I was making sure that once I would use them in fast succession, they would be free of mistakes.

Once again, I stood in the fighting stance. This time, though, I struck forward with my left hand.

Tic!

The long-awaited system notification coursed through my body. While I was long used to this feeling, my soul filled up with elation in an instant.

Finally, I managed to max out the cultivation stage!

I broke my focused state, instantly smashing my fist against the pillar again. And again. And then once more!

But no matter how much I did it, no further notification followed.

'I guess I can't earn more points than the system allows,' I thought, my smile souring a little.

Given how I could actually train further than necessary to break through the first stage, I hoped that the same would be the case for my current stage.

'Or maybe I actually can?' I thought, unwilling to give up hope on this topic so quickly.

I returned to my formal position, once again focusing on the pillar ahead. My focus reached the point that I barely even noticed when Mia appeared in the garden only to take a position to my right, in front of the other pillar.

Smack.

A moment of break.

Smack. Smack.

This time, I executed a double attack, right fist followed by the left.

Smack.

Once again, I only used my right fist.

Smack, smack, smack, smack!

After gathering enough focus, I connected the double strike with two kicks. All the motions connected into a single, fluid action. Even without realizing it, I finally managed to execute the full, basic combo that I came up with.

I managed to use all four of my limbs to strike the pillar in quick, consecutive succession!

Tic.

The system finally responded, proving that my hopes weren't all for naught.

I looked over at my status, only for my lips to curve up in a satisfied smile.

Right now, both my mana pool and my mana flow reached... three hundred and one point!

Returning to my usual stance, I cleared my mind once again before keeping up with my training. Now that I proved that I could overreach my target, there wasn't a single reason for me to stop!

****

Vaner sat on a bench, right outside of the magnificent palace. It was the very place that workers contracted by the sect mingled around for weeks.

But right now, there wasn't a single spare soul in the area. The formation that condensed the Qi from the air and spirit stones to enrich the air inside the palace ensured that only the deputies and their personal servants could stay within the formation.

Only the deputies, their servants, and elders like Vaner who already reached the pinnacle of the mana manifestation stage.

"Sorry for the wait," a relatively young man said, walking through the main gate of the palace to where Vaner sat in waiting.

His robes were elegant yet simple. When compared to the richly-adorned robes of the Skyladder sect's elders, the young man's outfit actually looked quite... plain.

"Don't mind it," Vaner shook his head with a faint smile on his lips. While there was no sign of excessive respect on his face or in his actions, his usual arrogance was nowhere to be seen either.

Right now, Vaner wasn't dealing with the idiotic elders of the Skyladder sects, some unruly disciple, or the senile patriarch. Right now, he was talking to his equal.

"So?" the young man asked, a fleeting smile appearing on his lips. "How's your mission?" he asked.

"As usual," Vaner replied softly. "While it's boring to deal with all the idiots in this sects, I actually managed to spot some promising buds," he informed his colleague.

As they both hailed from the same sect, the very sect that Vaner tried his best to sell to his disciples, there was no need for spare formalities.

It was the one thing that set their sect apart from the others. While all the other organizations valued hierarchy, absolute top-oriented power, or some other socially-warranted structures, Vaner's sect was a group that valued merit over everything else.

"How good are they?" the young man asked, his face instantly turning serious.

Looking for candidates fitting to become disciples of their sect was the sole reason why Vaner was stuck in the Skyladder sect. This, and his desire to live an easy life with no one to threaten his position.

Yet, while the latter was just his personal desire, he was perfectly aware that the safety of his position relied on how well he could fulfill his duties as a detached observer.

"One of them is perfect. She appears to have a body of lighting. She also managed to reach the mana condensation stage in a bit more than just two weeks," Vaner announced out loud, without a care in the world about someone potentially eavesdropping on him.

"That's pretty neat," Vaner's colleague nodded his head.

He was the reason why Vaner didn't hold his words back. Or rather, the small formation that he set up on the go when the two of them met. Right now, there wasn't a single living soul within this primitive part of the world that could break through this soundproof barrier.

For a moment, the two of them simply stood in silence, neither of them willing to break it.

"And then?" the deputy finally asked. "From how you formed your sentences, it's clear that you have yet to reveal the good news," he said with a small smirk.

"The other disciple that I took... Is even better," Vaner said, but there was no happy or satisfied expression on his face. Rather than that, his face was tense, as if he was about to order the execution of someone he deeply cared about.

"Then why are you making such a face?" the young man asked, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"Because I believe that this one.... He might require a special approach," Vaner replied before releasing a deep, exhausted sigh.