"You're making good progress with your new skill." It's been a week since the Solar family and Arisa left. Training with my grandmother has just finished, and she shares her thoughts with me.

"Should I accept the skill? Or keep waiting?" On the fourth day, I obtained a skill called Paralyzing Shock. The problem is its level—it's only Grade (I). I understand why it's low; it's just a lightning bolt that moves forward, and upon hitting an object or person, tries to spread throughout their body to induce paralysis.

Over the past four days, I've focused only on range and speed. While those are aspects I can still improve, it's time to start creating more variations to get an effective area attack.

"It's better to wait. If you keep practicing, you'll obtain a higher-level skill. Remember, you only have one skill slot left." She's right. Using that slot hastily could be a mistake if a better skill is offered to me later.

"It's hard to weave mana like this. It becomes sturdier, but it's difficult to create channels for my Imra." My grandmother had been teaching me how to use two threads of mana. This gave me more firepower, but I lost internal channels, making it harder to guide Imra. It'll take time to get used to doing it quickly in a fight.

"It's more effective this way. You're trying to affect your opponent directly with mana, and the best way is by layering woven mana. If you don't, it won't paralyze anyone—even if you hit them." Her logic makes sense. A weak lightning bolt will only deal normal electrical damage. But if I weave multiple threads into a thick one, not only will it be stronger, it'll carry more mana and hit harder.

My grandmother stands from her mana cushion and leaves to handle matters she'd delayed due to our guests. That leaves me alone in the training room. Sitting in the center, I start reminiscing. My parents are busy with the integration of Puntsal, and my grandmother is now handling most responsibilities in Mancor and Talara.

"I should visit Mancor soon. I want to see Edd and the others." But first, I need to complete part of my training. This week, I've been adjusting to weaving mana this way and trying to add channels—it's pretty tough.

Training continues smoothly. When I get bored of practicing range, I switch to weaving for power. I change perspectives, using the same amount of threads to make more attacks, and keep tweaking it until something works.

Each repetition improves my form. Each practice deepens my understanding. Using it over and over teaches me more about its nuances. I keep going until it becomes tedious. My massive mana pool doesn't deplete easily—only gravity spells can do that quickly. That's why I'm still hesitant to use it, even though it's probably my best offensive and defensive affinity.

Days go by. After six more days of training, I finally get what I've been waiting for: an upgraded version of the skill I got over a week ago.

"Would you like to learn the skill: Electrifying Fierce River (III)?" After all this practice, I finally earned something. I didn't expect it to take this long, but it required thousands and thousands of repetitions to fully understand and execute the skill properly.

"Would you like to learn the skill: Interwoven Mana Weaving (III)?"

Huh? What's this? I had hoped to get that skill early on, but gave up after thousands of failed attempts. And now… both appear at once? What am I supposed to do? I only have one slot… what a tough choice.

Interwoven Mana Weaving (III) would be incredibly useful to enhance my other skills. It would completely change how I build my ice swords. It might be tricky with the spheres due to their shape, and since I usually compress mana inside them.

But this skill is a fundamental one—it makes everything easier. With it, I could build faster and with less effort. It would help my mind through the entire process. It's something anyone in my position should be aiming for.

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On the other hand, I finally have the skill I've been working so hard for. If I choose it, I'll gain power in every way. It would be my first ability suited for fighting multiple opponents while also inflicting a temporary status effect.

What should I do? Both skills are useful in their own way… A month ago, I would've struggled alone with this decision. But now I can ask my grandmother, who's incredibly wise. Without waiting until tomorrow, I run toward her office at home.

But when I arrive, I find out she's left for Mancor. I take off running from Talara to the other town—time to find her. You never know where she might be. It must be important if she went all the way there to handle it herself.

Luck is on my side. When I arrive, I find my grandmother and two guards near the first entrance to town. Once you pass through these stone and reinforced wood walls, you see 90% of the town's crops. That's why it's so important to fortify this area. The walls form a U-shape, beginning and ending at the town's main wall.

"Maki? What are you doing here?" My grandmother looks surprised to see me running up to her. She seems a little worried—her expression and Imra are uneasy. My instincts scream at me.

"I came to ask you something, but judging by the mood, it can wait. What's going on?" The guards greet me, and I return their nods as I wait for my grandmother's response. She hesitates, then exhales.

"I don't know if you're a magnet for trouble or if I'm just lucky to always see you at the right time." She looks at me for a second, then flashes her typical smile that means something big is coming. "We found a third rift. This is the first one that's Grade 2." That's great news. It'll help us get Grade 2 cores and train our town's guards.

"The problem is that it's on the brink of a monster stampede. First, we need to wipe out all the monsters pushed out from overpopulation." That sounds serious. If those monsters reach town, our guards will have to fight, lowering safety for the villagers.

"We always keep guards on standby for these situations. If we didn't have to rotate some out to manage the Grade 1 rifts, we'd be fine." Our guard force is about 90% Advanced Emeralds, with a few Basic Sapphires. Only three have reached Intermediate Sapphire.

"I see… Are you handling it personally, Grandma?" Sending Emerald-level guards to face a monster stampede of the same grade isn't logical—they'll just die of exhaustion. Logically, my grandmother or a Sapphire-level squad should go.

She looks at me like I'm a strange bug. "That was my plan at first. But now it's not necessary. I've found the perfect person to buy us time." My first thought: Wait… Does the town have another Ruby-rank? Or maybe one of my parents returned? Then it hit me—she's talking about me.

She dismisses the guards, assuring them she'll send the perfect person for the job. She guarantees the town's safety. The monsters won't even get close to the outskirts.

"Not sure if I'm lucky or unlucky." Those are my first words once the guards are out of earshot. They'll probably inform the others and assume some Ruby-rank is handling it.

"We may never know, kid. At least you're a lifesaver for your dear grandma, who trains you every day for situations like this." I catch the sarcasm in her voice. I give her a skeptical look and get a little light ball to the forehead in return.

"So… I'm supposed to buy time until when?" If it's just stalling, I'm confident. With my mana, gravity pit, defenses and attacks—it's a piece of cake. I'll just lead them around until they're bored.

"Are you dumb? That was clearly a lie." My grandmother looks at me like I'm a clueless frog trying to leap. "You're going to kill all those monsters trying to destroy your town. Go prove your worth." She starts walking outside the village. I follow beside her, confused.

"Kid, each stampede should be about 500 to 1000 monsters, with a max of three. That number's nothing for you after surviving an ogre dungeon." She teleports several dozen meters ahead, forcing me to follow using my movement skill.

"The rift is about 6km that way. We didn't notice it earlier because it was hidden by a rare field that blocked mana signals. Only a Ruby-level could've sensed it." She glances at me and then in the rift's direction again. "Or maybe a talented and powerful child who's going to stop that stampede." The sarcasm keeps coming.

"Can you handle it, Maki? Or do you need help?" Her tone shifts to its usual seriousness. From her expression, I can tell she's worried. If it weren't an emergency, she wouldn't be sending me. Asking if I need help is her way of ensuring my safety—and the town's.

"Leave it to me. I'll do everything I can to stop the stampede. I won't let such a small matter cause problems for the village." I crouch and face the rift's direction.

"Why does it sound so reassuring when it comes from you?" Her face is unreadable. I can't sense her Imra at all. "I'll wrap up my own task quickly and come check on you in two hours." With that, she vanishes using her movement skill. I'm still amazed at how she teleports.

"Time to put my new skill to the test. …Crap, I forgot to ask her!" I sigh and launch myself in the direction she pointed. I won't disappoint her—or the town.

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