At the brisk of dawn the next day, Asher was already vibrantly awake. His abyss-like black eyes shimmered with a radiant glow; his body was pumped with energy and was all roaring for an action-packed day.

He was currently sitting cross-legged on his bed, his eyes closed in deep cultivation. As he did his daily morning cultivation, his mind began to wander to yesterday's Battle Skill training.

And like he said to Yuki, he really only went several more rounds killing that Mana monster rhino.

The other monstrous beasts he fought didn't give him much trouble since he was continually using his Battle Skill.

Although, compared to all other days he trained in the wood, Asher had to call that session off a lot more early than he usually does.

By his tenth or so beast, Asher was nearly out all of his energy reserves. He had quickly analyzed that his Omni Striker Battle Skill used every facet of energy running through his veins from continuous use.

Even his Ghost energy powers, the only one he thought he wasn't using in this scenario, got considerably drained at the end.

Moreover, this drain on his energy reserves gave his body a considerable strain that made it a bit challenging to get home. He didn't even perform much physical movement with his Battle Skill, but he felt like he had just run five miles without stopping.

From all the strenuous practice, Asher was able to tell that he could use the regular version of his Omni Striker Skill at least eight or so times.

His full-charged version, he reckons, could probably only be used three times in a battle.

Asher wasn't sure how good this was compared to other students. When Zara had unleashed both her Battle Skills, he couldn't tell if she was drained since he had swiftly defeated her.

But with the power these Skills have, Asher assumed it was enough for now.

Afterward, when coming home, Asher spent the whole day simply cultivating all of his stats. Even with a sore body, he knew can't let a single second slip by.

The pressure Jayline gave him was tremendous, and he had to treat each second he had very carefully.

Asher didn't even know when he had actually fallen asleep. But when he had awoken from his sudden slumber, he noticed first that his physical body capabilities improved quite a bit after all events yesterday.

This is why he now feels so vibrant with energy and excited to engage in any action.

But, before he got ahead of himself, Asher still remembered to calm down and cultivate a vital ability.

Before he does any rigorous training today, Asher knew there was one ability that could majorly help him out. That was cultivating his Spirit Mana and exuding a more measurable control over it.

Inside his mental scape space, the blurry energy of Spirit Mana had already quickly formed.

And instead of absorbing the energy into his soul to refine it, Asher kept the Spirit Mana energy around his mental scape space. The longer he kept it there, the more Asher could slowly perceive the complex properties of Spirit Mana.

Inside his System's soul stats, his Spirit Mana stat still remained at the Initiate level.

For most students, even geniuses, that level will barely change for quite a while.

The Initiate level represents just how much control and comprehension Asher has towards Spirit Mana. And if he ever wanted to break through the Spirit Tier realm, he needs to continually upgrade his Spirit Mana stat.

Not only would this help him breakthrough levels, but also, a higher Spirit Mana level means Asher could use more of it to enhance his strength on top of his Spirit Aura capabilities.

When Asher fought his duel with Zara, he could only use a small stream of Spirit Mana to help give him that extra edge to completely dominate her.

And when he had fought against the masked creature, that small stream of Spirit Mana couldn't really help him out over that creature's overwhelming prowess.

It wasn't that Spirit Mana was weak, but Asher's control over it wasn't enough.

Since those encounters, Asher has tried numerous times in attempting to upgrade his control over Spirit Mana.

But he wasn't all that successful as the blurry energy of Spirit Mana would last a few minutes in his mental scape space before he would feel a massive mental strain.

Asher thought trying to upgrade Spirit Mana would be a long and arduous process. Before his date with Elsa, he doubted it would even help him in his ensuing battles.

But, all those thoughts shifted now that he was actually cultivating Spirit Mana this morning.

He didn't even notice it yesterday, but maintaining Spirit Mana energy inside his mental scape space had become far easier.

Furthermore, Asher didn't even feel that much confusion over trying to perceive Spirit Mana's complex properties. It was like he was slowly unraveling a formula that was causing him so much trouble just a day before.

Asher did briefly wonder what had brought about this change. It could possibly be from his Spirit Aura increasing from his date with Elsa. Or from continuous repeated use of his Omni Striker Skill.

Either way, Asher wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away.

Depending on how much he could properly grasp this morning can make a huge difference in his ensuing battles.

Since he had woken up to cultivate, about thirty minutes had passed in a flash.

Inside Asher's mental scape space, the blurry Spirit Mana energy was gradually coming undone. Now, instead of looking like a jumbled mess of color, he could accurately spot that Spirit Mana energy had a defining blue color trait.

Being able to recognize the color trait of Spirit Mana energy was far more significant than Asher even realized. This would mean his comprehension of it is reaching a new boundary, and his control was swiftly advancing!

