Neo checked his traits.
[Monarch of Bloodline]
﹂Death
﹂Immortal
﹂Eternal
﹂Primogenitor
[Mind Invasion]
﹂Mind Invasion
﹂Mind Control
[Primogenitor, Grade 5 Empyrean]
[Progress: 0%]
[Effect: Allows modification of the direction of the traits, skills, or even physical and magical attributes, to a certain degree, as they evolve and grow. (Max number of modification paths searchable at once: 3)]
The skill seemed quite dubious.
However, in Neo’s opinion, it was better than Infinite and Finality.
Primogenitor allowed him to control his growth path.
He could use it to grow his Divine Energy reserves and increase his mastery of Death, thus getting something similar to both Infinite and Finality through it.
Before using the skill, Neo checked his other trait.
[Mind Control, Grade 2 Mythic]
[Progress: 0%]
[Effect: Allows user to forcefully control the mind of others as long as they have sufficient Willpower and Divine Energy. (Number of minds that can be controlled at once = 4)]
“The max amount increased from three to four.”
The Mind Control skill leveled up from Grade 3 to Grade 2 when Neo’s Eternal evolved into Primogenitor.
It was thanks to {Link Locks}.
The Link Locks tied his two traits together.
Whenever the higher trait leveled up, the lower one’s progress would increase too.
Neo continued to fight while checking his status screen.
He used an Intent Clone to bait the maggots and hid in Shadow Space while they were attacking the Intent Clone.
The maggots became occupied with Thanatos.
Using the chance, Neo triggered the Shadow Movement Spell.
He moved towards the north pole through the shadows.
Hours, days, or maybe weeks passed.
He had no way of counting the time.
The sky was covered with ashes and dark clouds.
The sun hadn’t appeared in a long time.
A chilling wind howled through the desolate wasteland, carrying the scent of decay.
Every step he took, the ground cracked beneath his feet, blackened and lifeless.
Everywhere he turned, he saw maggots eating the surroundings, devouring what little remained of the earth.
“This place is like the world I saw in the fourth vision of Sphinx.”
Neo froze for a moment.
Was the fourth vision a recreation of this future of his?
The pause brought the exhaustion from previous days crashing on top of him.
He stumbled and fell on the cracked ground, his breath ragged, the oppressive darkness pressing heavily on his mind.
He stared at the sky.
He stayed there, unmoving.
Since he had baited the maggots only a few minutes ago and taken them away from his location, it would take time for them to find him.
“Everyone is dead.”
The realization came to him as he lay there on the dried sea floor.
The air was filled with a pungent smell.
The seas had been emptied by giant maggots the size of several cities.
Mountains had disappeared, and the land had collapsed into itself.
He was alone on the dead world, trying to fight an entity that didn’t even see him as a threat.
“No one is alive anymore.”
Strangely enough, Neo wasn’t saddened by the deaths as much as he had thought he would be.
Death was a natural part of life.
What has begun must end.
However, Neo wanted to save everyone.
It was contradictory.
He didn’t think death was wrong, then why did he want to save everyone?
He closed his eyes and recalled the moments of their death.
Emma had been laughing, yet her eyes hid deep sorrow.
Ares was killed before he had time to react.
Kronos always put others before himself, and that’s why he came out to help Neo. It ended up becoming the cause of his death.
Gaia had been unconscious, unable to protect herself.
After Neo’s Intent clone died, the maggots must’ve swamped the association headquarters and eaten her.
Athena could use a small portion of her powers.
She must’ve tried to fight back and fallen hopelessly.
Apollo had the power to illuminate the world.
Yet there was no news about him.
It was easy to guess he had met the same fate as others.
Poseidon must’ve tried to protect as many as he could deep inside the oceans.
It must be why the maggots were hell-bent on emptying the water bodies, trying to see if someone else was down there too.
Kane, Rhea, Perses, Atlas, Zeus, his Father, Icarus, Barbatos, Paimon, Alaric, Cedric, Leopold, Edmund, Victor, Percival, Thaddeus, Godfrey, Reginald, Baldwin, Kael, Zareth, Draven, Fenris, Evander, Malrik, Lucian, Arcturus, Dorian, Thalion, Orin, Caius, Ryke, Tyne, Jarek, Corwin, Alden, Magnus, Riven, Silas, Theron, Hadrian, Cassian, Lysander, Galen, Valric, Torin, Desmond, Eryndor, Callan.
