EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC77: Fifth Teammate
"Is what you did really funny?" Paimon questioned.
"It is. Sometimes you just want to mess with others."
Neo returned the phone to his pocket and waited.
Jack continued to stare at F rank missions, unable to pick a choice.
He looked around for help and happened to meet Neo's eyes.
…!
Jack looked in a different direction quickly.
'I just made eye contact with him! He won't get angry, right?'
The rumors of Neo being a crazy bastard were spread far and wide.
Jack did not want to have any connection with Neo.
Suddenly, Neo stood up.
He approached Jack.
'Don't run away. Don't run away.'
'He isn't coming to me. He will pass by me and go somewhere else.'
Jack repeated the words in his heart only for Neo to stop before him.
"...Can I help you?" Jack questioned.
Neo looked up at the F-rank mission list.
He lowered his gaze and met Jack's eyes.
"I noticed you were looking at F-rank missions. Are you going solo?"
"Yes." Jack scratched his cheek. "My rank is quite low. Nobody wanted to team up with me."
While he answered properly, he wished for Neo to leave as soon as possible.
"How about you join my team if you don't have anyone else? We still need the fifth member."
"Thanks for the offer. I can't— What!?"
Jack paled as if he saw a ghost.
"Y-you are asking me to join your team?"
"Yes."
"But you are the Ruler! I bet the rest of you teammates are Top 100 too!"
"That's true."
"I ca-can't join a team like that. I'm too weak—"
"Are you sure you want to refuse my offer? I can ask someone else if that is the case. I'm sure there are others who will join my team happily."
Jack, about to refuse, closed his mouth with a snap.
He looked around.
Many students surrounded Neo and him.
They heard them talk and a few of them looked eager to join Neo's team.
The team made by the Ruler where the rest of the members were Top 100 students.
It was bound to be successful.
'Why is he inviting me into his team?'
'Does he have an ulterior motive?'
Jack couldn't make a choice.
Was Neo asking him team just to fill the vacancy?
Besides, what would he gain from someone like Jack?
"Calm down. I'm not forcing you to join my team. You can refuse."
Neo stared at the students around them.
He muttered to himself.
"Guess I need to find someone else."
His words struck Jack's ears like a thunderbolt.
"Wait!"
"Hmm?"
"I'll join your team! No, please let me join your team!"
The teammates were fixed until the next semester.
They couldn't be changed.
Besides, Jack would gain rewards and credits by joining the team, regardless of Neo's motives.
"It's a good choice."
Neo smiled.
His handsome features stunned Jack for a moment.
"I'll send you the Team Form. Let's exchange contacts."
"Y-yeah."
After he filled the Team Form, he let out a sigh.
"Good work. Now let's go, I'll introduce you to the others."
Jack nodded.
They went around the campus and entered a café.
"Welcome—"
The host stammered when she noticed Neo's clothes.
Ruler.
The top ranked student.
Silence spread inside the café.
The students stayed quiet.
"We have a reservation."
"I-I see. Please follow me."
They entered the deeper area of the café.
Jack couldn't help but cower at the attention he received by being at Neo's side.
'Is it always like this for him?'
The first rank was a respected position.
Neo would receive recognition whenever he went, be it inside the academy or outside.
Jack joined the team of such person.
He was still having trouble believing the reality.
The host took Neo to a private room.
She opened the door.
"Your friends are inside."
Neo entered the room with Jack.
The room, fragrant, was small and cozy with a window towards the garden.
"Hey, you are finally here!" Mars grinned.
"Good afternoon, Neo," Christian said.
"…"
Leonora focused on her game and ignored him.
"Hi," He replied and pointed at Jack. "He is our fifth team member."
"H-hello, I'm Jack Hanma, 1721th rank."
Jack's heart was beating loudly.
His ears rang and he was sweating badly.
Neo, while first rank and stone-faced, was amicable.
But the three people in front of him had an unapproachable air.
Jack knew about them.
They were existences he could never dream to meet in his life.
"…"
They didn't respond to Jack's greeting and stared at him instead.
"T-thinking again, I shouldn't be in this team—"
"Don't worry. They aren't angry, just wary of your Aura."
Neo placed a hand on Jack's shoulder.
"There is no need to be nervous. Take deep breaths."
Jack never realized he was releasing his Aura.
He followed Neo advice.
The aura spreading out from him disappeared.
"That Aura… It was Death element?" Christian asked.
"Y-yeah. I'm sorry. My mastery is low and I can't control the aura. I s-swear I wasn't trying to threaten you."
"Low mastery?"
Christian frowned.
Jack's aura wasn't weak.
It was… scary.
No, not just scary.
It was almost as frightening as Neo's aura.
Had he been a second late to retract his Aura, Leonora's Spirit, Ruby, would've attacked him.
"Do you really rank in 1700s?" Christian spoke.
Jack nodded.
"Weird."
Christian turned to Mars.
It was rare to see Mars not smiling.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know. He feels weak, but something is weird.
"It's like his strength doesn't have a fixed shape."
"Okay, that's it. You guys are being rude to Jack."
Neo clapped.
"Jack, they are Leonora, Christian, and Mars in order.
"He is Jack. We can ask him about his specialties later. Welcome him at least."
Mars and Christian nodded.
"I apologize if my words were rude."
"Sorry. We didn't mean to scare you. We were just startled because of your Aura."
"I-it's fine."
Jack realized they were not as scary as he thought.
It was his fault to begin with.
He was about to sit next to Leonora when she looked at him and clicked her tongue.
"…"
Jack, being wise, chose to sit beside Christian and Mars.
She frowned again when Neo sat by her side, but Neo ignored her.
"I'll explain the mission now."
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC78: Secret Revealed
"Before that, there is something we must discuss," Christian said.
"That is?"
"Who will be the team leader?"
His words made Neo smile.
"Why are you asking me about this? The answer should be obvious."
"That…"
Christian pursed his lips.
"I hope you can let Miss be the team leader."
Leonora raised her head from the screen with a snap and stared at Christian.
"I don't—"
"It's not about your preferences Miss.
"You are the leader of Poseidon Clan's faction. It should be clear you can't work under someone else.
"The family elders are livid because you chose someone outside of our clan to team up with.
"If you let him be the team leader on top of that you will be smearing mud on our Clan's name.
"The elders won't let go of his matter."
Christian's words made Leonora sulk.
She didn't want to take the burdensome position of team leader.
"Neo, I hope you will understand our position.
"Giving up the status of team leader is not an option for Miss.
"Of course, we will compensate you with the credits you would've earned had you became the team leader," Christian said.
It was a reasonable request.
Christian's down-to-earth approach made it difficult to refuse him.
But…
"I can't give up the team leader position."
Neo shook his head.
"If this was how it was going to be, you should've said it when I invited you to the team."
"That…"
Christian had no reply.
Leonora looked at Neo with twinkling eyes.
She couldn't be more happy.
"Besides, what's the problem with being under me?"
"Sigh, you might not know this.
"The God Clans look down on those from outside.
"It would've been fine if you were from a Great God Clan. Even a High God Clan would've worked
"But you aren't from either."
Christian wasn't looking down on Neo's origin.
He was revealing the harsh reality.
"There is no need to worry if that's true. I might not be from a God Clan.
"However, I have the bloodline of Hades."
"Bloodline of Hades? I guess that works…."
Christian stopped speaking.
He looked at Neo with a confused expression.
"Come again?"
"I have the bloodline of Great God of Death."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
Christian took a deep breath.
"What!?"
He shouted.
Mars and Jack's reaction was no different.
Even Leonora was looking at Neo with a stunned face.
"There has never been a demigod with Hades' Bloodline! How do you have it!?"
Christian grabbed Neo's shoulder.
"How!?"
"Calm down. It's not that big of news."
"How is it not big news?!
"You are the only person with the God of Death's bloodline! Do you realize you are the current Clan leader of the third Great God Clan!?"
"Oh…"
Neo hadn't thought about it.
Still, what use was the Clan when he was the only member?
"No, no, no, this has to be a joke. Are you trying to prank us?"
"Why would I joke about my bloodline? If my teammates misunderstand my abilities, it would endanger us on the missions."
Christian grabbed his head.
He needed time to digest the information.
"Damn, that's sick! That's why your auras were so powerful!"
Mars was quick to return to his usual mood.
"My heart didn't lie! I chose the perfect rival!"
Neo really wanted to know why and how he became Mars rival, but he had an important task at hand.
