BXBX NOVEL Chapter 93 : Synergy
"Bored inside the house too?" she asked.
"Indeed, not the best environment to relax," Sora replied, his eyes still closed. To his surprise, the skill’s effect didn’t break—he remained in a meditative state, even as they exchanged simple sentences.
They both resumed their training, with Sora being inspired by his discovery. He could do something else while meditating. His rapid thoughts interrupted his meditation, but he didn’t mind it, as he would return to his meditation soon enough. He scanned his body with [Mana Eyes] trying to understand what changed with this new skill.
Around his brain, he seemed to detect a cloud of some a new energy. It seemed that it was formed from his meditation, and he couldn’t help but try to control it, but using mana to manipulate didn’t seem to be the answer, as it escaped his control. Aware that [Meditate] would give him control over Mental Power after he reached a certain level, he did not worry about not being able to control this new energy for the moment.
’It is like my Soul Power... Soul power gathers near my [Soul Palace] and stays there, seemingly useless because I don’t have a way to use it. One day, I need to figure out how to make use of that energy.’
The energy of what he knew was Mental Power around his brain felt weak compared to the feeling Soul Power gave him. ’The quality of Soul Power is countless times more concentrated and heavy than this new energy.’ He estimated. He sighed but resumed his training, sitting quietly beside Kara.
[Meditate] was a skill with many uses and layers, with one of the most important functions being transforming mana into Mental Power. Transforming mana into Mental Power was not difficult, but absorbing it was extremely slow, and difficult. For that reason, a cloud of Mental Power started forming around his body, as the excess could not enter his mind yet.
With Sora and Kara meditating side to side, something similar to an aura formed—a field brimming with unabsorbed mental power. Invisible currents of mental power moved around them, drifting closer with each passing moment, and gradually seeping into their bodies before being led to their minds as if waiting for their turn.
As time passed, something unusual began to occur.
As [Soul Link], the first effect of Kara’s Supreme Skill, continued to operate quietly in the background, any mental power passing too close to the link became entangled with it. At first, the mental energy in the air seemed confused, uncertain of its destination, and what was happening.
As if driven by Kara’s Supreme skill, some of it was tempted to enter the [Soul Link] and started flowing toward Sora, while other strands veered in the opposite direction, creating a delicate balance as the energy tried found a shortcut to enter the two players’ minds. This random distribution of mental power began to fuel both of them, even subtly enhancing their connection.
Slowly but steadily, this accidental shortcut formed, with mental energy, mixed within the ’link’, flowing toward them. At first, the flow was subtle, almost imperceptible, but over time, it grew larger and faster. Every time one of them absorbed Mental Power, part of it was sent back through the [Soul Link], trying to bridge the gap in power between them.
The overflowing Mental Power around them was quickly drained, as their absorption speed skyrocketed. However Sora’s natural attraction to mana intensified the phenomenon, drawing more and more mana toward them and causing the atmosphere to become thick with mental power again as transforming mana into mental power was not a difficult process.
What started as a gentle stream began to transform into a roaring river. Mana would flow near them, transform into mental power, flow into one of them through the [Soul Link], nourish their mental power, and then be sent through the [Soul Link] to the other person.
Sora and Kara, though deep in their meditative states, began to sense the changes but dismissed them and remained focused on their meditation, feeling that any break in concentration could disrupt the phenomenon.
Their [Soul Link] was evolving, and [Mana Evolution] played a crucial role, fueling the process and pushing it to new heights.
They trained for days, and formed their mental defenses and gradually understood the basics of the [Meditate] skill.
Mixing training, days of meditation, days of rest and days as a couple, a month quickly passed.
Kara received a notification that broke her focus.
[Your Supreme Skill’s first effect, [Soul Link], has evolved.]
Curious, she compared the new description to the old one she knew so well:
(Old Effect)
Effect 1: Soul Link:
Form a permanent bond with an ally, linking your life forces. Damage taken by one can be shared with the other. This bond strengthens the weaker party, continually boosting their life force and making them stronger over time at no cost.
(New Effect)
Effect 1: Soul Link:
Form a permanent bond with an ally, linking your life forces, mental power, mana and other energies. Damage taken by one can be shared with the other. This bond greatly strengthens the weaker party, rapidly boosting their life force and making them stronger over time at no cost. Allows telepathy between the two linked souls.
Kara’s eyes widened as she read the updated description. The new effect was significantly more powerful, and she could feel the difference already. It wasn’t just life force anymore—mental power and mana were now part of the exchange, increasing the flow of energy between her and Sora. The feedback loop felt stronger, faster, as if they were both drawing power from each other...
