Neo hummed a little tune to himself as he walked down the brightly lit stairs leading to the underground armory. In front of him was his father, Dean Castreed who led the way past various doors which simmered faintly with suppression and protection runes.
(I seriously can't believe you actually did it.) Celeste said incredulously from the Soulscape.
'I seriously can't believe it actually worked.' Neo replied inwardly with a chuckle.
After his talk with Adrian, he had gone back to meet his father who had instantly apologized profusely and almost broke down in tears about not being there for him, creating an awkward moment. Luckily he was able to brush it off as it was also his fault for losing his temper. He still ended up having to apologize for his outburst and Adrian chipped in which his usual opportunistic smile asking for 'compensation' for the 'emotional trauma' they 'suffered' due to his absence.
Unfortunately, all Adrian got was a sharp glare and a spanking from their mom. Luckily, after a round of scolding from their mom, he was still eligible for a free gift from the armory leading to where he was now.
Dean led the way through the winding corridors that sloped deeper and deeper underground. His expression was slightly tense although less than it was in the morning but it still had a mix of uncertainty of their relationship.
"Um, Dad? How far in is the armory?" Neo finally asked after a few minutes of walking.
A tired smile appeared on Dean's face as he turned slightly. "Since I want to get you an extra special gift, I decided to allow you pick two treasures from our personal vault. Whether it's a skill scroll, weapon or gear, you can pick any two up to the Rare grade. I'd advise you not set your eyes on anything more than that as you might not be able to handle it."
"Epic...grade?" Neo asked, genuinely intrigued.
"Oh, I guess you weren't told. Weapons and Skills are sorted into different grades. Coincidentally, there are also seven grades which correspond to the seven mana core ranks. They start with the Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Mythic, Transcendent and finally the Divine grade. Divine grade treasures are rare with only a few being discovered and even fewer being publicly known."
Neo's eyes shone at the sound of this. Perks of being a noble number one: extra powerful artifacts this early in the game. This would make things much easier for him. Although they would eventually lose their use as he planned to eventually grow to the point that even Divine grade treasures would be obselete.
'Speaking of which, the other Paladins would also possess powerful weapons and skills too.' His mind immediately went to Adonis. 'Yup, that guy's definitely getting cheat items.' he thought with a chuckle.
"Why can't I get a higher grade treasure?"
"You should know that high level weapons and skills have an equally high requirement. For now, the best you can handle would be an Rare grade treasure." Dean replied calmly though his mouth twitched slightly at Neo's shamelessness.
An Rare grade treasure was one most people didn't even get to lay their eyes on during their lifetime. Yet this boy was asking for a higher grade treasure right off the bat.
'Calm down Dean, this is fair. Think of it was a culmination of all his missed birthdays.' He convinced himself. Even though he was a noble, that didn't make him an automatic moneybag as he wanted to raise his children to be self dependent.
They finally reached the vault. The entire thing was sealed within a thick mana-locked door that looked deceptively simple on the outside but Hacker's Eye pierced through the countless layers of advanced runic encryption and protective arrays.
Dean placed his hand on a sleek white panel that emerged soundlessly from the wall beside the door. It scanned both his fingerprints and mana signature in the span of a few seconds before merging seamlessly with the wall.
Neo raised a brow at this. 'Damn, so much security. Even with Hacker's Eye I don't think I could copy all of this at my current strength.'
(Even if you did, what would you use it for.) Celeste replied flatly.
'Probably locking my Soulscape from Avon. With this much security, I'm sure there's going to be some sweet treasures for me..'he chuckled at his little joke.
The vault door unlocked with a metallic hiss as the glyphs faded into the metal.
"This is... amazing." Neo said speechlessly.
Dean's smile turned slightly smug as he saw the awestruck look on Neo's face.
The vault was a large circular room with rows of large glass sealed shelves lining the walls filled with various weapons, armor, elixirs, artifacts and skill scrolls.
{Welcome Lord Dean Castreed No. 01AA247 Access level: Absolute, Neo Castreed No. 07FU829 Access level: Low} A soft mechanical voice echoed through the room.
