His Concept flared violently, strengthening the buff of [Truth] to stop himself from being erased.
“Damn it—”
Tyr was a moment too late to realize it had been a trap. While he protected himself from Null Hour, Neo used another Concept.
“Sleep.”
The True Domain of Death collapsed inward, focusing entirely on Tyr’s core.
Tyr clenched his teeth. He refused to go down alone.
With the last reserves of his strength, he channeled every ounce of [Truth] into a single, desperate strike.
“Explode.”
A miniature sun materialized between Neo and Tyr.
It expanded instantly. The aftershock alone sent Neo hurtling backward.
The sheer force behind it ruptured his torso, sent cracks through his ribs, and crushed his organs before his regeneration could catch up.
The intense heat burned his organs and melted his bones.
Tyr exhaled sharply. He was in no better condition.
Although he had used a defense Spell at the last moment, half of his body had been charred, and no bone in his body was left unharmed.
The light in his eyes dimmed as sleep finally overtook him.
Neo lay motionless for a moment, far from Tyr.
Then, with a deep, ragged breath, he forced himself up, hand pressed against his broken chest.
The pain was unbearable, even with his regeneration.
Neo stared at the unconscious Tyr.
He had won.
It was a victory with a large margin, but Tyr could’ve won if Neo had made even a single mistake.
He wasn’t happy about it.
“Fuck.”
Multiple Elemental Affinities, all at Savant rank. Two powerful Traits, one of which gave him nigh impenetrable defense. Heavenbreak and his own near-endless World Energy. A God Slayer Weapon, and a Formless Sword. Death Essence. Pseudo-Dimensional Shifting. Thousands of years of combat experience. Three Blessings.
It took him everything to fight a dragon who was barely 100 years old and used only a single element at Expert Mastery.
The victory did not bring him joy.
It was a cold slap of reality.
This was the result of his hard work. He could barely touch the heels of a genius after using everything he had.
“Neo, are you okay?”
Elizabeth’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
He turned towards her and nodded.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
His body had healed back to his peak condition, and his World Energy continued to flow through his body like an endless river.
If one looked at him now, they wouldn’t think he had gone through a life-death battle moments ago.
But Elizabeth could see beyond his physical appearance.
Before she could say anything, Neo opened his mouth.
“Look after Tyr. He should be healed within a few days. As for me, I will go and train.
“This defeat would push Tyr to train harder, and I might not be able to defeat him on the day of the championship if I don’t grow stronger.”
Neo left without listening to their opinions.
He walked aimlessly through the corridors. Although he had said he was going to train, he felt lost at the moment.
He understood his thoughts were taking a dark turn due to the influence of Nightmare element present in the Nightmare World.
However, were his thoughts wrong?
Had his hard work actually mattered?
Before he realized it, he was alone in a secluded room, drinking without any intention of stopping.
His emotions were a mess.
He never cared about how fast or slow others progressed. He was his own person. Only his progress mattered to him.
But sometimes… sometimes it hurt knowing that kids who had trained only for a century could be on par with him.
Talented kids could achieve in a minute what he achieved by putting himself in a grinder for a century.
Sometimes he thought maybe the path of power wasn’t for him.
It was for geniuses like Tyr who had both talent and determination. Not wastrels like him who had nothing but ‘hard work’ to show for themselves.
Without talent, he was bound to fall behind those who had both talent and determination.
‘Neo, don’t think like that.’
‘Your hard work was never a waste.’
He smiled faintly at the encouragement of Obitus.
The sword spirit realized Neo’s mood wasn’t improving.
She was about to speak when she suddenly sensed a presence outside the door.
Knowing this problem could be solved now, the Sword Spirit returned to its stillness.
The door opened, and Elizabeth entered.
Her brows creased when she saw bottles rolling around the room. Neo was completely hammered.
He turned towards her, and she saw his flushed face.
“I thought I said I wanted to be alone.”
“You are drinking too much.”
Elizabeth cleaned the room with a simple Spell.
She knew Neo wouldn’t stop drinking even if she told him to.
Instead, she sat in front of him, took the bottle from his hand, and poured a glass for both of them.
“What are you doing?”
“Drinking with you.”
“I’m pretty sure you didn’t like drinking much.”