"I guess that solves the problem of team leader.
"Next I'll explain about the mission."
Neo continued.
"Tomorrow, an S-rank mission will be posted.
"It has three slots. That means three teams can choose it.
"I want our team to get one of the slots."
That mission was the only way Neo came up with.
It could help him clear the third trial.
"Is the source of your information credible?" Mars asked in place of Christian who was still in denial.
"It is."
"Why do you want that mission? There are other S-rank missions too."
"You'll know it tomorrow."
After talking a bit, the group disbanded.
They agreed to meet in the mission hall tomorrow.
Neo was on this way to Seraphim Hall when he received a message from Arthur.
"Why he is asking to meet at that place?"
The location was outside teacher's dorm.
Teacher's dorm lied between the buildings where their classes took place and the Seraphim Hall.
It was not weird to meet up there on the way to the dorm.
Neo was just sensitive after he was fucked over by Elizabeth once.
"I guess I'll go."
He met Arthur on the bench under the tree's shade.
"What's up?"
"Nothing. Felix said he had important news and wanted to meet us as quickly as possible.
"But I don't understand why he called us here."
Arthur scratched his cheek.
Neo sat beside him.
The two waited for fifteen minutes until Felix came out of the teacher's dorm.
'He' fixed his clothes and waved at a female teacher who was looking down from her window.
"Huh?" Arthur froze. "Neo, please tell me I'm overthinking it, but does it look like Felix…"
Felix arrived next to them before Neo could answer.
"You changed your gender?" Neo asked.
"Not changed. I can't control my Unique Skill.
"You don't know it since you are from outside of God Clans. It's because I can't control my skill that I'm called the 'weakest demigod of the history'."
His monotonous words made it look like he didn't care about the rumors.
Though Neo knew the truth was otherwise.
"Anyway, I was lucky to change to this body a few hours ago and I got my hands on a nice piece of news thanks to that."
"W-wait! Did you just had s-se— do that with the professor for the news?"
Arthur's bright red ears brought a wide smile to Felix's face.
He put his arm around Arthur's shoulder and whispered.
"Yes. We had S.E.X."
Arthur let out a shrill scream like a girl and moved away from Felix.
Seeing him, Felix laughed.
He laughed hard.
"Gosh, you actually believed that."
"…?"
"I'm lying of course. Why would I fix my clothes outside and not in the room?"
Felix looked at Neo.
"Well, I guess Neo wasn't fooled."
"T-then why did you meet that professor?" Arthur asked.
"I exchanged credits with her to buy information."
"Why did the professor look so happy if all you did was buy information?"
"..."
Felix smiled without saying anything.
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"…"
Felix smiled silently.
It made Arthur's imagination run wild.
'Why wouldn't she be happy? She earned credits without lifting a finger,' Neo thought.
He chastised Arthur for overreacting.
As if he wasn't the one whose brain stopped braining when he was with Elizabeth inside the water cave.
Felix didn't say it, but Neo knew he must've borrowed credits from other students to pay the professor.
'He went ahead and did it even after I told him to not borrow credits from others or he won't be able to take on SS-rank missions.'
'Well, whatever. It's his choice.'
Arthur's flushed face wasn't coming down.
Neo decided to change the topic.
"What's the news you wanted to tell us?"
"Are you curious about it?"
Felix grabbed Neo's shoulder and gave him an unamused stare.
"First, tell me, how did you get Mars in your team?"
"He came to me himself."
"Himself?"
"Yeah."
Felix scoffed.
"I don't believe it. Mars might be ranked only 100th, but he is on par with Morrigan.
"Everyone knows Mars only acknowledges those who are stronger than him. Why would he approach you first?"
"I don't know about it myself. If you don't believe me ask anyone who saw Mars when he met me in the Mission hall."
Felix pursed his lips.
He had questioned around.
The information he got roughly matched Neo's answer.
Felix thought Neo might've moved behind the scene, but talking to him now made Felix realize that was not the case.
"Sigh, I get it. Also, sorry about calling you weak."
"Don't worry about it.
"I don't care about the opinions of a guy who sells his body for benefits," Neo smirked.
"Hey, I told you we did nothing!" Felix also laughed.
Looking at the two, Arthur wondered if he was the one had outdated believes.
The three chatted and entered the cafeteria.
They joined the line.
"I wanted to tell you two about an S-rank mission that would be posted tomorrow."
Felix lowered his voice.
"Sphinx is the one who assigned the mission."
"…!"
Arthur's eyes shot wide open.
It took him a second to realize they were in a cafeteria.
He coughed and looked around to see if someone was looking at them.
"The Sphinx?" Arthur whispered.
"Yeah, that one."
Sphinx was one of the four guardians of the academy and an administrator of Akashic Record.
Missions provided by Sphinx were rare.
Completing gave them an 'answer' as a reward.
The Sphinx's knowledge was vast.
It was almost omniscient.
There was nothing it couldn't answer.
If there was someone who could tell Neo what emotions were, it would be the Sphinx.
"Neo, why aren't you shocked? You knew about the mission beforehand, didn't you?"
"I didn't."
Felix's brows creased.
He stared at Neo's face as if he was searching for something.
"Did our homeroom teacher tell you about the mission?"
…!
Suddenly bringing Elizabeth's name into the conversation made Neo react.
He quickly returned to his expressionless face, however, it was useless.
"Why did she tell you about the mission?"
Neo pursed his lips.
It was clear Felix wouldn't let go of the matter until he got a proper answer.
"I brought the information from her with credits."
Neo gave the first excuse that came to his mind.
"Yeah? Where did you get the credits from?"
"From friends."
"Friends?
"You, the person who eats in cafeteria only because we drag him out of his room and the one who pissed of half of the students with his speech, has friends?
"Don't lie. Say it. Why did the professor reveal such sensitive information to you?"
Neo was exasperated at the blatant insult.
He wasn't a loner.
He wasn't… right?
"If you are calling me that, then how did you borrow credits from others? I doubt you have more friends than me."
Arthur nodded from the side.
All three of them were equally hated by the students.
Or so he thought.
"Hey, that's insulting.
"I'm might be infamous in the God Clans, but I'm pretty well received by the students from outside of God Clans.
"You two are the only ones who don't have friends."
Arthur, on the side, didn't say the words he was about to say.
The stray shots from the conversation between Felix and Neo hit him hard.
"That's impossible," Neo retorted.
"It's not. Unlike you two, I have social skills. Besides, I'm handsome."
Everyone from Aphrodite Clan was handsome.
Felix's appearance was cut above the rest even there.
Neo wasn't jealous.
He was handsome himself.
He definitely didn't plan to devour some monsters to see if he could absorb secondary stats related to appearances.
The three ate lunch and returned to the dorm.
In the end, Neo never gave a reason as to how he found the information.
It made Felix's imagination go above and beyond.
The next day, Neo arrived at the mission hall.
He met up with his teammates.
"The team registration is done. Our team is now officially formed," Neo said.
Mars, Christian, and Jack nodded.
As for Leonora, she was nowhere to be seen.
While they were waiting for the S-rank mission to be put up, Arthur and Felix arrived with their team.
"Guys, how is everyone doing?" Felix asked.
They greeted each other.
Felix introduced the twins, Clara and Sean, to Neo and his teammates.
Neo did the same for his team.
"Well, what's the name of your team?" Felix asked.
"Umbra."
"Oh."
Felix turned to Arthur.
"It's quite a coincidence, right?"
"Yeah," Arthur nodded. He told Neo, "Our team is called Lumen. It means light and yours…."
"Umbra. It's another word for shadow."
"I thought you would choose a name related to your Death element."
Neo shrugged.
He liked the name because it was antithesis of Arthur's team name.
The S-rank mission was put up while the group chatted.
There were a lot of teams ready to take the S-rank mission.
Felix wasn't the only one who brought the information.
Neo and Arthur were ready to take the mission when…
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC80: Another Butterfly Effect
Neo and Arthur were ready to take the mission when…
"Huh?"
"What's that?"
>S-rank Mission<
Details: [REDACTED]
Rewards: [REDACTED]
Slots: 3
Assigner: Sphinx
Participation Requirements: Only teams who have cleared 3 C-rank missions, 2 B-rank missions, and 1 A-rank mission can accept this mission.
The Mission will be given on first come first serve basis.
Mission details and rewards will revealed only to teams who have met participation requirements.
>S-rank Mission<
The participation requirements were not supposed to exist.
Neo was caught unprepared by the unexpected situation.