’It’s like turning a small, one-lane road into a fourteen-lane highway,’ she thought in awe.
’Mental Power had hijacked the Soul link for a month already, but mana now being added to the mix makes the skill effect incredible.This is the best feeling ever! I felt Sora closing the gap between us with lightning speed, but now I can stay competitive by leeching off his mana recovery!’ Kara’s mind buzzed with excitement, but unsure of what this new concept truly entailed for Sora, she turned to him.
"Do you feel the change in our Soul Link?" she asked.
Sora, also coming out of his meditation, nodded, surprise evident in his eyes. "I feel it. It’s like a dozen times more life force flowing toward me, and I’m sending you... mana and mental power?" He seemed just as astonished as she was.
After a month, the amount of mental power he had was a few times that of Kara, as his talent was affecting his training speed. Despite dreaming of training millions of times faster, he knew that his huge talent level did not have such effect, only making him train a few times faster than others.
The [Soul Link] however made sure she was also not too far behind, as she could keep up to his progress.
Kara smiled. "Yes, the effect evolved. Now we can share more power, and it’s much faster than before." She then asked, "Did you gain anything new?"
Sora grinned and pulled up his skill screen. "My meditation skill maxed out, and I got an upgraded version."
He shared the skill description:
[Superior Meditate : Allows the user to reach a state where they transcend normal consciousness, tapping into the deeper layers of the mind. Mental Power can be handled with more ease and leave the body.]
Excited by their newfound strength, Sora and Kara spent the next months in Kara’s [Time Space], training together and exchanging ideas to push their limits even further. The improvements they were making, especially in mental power, were unlike anything they’d experienced before. They were rapidly catching up to people who had trained their minds for years, pushing their potential far beyond what they expected.
In a corner, Hiyoko sat, bored, watching the two lovebirds training tirelessly and thinking, ’Aren’t they sick of spending all their times together? They keep on ignoring me... And these beasts are dumb!’
Hiyoko who was currently playing cards with a beast Kara had tamed, had already won thousands of times in a row, against various opponents, including Kara and Sora... ’I am such a smart bird... No one can beat me anymore.’ She thought.
Meanwhile, outside the guild building, Emily paced impatiently. She couldn’t stop thinking about the two promising recruits. ’Those two are way more talented than anyone we ever had. Their innate skills are probably top-tier, maybe even comparable to mine,’ she thought, her excitement barely contained.
A voice from beside her cut into her thoughts. "Maybe you scared them off with all your talking. You never know when to stop."
Emily shot a glare at Kim, the guild master, her irritation plain. "Shut up, or I’ll shave your head. You don’t know anything. Those two are worth nurturing. They’re not cowards—they’ll show up."
Kim chuckled, clearly enjoying riling her up. "Yes, yes, you’ve told me that five times already. Who says they didn’t run off to another guild after your intimidation session?"
Emily ignored him, scanning the area. Apart from Kim’s teasing, seven people were still late. Though Sora and Kara were new, the other group had been trained by the guild for a full year and had spent the last three weeks in a special training space. They were supposed to return this morning, including the new girl.
Soon enough, Sora and Kara approached. "Sorry for being late. Something came up," Sora apologized.
Emily waved it off. "Don’t worry, you’re just in time. However, there are five others who are going to taste my punches later. It’s been a while since I beat them up."
She quickly switched gears. "So, did you manage to gain basic mastery over one of the mental power skills?"
Unable to assess them in a safe area without starting a duel, she could only ask.
"Yes, we did. Thanks to you!" Sora replied sincerely.
"Good! It seems your growth factors and talents are impressive. During the event, there shouldn’t be too many trials focusing on mental power, but try to stay in the competition as much as possible, even if you need to choose the easy mode. It’s crucial to not be eliminated."
Kara nodded, and, curious, she asked, "Who are we waiting for?"
Emily sighed. "You see those five grayed names in the guild list? That’s who we’re waiting for. They left three weeks ago for training and were supposed to return this morning. We can’t contact them because they’re not technically in our ’space’ yet."
Kara opened the guild member list, watching as the five names regained their color. "It looks like they’re back," she said.
The others opened the guild interface, and sure enough, five names appeared.
Though it had only been a few months, with all the time spent training with Kara, it felt like years to him since the day Rachel killed him. The last thing he wanted was to see her ugly face, but he wouldn’t mind sabotaging her event and assessing her power in the process to perfect his revenge.
Moments later, a group of five players approached them.