“Okay, that’s enough jokes,” Neo said and stepped forward.
Neo used Darkness to create a wall and stop Elizabeth’s Blood Spear.
She turned to him, surprised. While it wasn’t her strongest attack, Neo shouldn’t have been able to stop it.
“I will explain everything,” Neo said. “For now, just know that she, Zera, the Void Dragon God, is our ally—”
Neo’s words were cut short when Elizabeth stepped towards him and held his chin.
She looked into his hazy eyes.
He was blind.
The next second, she pulled up his shirt a bit and saw his scars.
“Who did this to you?”
She turned and looked at Zera.
“Was it you?”
Zera smiled and was about to say something, but Neo was faster.
“It’s a long story. I know you have a lot of questions, about what happened after you fought with the Temple of Void, where are we, why am I like this, and why your rank has fallen,” he said.
Inwardly, Neo was surprised Elizabeth could use Blood and Gravity (Space).
He didn’t have those elements.
Since Elizabeth was connected to him, she shouldn’t be able to use those elements. That’s how the connection between Worlds and their inhabitants worked.
He wondered if the anomaly appeared due to him being a Heavenbreaker or Elizabeth using the Everwitch Violet.
Elizabeth’s frown didn’t disappear.
Neo could see the worry in her eyes.
He smiled faintly.
“It’s okay. I’m strong now. You don’t need to worry about protecting me anymore.”
He created a basic house using mimicked Earth element.
The trio sat on the sofa, and Neo began retelling everything.
“After you fought the Temple of Void, you became comatose. Around that time, I entered the Shadow World and participated in a Shadow Trial.
“I fought a Void Entity there, got these injuries, and became a Paragon-level Entity.
“When I returned, I found a method to heal you, but in exchange, I had to come here and help the Sword Saint Kane defeat Tartarus,” Neo said.
He kept his focus on Zera.
She had seen him give a connection to Elizabeth, and now she heard why he was here.
Still, Zera showed no reaction.
Neo couldn’t guess what was going on in her mind.
He tried to read her Intent, but her mental defenses were up again.
“I see,” Elizabeth replied. “What happened with Amelia? She must’ve blamed you for my injuries.”
“She wasn’t that angry,” Neo lied with a straight face.
He saw no reason to reveal that he was slapped by her. He wasn’t embarrassed by the story. Definitely not.
“She hit you?” Elizabeth asked, massaging her brows.
“Huh, no? Nothing like that happened.”
“It’s okay. Amelia has a habit of losing her temper.”
She turned to Zera.
“Why did you talk like that when we first met?”
“I just wanted to.”
Elizabeth didn’t like Zera’s smiling face.
She turned back to Neo and stood up.
“We should start moving. Since we don’t know what Tartarus might do, it’s better if we hurry in our objective and search for its Core.”
“We’ll do that tomorrow. For today, you should focus on stabilizing your internal energy. You need to do that as you just broke through. Zera can also use some rest.”
“Okay.”
“If you say so, dear.”
Elizabeth gave a look to Zera before moving to another room. Neo could tell she was meditating.
“Was that necessary?” he asked her, exasperated slightly. “I know you are a God, but your injuries aren’t light. It wouldn’t do you good if you try to antagonize Elizabeth.”
“I can’t help it. She acts like a cutie when she gets jealous.”
Neo sensed Elizabeth’s energy flaring when Zera called her ‘cutie’. As a Paragon, she was perfectly able to hear them talk despite being in another room.
“Just stop,” Neo said and stood up.
He left the house.
The area around the place had been devastated due to Zera’s fight with the vines and Elizabeth’s breakthrough.
It was healing already on its own.
He opened his system.
[Quest ‘Save Elizabeth de Beaufort’ completed]
[Reward: Void Field Spell (Tremor rank), Level up Crownless King x1, Level up Empathic Transcendence x1]
Neo noticed the reward had changed.
Before, it would’ve awakened his Nightmare Element.
But since he did it himself, he gained 50% more exp in both Traits, which increased his reward from the original 50% to a whole level up.
He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground.
[Empathic Transcendence, Grade 3, Progress: 100%]
[Crownless King, Grade 3, Progress: 100%]
The rewards allowed him for immediate breakthroughs.
The energy within him started to churn.
Powerful waves rippled out from his body, and his skin started to turn red from the scorching heat being produced within.
His blood turned a slightly darker shade of blue.
The World Energy within him continued to increase until it reached the peak.
Neo felt something crack within him, and the energy exploded outwards.
He had to use Darkness to protect the house, or his breakthrough would’ve destroyed it.
When everything calmed down, he punched outwards.
Space was torn apart, and shockwaves shot forward.
Neo was pleasantly surprised.
He felt strong. Incredibly strong.
“Status.”
[Neo Hargraves]
[Rank: Half-Step Ascension]
[The World: ???]
﹂World Core Rank: N/A
﹂World Energy Rank: Stage-1
[Stats]
﹂Strength: 33,130
﹂Speed: 35,789
﹂Dexterity: 31,092
﹂Constitution: 33,464
﹂Luck: 0 → 0
[Affinity]
﹂Death, Shadow, Darkness, Void, Water, Time, Life, Holy, Nightmare
[Magic Spells]
[Incantations]
[Trait]
﹂Monarch of Death (Rank: Grade 2 Paragon, Potential: ???): Death, Immortal, Eternal, Primogenitor, Crownless King
﹂Mind Invasion (Rank: Grade 2 Paragon, Potential: Grade 1 Empyrean): Mind Invasion, Mind Control, Empathic Bond, Empathic Transcendence
[Quest]
[Sacred Treasures: Skyfall, ???, Obitus (Incomplete)]
﹂Obitus (Essence: 14/1000)
“My stats were already high after I got benefits from Elizabeth’s breakthroughs, but now, with this, I can definitely fight peak Grade 1 Exalted and win, unless they have a trick up their sleeves.”
Neo frowned.
His stats were insanely high.
However, he was lacking in Elemental Masteries, and he had yet to make Obitus a complete Sacred Treasure.
“Most of my enemies would be Gods now, so the difference in Elemental Masteries will become a big problem if I don’t do anything about them.”