'Another butterfly effect.'
'But how?'
He thought hard and realized the reason for the change.
'Fuck, so that's how it is.'
Originally, Arthur was never seen as a threat by the God Clans.
While strong, he did not have a background to support him.
It was why Felix could pull the rug under everyone and managed to take one of the mission slots.
However, the present changed when Neo appeared.
He was the little brother of Henry Hargraves.
The Hargraves Corporation was a contender for the top position in the weaponry market.
They were rich and influential.
Still, they were not a match for the God Clans… until Neo became the Ruler.
If Hargraves played their cards right, they could stand on par God Clans.
Neo was a threat.
He couldn't be allowed to soar any more than he did already.
"There are many professors and staff members from God Clans.
"They can't openly refuse to give you the S-rank mission due to the principal, so they used a roundabout method," Christian said.
He was also shocked.
His Clanmates never told him about anything.
'They are isolating me because I joined Neo's team,' Christian realized and let out a bitter smile.
"This is bad…" Arthur spoke.
He looked at the C~A rank mission list.
The missions were being rapidly taken by other teams.
"They are working together to make sure we can't complete the mission requirements."
Not just the teams made by top 100 students.
The other teams were also recruited by the God Clans to impede Neo and Arthur's team.
"We might need to give up," Felix bit his lips.
He suddenly looked at Christian with hopeful gaze.
"Can we get Poseidon Clan's help? If it's…"
He stopped speaking when Christian shook his head.
"I didn't even know the teams were working together. The Clan Elders have probably forbid anyone to assist us.
"We are on our own."
There were 20 S-rank teams (teams with at least three top 100 students) fighting for the 3 slots.
That alone would've been an uphill battle.
The 18 teams could hoard missions to make sure the last two teams of Neo and Arthur didn't get anything.
But against nearly 300 teams?
There was no hope for Neo and Arthur.
Neo walked up to the C-rank mission list.
"What are you doing?" Felix questioned.
"Choosing a mission.
"Even if everyone works together — which I doubt is possible — they still can't hoard every mission."
There was a limit to the number of missions a team could accept at once.
The God Clans probably planned to take everything except the most difficult missions.
With the first come first serve basis, they only had to stall time and get the slots before Neo and Arthur.
"We are trying to get the S-rank mission because it has the best rewards.
"Isn't it a given we need to work hard for something like that?" Neo spoke.
Neo wanted to be the best there was.
He long accepted he would have to outperform everyone to reach his goal.
It excited him.
The feeling of leaving others in dust, even though they worked hard, thrilled Neo.
"I guess grandpa was right. Only insane people can succeed in today's world," Arthur stood next to Neo.
He picked out a few missions.
Neo spoke when he was done,
"See you later. Hope you guys get a slot."
"Same to you."
He went to the desk attendant and got approval for the three C-rank missions he found.
When Neo returned, he saw his teammates looking at him in awe and admiration.
"What?" he asked.
"Ahahaha, nothing. All I want to say is as expected of my rival."
"…?"
Neo turned to Christian.
"You really deserve that rank."
"…?"
Jack was looking at Neo with a similar respectful gaze.
'What the fuck? Why are they acting like this?'
All he did was do what he planned to do originally.
The additional mission requirements messed up their plan.
Still, Neo didn't do anything special by deciding to continue moving forward.
What he didn't realize was his simple choice was something only he could've done.
If Neo was not there, they would've decided to back down.
Neo ignored their reactions.
After leaving the mission hall, he revealed the missions to them.
>C-rank Mission<
Detail: Extract five bottles of honey from beehives of Salamander Bees.
Assigner: Firefly Apiary
Reward: 4 Credits, three 500ml bottles of Energy Replenishment (Fire Flavored)
>C-rank Mission<
Detail: Subdue the wailing ghost that appears in the female bathrooms of first year buildings.
Assigner: Janitor of Aurelia block
Reward: 4 credits, Wind elemental vision glasses
>C-rank Mission<
Detail: Destroy the Rolling Boulder monster on the path between Veritas block of first years and Oujha farms.
Assigner: Ranch owner of the twelfth plantation
Reward: 4 credits, 70% discount of all farm vegetables and fruits brought from Oujha farm (Twelfth plantation) for a year.
"Hmm"
Despite the distinct names of the places, all of them were located inside the Demigod Academy.
The academy was fully self-sufficient, from food to clothes to factories. Everything was present on the campus.
"We need to complete the missions as soon as possible.
"We'll split up. For these missions, we'll do me and Jack, and Christian and Mars.
"As for the last C-rank mission we'll do it together.
"Now choose the mission you will complete," Neo said.
"I wanted to be in your team," Mars complained. "I joined the team to compete with you."
"That's why I put you with Christian. Let's see who will complete their mission first."
"Oh, that's a good idea!"
It was easy to handle Mars.
They held a short discussion and picked their choices.
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC81: Salamander Bees
"Our group will do the mission from Firefly Apiary and…"
"Mars and I will complete Rolling Boulder monster mission," Christian said.
They split up.
Neo and Jack visited the Firefly Apiary's shop.
A plump woman welcomed them.
"Hello, what are you looking for?"
"We are here for the mission."
Neo showed them the information on his phone.
The woman, Joana, covered her face with her hand.
"The Ruler accepted our mission?" She smiled. "It's our pleasure to have you. Please follow me."
They entered the door behind the counter.
After moving through the indoors, they came out in the backyard.
It was filled with trees.
Long trees.
"Salamander bees use sunlight to make their honey.
"The taller the trees the tastier their honey. Solvana Trees are their favorite.
"The expected height of nests can reach anywhere from 500 meters to 1,000 meters," Joana explained.
"It would hurt if someone falls from there," Jack muttered.
"That's why we ask students to collect the honey for us. Salamander bees are quite an aggressive bunch."
Jack nodded in a daze.
"What happened to the people who fell from that height? Did they survive?"
"…"
His question was rhetorical.
He believed the Apiary must have safety equipment to prevent falls.
But Joana's smile made Jack afraid.
"Did they survive?"
"…"
"N-Neo, I think I know why this mission wasn't chosen by other students."
Suddenly, Jack recalled something.
"You should climb, Neo! You survived the fall from the cliff during the entrance exam. This much should be a child's play for you."
It was a logical division of labor.
Still, Neo couldn't help but smile bitterly at how quickly Jack threw him under the bus.
"I guess I'll do it. It will double as my training."
"As expected from the Ruler. Nothing is difficult for you.
"Please come this way. I'll give you the equipment and teach you how to extract the honey," Joana said.
The woman led Neo to a shed.
She gave him a brown full body suit.
It had a large backpack connected to a vacuum hose.
"The gloves and boots work will stick to the trees if you pass your Divine Energy though them. You can practice a bit before you start working."
Neo wore the suit.
It was hot inside it and the mask of the suit got covered with fog whenever he took a breath.
"This is annoying…"
He didn't take long to adjust to the suit's functions.
After all, his Magic Circuits on palms and soles were developed thanks to his Spells.
The only problem was the amount of Divine Energy being consumed.
Neo had to use his Divine Energy carefully if he didn't want to be emptied mid-way and fall.
"I'll climb now."
"Good luck. You will need it."
Jack spoke the last part in a barely audible whisper.
Neo heard the words since his hearing was boosted when he devoured the Gremlins.
However, he let Jack go and focused on the task.
"Here I go."
He circulated his Divine Energy through his limbs and climbed.
The gloves and feet stuck to the tree's bark like they were glued.
Neo had to cut off the Divine Energy supply when he wanted to remove his limbs from the tree.
Circulate the Divine Energy.
Stop.
Climb.
Circulate the Divine Energy.
Stop.
Climb.
He repeated the same thing over and over.
For someone like Neo, whose biggest weakness was his Divine Energy control, it was a wonderful training.
There was only one problem.
Neo was down to the 1/4th of his Divine Energy reserves before he climbed half of the tree.
He had to climb to the top and return too.
"Damn it. I'm wasting too much Divine Energy. My control isn't refined enough."
Over 60% of his Divine Energy was leaking while only 40% went into the suit.
Neo used the Essence Breath Spell to recover his Divine Energy when he hit 1/10th of his Divine Energy pool.
His climbing speed decreased drastically.
Using Divine Energy for the suit and for the Spell while making sure he wasted as little of it as possible was hard.
He had to divide his focus between three tasks.
The boiling heat inside the suit wasn't helping.
