‘He is covered in Apollo’s Intent.’
‘Is he Apollo’s reincarnation?’
The sheer density of the Intent surrounding Percieval was overwhelming.
At first, Neo wondered it might be from the Blessing, but the Intent was too thick, too deeply ingrained.
Neo scanned Percieval multiple times.
‘That Intent isn’t coming from the Blessing. It belongs to Percieval himself.’
Why would a god reincarnate?
When Neo remained silent, Olivia spoke,
“We should get moving. The faster we reach our destination, the better it would be.”
“Okay,” Percieval replied with a cheerful smirk.
Olivia led the group toward the harbor, where a massive ship was docked.
The salty sea breeze filled the air, mingling with the distant cries of seagulls.
Waves gently lapped against the wooden pier, rocking the vessel ever so slightly.
The ship bore a striking resemblance to the Nether Ships of the Underworld, clearly modeled after their design.
However, it was far from pristine.
Its hull was battered, with patches of rust creeping along its edges and mismatched repairs dotting its surface.
“That ship does not work anymore, prince,” Veldora whispered to Neo.
As if Olivia had overheard him, she turned her head slightly and clarified,
“We can’t get to our location by normal means. It needs a dilapidated ship like this.”
Neo nodded.
The four of them boarded the ship.
The planks groaned under their weight, as if protesting their intrusion.
Olivia snapped her fingers, and a faint blue glow enveloped her hands.
Her spell flowed outward, enveloping the ship.
As if responding to her command, the ship undocked itself. Its ropes unraveled and fell into the water.
The sails unfurled with a burst of wind, and the vessel began to glide across the water.
“We will have a strategic meeting in an hour. Until then, you are free to do whatever you want,” Olivia said.
She conjured small, jelly-like water slimes that bounced along the deck.
They acted as guides, escorting the group members to their assigned rooms.
Everyone was visibly tired.
They had rushed to the meeting point after receiving the sudden summons from Sphinx, leaving no time for rest until now.
Neo entered his room and was immediately struck by its unexpected luxury.
The ship appeared ready to collapse from the outside, but the room was spacious and well-furnished.
A plush bed with silk sheets occupied one corner, while a small table with intricate carvings stood by the window, offering a view of the ocean.
The faint scent of lavender lingered in the air.
Neo sat on the edge of the bed.
‘Should I use Crownless King on Veldora?’
Neo focused on the blue flame floating nearby as a guard.
He shook his head inwardly.
‘The skill’s description was quite vague.’
‘How will loyalty work?’
‘Would it give me backlash if someone who was my subordinate betrayed me?’
‘Or will it force my subjects to become loyal?’
Using the skill on Veldora was dangerous.
What if it turned the Ancient Dragon into a mindless puppet?
‘I better use it on a training dummy first.’
‘If the result shows the skill is safe, I can use it on Veldora.’
Neo had the perfect training dummy for such a dangerous experiment.
He entered his Shadow Space.
As soon as he arrived, his ears were assaulted by a cacophony of dreadful “music.”
The dissonant notes reverberated through the air.
If Neo hadn’t known better, he might have thought the sound was an attack.
‘You are here,’ Velkaria said.
Perhaps it was just Neo’s imagination, but he could sense a faint trace of sadness in her voice.
The lingering sadness quickly disappeared and Velkaria spoke in her usual haughty demeanor.
‘Knock before you come, will you? Have some manners.’
“Don’t worry,” Neo retorted, rolling his eyes. “I wouldn’t peek on you even if I were paid for it.”
Velkaria muttered a string of curses under her breath before she questioned him.
‘Why are you here?’
“I needed to test my skill.”
‘Here?’
“On you.”
‘Why do I feel like there is something dangerous about that skill?’
“It’s safe, I think. Hopefully.”
‘The fuck do you mean, you think hopefully!? I’m not letting you do anything to me!’
The maggots squirmed away and the thousand-eyed pillars seemed to shift backward.
“I never said you had a choice.”
In the blink of an eye, Neo vanished from his spot and reappeared atop one of the thousand-eyed pillars.
The surface of the pillar was squishy and pulsated beneath his feet.
Before Velkaria could react, Neo placed his hand on the pillar’s fleshy surface and activated the Crownless King skill.
A surge of energy flowed out from Neo’s body, coiling like tendrils as it entered Velkaria.
The angel instinctively smacked away the invading energy.
[The target has refused the bonding.]
[Crownless King has failed to activate.]
“Why did you do that?”
‘Why wouldn’t I do that?!’
“Because you don’t want a beating,” Neo replied with a sly smirk.
‘Fuck you.’
Velkaria turned to flee.
Neo used a chantless Incantation.
His shadow writhed and expanded, morphing into colossal hands that moved with terrifying speed.
They grabbed Velkaria and pinned her in place.
‘Let me go, you bastard!’
Velkaria cursed him repeatedly.
After minutes of struggling and spewing insults, Velkaria finally stopped.
‘Be gentle,’ she muttered, closing her eyes, having given up on escaping.
Neo activated Crownless King.
The stream of energy penetrated Velkaria’s squishy form, and entered deep into her.
Neo felt himself connecting with Velkaria on a fundamental level.
Her emotions and thoughts became much more clear to him.
[Bond successfully formed.]
[Bond (Major): 1]
[Bond (Minor): 0]
[Skill: Resilience, Shared Growth]
[Resilience: You can survive in the harshest of environments, and your ability to adapt to foreign or hostile environments is boosted greatly. (Skill gained from Bond: Velkaria)]
[Shared Growth: You grow stronger as long as your Bond grows stronger. (Inherent skill of Crownless King. Works only on Bond (Major).)]
Neo’s brows rose.
“How do you feel now?”
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‘Abused.’
“Just answer the damn question.”
“I feel… somehow connected to you? That’s all.”