“…”
Henry remained silent.
He could feel how hard it was for Neo to say what he was saying.
“It takes me ten steps to do what others can do in one step.”
“Those people you are comparing yourself to are geniuses, Neo,” Henry spoke. “You shouldn’t compare yourself to them.”
“My enemy won’t care if I’m a genius or not. I can survive and win only if I’m strong.”
Neo continued,
“At my current pace, it won’t be long before others start to catch up with me.
“My only advantage is my Immortality. I can take bigger risks to get stronger.
“The trident… is a chance. It can kill me, but it can make me stronger. Far stronger.”
He looked Henry in the eye.
There was a deep determination behind his gaze.
“I need that strength, even if it kills me.”
Henry sunk into the chair.
He massaged his temples and looked out of the window.
There, he could see a gigantic tornado beyond the horizon.
The tornado could be seen from anywhere on the continent.
Neo followed his gaze and noticed the tornado.
He opened his mouth.
“Void Window #8477.
“It appeared suddenly and wiped out the entire Hephaestus God Clan.
“No one who entered that Window has returned.
“That window killed….” Neo pursed his lips. “Mom and Dad.”
He turned and faced Henry.
“The God Clan supported by one of the High Gods couldn’t survive.
“It’s proof enough how much strength matters.”
“…”
“Please, brother, let me undergo exoskeleton reinforcement.”
Henry’s scar started to throb as he stared at the tornado – at the window that took everything from him.
The Window that forced him to become the abomination he was now.
“Ah, fuck.”
He pulled out a cigarette and took a puff.
The pain lessened after a few drags.
“This fucking shit.”
Henry knew the importance of strength.
He had cursed everything.
The fate, the world, and himself, for making him what he was.
For not allowing him to awaken his God blood.
“Fuck.”
Henry threw the cigarette after taking a few puffs.
He stared at Neo after calming down.
“What exactly is your reasoning behind using the trident?
“The exoskeleton reinforcement isn’t something you can do multiple times.
“If you are going to do it, you should choose the best weapon – or metal – you have,” Henry explained.
“The Trident has an immortal slayer trait. It has a good compatibility with my Death element.”
“And?”
“It might help me in building my Concept.”
“The Concept of the Death element?” Henry was slightly surprised. “What Concept are you trying to build?”
“I’ll tell you when it’s completed.
“For now, it’s barely reached its infant stages.”
His current progress was around 10~15%.
It helped Neo had a clear image of his Death element’s Concept.
However, he would be lying if he said he knew what to do to progress further.
“Fine.”
Henry snarled.
“But if you die, make no mistake, I’ll pull your soul back from the Underworld and kill you again.”
“That’s impossible.”
Neo smiled, knowing Henry was worried about him.
“It’s not impossible. All I need to do is threaten those Templars from the Temple of Death.”
Neo’s smile disappeared.
“Please don’t do that.”
‘Because I can see those Templars complaining to Grim Reapers and then Barbatos coming to me, asking me what I did.’
The principal was enough.
Neo didn’t need another person after him, telling him he was creating problems everywhere.
“You can go now.
“The procedure for the exoskeleton reinforcement will take a week to complete.
“Until then, you should focus on the press conference and the auction.”
Neo nodded.
He stood up.
“See you later.”
After Neo left the room, Henry took out another cigarette.
“Fuck.”
He knew Neo had been pushing himself to grow stronger.
But what he heard from Neo was beyond his imagination.
He looked out of the window, at the tornado.
“From desire springs ambition, and from ambition arises power.”
His face contorted.
He hated seeing Neo in so much pain.
But it was necessary.
Neo needed to be prepared to face them.
…
Neo met up with his friends.
Everyone was training in the private training rooms inside the mansion.
They had a lavish dinner a few hours later.
Henry made sure to treat them to the best of the best.
After dinner, they decided to play table tennis.
They did a blind lottery for the match-ups.
Neo sat at the side while Jack and Sean were having a match.
Mars was next to Neo.
Suddenly, Neo opened his mouth.
“What is it?”
“…”
“All of you have been on toes around me.”
Mars smiled.
“It’s always hard to hide things from you.”
“No, it’s just that you guys suck at it. Jack especially.”
“Hey, I can hear you two!”
Jack shouted while playing table tennis.
“Stop slandering me!”
Neo rolled his eyes.
The group laughed.
Although they were looking at Jack and Sean play, Neo could tell their attention was on the conversation between Mars and him.
“We are lagging behind,” Mars spoke. “It’s clear looking at you that we need to step up our game.
“That’s why we wanted to ask you to help train us.”
“You want me to train you?”
Neo swept his gaze around the room.
They nodded. frёeωebɳovel.com
“…”
Neo thought about the proposal.
Before answering, Neo turned to Arthur,
“You want me to train you too?”
“Yup.”
There was a slight sense of hesitation behind Arthur’s answer.
Neo sensed it easily.
“Arthur, I know you are saying yes because of everyone here. Just tell me your honest opinion.”
“I’m saying the truth–”
“Arthur…”
Arthur closed his mouth.
A sigh escaped his lips.
“Fine. It’s true I think training under Neo is useless.
“It’s not that I’m looking down on Neo, but he doesn’t have much talent.
“Neo is growing at a blinding pace. True. I have no idea how he’s doing it.
“However, I can tell that it’s not because of his talent,” Arthur explained.
“What?” Jack spoke. “You never told us anything like that.”
“I couldn’t say it. I’m sorry,” Arthur said.
“There you have it.”
Neo interjected.
“It’s useless to train under me. I’m growing stronger at a fast pace because I have my own methods.
“You guys can’t use it, or I would’ve revealed them to you already.”
Everyone became silent.
They were left confused, not knowing how to react.
“But…”
Neo continued.
“I can become a target for all of you. A target you need to surpass.”
His words caught their attention.
“Let’s do this.
“We’ll have a battle when the next semester starts.
“All of you can fight me together.
“You can ask for more people to help you – because I frankly don’t think you have a chance against me with just you seven – and if you manage to defeat me…”
“If we manage to defeat you?” Jack questioned.