Neo felt he was swimming in sweat when he reached the top.
"Two hours. Huff, Huff, fuck this."
His limbs were sore and he felt exhausted.
Unfortunately, the Salamander bees didn't appreciate his hard work.
The palm-sized orange bees flew around like a storm and bashed their bodies against his suit.
They died when they hit him and exploded into a blazing fire.
…!
The heat and force of the attacks were fierce.
However, the worst part was the explosion. The smoke from them blocked his air supply tubes.
Neo felt he would die from suffocation if he didn't die from the fall.
"Fuck off!"
He used Ocean's Breath Spell.
It did little against suffocation.
As more and more Salamander Bees attacked him, Neo felt he would fall from the tree.
The burning heat was boiling him alive.
He clenched his teeth and used the Aura of Darkness.
Every Elemental Aura carried the property of its element.
Just like how Aura of Death could kill, the Aura of Darkness could absorb.
Black flames burst over Neo's suit.
It lessened the impact of the explosions and Salamander Bees attacks.
Neo used the chance to pull out the vacuum tube from his backpack.
He stuck it inside the beehive and let it absorb the honey.
The task was slow.
It wasn't long before the Salamander Queen Bee, almost as big as Neo's torso, appeared.
"I'm fucked if that thing attacks."
Neo regretted not bringing Obitus up there.
He left it since there was no place to keep it in the suit.
However, had he known the attacks of Salamander Bees were so fierce, he would've carried the sword no matter what.
The Queen Salamander Bee flew towards Neo like a cannon ball.
Neo held the tree with one hand and pointed his other hand at the Salamander Queen Bee.
Red lightning flickered around his fingertips.
Aura Snipe.
A single bolt of lightning shot out.
The attack seemed weak compared to his first Aura Snipe.
However, it was far more condensed.
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC82: Energy Replenishment Elixir
The Salamander Queen Bee suddenly stopped breathing.
Its wings no longer moved and it fell out of the air.
The corpse exploded after it fell for a few seconds.
The shockwaves of the explosion hit Neo with powerful intensity.
"I was really dead if that thing attacked me."
Neo filled his backpack with honey and quickly started descending.
Using Aura of Darkness for too long was draining.
It was nighttime when he reached the ground.
"You are back!"
Jack's face lit up.
The workers of the Apiary were waiting for him.
Neo threw away the suit as soon as stepped on the cold hard earth.
He didn't care if he was half naked or about the gazes of others.
"Finally…"
He took a deep breath.
The freezing air cooled him down.
"These are your clothes," Joana came to him with a flushed face.
"Can I have a shower before that?"
"Yes, of course."
She maintained her professional attitude despite the scene before her eyes.
Neo noticed her gaze moving to his lower half but he was too exhausted to care about anything.
After returning from the shower, he crashed on the chair next to Jack.
Both of them sat under the moonlight in silence.
"You are quite bold. I didn't expect you to get naked as soon as you completed the job."
Jack chuckled.
He was no longer a nervous mess.
"There are quite a few young ladies working at the shop. How do you think they will react now?"
"You think I give a fuck about what others think?"
Neo noticed some of the girls peeking at them from the window.
He pursed his lips.
"You should try to wear that suit under the sun and see if you don't get cooked."
"Hahaha, I'm sorry. I wasn't blaming you."
"Anyway, where is the Salamander Queen Bee corpse?"
"Why? Are you thinking of —"
"Yeah, I'll devour it while the Apiary prepares our rewards."
Jack stopped smiling.
It was known to everyone how the users of Darkness ended.
Insane and corrupted.
Not a single Darkness user was spared from the wretched fate.
He wanted to advice Neo against it.
However, it was clear Neo wouldn't listen to him.
"Come with me. They said we could take the corpse since we hunted it and stored it for us."
Neo followed him.
They found the Salamander Queen Bee's corpse inside another shed deep into the forest.
"Want to watch the process? It will help you with your element." Neo questioned.
"No, I'm okay. I'll wait for you outside."
Jack closed the doors and left.
Alone, Neo inspected the corpse.
"It didn't die from the explosion, but from the Aura Snipe."
If Neo had not killed it, the Salamander Queen Bee could've bombarded him with multiple explosions.
He once again realized how close he was to dying.
"It's too late to be afraid of death."
He chuckled and formed the hand signs.
"Darkness… Devour."
The shadows bloomed.
And the noises returned.
comePlayagainWEwAnttoplayAgainagainComeTOourworldNeoWeWiLLtreatyouFAIRLYcometousneolet'SPlayaGAIN.
It was unpleasant.
He couldn't get used to it no matter how many times he did it.
[Dynamic Vision +1]
[Agility +1]
He left the shed and returned to the Apiary with Jack.
Joana waited for them there.
"These four bottles are your rewards. We've mailed you the mission completion documents.
"Once you return to the mission hall and complete the verification process, you will receive the credits."
"Four? The reward was only three bottles of Energy Replenishment elixir."
"Yes, the fourth bottle is a thanks from our side.
"You completed the mission in half the usual time. It helped us too."
Neo accepted the rewards.
He popped open one of the bottle and drank it.
It tasted sweet.
A warm sensation traveled through his body and he could feel his physical exhaustion disappearing.
"It's nice."
"Thank you. Our products are in high demand across the academy, but it is always nice to hear the praise of a Ruler."
Neo left the Apiary with Jack.
"Why were you so cold? I'm pretty sure the girls there would've liked your number," Jack teased.
"I'm busy."
He took out his phone and dialed Christian's number.
"What are you doing?" Jack asked.
"Asking them about their mission progress to see if we should start the last C-rank mission."
"Already? It's midnight."
"We don't have time to rest. Besides, I don't feel exhausted after using the Energy Replenishment elixir."
It was harmful for the body to use the elixirs in large amount.
They could impede the growth of stats.
However, Neo was tight on time and he barely drank anything.
It was not dangerous.
Not yet at least.
Christian picked up the call after he dialed it the third time.
"Hello— Crack! Crack! Boom! are busy! The monster—Boom! evolved.
"It's too strong!
"The mission— Boom! Boom! B-rank or even an A-rank!"
The static noises and the explosions made it difficult for Neo to understand Christian's words.
It was clear they were having a hard time.
"Do you need help?" Neo asked.
Even if the mission's rank was evaluated wrongly — which shouldn't have been possible — they did not have the time to report the error to the mission hall and receive another mission.
They had to complete the mission today itself.
"No! We— Boom! Crack! ourselves. You two go for the third— Crack! Boom!"
The call was cut.
Neo bit his lips.
"Will it be okay?" Jack questioned. "If Mars and Christian are having trouble then the monster has to be strong."
Neo nodded.
Mars was on par with Morrigan. For now at least.
A C-rank mission's monster should've been no match for Mars.
Christian wasn't weak either.
Those two could handle an A-rank mission's monster if they were well prepared.
"We can only leave it to them."
"But—"
"They said they would complete the mission themselves. Let's trust them."
Jack nodded with a hardened face.
They went towards the location of the last C-rank mission.
…
There were eight buildings for the first year students of Templar Course.
These buildings were called blocks.
Aurelia Block, Veritas Block, Tempus Block, Nexus Block, Orion Block, Arcadia Block, Helios Block, Solstice Block.
Each block was ginormous and held different classes.
For reference, these eight were blocks assigned to Templar Course students.
There were dozens of more blocks for different courses.
Thankfully, Neo did not have to go to a different course's block, since just walking there could take half-a-day or more.
They met the guards of the Aurelia block and showed them the mission document.
"Come inside."
The guard, stern faced, opened the doors for them.
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC83: Veritas Hall And The Bloodthirsty Ghost
He gave them torches.
"Go straight down the corridor and the stairs.
"Turn left from the first corner, go straight and take the third right. You'll find the janitor's room there.
"He will explain the mission details to you."
They took the torches and entered the building.
"Do you remember the location?" Jack asked. "Because I don't."
"Follow me."
It was their first time in Aurelia block.
Neo had to circle around the corridors a few times despite remembering the location.
"You sure you remember the location? We can still return and ask the guard again."
"...Shut up."
In the end, it took them twenty minutes to find the janitor's room.
A dim light flickered above the door.
Neo knocked.
A noise, as if something fell, came from inside the room.
The door opened, and a man with hollowed cheek and large dark circles beneath his eyes revealed himself.
"We've accepted the mission."
Neo revealed the documents.
The janitor showed no reaction.
He stepped out of the room and walked into another direction.
