“A Void-tainted.”
“So you recognize this appearance,” the man, a Void-tainted, smiled. “Of course you do. An Exalted Demigod would have knowledge about these matters, no doubt.”
He laughed and spread his arms.
“To be honest, I was quite shocked when both of us were teleported to the [Dream Dimension].
“The Will of the World opens this place only when Exalted Demigods are about to fight.”
The Void-tainted pointed at Elizabeth.
“Think about how I felt when I was about to attack the woman who entered our base, and suddenly the Will of the World pulled me into the Dream Dimension.”
The corner of his lips rose.
“Thanks to you, we can complete the ritual today itself.”
The man shot towards Elizabeth with a swift pace.
“I can’t believe an Exalted Demigod delivered herself to our doorsteps!”
“Die and become the foundation of our great ritual!”
***
Training Room, Hargraves Mansion
“Status,” he muttered.
[ Neo Hargraves ]
[ Rank: Grade 5 Mythic ]
[ Divine Energy Purity: Grade 2 Mythic ]
[ Stats ]
﹂Strength: 130
﹂Speed: 128
﹂Dexterity: 140
﹂Constitution: 119
﹂Luck: 0
[ Affinity: Death, Shadow, Darkness, Void, Water, Time ]
﹂Magic Spell: Necrotic Touch, Ocean’s Embrace, Essence Breath
[ Bloodline: Monarch of Death ]
﹂Unique Skill: Death, Immortal, Eternal
[ Quest: Complete Barbatos’ Training (Part 1), Completed 3/5 ]
He focused on the luck values.
A sigh escaped his lips.
“I wonder if my Luck – Fate Value – will affect what happens with Elizabeth.”
He shook his head.
There was no point in thinking about what would happen.
He had played his card.
Now, he had to wait.
Neo shifted his focus to the task at hand.
He sat alone in the training room.
He closed his eyes and meditated.
Time elementals surrounded him, casting invisible shadows that danced along the walls.
Sweat flowed down his cheek while he focused.
Each droplet traced a path of intense concentration across his strained features.
“[Rewind Enchantment] Spell,” he murmured to himself.
It was a Resonance-rank spell.
The other spells Neo had were all ingrained in his mind by Barbatos, Elizabeth, or the System.
He could use those spells easily.
However, Resonance Enchantment Spell was different.
He had been practicing since the day he bought it.
Neo’s eyes snapped open.
He huffed, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he caught his breath.
“Dammit. Why is it so hard?” he muttered, frustration etched in his voice.
He closed his eyes again, focusing within himself.
His lips parted as he recalled everything he had been taught in the academy.
“Resonance-ranked spells are 3rd Stage spells,” he repeated, a familiar chant now. “It means they have 2 raised to the power 3—eight—subshells.”
Each subshell was made of one elemental paired together with one strand of Divine Energy.
The subshells were arranged in a very specific formation to activate the Spells.
“The theory is simple. But this damned spell…” he muttered, exhaling as he tried to calm himself.
“Again.”
Neo closed his eyes.
He had yet to reach Adept mastery in Time element and couldn’t use Time Elemental vision to ‘see’ time Elementals.
He had to focus on his other senses to sense them.
He took one elemental of the Time element.
Then, he tried to place it inside a subshell with a strand of Divine Energy.
The strand and the elemental were attracted to each other like opposite poles of a magnet.
He had to strain his mind and focus to keep them separated.
After creating one subshell successfully, Neo tried to make the second one.
Second. Third. Fourth.
By the time he was creating the fifth subshell, he had to use all of his focus to keep the subshells in place.
Some of them attracted each other while others repelled, and it took him all of his attention to maintain the delicate balance.
Beads of sweat rolled down his skin, each drop heavy with the effort he was exerting.
The opposing forces between the subshells became too much, and the formation shattered, leaving Neo gasping for air.
Only now did he realize how lucky he had been with his previous Spells.
Necrotic Touch from Barbatos, Ocean’s Embrace from Elizabeth, and Essence Breath spell from the System.
Those spells had been wired in his mind when he gained them.
Time Enchantment Spell, however, was something he had to train from the ground up.
He had to learn it himself.
Neo closed his eyes and returned his focus to training.
