"I suddenly felt weird. I could tell the Twilight Staff liked me, suddenly I was in a space that was made of endless darkness. A little girl with black hair and black eyes, wearing a gothic loli dress. I immediately realized she was the spirit of the Twilight Staff."
"Yes, that is correct," she said in an emotionless tone. "
"You do not have the necessary strength to wield my power, though you have good potential," the spirit said in the same emotionless tone. Suddenly, we were clashing with our fists. I realized I couldn't use my magic inside this space, which I was willing to bet, it was within my mind. I continued fighting, blocking punches and kicks, launching my own punches and kicks, but I was getting the shit kicked out of me. This was one-sided, though I felt like I was getting stronger, not just through improving my combat skills. I did notice they were increasing by the minute at a terrifying rate.
It felt similar to when you kill a monster in a dungeon or outside of a dungeon; you absorb a small portion of its life force, then your body refines that life force and uses it to strengthen itself. This process happens in a few seconds. The term is referred to as 'leveling up,' based on old video games. "We have various forms of entertainment like Quidditch and other games. It's just that Australia was not one of the countries that managed to preserve pre-Awakened technology, unlike America, which still has the Internet. As one of the countries that managed to maintain its order and keep its civilization from completely collapsing, Australia's government collapsed on day one, so it did not have a chance to try something similar. We developed our magical items and magic tech; these fundamentally work differently from advanced technologies. Additionally, something like the internet could be made with magic tech; it's just that no one does it. After all, we have so many real problems, and it's not like we lack entertainment. We have coliseums, sports, and even games like Yu-Gi-Oh that use illusions to make real monsters. Therefore, the internet isn't really necessary since it's mostly intended as a distraction and could be dangerous. Cultivating one's strength is important, especially because our world is infested with monsters and dungeons. We have a magic tool, which is an earring that allows for telepathic conversations, so we do have communication at a distance like a mobile phone."
"I managed to land a hit, only to get the shit kicked out of me once again. My skills are improving at a scary rate, but it seems I've been slowly absorbing life force from the planet itself thanks to the Twilight Staff, i am getting stronger and stronger. The staff's spirit simply smiles at me, saying, 'You have so much potential, but you're not strong enough yet. This training isn't just about training your mind, your magic, or your body; no, this is the training of the soul.'
'The mind is intrinsically linked to the soul. If one wanders deep enough in the realm of the mind, they'll enter the realm of the soul,' she smiled and said. 'Your soul needs to be strong enough to bear my power; otherwise, it will be vaporized instantly.'
She seems to grow even stronger, and I'm getting worn out, but I continue fighting. The more I'm backed into a corner, the stronger I get. This is my will, not the same as an ordinary person's will to give up in a hopeless situation; my will grows stronger in defiance, as if challenging fate itself. I refuse to yield, even to fate; that is my nature." "As if realizing my own nature was some kind of trigger, I feel like I just went Super Saiyan. Time for round two," I smile at the staff spirit.