"…?"
"I think he wants us to follow him," Jack said.
They climbed the stairs and reached the fourth floor.
The janitor stopped before the women washroom.
"It comes here. No fixed time of arrival and you can't see it," he spoke with a ghastly voice and left.
"Huh? Wait, where are you going?" Jack asked.
The janitor did not return.
Jack was left exasperated.
"That's all information we have for the mission? Wow."
Neo stepped into the washroom.
He scanned the area.
Ghosts were an invisible entity.
One needed elemental vision with Death affinity to see them.
"Paimon can you help me locate the ghosts?"
"No."
He expected the answer, but it still disappointed him.
'Guess we need to do it the hard way.'
Neo turned around only to see Jack still outside the washroom doors.
"Why aren't you coming in?"
"Can I do that? I'm a man and it's women washroom."
"…"
Neo gave him an unamused stare.
"Jack, we don't have time for jokes."
"I wasn't joking though."
Jack stepped inside with an embarrassed expression.
The two waited for the ghost to appear.
Nothing happened after two hours.
"Is this even working? Besides, how will we deal with something we can't see?"
"We'll use our Death affinity to dodge the ghost's attacks and counter it."
"…Doesn't that mean we have no plan?"
Neo looked away.
It would've been easy task if he had elemental vision.
However, one needed to reach Adept mastery in an element for it.
"We are wasting too much time.
"…I'll try to lure out the ghost. Please protect me and deal with it when it arrives," Jack said.
He sat crossed leg on the ground and closed his eyes.
His lips moved while he chanted multiple spells.
'Parallel Spell Casting.
'That's a technique barely any students from our batch can use.'
'I don't know if I should call him coward or stupid for choosing 1700s rank with that ability.'
Neo shook his head.
He waited for Jack's Magic Spell to work.
A sweet scent spread out from Jack.
The smell was an illusion only dead souls or those with affinity for Death could smell.
"Necromancy. It's that wretched ability," Paimon suddenly spoke.
Her voice was cold and emotionless.
Neo noticed her disapproval for Necromancy.
"Why are you upset?" He whispered.
"I'm not upset. It's just that the Necromancy is a forbidden branch of Death element. It's… disgusting."
He couldn't understand her words.
Devouring others was fine, but Necromancy wasn't?
"I know what you are thinking and you are wrong.
"Devouring is another form of death. It's the End.
"Necromancy, however, is an act against Death itself.
"It strips the dead of their autonomy and makes them mere tools for Necromancers. Those disgusting mages corrupts both life and death for their personal gain.
"Tell me am I wrong to hate such repulsive acts?"
"There is no need to think about Necromancy in this situation though. Jack is simply luring out the ghosts."
Neo answered her calmly.
He made sure to keep his voice low lest Jack heard him.
Before long, Neo's senses rang.
…!
He ducked and rolled into Jack's direction.
Deep scratch marks appeared on the wall where Neo stood moments ago.
He grabbed Jack.
"Wake up! The ghost is here!"
Jack's eyes were unfocused and he continued chanting the Spell.
"This damned guy! He is completely out of it! Set up a defense Spell at least!"
Suddenly, Neo felt a heavy presence of Death.
He used Ocean's Embrace only for the Spell to provide paper-thin defense.
"Fuck…"
Blood poured out from the gashes on Neo's back.
He protected Jack, but it cost him.
"This damned ghost can use Aura of Death?"
Aura of Death could inflict wounds that were hard to heal and ignore the opponent's defense to a certain degree.
With his low mastery of Ocean's Embrace, it might as well not exist for Neo.
Unfortunately, Neo found this just now.
He held Jack in a princess carry and retreated when suddenly his senses warned him of another attack from behind.
'I can sense one in front of me and another at my rear.'
'There are two ghosts!'
He jumped to the side.
His expression worsened.
There could be multiple ghosts.
Not just two.
They could be hiding in the washroom stalls.
'I can't risk it here.'
'I'll be emptied out after attacking once. If they dodge it, I'm done for.'
Neo had to change locations.
He ran to the window and jumped out.
While he was in the air, his senses warned him of another attack.
He had no way to dodge and took the attack head on.
Deep wounds appeared on his shoulder.
Neo barely managed to land on his feet.
As soon as he landed, his senses warned him of five presences surrounding him.
Neo looked at the window. He didn't sense any other ghost up there.
"Thanks for following me out."
He dropped Jack and held Obitus.
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC84: Using The Mission Reward
Red lightning and black flames materialized around the sword.
He slashed in a wide arc before the ghosts could run or attack.
The trees at the end of area suddenly dried up and died.
Screeching wails of the ghosts echoed.
Their presences disappeared a beat later.
Neo gasped for breath, and sat on the ground.
"My condition is better than the previous time I used Aura Slash.
"But I'm still fucked if there is another ghost."
While his limbs no longer trembled and he didn't feel like dying after just one Aura Slash, it didn't change the fact his Divine Energy reserves were back to 1/10 of their total.
Neo waited.
He spread his sense wide to locate another ghost.
There was nothing…
He let out a sigh and used Essence Breath Spell to speed up his recovery.
Jack woke up with a groan.
"What happened… Neo, are you okay!?"
Blood poured out non-stop from Neo's back and his shoulder had an ugly injury.
He looked like he had a step inside the grave.
"I've seen better days," Neo smiled.
He wasn't joking.
The only worrisome fact about the wounds was they were made from Death Aura infused attacks.
They wouldn't heal unless healers used purification on him.
Neo, however, as a Death wielder could suppress the Death Aura lingering on his injuries and remove it with time.
As long as he removed the Death Aura, his super healing would do the job.
In short, he was perfectly fine.
"What about the ghosts? Is there anyone left?" Neo asked.
"No, the reason I woke up was because their presences disappeared."
"Good job. Go to the janitor and report the mission's completion. I'll try to recover in the meantime."
Jack didn't look enthused to leave Neo alone given his grievous injuries.
However, Neo's nonchalance forced him to follow his words.
While Neo was focusing on removing the Death Aura and recovering his Divine Energy, Paimon opened her mouth.
"I've been curious about something.
"How can your Spirit wield more than one element? It should be impossible."
"I don't know myself."
Neo lied as naturally as he breathed.
He was worried Paimon would destroy Obitus if she knew the sword's origin.
The former Grim Reaper noticed his lie rather easily.
"Worry not.
"I won't do anything just because it displeases me.
"If I did, I would've killed your friend and every Necromancer out there."
Neo felt his scalp go numb.
Because he knew she had the ability to follow up on her words.
Paimon was strong.
She could kill others or spare them on whim.
It was one of the reasons why Neo pursed strength.
He didn't want to let others decide his fate.
Jack returned.
He brought plain glasses with him.
They, the rewards of the mission, could provide the wearer Wind elemental vision.
"You can have them. I barely did anything in this mission."
"Okay."
Neo wasn't the one to refuse free gifts.
He pocketed the glasses for later.
The two left the Aurelia block.
They crashed into the cafeteria and ordered food.
Morrigan was, once again, eating piles of bread.
She looked like she had just finished her training.
Neo was about to call out to her until his senses warned him.
She was pissed.
And she would attack if he annoyed her.
'I bet it's because the Zeus Clan members made fun of her.'
'Yeah, it's definitely not because she is holding a grudge for the ranking tournament.'
Neo wisely sat on another seat.
Jack let out a sigh of relief.
He was worried they had to sit with Morrigan.
It wasn't long before Christian's call arrived.
"We are done. Where are you two?"
"Cafeteria. The one near the Seraphim Hall."
"Okay. Wait for us."
Neo told the chefs to delay his order for an hour.
He was waiting for Christian and Mars to arrive so as to eat with them.
'I'm not doing this to make more friends or because I want to prove Felix wrong.'
'This is my actual personality.'
'I'm an extrovert who had been posing as introvert until now.'
After self-justifying himself, he waited for Christian and Mars.
They arrived almost an hour later.
"You two look like shit."
"Tell me about it," Christian smiled bitterly.
He was carrying an unconscious Mars on his back.
Their clothes were burnt, torn, and covered in mud.
Neo gave them the Energy Replenishment elixirs.
Christian drank it.
His complexion improved slightly.
He used the other bottle and made Mars drink it.
"What happened on your mission?" Jack asked with concern.
"Can we eat first? I'm famished."
"And we are poor. We don't have credits to buy the extravagant meals," Jack spoke.
"…"
Neo stood up before the mood of the group sank.
