What, it was a prank? So I didn't have to poke my fingers through my eyes? What kind of sick prank is that, just because I didn't fall for his first prank?

As I looked at him, he had an indifferent face.

He just made me poke my fingers through my eyes, and it looked like he didn't care.

'He is not right in the head'.

Well, if I don't have to poke my fingers through my eyes to learn the technique, how do I even learn it?

"I can see that you are confused. But if you thought a little harder, you might've realized that the only way to learn my technique was to have talent. What about all the previous patriarchs? Do you think that each and every single one had the perfect talent to learn my technique?" He said it as if it were obvious.

"There is no way that the only way to learn my technique is to either become blind or have talent. That would be a trash technique, then". He slapped his forehead to amplify his point.

When he said it that way, I realized that he was right. It wouldn't make sense that each and every single patriarch was supposed to have the perfect talent.

But why didn't he just teach me the real technique then? Was it really for us to become even, because I didn't fall for his prank?

"When I did as you said, you told me I was crazy. What was the point of that?"

"Well, if you really stabbed your fingers through your eyes, then crazy would be an understatement". He said.

"I know that everything resets for you, but how can you willingly do that? Especially for a rank 2 knight, that is an amazing feat". He said while complimenting me.

When he said it that way, I realized that I might be the crazy one. Being able to stab myself in the eyes without hesitation was a little insane.

But I have gotten used to doing that because each time I wanted to regress, I would use my dagger to activate my skill.

I guess if I had to summarize it, it would only be a few seconds of pain until I regress and everything resets.

All pain, fatigue, and exhaustion would completely disappear. But I guess it still requires you to be a little crazy to do that.

But isn't crazy a spectrum? Meaning that I could be crazy for doing stuff like this, but my mind could still be sane doing other things. I am not a serial killer, so that was a good thing.

I have never killed a person, except for monsters. Killing or injuring myself doesn't count, so in that sense, I should still be okay.

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"When I think that it's only a few seconds of pain, it becomes a lot easier to do". I answered after thinking for a long time.

"Well, it doesn't matter now; the point now is for you to learn my technique. It's true that mana is being blocked from gathering inside your eyes, but that doesn't mean you are talentless.

It only means that it's going to take a little more time to train it".

So there really wasn't a point for me to use my fingers to poke my eyes.

But if my mana is being blocked from gathering inside my eyes, and it's going to take a little more time to train it. Wouldn't it still mean that I was less talented than others, whose eyes did not block the mana?

"My eyes also blocked my mana at the start, so don't worry. Usually you would slowly keep trying to gather mana for your eyes, and with effort and a lot of time, you would break the natural barrier of your eyes.

But we can do something different". He said a little excited.

When I saw him become a little excited, I got a little scared. The last time that he got excited, ended up with me poking my eyes for no reason.

So I was scared of his plan this time.

"Do you remember when I gave you the heart phoenix, I lost all my mana?" He asked.

Why was he asking about that now?

"Yeah, where are you going with this?" I answered a little confused.

"Because you regressed, everything reset. So now I have my mana again!" He said with enthusiasm appearing in his eyes.

Obviously, he is going to have his mana again, so is he going to give me another heart phoenix then?

"Are you going to give me another heart phoenix?"

"I wish I could do that, but it's not possible. The limit is one for each person.

What I am going to do is different. For you to gather mana inside your eyes to break the barrier, it would take an awful amount of time.

Obviously, for me, no time is going to pass, but for you, it's different. You would have to train for years to break the barrier". He explained as he floated closer to me.

"Therefore, I can use my mana to forcefully break the barrier instead". He said it with exhilaration.

My eyes opened in realization.

I see where he is going with this. That makes a lot more sense. The technique he had would usually take a long time to train because of the barrier. But by using his mana, he could forcefully break it.

That seemed like a very good solution.

But what was my part in all of this, then?

"Ok, so what do I have to do?" I asked.

"I am glad that you asked; your part is to optimize this process". He said it with a smile as he placed his hand in front of my eyes, blocking my view.

Optimize this process. What did he mean by that?

"Remember to explain what I did to the next version to save time".

To the next version? What is he saying?

Soon I felt a warm feeling coming out of his hands, which quickly intensified. It became like a burning pain, as if someone were putting boiling water into my eyes.

I started to scream in pain and tremble, and soon I lost my feeling in my legs.

As I fell down, the pain was still there, getting stronger every second.

But his hand was still covering my eyes.

"Only a little more, and we are done". I heard a faint whisper, muffled by all the pain I felt.

Soon I felt something break inside my eyes, and as I felt the burning pain fade away,

And when I tried to open my eyes, I realized that I couldn't see anything.

"Ahh, it should have been a little more to the right". He said it with a little disappointment.

A little more to the right? As I realized what he said, I tried to put my hands in front of my eyes.

But I couldn't see anything. Wait, am I blind right now?

[Skill activation]

Perfect Clear [X]

[Returning to the moment you first entered this floor]

"Remember to say it to the next version, that it should have been a little more to the right".

Wait a minute? Is this what he meant by optimizing the process?

But before I could process it, I regressed.