Unlike the limitless golden sea of Soulforce I had in the other body, the sea in this body wasn't that vast. I could already see large rocky mountains holding the sea from all sides.

The sea was divided into two hemispheres. The left was dark, cold, and eerie, with a clouded night sky above it, while the right was warm and radiant, and the sun glowed vibrantly above it.

The seas flowed into each other through a spiraling boundary like a living Taijutsu.

Its waves raged violently, striking the rocky mountains with earth-shaking impact.

Each contact broke off parts of the mountains, making huge debris of rock get engulfed into the sea.

After relentless tsunamis of waves, the mountains completely broke apart, and the sea expanded outward in all directions.

At the same instant, I felt my Soulforce surging and my body growing stronger.

The sea expanded for hundreds of miles before being stopped by another rocky mountain—this one seemed even higher and thicker than the previous one.

"This must be the wall I need to break to reach the next major realm," I murmured, touching the mountain, and returned to reality.

"Congratulations! The Host has successfully broken through! The Host's realm has increased.

Late-Stage Formation Realm → Early-Stage Spirit Adept Realm

All stats +20

All Attribute-related skills have increased by one level!"

"The maximum capacity of Yin-Yang energy has increased!

Yin energy: 650/1500

Yang energy: 650/1500"

"Hmm, my Yin-Yang energy also increased from 600 to 650 after the breakthrough."

When I turned my focus onto my body, I realized the minor bruises and the injury I got on my hand were completely healed.

"Alert! The gate will be closed in the next thirty minutes since the boss monster is dead! Leave the gate before it encloses!"

"What will happen if I don't leave the gate before time's up?" I asked, curious.

"This small world was created using the boss monster as its core. After the gate closes, the world will collapse into the abyss, and everything inside will be reduced to nothingness."

"Woah! That's scary!" I gasped, immediately returning to the beach from where I had entered.

I stepped outside the gate with a sigh of relief, thinking that nobody had found out the location of the gate.

However, the moment I exited, I found a small kid, barely ten, with snot running down his nose, standing outside the gate and looking at me with a straight face. For a moment, we both stared at each other in deadly silence.

"What are you doing here, kid?" I asked in a soft voice, breaking the awkward silence.

"I was waiting for the gate to break so the monsters inside could destroy the school," the snotty kid replied nonchalantly.

"Th-this kid!" I gasped inwardly before asking, "Why do you want the school to be destroyed?"

"My crush rejected me, saying she is only interested in books. My heart is broken, so I want to see this world burning down!"

"Th-this brat is a menace to society!" I exclaimed inwardly, utterly dumbfounded by the kid's answer.

"Listen, kid. There are many flowers in the garden. You shouldn't give up on the world so early," I sighed. "However, if you really, really love her, then you should wait until both of you grow older."

"This can't happen. My crush is… sniff-sniff… already about to marry!" he stated, tearing up.

"Huh!? Huhhhhh!!!???" My eyes widened, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"K-kid, h-how old is your crush?"

"The last time I peeked at the English teacher's ID card, it showed she is 30 years old," the kid dropped another bomb, making me question the very existence of this world.

"Are we stopping global warming for these kids!?" I stammered, holding my temples between my palms.

Completely wordless to argue with him any further, I just gave him a thumbs-up for his courage to actually propose to his teacher.

"Have you told anyone about the gate yet?" I asked.

"No, I haven't," he replied before inquiring, "Are you an Awakener? Did you kill the monster inside?"

"Yes and yes," I answered with a sigh.

"Th-that means the monsters won't come anymore?" he demanded, his eyes on the verge of tears.

"Kid, only weak people give up on the world after rejection!" I announced, posing like a hero with my arms folded. "A real man would move on with a can of cola and find someone who truly deserves his love."

"Whoah!!! You are right, big brother!" the kid replied, totally impressed. "Sorry for acting like a loser."

He turned, and as he was about to run away, I said from behind, "Kid, this gate is a secret between you and me!"

"Got it, big brother! I won't tell anyone. I'm going to drink cola to move on from this rejection!"

Sighs… "The world has truly changed in the past five years. I can't understand these Gen Z kids at all."

Yeah, that was what the youngsters called themselves. Even though I was only 22, I was already feeling a generational gap from these kids.

Ding…

"Congratulations! You have completed the special challenge of the 30-day daily challenge.

[Claim the reward]"

"Finally, it's time to obtain another attribute-based skill!" I whispered in excitement, pressing the [Claim] button.

"All stats +10"

"Congratulations! You have received a new skill: Breath of the Grave

Description: The Host can exhale a wave of Yin-infused breath that freezes the enemy's lungs and slows their movement for a short time.

Cost: 2 Yin Energy

Would you like to learn it?

[Yes] [No]"

"Isn't it the first debuff skill I've received? I'm absolutely going to learn it!"

"Sending the skill's information directly to the Host's brain…"

While I was suffering from a mild headache due to the shockwaves, light footsteps came from the corner of the building wall.

"Mr. Raj, are you there?" Jasmine's voice came.

"Oh shit! She's going to see the portal behind me."

I instantly bolted forward, grabbed her by the shoulder, turned her around, and asked, "Oh! What are you doing here, Jasmine?"

"Y-you were taking too long, so I came to check," she replied, startled by the sudden movement.

"What were you doing back there?"

"Nothing, just enjoying the breeze!"

"But I think I saw a bright light energy from there," she said, slowly turning her face backward.

I grabbed her face by the cheeks, stopping her from looking behind, and blurted, "Jasmine, I'm hungry! Let's go and eat something!"

"Al-alright, I understand, Mr. Raj. So may you let go of my shoulder and face?" she murmured, her face blushing with a red hue.

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