"The head chef is the friend of the Oujha plantation owner.
"I'll see if we can have them use our reward from the plantation mission.
"The price should go down if the cooking ingredients are 70% off."
They held a surprised expression.
Their faces were saying 'How poor you have to be to come up with that thought?'.
Neo frowned.
He couldn't say he learned this hack from his past life.
Of course, 90% of the restaurant threw him and his friends out when they used this hack.
He hoped it would work in the cafeteria.
After explaining the matter to the restaurant staff, Neo was surprised to see them readily agree to his request.
'Weird.'
'Is it so easy because I'm the Ruler?'
'Or was the mission's reward supposed to be used in this way?'
They ordered lots of food after hearing the new discounted prices.
Neo noticed Morrigan looking at their table with a salivating gaze.
He called the waitress and whispered,
"Can I order something for her?"
"I apologize, sir. But only your team can use the discount. Others need to pay the full price."
Neo nodded.
"Fine, just give her some portion of my food. Or is that impossible too?"
"…"
The waitress alternated her gaze between Neo and Morrigan.
"…We can allow it if it's just this time."
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC85: Chatting In The Cafeteria
"Thank you and if she refuses please say it's a gift from the cafeteria because she is a regular patron."
The waitress nodded.
Neo was thankful she accepted his request silently.
He returned to the table.
"What were you talking about with the waitress?" Jack said with a suggestive smile.
"Nothing."
Christian noticed the weird nuisance behind Jack's words.
"Why are you asking that?"
He questioned while he ate the food.
"Listen to me. This guy went naked in front of half dozen people. Of course, most of them were girls."
"…!"
Christian froze.
"Really...?"
He asked slowly as if he had trouble believing Jack's words.
Neo didn't bother pointing out how Jack left out the reason why Neo did what he did.
He focused on the food.
"Weren't they… disgusted?"
"Bah, what disgusted. It's different when rich and handsome guys like him do it.
"You should've looked at the hungry look in the girls' eyes."
Rich and handsome.
Those words were something Neo would've been never associated with in his past life.
The transmigration changed everything for him.
Neo smiled.
Above all, he was happy.
He might've been an Extra who died before the original novel's plot began.
However, he could change his fate as long as he worked hard.
While they were talking, the waitress delivered the order to Morrigan.
Confused, Morrigan asked why was she receiving something she never ordered.
The waitress explained the reason.
Morrigan frowned.
When she was about to refuse, the waitress used her glib tongue to have her accept the order.
'Nice. Doesn't look like she knows I was the one who ordered it.'
Neo secretly gave a thumbs up to the waitress and received a nod in return.
He was partially — definitely not fully — responsible for Morrigan's current situation.
Even so, it wasn't the reason why he helped her.
He knew she went easy on him during the tournament and she tried to protect him from being killed by other participating students since he chose the first rank token.
Neo was only trying to fulfill the favor he owed her.
'I'm pretty sure she doesn't have credits. This should even us out.'
He focused on his table.
"Your missions were quite difficult. I apologize for dumping two of them on you," Christian smiled wryly.
He heard the whole story from Jack.
"I'm pretty sure yours was worse," Jack said.
"I wouldn't say that's the case.
"We were just unlucky the Rolling Boulder evolved as soon as we found it.
"I checked and the mission was posted a few months ago.
"No one took it since then.
"The delay was the reason why the Rolling Boulder was able to grow stronger than what was written in the mission details."
It was a fault born out of negligence.
In short, Neo's team was just unlucky.
"I will report the disparity in the mission details and the actual details to the mission halls.
"We should be compensated. Don't get your hopes up though. Nobody likes to accept their mistake," Neo said.
Mars woke up while they ate.
He was felt rejuvenated thanks to the Energy Replenishment elixir.
"Where am I?" He massaged his brows.
"Cafeteria.
"Since you just woke up, drink some water and eat something light.
"Don't eat more until you are sure you won't get an upset stomach," Neo spoke.
"Thanks."
Mars was tired beyond measure.
His element, Fire, was weak against the earth wielding Rolling Boulder monster.
It was worse because Christian was the tank and he was the damage dealer.
Mars had to exhaust himself beyond his limits to burn the monster.
After they ate their fill, Neo opened his mouth.
"Whoever is tired can take a two hours nap.
"I'll submit our mission completion documents and get other missions for tomorrow in the meantime."
"We are fine. Let's go together!" Mars grinned.
Neo shook his head.
"Stop putting up a front.
"Our next missions are B-rank and A-rank. If you aren't at your best tomorrow, our progress will take a huge hit.
"It's better to rest now when you can."
"Sigh, thank god. I wanted to sleep," Jack sunk into the chair.
"You are coming with me. You hardly did anything."
"What!?"
Jack's face fell until Neo laughed.
"I'm joking of course. Take a rest."
"Where should we sleep? If we go back to our dorms, we would waste half-an-hour just going to and fro," Christian asked.
"Sleep here," Neo said.
He left before they could complain again.
After arriving at the mission hall, he submitted the documents.
"We've verified the completion of missions. You are allowed to take more missions now," the attendant at the mission hall said.
Neo nodded.
He reported the error with the Rolling Boulder monster mission before choosing the next missions.
His device rang.
[+24 credits]
[Total credits: 24]
Neo paid 0.3 credits at the cafeteria.
That left him with 24 credits.
"The others should've received their credits too."
It was a good amount for less than one week.
"If we can maintain the pace, we have a shot at the slot for the S-rank mission."
No one had yet completed the mission's participation requirements.
Neo knew his troubles were just starting.
The Zeus Clan and others would start moving as soon as they realize Neo's team completed three C-rank missions.
"We need to hurry."
It would've been better to start moving as soon as possible.
Neo knew Mars would've been fine without rest.
However, Christian and Jack couldn't continue in their current condition.
Neo didn't want to push his team too hard for the S-rank mission.
He could do it.
However, he felt like he would lose as a person.
That wasn't Neo's aim.
His goal was to be the perfect being.
How could he claim to be perfect if had to sacrifice his morals to strengthen himself?
It was what weak did.
And Neo wanted to become the strongest.
"Let's see. What missions should I choose?"
Neo stared at the B-rank mission list.
He could choose two of them at once.
"These two look good."
He read their details.
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC86: Preparing The Trap
>B-rank Mission<
Detail: Hunt the kraken that had been eating fishes from the Cisco River and creating trouble for the fishermen.
Assigner: Fishermen East Department
Reward: 5 credits, Three days and four nights free trip in Zentiya Resort
>B-rank Mission<
Detail: A Minotaur has escaped from the Paris Dairy. Bring it back without severely injuring it. There should be no damage to the genitals or the mission would be canceled.
Assigner: Paris Dairy
Reward: 5 credits, Physical Reinforcement Spell (Echo-rank)
>B-rank Mission<
Neo took the missions and returned to the cafeteria.
Mars, Christian, and Jack were asleep.
He sat in an empty area and focused on recovering his injuries.
Fortunately, the ghosts' mastery of Death was not very high.
It was not too difficult to remove the lingering Aura from their attacks.
He awoke others two hours later.
"Yawn, is it time already?" Jack asked.
"Yeah."
Neo showed them the missions.
"I'll choose the kraken one. I can fight underwater thanks to my bloodline," Christian answered.
He rubbed his eyes to wash away the sleepiness.
"That sounds good! It will be a good challenge to fight with Fire element underwater!" Mars grinned.
Neo shook his head.
"Mars, you'll team up with Jack for the B-rank mission.
"Your elemental affinity will put you on a disadvantage if you go to battle the kraken."
"But—"
"Mars, you'll have plenty of opportunities to fight stronger opponents.
"We still have an A-rank mission left and don't forget our main goal is the S-rank mission.
"We need to conserve our strength for that."
Mars looked unconvinced.
"The minotaur mission is more difficult.
"Because you need to subdue it without harming it."
Neo lied with a straight face.
His explanation made Mars nod with a satisfied expression.
"Are you sure you want to come with me, Neo?
"Fighting underwater is completely different from fighting on the ground."
"Don't worry about it. I have a Spell for it."
"Hmm?"
Christian noticed the hidden meaning behind Neo's words.
"It has to be a Water Spell if it helps you fight underwater. You have Water Affinity?"
"Yeah."
"…How many affinities do you have?"
"Quite a few."
His ambiguous answer raised their curiosity.
They wanted to know the truth.
Unfortunately, Neo never planned to satisfy their curiosity.
The group split up.
Neo and Christian crossed the Oujha farm.
They travelled for a few hours before they reached the Cisco River.
It was big and deep enough to be called a lake.
Neo silently marveled the landscape before his eyes.
"You two younglings! Get away from the river! The kraken is still there!"
A fisherman approached them with a slipper in hands.
…
Lucas' Room, Seraphim Hall
"Why have the cleared the C-rank missions already?" Lucas questioned.
"T-that…" Zoe stammered.
"I gave you a team and made you a team leader because you wanted to prove yourself.
"The only thing I asked from you was to make sure those mudbloods can't compete with us for the S-rank mission slot.
"How did they complete three C-rank mission then?" Lucas questioned with a smile.
Harrison and other members of the Zeus Clan were present in the room.
Stares of multiple people, especially Lucas, made Zoe tremble.
"Don't be scared, Zoe. I'm not scolding you. I'm just asking for the reason why it happened."
She gulped.
"W-we made sure only the most difficult missions were left.
"But somehow they cleared them all."
Zoe prepared meticulously.
From making sure the Salamander Queen Bee was present in the nest, there were multiple ghosts, to confirming the rolling boulder monster was about to evolve.
She checked the other remaining missions were just as difficult if not more.
However, it was as if Neo knew the specialties of his teammates.
He chose the missions best suited for them.
"You are saying that fraud Ruler managed to study his teammates in detail within a day and chose missions according to them?"
"Yes—"
Her words were cut short when Harrison scoffed.
"There is no way a team that formed a day ago can have a proper coordination to complete multiple missions at once.
"It's clear you were at fault for leaving easy missions behind," Harrison spoke angrily.
Zoe cowered.
Lucas interfered before the matter escalated.
"It's okay, Zoe. Everyone makes mistakes. Just make sure they aren't repeated."
"You mean…?"
"Those mudbloods chose two B-rank missions. It's these two."
Lucas showed her the details of Neo's team missions.
"I want you to make sure they fail this time."
"Y-yes!"
"Make sure you confirm the completion of the task yourself. We can't have another failure, right?"
Lucas' smile made Zoe shiver.
She nodded and left the room in a hurry.
…
Cisco River
The fisherman glared at Neo and Christian.
"How did you two come here? Go shoo, attend your classes!"
Christian turned to Neo with a wry smile.
It looked like the fisherman did not recognize Neo's clothes.
"We are here for the kraken subjugation mission."
Neo stepped forward.
He revealed the mission's document.
The fisherman looked at them with a doubt.
"You two peanuts will defeat the sea god?"
"Sir, kraken is not a sea god. Please refrain from speaking thoughtlessly like that."
"O-okay."
Christian's sudden strong tone made the fisherman flinch.
He looked at Neo.
"We should start the mission. I doubt these people can provide us any valuable help or information."
Neo nodded.
It was his first time seeing Christian angry.
Christian and Neo entered the river.
A blue aura covered Neo when he used the Ocean's Embrace.
They dived underwater.
The flow of the river was strong.
It was powerful enough to uproot a tree.
Neo took a few tries to adjust himself.
He began to swim nimbly like a fish.
When underwater, Ocean's Embrace allowed him to breath and it boosted his movement speed.
He felt no different from standing on ground.
The only difference was he could move in any direction, including above and below.
His smooth movements surprised Christian.
'Follow me,' Christian signaled Neo. 'I can sense the kraken in that direction.'
The two swam towards the center of the river.
Again, the river's width and depth surprised Neo.
When they reached the location, Christian stopped.
'It's down there.'
Christian pointed at the natural trench on the riverbed.
No light returned from its depth, leaving it shrouded in darkness.
Christian used another Spell and created an air bubble around them.
They could finally talk.
"We should discuss our roles.
"I'm a tank, but, strictly speaking, I'm stronger than you.
"And while you are a damage dealer, you have better defenses than me.
"I think for this battle you should be the tank and I'll be the damage dealer," Christian said.
Neo shook his head.
"I can use Aura Snipe and Aura Slash to end the battle in one go.
"Besides, I can shield only myself with my Spell and not you. I can't be the tank."
He tightened his grip around Obitus.
Christian pondered over Neo's words.
"I doubt your mastery is enough to take down the kraken in a single attack.
"But you are indeed correct. You have more lethal attacks than me."
While they were discussing the plan, Neo focused on the kraken sleeping inside the trench.
The darkness was no problem for Neo.
He could see the ginormous body of the kraken and its eight limbs coiling around the rocks clearly.
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC87: Kraken
'It looks like a giant squid.'
That was Neo's first thought.
Perhaps Christian knew what Neo was thinking because he said,
"A dangerously powerful giant squid. Anyway, you can see in the darkness?
"I expected it since you have the Darkness element, but isn't too much?
"You can kill ghosts, control Darkness, breathe underwater, and climb 500 meter trees without a break.
"Is there anything you can't do?"
"There are plenty of things I'm incapable of. Though, I'm planning to learn them all."
Neo's answer exasperated Christian.
At that moment, Neo saw the kraken move.
It opened its eyes slowly and met his gaze.
…!
"Dodge!"
Neo pushed Christian out of the air bubble and dodged backwards as fast as possible.
Suddenly, tentacles shot out of the trench.
They moved as fast as bullets and pierced the air bubble where Christian and Neo were moments ago.
If Neo was late to react, they would've died then and there.
Christian chanted Spells.
A translucent blue armor formed around Neo.
At the same time, a shield and lance of water materialized in Christian's hands.
The weapons crystalized into ice.
Christian stuck his lance against the shield.
A powerful ripple spread out.
The kraken let out a frenzied shriek when it heard the noise and attacked Christian.
He swam between its attack and conjured ice shields to block attacks he couldn't dodge.
While the kraken was distracted, Neo dived downwards at full speed.
He coated his blade in the Aura of Death and Darkness.
Just as Neo was about to slash, the tentacles attacking Christian split up.
Half of them shot towards Neo while other half kept Christian busy.
'Fuck! We split up since it would've been easier to attack it!'
'But it used our plan against us!'
Neo spun on his position and swung his blade while using a weak Aura Slash.
The tentacles suddenly became slower.
They were alive and kicking.
Neo used the chance to enter Christian's range.
Several tentacles attacked him from multiple angles.
He would've been crushed alive if not for Christian's ice shield appearing around him in the nick of the time.
The ice shields froze the tentacles.
Neo struck the frozen tentacles and they shattered only for the kraken to regenerate them a second later.
Christian struck his shield again and used another taunt.
The kraken was not fooled this time.
'We can't attack its main body since it's too far! These tentacles aren't letting us close the distance!'
Neo had to come up with a plan quickly.
…
Cisco River Bank
Zoe stood at the edge of the river.
The surface of the water rippled continuously and powerful shockwaves continued to hit the river bank.
"They started fighting."
She, while hidden, could see dozes of fishermen around the river.
All of them were waiting for the result of the battle.
"I'm telling you they will die!"
"We should've just accepted the sea god's wrath and given more sacrifices to appease them!"
"We are doomed! Those kids angered the sea god!"
The fishermen wailed.
Hearing them made Zoe sick.
"I can't believe they are so stupid."
Despite her thoughts, she let out a smile.
"Still, it's true that lunatic and his team will fail."
She took out a red pill from the bottle and flicked it to the center of the river.
The pill dissolved quickly.
"With this, they will fail their mission even if they manage to survive.
"I wonder if the other guys dealt with Mars and his lackey."
She moved away from the river and returned to her base.
…
Under Cisco River
Christian and Neo continued to dodge the attack while trying to get closer to the kraken.
Suddenly, both of them sensed a change in the water.
It was a small change and... something eerie.
The kraken's eyes turned red.
It let out a roar.
Christian and Neo stiffened.
They were unable to move.
The roar immobilized them.
Neo noticed the kraken, crazed, coming out of the trench.
The monster filled the water with black ink.
While their visibility was reduced to null, a massive tentacle stuck Christian.
He was thrown backwards like a baseball hit with a bat.
Neo barely had time to react himself.
He used the Aura of Darkness to lessen the impact.
The tentacle hit him.
The ice shield was torn apart like paper.
The flames of Darkness reduced the force of the attack slightly and the Ocean's Embrace saved Neo from being flattened like a pancake.
Still, he was hurled into the riverbed at breakneck speed.
'Fuck.'
Neo's body screamed when he tried to move.
He looked above.
The river was filled with ink and the visibility was zero.
But.
Neo could tell.
'That fucker is trying to go out of the water!'
He didn't know why, but the kraken had clearly gone berserk.
'This is bad.'
If the kraken went out of the water and destroyed a settlement, Neo's team would not only lose the mission, they will have to pay penalty too.
Neo swam upwards like a bullet.
Another tentacle came out of the inky water and flew towards him.
He cancelled the Ocean's Embrace and focused on Aura of Darkness only.
The black flames reduced the impact enough for Neo to grab the tentacle.
He used the tentacle's momentum to reach the river bed, and he sunk his feet into the floor.
Neo tightened his muscles and pulled the tentacle.
'Come down!'
Veins burst on his limbs.
He tried to wrestle the ginormous kraken inside the water.
Just when another tentacle was about to hit him, Christian returned.
He rammed into the kraken.
The monster lost its balance.
It was just for a moment, but it was enough.
Neo turned around and pulled the kraken over his head, and smashed it into the riverbed.
Shockwaves rippled non-stop.
It was as if a thunderstorm arrived.
Neo clenched his teeth and swam towards the kraken.
The monster was blasted into the floor.
Its mouth, which was usually hidden beneath its body, was in the open.
Neo dived inside.
Hundreds of teeth greeted him when he stepped into the kraken's mouth.
They came down at him like a grinder.
Neo unleashed his Aura of Darkness and used the Ocean's Embrace.
He triggered the Necrotic Touch to wreak havoc from inside.
Christian, outside, used his weapons to use ram attacks and lance thrusts.
Both of them continued their assault without giving an inch to the kraken.
The monster stopped moving.
Christian waited for Neo to come out.
Minutes passed…
Nothing happened.
Just when Christian thought the worst, Neo tore open the kraken's stomach and stepped outside.
He was covered in green blood.
'It smells,' Neo mouthed with a displeased expression.
A smile bloomed on Christian's face.
He came down to Neo and created an air bubble to talk.
"We won thanks to you."
"I didn't do it alone."
"Still, I will apologize for looking down on you when we started the mission.
"I would've failed if you weren't there to help me."
"That's why we are a team. You help me, I'll help you."
Neo hit Christian's chest lightly and smiled.
"Let me devour the monster before we return."
"Okay."
Jack had told Christian about Neo's tendency to use Darkness to absorb the monsters.
He was not surprised.
Neo was about use the hand signs when a voice appeared inside his head.
Let me…. eat it…
I'm hungry….
He nodded.
"How should I do it?"
No answer came from Obitus.
Neo followed his instinct.
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EXTRA'S DEATH: I AM THE SON OF HADESC88: Obitus Uses Devour
He grabbed the hilt upside down with both hands and tapped the tip of the sheathe on the ground.
"Devour."
The shadows of Obitus suddenly swelled.
They spread far and wide and covered the riverbed.
The noises returned when the corpse started to sink into the darkness.
They were bearable.
[Muscle Flexibility +1]
Neo was surprised to see his stats increase even though Obitus devoured the corpse.
He recalled Henry's words.
'Obitus is linked with me.'
'It will grow as I grow.'
'Looks like the opposite is also true.'
Obitus let out a satisfied hum and returned to the sleep.
The scabbard became slightly loose.
'It's about to be completed.'
Neo turned to Christian.
"Let's return."
They swam back to the river bank.
Neo was drenched with water unlike Christian who was dried as soon as he stepped on the land.
Christian noticed Neo's displeased expression.
"Please don't get naked now."
"I'm not an exhibitionist."
Neo was exasperated.
Maybe he should've stopped Jack from overexaggerating the story.
They met the fishermen after leaving the river.
"Please sign the mission completion documents and send them to us."
"W-we will. We will."
The old fisherman nodded.
He gave Neo the Zentiya resort ticket.
After completing the procedures, Neo and Christian left.
"You look worn out."
"I'm fine."
Christian shook his head.
His pale complexion was due to lack of Divine Energy.
Not everyone had a Terror-ranked Breathing Spell to recover their Divine Energy.
'I don't think Christian, Jack, and Mars can fight anymore.'
'I'll have to make sure the next mission we choose isn't a battle mission.'
"You are doing a good job. Just hold on a bit longer.
"We can rest as soon as we clear the last A-rank mission," Neo said.
His words brought a smile to Christian's face.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to the resort. It's quite famous."
They were on their way to the mission hall when Jack's message arrived.
Neo read it out aloud.
"Mars and I've cleared the mission.
"But there is a problem. Meet us near our dorm."
He looked up at Christian.
Their expression turned serious.
"We should hurry."
"Indeed."
They met with Mars and Jack at the specified location.
Mars had a smile on his face and his clothes were damaged.
Jack, on the other hand, bit his nails and paced around.
He noticed Christian and Neo.
"Hey! You are back!"
"Yeah, we just completed out mission."
"Congrats. Ours was a success too."
"Good job."
They sat on a nearby bench.
"Why did you call us? What happened on your mission?"
"That…"
Jack turned to Mars and signaled for him to speak.
"The mission was simple enough.
"The only hiccup was how the Minotaur suddenly went berserk and attacked us.
"We were almost forced to kill it," Mars grinned.
Neo frowned.
The same happened with the kraken on their mission.
It suddenly went berserk.
"Why do you look happy if you almost failed?" Neo questioned.
"Because someone was responsible for the minotaur going berserk.
"They tried to have us fail the mission purposefully.
"Of course, I completed the mission and dealt with those certain people."
Mars cracked his neck.
He looked refreshed.
"It was a nice workout."
'Crazy bastard. He is happy he got a chance to fight others,' Neo thought.
Jack spoke up,
"That's the problem. Those people had their faces hidden.
"Someone came and rescued them before we could confirm their identities."
Neo pursed his lips.
They had to be strong to rescue the perpetrators before Mars could stop them.
"It's someone from top 10 or from a Great God Clan," Neo said.
"Yes. That's what we think too."
"They finally started openly hindering us."
Neo pursed his lips.
"It's better to ignore them for now. We are almost on the finish line.
"Let's focus on the completing the A-rank mission."
The other three nodded.
They were about to move towards the mission hall when Mars took out a pen drive from his pocket.
He gave it to Neo.
"The Physical Reinforcement Spell we got as the reward of the mission is in there.
"I gave a copy to Jack. You can have the other."
"What about you and Christian?"
Neo asked despite knowing the answer.
"I can't use the Spell and I'm sure Christian has something better."
"Indeed."
Christian nodded.
"Got it."
Neo pocketed the pen drive.
He would learn the Spell later.
…
Lucas' Room, Seraphim Hall
Harrison grabbed Zoe's neck and smashed her into the wall.
"How did you fail again!?"
Condensed Aura of Lightning flickered around his arm.
It burned Zoe's neck.
She screamed due to the pain.
"Answer me!"
Harrison increased the strength behind his grip.
"M-mars was too strong. I could barely rescue my teammates before he saw their faces—"
"Then what about that mudblood! How did he defeat the kraken when you were there!?"
He threw her across the room.
Not satisfied yet, he was about to kick her again when Lucas stopped him.
"We don't have time. They will soon go to receive the A-rank mission.
"Let's go to the mission hall."
Lucas gave a glance to the bleeding Zoe before stepping out.
Harrison clicked his tongue and followed behind him.
…
Mission Hall
Neo completed the verification process.
[+10 credits]
[Total credits: 34 credits]
He received the notification.
After confirming the rewards he was about to move towards the A-rank mission list when he noticed something.
>S-rank Mission<
Details: [REDACTED]
Assigner: Sphinx
Reward: [REDACTED]
Slots: 2/3
>S-rank Mission<
Two teams completed the participation requirements.
There was only one spot left.
"This is bad," Christian muttered. "We might not be able to complete the requirements on time."
"Does anyone have any idea which teams cleared the participation requirements?" Jack questioned.
"I think it's Zeus Clan teams. I would've known if it was someone from Poseidon Clan."
"But aren't you being ostracized? Wouldn't they hide the news from you?"
"This type of information isn't worth hiding."
While they conversed, Neo took out his device and contacted Felix.
He wanted to know if Arthur's team was one of the two teams who cleared the mission requirements.
> Felix <
Me: How many missions have you completed?
Felix: We are doing our last B-rank mission before we move onto the A-rank mission.
Felix: Why?
Me: 2/3 slots are filled.
> Felix <
Neo closed the chats.
"It's not Arthur's team."
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