It's been three weeks since they started their training with the otherworlders and finding out about the second angel and their gods' machinations. It's also been three weeks since they heard any mention of clearance to head into the next tower.

The more time passed, the more Mikella felt she was letting the otherworlders in that tower down. At the same time, she kept reminding herself that there were possibly millions of other towers with otherworlders in the same position, and if she started worrying about one tower, she had to worry about all of them–and that just wasn't possible.

So thankfully, everytime her thoughts went back into the next potential tower run, she hurled herself back into her training with Janet and Lyle.

Janet had been training her magic skills relentlessly with Zeke while Mikella helped Lyle get his Kinetic Perception skill. While the effort was strenuous for him, he managed to get out with a few levels into the new Kinetic Perception skill in his kit.

On the other hand, Zeke was able to expand Janet's control over her valuable Elemental Resonance skill, using his runes as examples to how it can work. While for Zeke, it would take a while for his runes to replicate her spells, Janet can easily recreate the combo spells in half a second, and some of those combos can be brutal if planned properly. Of course, she managed to evolve her Perception skills into Manipulation skills, which only increased her fatality even more.

At the same time, she and Zeke had been improving themselves more and more, using their new Acquired Skills to the limit. Thanks to that, they've been increasing the skill levels rather quickly.

Warp Jump Level Up! It is now Level 5.

You have gained +2 SPI (x4) from your skill. You have gained +1 END (x4) from your skill.

Mikella had seen the ups and downs of Warp Jump, realizing that while it could be useful to move around, it was better to use it as sparingly as possible. Despite leveling it up, the costs to use it frequently actually skyrockets, especially during battle where her sense of control could become sporadic. Even more so when she was fighting in an unfamiliar environment like in the towers.

She had a feeling that using it as a trump card when her back is against the wall can easily make this skill a sort of finisher despite its affordable costs to use it gradually throughout the battle. Then when they thought she ran out of energy to jump away, she'll just jump right at them, taking them out from an unexpected attack.

She really liked that idea, and Zeke–despite hating every moment of it during their sparring–couldn't agree more how devilishly awesome that plan was.

As for Zeke, he really took a shine to that Mythril Skin skill. Whenever he would take the chance, he would use the skill to harden his body and make his regular punches actually hurt more, almost compounding the damage done along with his Unarmed Mastery skill. Surprisingly, he leveled up his skill far faster than she did, which she wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.

Mythril Skin Level Up! It is now Level 7.

You have gained +1 (x6) SPI from your skill. You have gained +1 (x6) VIT from your skill. You have gained +1 (x6) END from your skill.

She had a feeling that this would be Zeke's replacement for his barrier. While he can't protect everyone around him, he can at least use himself as a shield in case someone goes after them. She honestly wasn't liking this sort of plan, but she knew Zeke better than anyone that this would be his go-to move. And if she was being realistic, it's a very solid plan going forward.

While they've been keeping busy to themselves, the thoughts about Zoan's talk with Hyralc still haunted her. Zoan had been quiet this whole time, keeping to herself and her books while also helping Clara with her training. But Mikella noticed that she seemed weary sometimes, as though it took a lot out of her just to walk.

It reminded her on how Piker looked when Zacharia forced him to break his oath from her and Zeke. Their bodies became taxed by the system's penalty, leaving them weakened for a short while for breaking their oaths. While she wasn't sure whether Zoan and Hyralc were under some sort of contract or some special oath, one thing is clear–Zoan took a risk to find out more about what is going on, disregarding her pride and even helping them out.

Maybe she changed her mind after seeing the new otherworlders in their midst, or perhaps she realized just how difficult things would be without knowing what was going on. Still, that didn't help their current situation at all–only answering the single question that they already somewhat knew. Something wrong was happening, and they can't do anything other than to cope with it.

But to find out that it was from some divine realm of all places, where the gods were staying, and hearing that they were scheming like a bunch of corrupt nobles didn't help ease Mikella's mind, not in the slightest. But in the end, like usual, she drove herself deep into her training, forgetting anything inconvenient that isn't an immediate concern for her and for her family.

And that also meant it was time for her to focus on skill fusion.

No matter how powerful she felt, no amount of sparring and training would help her feel strong enough to deal with something that the gods themselves might be involved. But no matter how little her progress is, it was still progress, and she planned to take one step at a time.

Even if that meant doing something as mundane and boring as meditating. Whenever she and Zeke got the chance, they would try to focus on their Meditation skill for skill fusion, which was needed to make it work.

She was still a bit concerned about the price to fuse skills, but if she can convince Alissa to help with that, she might end up receiving something more than what she spent.

But what really got her in a tissy is that no matter how hard she tried, her Mediation skill just wouldn't budge.

Three whole weeks, and after doing plenty of experiments such as draining their energies and even going as far as slightly harming themselves to heal their resources–she only managed to advance her skill to Uncommon.

Meditation Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).

You have gained +2 INT from your skill.

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Meditation has been maxed. Bonuses are now applied:

-Increased regeneration rate. -Increased mental concentration. -Advancement available

…..

Skill Advancement has commenced.

Your skill Meditation (Common) has advanced into Meditation (Uncommon)

You gain points based on the advanced rarity:

+9 SPI

Your skill Meditation has been reset to Level 1. You will still retain the stat bonuses you have acquired before the advancement.

It was great that she finally got rid of that moniker of having a single Common skill among her Rare and Epic ones, but it still made her bitter at how impossible it was to raise this skill any further. Even Zeke, usually fine with standing still for hours while studying, was upset that he also advanced but can't seem to go any further.

She really hoped that this wasn't another otherworlder issue that they have to face, like how they can't gain anymore Acquired Skills without swallowing some giant ball of system magic.

