Ted stood up. He brushed the dust off his clothes. He had not realized he had been sitting for so long. He opened the door and looked at Heidi.

She stood in the hallway, looking tired and hungry. After a moment, he followed her to the dining area.

They entered the dining hall. Sir Tristan and Dotty were already seated. Ted saw Gromorlig sitting on a low stool. The dwarf tapped his foot on the ground. Dotty looked at the table. There were some dried meats and old bread. Heidi took a seat next to Dotty. Ted sat across from Sir Tristan. He picked up a piece of bread.

"Is Monica still out?" Heidi asked.

"I think so," Sir Tristan said. "She said she needed time alone."

"Did she say where she was going?" Ted asked.

Sir Tristan shook his head.

"No. I thought she would return by now."

"She might be still training," Dotty said. "She had that look in her eyes."

Gromorlig grunted.

"Training alone is a dangerous thing, lass. The spiders are strong. She can do it because she can’t die. Please, none of you should follow in her steps."

Ted ate in silence.

He remembered what Gromorlig had said about Skill Efficiency.

Even though he didn’t know exactly what happened, he was sure that Monica wanted to improve. Maybe she was trying to push her Skills further. For some reason, despite the redhead’s immortality, he did not like the idea of her taking such risks alone.

Heidi broke the silence.

"We all tried that Meditation. Ted, did you manage to learn the Skill?"

Ted nodded, feeling a bit shy.

"Yes, I did. I also reached Bronze Rank."

Heidi looked at him with surprise. "Really?”

“You got the Skill and you also brought it to Bronze Rank?” Sir Tristan asked, surprised. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Ted shrugged. “I stayed up all night—I couldn’t sleep.”

"I think so," Ted said. "I also don’t feel that tired even though I didn’t sleep. Is that normal?."

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Gromorlig seemed pleased. "Lad, you surprise me. That is some real progress. Meditation at Bronze Rank is a hell of a good start. Not like these slackers."

The Dwarf turned toward Sir Tristan and grinned at him.

“You hear me, Sir Knight? The little Bard is progressing faster than you. Maybe it’s time you pick up the slack.”

Sir Tristan narrowed his eyes at the Dwarf but simply got up and left for the courtyard, intent on practicing Meditation. Heidi soon followed suit and only Ted, Dotty, and Gromorlig remained at the table.

“Lad, I have a some advice for you. Why don’t we go and practice some before I explain to the lassie here what traps she’ll need to activate.”

“Is that good?” Ted asked Dotty.

“Yeah,” Dotty nodded. “Gromorlig said I need to get Meditation up to speed before that anyway. Apparently it helps with the Mana connection to the traps.”

So, Ted and Gromorlig left, leaving Dotty alone at the table.

“I wonder what Monica’s doing,” she suddenly said to herself.

* * *

Monica faced the Corrupted Tarantula again. She had died seven times already. Her body felt heavy from the resurrections. Each death taught her something new about her Skills.

The spider shot a wire at her head. She tried Phoenix Step while maintaining Meditation. The Mana flowed much smoother than before. She moved to the side by infusing the Golden Flame into Phoenix Step.

The wire missed by a whole foot this time.

She kept Meditation active and channeled Mana Sense—now, she could see the Corrupted Taruntula chitin much clearly, even from afar. Most importantly, she could also perceive a faint sense of where the metal was weaker. She noticed weak points in its metal shell because the Mana felt thinner there.

The Tarantula charged. Monica attempted Obsidian Impact. The Mana surged through her arm. She guided it carefully like she had learned through her deaths. Her fist connected with the spider's leg, making her whole body ring, but also finally shattering the silvery metal plating and delivering the first real damage to the monster.

She was making progress. Her previous deaths had shown her how to better control the Mana flow. The spider recovered and spun more wires. Monica dodged two but the third caught her shoulder. She gritted her teeth through the pain as her arm was fully severed from her body.

She needed to push harder. She let the spider wound her again. Blood spurted all over. Her vision blurred, but her Soul emerged stronger as she neared death. She saw the Mana paths more clearly now.

Right as the Corrupted Tarantula got closer to deliver a killing blow, Monica used Mana Sense and Obsidian Impact in quick succession, first to dodge and then to punch at the arachnid’s body.

Her fist punched and created an explosion that went straight through the spider's metal hide. The monster screamed and staggered back.

Monica had felt the Skill move through her body, through her whole positioning, almost perfectly. She could feel it so tantalizing it close to where she wanted it to be.

One more hit and I’ll go up in rank, she thought, despite having only one arm left.

She dashed forward. She chained Phoenix Step into another Obsidian Impact. The Mana flowed from one Skill to the next. The spider couldn't track her increased speed. She almost landed a solid hit before a wire pierced her chest. She coughed blood but stayed focused on her Mana control. She had almost mastered the proper flow for Obsidian Impact. Just a bit more…

The spider's leg crushed her ribcage.

As darkness took her, she glimpsed the final adjustment needed for Obsidian Impact.

One more and I’ll destroy this monster.