But right then, before he could take a whole step in this new boundary of understanding, an intense jolt shocked Asher's entire body.

'Ding!'

A loud ping went off in Asher's mind, indicating to him he got a new mission.

On instinct, Asher said 'System' and pulled up his stats. When his eyes gazed at his current stats, an ominous chill filled his veins.

At the bottom of his usual stats was a new mission and its content gave Asher a startling fright.

The mission had read: Protect a mother beast maiden against immensely powerful forces. Rewards: Massive Increase in Spirit Aura, Ghost Lightning, Ghost Powers.

Important Note: Extremely high chance of death!

Asher had to pause cultivating for a moment as he felt his breath hitched reading the important note. Tiny beads of sweat already formed on his brow just from the description of this mission.

Even though Asher continually threw his life on the line for training, he now felt like his death was far more assured than any other time in his life.

There will be no second chances or lucky encounters like he had with Elsa after fighting with the masked creature.

As he contemplated more on this mission, one question did enter his mind. He had then asked Yuki, 'This is….worrisome. When I had to save the little girl, there was no important note of chances of death. Even though the masked creature really did nearly kill me.'

'Haaah….just think of it like this. Our System can tell the probability of your survival rate for its mission. And usually, if your survival rate is at least above fifty percent, it won't warn you. This mission? Well, I wasn't joking; this will be your most grueling one yet.'

Asher's palms tighten as genuine nerves tensed his body.

Even for all of his experiences, Asher was no robot that lacked emotions or a sense of self-preservation. He was still in his youth and has a long life ahead of him.

A long life that could abruptly end with this mission.

'But even so….I can't just give up. No matter the cost….I must win!' Asher repeated to himself, wanting to clear out any nerves from his body.

'....I should get it. But….I just don't, Asher. You know you don't have to do this mission. Very rarely will we get a mission that is mandatory to complete. Just look at it realistically. Your friends….their-'

Yuki couldn't finish her sentence when Asher sharply cut her off.

'If I can't surmount this challenge to overcome Jayline, then how can I call myself worthy of this power? And I don't care what my friends are; I'll never abandon anyone close to me. Reese, Kylee, and Elsa. I will always be there to support them no matter what issue comes up.'

Asher didn't hear Yuki's response for a few seconds. Though he didn't want to come off as imposing, he also wanted to keep a rock-solid attitude on this. And him just telling this to Yuki had also greatly fueled his determination.

Finally, after what seemed like long and drawn-out seconds, Yuki had spoken up.

'Ahh….you know what, Asher? You better stay true to your own words. Because if you ever renegade them, I'll be right here to slap you back on the right track. Now then, let's finish up reaching this new boundary in Spirit Mana. It's time for your formation!'

Now Yuki's tone turned incredibly upbeat and jovial. This was the kind of tone Asher needed and what started to make him more optimistic.

Sure, the future was largely unpredictable, but Asher was determined to face it head-on and live!

With his new determination, Asher focused back on the Spirit Mana energy in his mental scape space. Surprisingly, throughout that whole interaction, the Spirit Mana energy had stayed.

And when Asher focused on it now, it looked far less blurry than before. The blue color trait looked more defined, and Asher already felt like he could understand Spirit Mana better.

Perhaps it was because he had just broken through a mental block in his mind from the talk with Yuki.

Still, Asher knew he was only a fine line away from achieving a new boundary in Spirit Mana!

On pure instinct alone, Asher held his right palm open. Everything started to flow like water as Asher connected with the Spirit Mana energy and began gathering more of it from the air around him.

Typically, what would happen before if Asher tried to gather more Spirit Mana energy in his mental scape space is that it would immediately vanish, and he would feel an immense drain.

But now, the Spirit Mana energy in his mental scape space stayed firm even as more energy gathered inside him. With more energy, the power of the Spirit Mana gradually increased to incredible new heights.

This increasing Spirit Mana energy flowed into Asher's body without him even needing to take the attention to do it.

The small streams of Spirit Mana energy in Asher's veins gradually increased in its quantity and power.

Asher had even felt his Ghost Lightning, Ghost, Spirit Aura energies, and his own physical capabilities just slightly increased as well.

And right then, on Asher's right palm, flashes of sparkling blue energy began to form.

These flashes of sparkling blue energy was actually Spirit Mana!

Asher remained in deep focus as he quickly began to form Spirit Mana energy itself on its palm.

For two minutes now, the flashes of sparkling blue energy swiftly increased until an incredible power ran through Asher's entire body!

'Chi!'

A bright azure flash lit up Asher's entire room, bathing it in a radiant ocean-blue glow.

Asher snapped open his eyes, feeling a little bit drained but immensely happy. On his right palm was a small swirling blue ball of Spirit Mana!