A few weeks earlier, on Earth...
"So this is where the great Ralph Eden lives?" A handsome man in his twenties, tall with brown hair, stood in front of a door, accompanied by a young woman with auburn hair.
"Yes, and stop calling him Ralph… Salim, I've told you a million times his real name is Sora." The young woman said with a smile.
There was a renewed serenity and a newfound determination on her face.
Salim laughed. "It's not my fault, Kara. I just can't get used to it! I got too used to seeing him as a blondie."
He followed Kara as she took a key hidden in the gap of the kitchen window's shutters and opened the front door.
Salim stepped into Sora's house and immediately noticed the family photos.
"Sora's parents look older in the picture than they do now! And that second boy here, is that Nathan?" he asked, pointing to a photo of the whole family.
"You only met his parents after they'd been rejuvenated in my [Time Space], but that's what they looked like when I first met them!" she replied simply, then added, "Yes, that's Nathan next to him… I never met him, but his parents talked about him a lot. I'm surprised you know his name! Did they mention him to you?"
Salim shook his head. "No, Sora told me about him..."
Sensing a shift in the air, they both looked upward, then at each other.
"Did you feel that? There's a surge of soul power upstairs," Kara shared her discovery.
"Yeah... The amount of soul power he had during the update was already insane, but he's found a way to become even more powerful. And judging by what we just felt, he's far from done."
Kara nodded. "We need to find a way to help him... They took us out, but I'm not ready to give up. Spending my evenings jumping from stream to stream hoping to catch a glimpse of my fiancé isn't how I picture the rest of the war."
Salim smiled. "Tell me about it... With millions of Tunisians back in Tunisia and my role in the other world, I'm hounded back home… I've got no desire to get tangled up in politics or watch our people's fate unfold helplessly through livestreams. I want to do something to help."
Kara reached out her hand, and a broom leaning against the wall lifted off the ground. While she controlled the broom to sweep the dust-covered floor, Salim manipulated the swirling dust particles, shaping them into a lemniscate.
"Our powers are... insignificant compared to what we had," Salim sighed.
Kara didn't seem to agree with him. "Salim. You know very well that what we have is already exceptional. Outside, almost 100% of people have no idea mana can still be used in this world. The fact that we can is due to one thing: our soul level!"
Salim held back a laugh. "Oh god… You sound like him now... I thought Sora was the theory guy doing research while our job was just to learn the skills he taught us? He's rubbed off on you, Kara."
She smiled. "I've met tons of former players, and all my analysis points in that direction. No matter how high a player's level was, only soul level and skill mastery seem to matter when it comes to being able to use lost abilities."
Salim remembered something and asked, "My former royal guards... I told all of them to relearn their skills, and none of them can. Do you think if they raised their soul level, they'd be able to again?"
Kara nodded. "I do think it's a key factor in regaining our strength, but I'm not sure if it's the only one. Maybe there are other factors we haven't figured out yet. For now, the best thing we can do is find soul power and absorb it."
Salim smiled. "[Soulcraft] might be our best shot right now. When I think that Sora taught us that skill without asking anything in return..."
Kara sighed. "He never needed anything from his friends, except their trust."
Salim gathered all the dust he had collected in Sora's house and guided it into a trash bag. Kara, satisfied with the state of the house, followed him as she saw him heading outside.
"I'm going to buy all the houses available in the neighborhood and place my men in them. They'll watch this house, and make sure no one bothers Sora's family. I feel that sooner or later, Sora's going to get noticed on a stream, and people who know his identity will come here." Salim shared his concerns and suggested to Kara.
She looked at him and expressed her gratitude with a smile and a few words. "Thank you, Salim."
Salim waved it off. "It's nothing. You mentioned increasing our soul power. How do we do that?"
"I've heard of a sect that claims to be able to send people back into the game. I think we can start there."
Salim was speechless at the revelation. "We can go back?! We're going back?! Why didn't you start with that?!"
Kara was amused by his reaction. "We can go back, but you wouldn't like the price. I'd rather die than pay what they're asking."
The former king of Neo Carthage looked confused. "What are they asking?"
The young woman shook her head. "I'll tell you on the way. Follow me — I have a meeting with one of the fanatics tonight, in Rome!"
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On Server 69, Sora was fuming with anger at the two hulking giants who wanted to become his mercenaries.
'All that explanation just to tell me I have to beat them? Is this a joke?' Sora wondered, trying to find a way to defeat the group of giants in front of him.
'I can feel it — those two are much stronger than me. I don't even need to fight them to know.'
'Since my soul level now increases my maximum power cap, gaining levels doesn't boost my strength as much as it used to... So I won't get significantly stronger until I reach around level 250.'
Remembering the years he spent training with Kara, and the level of physical power he had accumulated thanks to [Eternal Body Forging], along with his exceptional mana control, Sora shook his head.
'There's no way I can make real progress quickly without a drastic method... Kara, I miss you... With you, nothing ever felt impossible.'
"Human, during your raid, nothing forces us to go all out. If you want, you can fight us now to get a feel for the power level you'll need to reach! On the big day, we'll go easy, don't worry!" Enkidu, seemingly worried about losing a valuable partner, spoke to Sora, who had been silent and motionless for several minutes.
Sora looked up. 'They're going to hold back? They can rig the fight? There are loopholes in the rules like that?'
Unable to find answers to the flood of questions in his mind, he finally spoke. "No need. I'll come back later."
Seeing the smile on Gilgamesh's face and the disappointment on Enkidu's, Sora realized he had just avoided a terrible humiliation.
'As if I was going to get wrecked just to amuse you. But I'll remember you tried to play me.' Staring at Enkidu for a few seconds, Sora gave a brief nod to the two giants and vanished from his position.
An instant later, he reappeared at the summit of a mountain, somewhere in Alaska.
Noticing a few players observing something at the mountain's peak, he silently appeared beside a duo without them noticing and listened in on their conversation.
"It's a gold rush out there, and we're stuck here watching a damn World Boss that no one can kill, and that isn't going anywhere!!" A young man complained, venting his frustration to the older man next to him.
"You know how the guild works. We rack up contribution points by doing unpleasant or boring tasks, and we'll be able to claim rewards proportional to our points later. With those rewards, we can catch up to the people currently focusing on power or wealth." The older man seemed content with the job he'd been given.
The young player wasn't convinced. "Marcus, are you serious? You really believe that crap? Haven't you seen the elders, the vice-leaders, and the leaders? They award themselves contribution points they don't deserve and keep dipping into the guild's treasury again and again! Meanwhile, we get scraps! I knew joining this damned guild was a mistake! I should've stayed solo."
Just as Sora was getting disappointed by the exchange — which wasn't teaching him much — the conversation took a slightly more interesting turn.
"You think a level 220 World Boss is something you're gonna run into as a solo player? If you stick around until the guild gathers enough power to take it down, at least you're guaranteed a share of the loot and XP!" Marcus lost his temper at the young man's lack of patience and explained.
"Don't make me regret recommending you to the guild elders! You're young, and your talent is immense, so don't waste it! If we manage to secure an egg for you during the raid, you'll become a powerhouse!"
The young man seemed mesmerized by the picture the old man was drawing.