He stood up when the door of the training room opened.
The butler bowed.
“Young master, it’s time for the Auction.”
“Got it.”
Neo stood up and used a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow.
He took a bath and changed clothes, the butler waiting for him in the room until he was ready.
“Let’s go.” The two left the mansion.
During the auction, Neo found himself alone.
His friends had been called back by their families.
On the way, the butler broke the silence.
“Young master, there is something the Master ordered me to tell you.”
“…What is it?”
Neo frowned, noticing Sebastian’s cryptic tone.
It gave him an ominous feeling.
“Please be prepared for the marriage proposal meeting.
They’ve been arranged after the auction ends.”
“Marriage proposal meeting?” Neo echoed, confused.
“Yes. Marriage proposal meeting,” the butler clarified as he drove.
“You have the bloodline of Death, and you are the head of the Great God Clan of Hades. Many families want to form an alliance with you. Naturally, the best way to do so is…”
“By having their daughters marry me.” Neo massaged his temples, feeling a headache brewing.
Polygamy was socially accepted, and he had no doubt there would be tons of marriage proposals waiting for him.
“Refuse them.”
“We can’t.”
The butler produced a letter from his bosom and passed it to Neo.
“…?” Neo opened the letter.
His eyes scanned the words, and his face contorted.
“Are they kidding me?”
His mouth hung open in disbelief.
The butler watched Neo’s expression from the rearview mirror and sighed.
“The Senate Council has ordered you to preserve your bloodline. Until then, you are under house arrest.”
The bloodline of Hades was precious.
Neo was the only one who possessed it.
The Council’s order was to ensure Neo had a child before he could be set free.
“Have my brother do it. He has the same bloodline.”
“We can’t be sure about that. Since Master never awakened his bloodline, there is a small chance he might have Hephaestus Clan bloodline. After all, the Hargraves family belonged to Hephaestus Clan. It was you who surprised everyone by awakening a different bloodline.”
Neo’s face crumbled, his thoughts heavy.
The order by the Senate Council was quite a burden.
“I’ll ask my brother to help me…” He trailed off, his frustration mounting.
There was no way Henry didn’t know Neo had no intention of marrying or having a child.
Yet Henry still sent the letter through Sebastian.
“That damn bastard is enjoying this.”
He sighed and sank back into the seat.
The butler coughed, trying to keep a straight face as he saw Neo’s expression.
“I’m sure Master has appealed to the Senate Council already. He will try to have them remove the condition of you having a child.”
“What about the marriage part?”
“….”
“Sebastian? Say something.”
The butler coughed again.
“I’m not sure about that. But even if the marriage condition is removed from the Senate order, you will have to take fiancées.”
“Fiancées? Multiple fiancées?”
“…Please read the letter carefully.”
Neo reopened the letter, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the text.
He had missed a few lines before.
“Ten wives!? Do I look like a rabbit to them?”
Neo slumped down in his seat like a deflated balloon.
There was so much he needed to accomplish—get his exoskeleton surgery, defeat his shadow, complete Barbatos’s trial, fight all of his friends together, pass the academy, and become a Templar.
Marrying was the last thing he wanted to focus on.
It didn’t help his goal of becoming stronger in any way.
He clicked his tongue and looked out of the window.
They reached the auction venue.
Neo noticed several high-ranked figures among the auction participants.
Templars, Senate members, Clan Heads.
There was no shortage of people.
Neo stepped out of his vehicle and entered the auction house.
He was guided to a VVIP room by the butler.
***
Trivia 5:
Trivia Type: Skill information
Topic: Unique Skill Transcendence
Transcendence strengthened physique and soul 1% every time the user revived themselves.
While it looked like a heaven’s blessing, it was completely opposite.
Transcendence had a very dangerous drawback.
A drawback so dangerous that it could easily kill Neo.
The skill needed Divine Energy to work.
Every time, Neo would have to expend his Divine Energy to use Transcendence.
Whenever he grew stronger, the skill Transcendence would require more Divine Energy to strengthen him further.
Unless his Divine Energy pool could continue to grow and satisfy the demand of the skill, he would one day die because he couldn’t provide enough Divine Energy to support the skill.freēwēbηovel.c૦m