They were all dead.
Neo had known them during his time in this world.
Not all of them knew who he was, not all of them liked him.
But.
They were undoubtedly people he would call friends.
“I don’t want their deaths to be filled with sadness.”
Neo was okay with death.
But he wanted them to die on their own accord.
Not at the hands of an eldritch entity.
Not while forcing themselves to smile.
He wanted them to die a peaceful death.
“If it isn’t a happy ending, then it isn’t an end.”
Somewhat cheesy, it was a grand aspiration for someone who hadn’t managed to land a scratch on the Angel.
Neo let out a bitter smile.
He forced his exhausted body to move and used his trembling limbs to push himself up.
As he reaffirmed what he was fighting for, his Concept of Death stirred.
The maggots found him.
They surrounded him, attacking and killing him.
Days of battles had opened Neo’s eyes to the truth.
The Angel was toying with him.
It could capture him even if it couldn’t kill him.
The fact it did not do so meant it knew Neo could never defeat it or activate the World Time Spell.
This was one of the reasons why Neo didn’t choose Infinite skill, as it was possibly a useless skill for his current predicament.
Neo crushed a single maggot underneath his feet.
The monster wasn’t harmed.
It didn’t have a unique skill that made it impervious to attacks.
The difference in strength between it and Neo was so vast that Neo’s strongest attack couldn’t damage the smallest maggot.
Suddenly, a golden screen, different from the blue status screen, appeared before Neo’s eyes.
[Host’s intention of choosing a specific growth path detected.]
[Would you like to use Primogenitor?]
Neo blinked, surprised.
His new skill was… a status screen?
This was not what he had imagined when he chose Primogenitor.
‘Yes,’ Neo thought.
His brows furrowed as the golden light of the screen reflected off his face.
Even if the skill didn’t give him the modifications, and instead told him how to make those modifications himself, it was still too overpowered.
‘This skill is weird. Where is the knowledge for modifications coming from?’
He had no time to waste despite his doubts.
He thought of a modification as a test.
Text appeared on the empty line on the golden screen, shimmering faintly:
[Modification requested: Tell me how to become a God.]
[Confirm/Deny?]
[Please note, once a modification pathway is requested, it will use a ‘slot.’ You cannot get the slot back until you’ve completed the modification.]
The skill didn’t say he couldn’t become a God.
It meant the skill had information on it.
‘Let’s try something harder.’
Neo typed another modification.
The golden screen pulsed slightly as the letters formed:
[Modification requested: I want to be the strongest.]
[Confirm/Deny?]
[Please note, once a modification pathway is requested, it will use a ‘slot.’ You cannot get the slot back until you’ve completed the modification.]
“It can tell me an answer even for this?”
Neo’s brows creased.
The skill was too good to be true. 4
There had to be a catch.
“Let’s use a small example first since the slots are limited.
“If I choose a modification that will take years for me to complete, I will never be able to get the slot back.”
He typed more carefully this time:
[Modification requested: I want to be strong enough to damage the Angel.]
[Confirm/Deny?]
[Please note, once a modification pathway is requested, it will use a ‘slot.’ You cannot get the slot back until you’ve completed the modification.]
“Confirm.”
The golden light flared brighter for a moment before the screen shifted.
[The current you is far too weak to damage the Angel, Velkaria. Even if you rank up, it will take a long while to be able to reach a level where you can harm Velkaria.]
[The most optimal path, which is the shortest yet the most favorable for you, is to awaken the World Energy.]
The two screens hovered before Neo’s eyes.
“World Energy? How do I awaken something like that?”
The answer was detailed, yet lacking.
He didn’t even understand what World Energy was.
“Maybe I use another slot to find out how to awaken World Energy.”
[Please input the modifications you want (Slots: 1/3).]
Neo felt like he was caught by a scammy skill.
Why did he have to use a slot for the same question when he had used one slot already?
His thoughts stopped abruptly when he sensed the change in his surroundings.
“This place is the North Pole?”
Neo looked around.
There was not a smidgen of snow.
All he could see were burning volcanoes with purple and golden magmas cracking on the ground.
The sky was tinged with a deep crimson hue, and the air was thick with the scent of sulfur.
He closed his eyes, focusing on the surroundings.
The distinctive presence of the center of the World-Time Spell was present all around the area.
Neo had reached his destination.
He crouched and put his hand on the ground.
His senses stretched, burrowing deep into the earth.