Chapter 5: Max Level is out of Reach!
Although meditation appeared on the panel, John couldn’t upgrade it yet, as his breathing needed to reach level five to free up the upgrade slot. Until then, he couldn’t upgrade meditation, so he set it aside for now.
He also didn’t want to upgrade meditation, as breathing already provided the mental clarity he needed. At a high enough level, breathing would offer even more clarity, so upgrading two skills with similar benefits seemed redundant.
It was better to focus on breathing or offensive skills for now, as his main goals were escaping this place and killing Fatmaster. For that, he didn’t need mental peace but power. While meditation might offer power at higher levels, he was certain it would take too long, and he didn’t have enough time.
His breathing would take over a day and a half to reach level four, so he stood up and headed to the mines. For now, he could only wait for his strength to grow.
The time would come when his power was enough to escape this place.
Though he lacked sufficient power now, he was confident that with patience, his panel would help him defeat Fatmaster. When that day arrived, he would fulfill his promise to the girl and escape.
Reaching the mining area, he picked up his pickaxe and basket and started mining.
He saw the girl from before, but she was silent and didn’t look at him. She mined slowly with her new pickaxe.
After finishing their work and submitting their stones, John returned to his cell. Today, Fatmaster didn’t trouble the girl but targeted someone else instead.
"This guy deserves to die!" John thought, angry but powerless. He opened his panel to check his info:
[Name: John Coral
Age: 23