Still, she hadn't fully understood Yola's explanation regarding skill fusion, such as what can one do with a limited Meditation skill. Due to that, she opted to ask for advice, which she refrained before due to inebriated circumstances…

"I think it's a good idea," Zeke said, the two discussing within the gym hall while Lyle and Janet sparred against each other.

The sounds of combat near them was enough to appease Mikella, fearing that Lyle wasn't the sort to really fight eagerly. She was proven wrong, his fighting style actually more severe as time passed on, which she gladly accepted.

"But what if it's too expensive?" Mikella asked, her concerns plain in her eyes as she stared at him. "I ran away because of how expensive it is. If I need to pay more, I won't have enough."

After talking things with Alissa, she was able to make some discounts, but the Skill Repository had their own circumstances to which Alissa can't just brush aside, even as the Lord's liaison. Zeke thought it over for a mere moment before smiling.

"So why don't I help you out? I got plenty of gold left over."

"Zeke, I can't just–"

Mikella tried to say, but stopped when she saw him crossing his arms, giving her an arched brow as if daring her to continue.

She really hadn't considered asking Zeke for gold since it was his money. They already discussed that it was important to keep their own funds for their own sakes, rather than share just absolutely everything. At least that's what Mikella proposed to which Zeke accepted.

She hated using someone else to pay for her own dues. It was just in her pride to handle it herself, at least financially. However, this reminded her of that one discussion in Adam's store so long ago, proving once again that they were still in that situation.

He didn't even have to speak again before Mikella gave up.

"Alright, alright, just… ugh, fine."

"See? Was that so hard?"

"Don't push your luck, nerd."

She said with a scowl, but Zeke just grinned that stupid charming smile of his as he lent her all the gold on his person. After saying she can just give back anything that remained, she left the group, figuring that Zeke can take over training the two while she went on her way.

…..

"I'm glad to see you've come back, Mikella!"

Yola said, eagerly leading Mikella back to the skill chamber almost a month ago. Thankfully, once the folks saw her returning after she diligently warned them beforehand with Alissa's help, Yola came up to be the one to lead her like she did before. This time, there was a skip in her step, as though she was looking forward to see what Mikella is gonna do.

"Thanks," Mikella responded with a meek grin. "Though I gotta be honest–I still wasn't able to raise my Meditation to Rare rarity. Is there some chance that I can still fuse my skill with it still at Uncommon?"

"You already raised your Meditation skill to Uncommon? In just a month?" Yola said, showing genuine surprise in her expression. "It's no wonder why you're so talented. And for a skill that's normally difficult to raise proves just as much."

"Is it really that hard?" Mikella asked, this time curious. "Don't get me wrong, it was. It's just… I figured I just didn't have a knack for it."

"Barely anyone does, which is why there are services for skill fusion even for those with lower rarity Meditation skills. However, it will increase the price for that service, as well as increase the difficulty in fusing the skills. If I remember correctly, if you're still planning on fusing all weapon mastery skills into one, that would prove to be very challenging."

Yola turned to Mikella with a rising smile.

"Though I have a good feeling that you can easily take that challenge. Now the real question is–can you pay for it?"

Mikella winced, still remembering the horrific price tag of several thousand gold. Even if she included her Uncommon Meditation skill on top, it would only make things slightly easier, not less expensive.

However, this is where she brought out her trump card.

"I am prepared to pay for it, however, I want to ask about something else. You said that the reason for the price is due to how many skills needed to be fused as well as the energy needed to fuse them, right?"

"Precisely. Fusing skills require a heavy dose of energy by the system, as well as all the alternative sources such as mana and kinetic energy to fuel the process. This would normally require the user to have loads of energy to do it themselves, but the amount is staggeringly high, normally needing the user to be at least Master-stage to properly pay for the skill fusion. Hence why these skills chambers exists. For the right price, you can fuse skill however you like whenever you like."

"Then…"

Mikella stopped Yola for a moment, showing her two small items from her pack. The Skill Fusion Fragments, earned from her tower running.

Yola's eyes widened at the sight of these fragments, and when she studied them prefusely, her eyes had that glint of excitement and curiosity.

"This is… where did you find this artifact?"

"I got it from a dungeon with my adventuring party," Mikella lied with a half-truth. "It felt pretty rare, so I wanted to know if this can somehow help with the skill fusion. Considering the name and all."

"Yes… yes, this might be exactly what you need," Yola said, turning over the fragment in her hand with her fingers. "These have the barest mechanics as the skill chamber, and I can tell from my own skill that this carries a lot of power. If you were to sell this, you might actually get quite a lot."

"Enough to buy a skill fusion for all my skills?" Mikella asked hopefully.

"Not to that extent, unfortunately," Yola giggled, promptly bursting Mikella's bubble. "But it would definitely downsize the price if you let us acquire one of them for study. The other we can use for the chamber you plan on using. If you accept this, the price will come down to 950 gold. Would that be acceptable?"

"And the earlier price was…"

"Around 4,600 gold, give or take some taxes involved."

Mikella let out a defeated breath. No matter which world she was in, money still talks.

"Screw it. Take my money then, you goblins."

"Thank you for your purchase!"

Yola eagerly and proudly ignored the playful insult to her name, taking Mikella's skill fragments as well as the 950 gold coins. It completely trounced her bank, and almost took all of Zeke's gold.

Still, she didn't have to worry about getting any weapon repair costs down her throat thanks to their deal with Cru, and potions are easy to get thanks to Lyle. Even more so, she didn't have to worry about Yola having access to one of her skill fragments. It wasn't as though artifacts like the fragments were completely unique only to Otherworlders. The only thing that would be unique would be the orb they have to swallow, and that's the only thing she's never willing to let go.

But now, she can finally fuse her skills. What should really be put into concern is how good of a skill she can make.

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