“It’s fine if it’s with you.”
The two of them drank the alcohol in silence.
Neo didn’t feel irritated by Elizabeth’s presence. If anything, it helped him calm down.
She spoke after she started to feel a bit tipsy.
“Why are you making a face like that?”
“…?”
“You look sad.”
Neo smiled faintly when he heard her.
“I guess the nightmare is affecting my emotions a bit too much if I am letting them appear on my face.”
She placed a hand over his hand and asked gently,
“What happened?”
“It’s nothing serious. I…”
Neo was about to lie when he suddenly stopped.
He noticed the worry behind Elizabeth’s gaze and decided to be honest.
“I was wondering if what I’m chasing is power or vanity, and if my goal is meaningless.”
He smiled melancholily.
“If it was not for vanity, then I wouldn’t feel like this for having almost lost against Tyr. Doesn’t this mean my goal was never power itself?”
Elizabeth realized he was doubting himself, wondering if all he had been doing was worthless.
She squeezed his hand gently.
“It’s not vanity. I have seen you work hard for your powers. You never trained for others’ admiration. It was for yourself.”
Her gaze was fixed on his hands as she spoke.
Neo was focused on listening to her, thus failed to realize they were holding hands intimately.
“You told me that only I could determine the value of my life. You are the same, Neo. Your goals have meaning when you believe in them yourself. Never doubt your dreams.
“It’s not vanity. You never asked others to appreciate your efforts or tried to gain sympathy. You cherished your dreams and that’s why you chased after them. It was never for others.
“So, don’t say your goal had no meaning,” Elizabeth said.
Neo smiled lightly.
Although his mood had been low, he was never going to stop training or blame his lack of talent for his slow growth. If he was growing at a slow pace, then he just had to train harder.
Still, he couldn’t deny Elizabeth’s words warmed his heart and uplifted his mood.
“Then again, I am not wrong for feeling like this, right? Anyone would be put off if a kid could compete in their specialty,” Neo joked, trying to uplift the heavy mood.
It took him a moment to realize he had said something that would dampen the mood further.
Before he could correct himself, Elizabeth, who finally got a chance, spoke up,
“Kid? Tyr is 130 years old. He is far from a kid.”
“He is a kid in my eyes.”
“He is not a kid.”
Elizabeth was strangely adamant about it.
“Are you sure we are talking about Tyr. I think it’s someone else,” he teased.
“Yes. I was talking about myself. I didn’t like to hear that you think of me as a child.”
“That sounds like a confession,” Neo joked.
Elizabeth didn’t refute him. It left him stunned.
He knew she had feelings for him, but he didn’t think she would use this moment to confess.
“Look at me in the eye, and say that you think of me as a child.”
Neo tried to pull his hand back, but Elizabeth didn’t let go.
Her face was close.
“I’m blind. How can I look you in the eye?” he tried to pass the moment as a joke.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth wasn’t having it again.
For the past year, he had been avoiding her whenever she tried to get serious with him.
“Look at me and tell me you think of me as a child, and nothing more.”
Neo looked away, avoiding her gaze.
But that was useless.
Intent Vision allowed him to sense everything within a large radius.
He could ‘see’ her eyes staring at him with conviction, the slight tremors in her hand that showed she was worried he would actually say yes, and her loudly beating heart.
Neo could sense all of it.
“I….”
He could’ve lied.
However, he didn’t want to do that.
Something told him he might come to regret it later.
‘Now or never, Neo. Don’t miss this chance,’ Obitus encouraged him.
“No, I don’t see you as a child.”
“See, was that hard?”
Elizabeth smiled.
She looked mesmerizing.
He had seen her smile a lot of times, and each time she looked more beautiful.
Neo had to admit it.
He had been denying his feelings for long. He didn’t want to do that anymore.
“Neo?” she came closer.
Her face was only inches from his. Her words showed worry for him, but her eyes said something else.
Intoxicated, she stared at his lips, expecting something more.
It was then Neo made a mistake. He peeked into her thoughts after a year of avoiding it.
Her feelings became clear to him.
It broke the final resistance he had.
His body moved on its own. Perhaps it was the influence of alcohol, or perhaps he finally had the courage to make the move.
He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips.