He wanted to force Neo to stop.
But deep down, he knew what Neo was doing must be done.
To save the world.
To save the past.
Neo had to carry the burden alone.
Cracks started to appear on Neo’s body.
Each crack brought searing pain, but Neo did not let out a single complaint.
He had to concentrate, or he couldn’t maintain consciousness in both places.
The passage of time became uneven for him.
If he stopped concentrating even for a moment, while one second passed in the ‘present,’ an hour—or even a day—could have gone by in the ‘past.’
The disjointed flow of time was tearing apart Neo’s existence.
However, Neo refused to stop.
‘Just a bit more,’ he thought, gritting his teeth.
‘I have to make sure he saves the world.’
Neo clenched his jaw and increased the output of World Energy, trying to strengthen his crumbling body with it.
A faint, almost imperceptible light surrounded him, flickering weakly like a candle in a storm.
He was giving the job of saving the world to a child.
The least he could do was be there for him and guide him.
…
Age of Gods
A month had gone by since Daniel received the Divine System.
Contrary to his suspicions, the System was genuine.
He awakened his trait thanks to it.
His social status improved with his strength.
From a scavenger who hunted for scraps in broken buildings, he became a hunter who protected the city by defeating the monsters outside of the gate.
“Why do I have such a useless trait!?” Daniel shouted as he ran through the street, rows of monsters following behind him.
The city around him was a ruined expanse of cracked asphalt and shattered buildings.
The air thick with dust and the stench of decay.
[Daniel Caelum] Experience more content on empire
[Level: 5]
[Exp: 14/5,000]
[Stats]
﹂Strength: 20
﹂Speed: 21
﹂Dexterity: 23
﹂Constitution: 20
[Trait: Blessed by Time (SSS-rank)]
[Skills: Overclock Lv3, Iai Slash Lv1, Dragon Dance Slash Lv2]
[Quests: None]
[Items: Time Stop Slip x2, Healing Slip x3, Instant Kill Slip (Works on a single target below or on user’s level) x5]
[Shop: Unlocks at Level 10]
Daniel had been happy when he awakened an SSS-rank Trait.
The trait sounded like it would give him some overpowered abilities.
But it didn’t do anything.
It was a scam.
A scam!
“Give me something better!”
As he shouted, more and more monsters ran behind him.
Their growls echoed against the cracked walls.
The shadows of their twisted forms stretched long under the broken streetlights.
It didn’t take long for their numbers to reach hundreds.
Daniel’s level had stagnated at Level 5, which was why he had decided to use one of the system’s precious rewards to level up en masse today.
The first step was to bait hundreds of monsters, much to his dismay.
One wrong step and he would become their breakfast today.
“Come, follow me!”
Daniel taunted the monsters.
He led them towards a narrow street.
The air grew colder as the passage narrowed, walls pressing closer.
At the street’s end, Daniel suddenly stopped.
He turned around and looked back at the monsters.
They were rushing towards him like a sea.
The ground trembled with their steps, and they had a savage look in their eyes, hunger burning bright as they closed in.
Just when the nearest monster was about to pounce on Daniel, he opened his mouth.
“Use Time Stop Slip.”
[Time Stop Slip has been used.]
[Host’s Level is 5.]
[Time Stop duration: 5 seconds.]
Daniel felt like someone was squeezing his Core and forceffully taking mana from it.
The energy to activate these Time Stop slips was no joke.
It was as painful as holding his breath for minutes.
However, the result was worth it.
The monsters stopped mid-rush.
Some floated mid-air, some had their jaws snapped open.
None of them could move.
The time had been stopped by Daniel.
It was not just the monsters.
For 5 seconds, only Daniel could move in the world.
“Activate skill Overclock and Dragon Dance Slash.”
A powerful red aura exploded out from Daniel’s Core, illuminating the surroundings with a crimson glow.
[Overclock Lv3 activated.]
[Host’s stats have been tripled for five minutes.]
[Caution: After skill duration ends, host’s stats will be reduced by 50% for one week.]
For Overclock to work, Neo forcefully strengthened Daniel’s Seed of Existence and Core for a short duration.
It gave Daniel a short temporary boost.
However, it put a burden on his Seed of Existence and Core, which was the reason for the debuff after the skill duration ended.
[Dragon Dance Slash Lv2 activated.]
The world became monochrome for Daniel.
He could see a path of light weaving through the throng of monsters.
His body moved on its own, following the lines as he slashed.
Daniel moved at such speed that he disappeared from the front of the group of monsters where he had been standing.
A split second later, Daniel appeared far behind the monsters.
The duration of Time Stop ended.
The monsters could move again.
They realized Daniel had disappeared.
However, before they could find him, their bodies suddenly split into thousands of pieces and they fell, dead.
The scent of blood filled the air.
The once-threatening battlefield was now eerily silent, broken only by the soft whisper of the wind carrying the remnants of Daniel’s crimson aura.
[Lv3 Twin Tail Scorpion killed. Exp +3]
[Lv4 Blue Taurus killed. Exp +4]
[Lv5…]
[Lv…]
Countless screens flashed before Daniel’s eyes.
[You have reached Lv6. Free stat +1]
[You have reached Lv7. Free stat +1]
[You have reached Lv8. Free stat +1]
[You have reached Lv9. Free stat +1]
[You have reached Lv10. Free stat +3]
[Congratulations for reaching Lv10.]
[Exp Converter has been unlocked. You can now use your Exp to level up skills.]
[Titles have been unlocked.]
[Shop has been unlocked.]
[Levelling up will now heal injuries and exhaustion.]
Daniel’s smile grew brighter with each passing second.
He forgot the fatigue of the battle momentarily.
He punched the air despite being physical exhausted from using Time Stop and Dragon Dance Slash together.
[Main Quest has started.]
His eyes shone and he grinned from ear to ear.
The glowing blue interface reflected in his pupils as he stared at the screen in disbelief.
“Finally! I’m getting a quest after so long!”
His voice echoed faintly through the empty road.
Only the corpses were a witness to his ramblings.
He hadn’t received a quest since the first three tutorial quests.
His skills had come from those early challenges.
Without them, he would have died dozens of times by now.
He had come to understand the true power of the skills gifted by the system.
A single skill was worth more than a single level!
And a new quest meant a new skill!
[Main Quest: ‘Calamity’]
[Father of Anomaly, Typhon, has set his sights on your sister who is the Child of Mana. A month later, his subordinates will reach your location and kidnap your sister.]
﹂Protect Selene from Sovereign of Wind, Charybdis.
﹂Rewards: Level Up Slip x3, Parry skill, Level Scanner.
“What…?”
Instead of happiness, the Quest gave him a deep shock.