...

Once again, it seemed that I had returned.

I felt like I was floating, back in the empty void.

All the pain I had been in was gone.

And yet, my habit of breathing found... something.

I could not breathe with my lungs.

I didn't have lungs.

Did I?

And yet, somehow, I could still take in...

Mana...

How strange that was...

The Menu "Pinged"

Selected Name: John

Username: [Locked]

Global Chat Access ->

[Restricted]

Full Menu Access: ->

[Restricted]

Total Days in Trial:

[82 Days]

Floors Completed: [2]

Current Floor: [3]

Unspent Attribute Points: [0]

No rewarded Attribute Points at all, huh?

It had said as much, but that "0" still hurt to see.

The screen hovered, awaiting my review, but I ignored it.

I needed a moment.

There was something much more interesting to focus on.

I could really pull in Mana here?

Meditation seemed to be... working somehow.

Could I cast a Miracle?

Not yet... but maybe in a few minutes?

Would it work? If I kept on "breathing"

This seemed so much easier to do, without needing to pull in air.

Was mana just denser, here?

The Menu "Pinged" again.

Floor 3 - Minimum Clear Condition: Complete 20 E-Rank Quests

E-Rank.

I wasn't familiar with that.

Rank probably mean some sort of grading system...

Maybe?

[Task… Pending]

Ah, I knew this, though.

Here we go again.

I remembered this.

The menu was trying to murder me.

Title “Ambitious” - [Recognized]

Query: [Apply Title to Floor 3?]

[Yes]

[No]

I knew what I should do.

I thought it.

That I should take my time.

There was something odd about this space.

Something unique.

Continuing to explore the fact that my Meditation seemed to work here...

Poking at the fabric of this odd place, which waited between Floors...

I knew what I should do.

But I couldn't. I just couldn't.

But the thought of repeating what I just went through, again?

The fear gripped me.

What if I waited too long?

The menu had gotten pushy last time.

What if it decided something for me?

I couldn't- no, I couldn't do that again.

It was too much.

[No]

The system screens "clicked" as my response registered immediately.

This time, there was no creaking noise.

There was no sound of some invisible machine, being rolled into place.

I tried to breathe a sigh of relief, ineffectively.

[Title Not Activated – Difficulty Reduced]

[Floor 3 – Task to complete: Complete 20 E-Rank Quests]

Another "Ping" sounded.

[Floor 3 – Secondary Conditions:]

[Complete 10 D-Rank Quests]

Huh.

I pondered that, as my sense of motion began to return.

The empty void around me shifted.

[Floor 3 – Start]