"An AI?" Neo raised a brow.
"Yes, the entire Castreed clan is connected by a single artificial entity, NEARA."
"..."
(Don't even think about it.) Celeste's stern voice echoed from the Soulscape.
'What?' he replied sheepishly.
(I can read your thoughts remember. Don't play coy with me.) Neo could almost see her rolling her eyes.
(You're planning on hacking the AI, aren't you?)
'What? I was just curious if I could tinker with it at my current strength.'
(...)
Neo could feel her glare deepening.
'Okay, okay, I won't do anything, promise.'
"Ahem." Dean cleared his throat as he noticed Neo just standing in the doorway.
"You can pick any two treasures you want. Feel free to pick anything you want."
"Let's get to it then." He subtly activated Hacker's Eye as he walked towards the nearest shelf containing some skill scrolls.
'Time to finally put this SS ranked skill to it's full use." He eyed a nearby skill scroll glowing faintly with mana lines. It was small and was just sitting in a corner. This made sense. It was of the lowest tier after all.
[Dash (F-tier)]
[Temporarily increases base speed by 15% for ten seconds. Cool down: five minutes.]
[Hacker's Eye] unravelled the core runic code that made up the skill, stripping away the countless seals and patterns that formed the base. Normally a normal person, even with Hacker's Eye could only glimpse briefly the immense amount of runic information compressed within the skill and even then the information was enough to overwhelm most people.
But Neo wasn't most people. He had something others didn't have. Celeste.
(Hmph, a basic skill like this is nothing to me.)
[You have gained the common skill: Dash (Lv. 1)]
He smiled inwardly. He was promised at most two treasures but he planned to take every single skill in this damn vault. With
(Oi slow down there Neo. Your dad's right, you can't handle any skill at the Epic grade or above. Maybe one if you push it but not more than that.)
'That's... something.'
(Plus, Absolute Mental Mastery can only store at most thirty skills for now.)
'Why do you have so many nerfs.'
(You're the greedy one. How many skills do you want to take at once?)
'Okay, okay, I get it. It's great enough that I can learn these many skills in the first place.'
For the next hour, he continuously scoured through all the skills, copying every skill under the Rare grade he saw. He didn't even glance at the weapons or magic gear at all, making Dean wonder if Neo was planning to become a mage type despite his above average physical prowess.
After a full hour of skill hunting and many curious looks from his father, Neo finally picked out a skill scroll so as not to arouse suspicion. It was a Rare grade skill [Shadow Step].
[Shadow Step (C-tier)]
[User melts fluidly into the shadows and travel through shadows, leaping between nearby shadows and stalking enemies.]
Now it was time to pick a second treasure. It was time for him to pick a weapon.
(Neo...) Celeste's voice echoed through his mind, although her voice carried grave tone with a tinge of worry and slight unease.
'Yeah, I noticed it too. That sword...ever since I came in here I felt a pull from it.'
His gaze fell on an unassuming dark steel katana lying in a velvet casing. It's length was engraved with softly glowing runes that shimmered within it's casing. As he focused on the blade the AI's voice rang out softly giving it's details.
{Blade of Luitris (Rare grade)}
{A blade forged from unknown origins and wielded by several legendary clan members in the past. This sword carries a regenerative factor when infused with ample mana and can withstand base damage from experts up to the early stages of the Expert rank.}
Contrary to NEARA's analysis, the Paladin System showed a different evaluation.
[??? Demonic weapon
[An abominable blade forged by the demon lord, Kalgagan and bears the trademark aura noticeable only to fellow demons and angels. The souls of it's previous power hungry bearers haunt within. It currently houses an active demon.]
[Warning!! Warning!!]
[You have encountered a demonic relic!]
[Proceed with caution!]
Neo swiped away the notifications that rapidly appeared in his vision as he fixed his gaze on the sealed relic. Although his gaze was calm outwardly, Celeste caught the sudden cold in his aura.
"Dad, I'll take this sword." Neo said simply, never taking his eyes off the katana for a second.
"Sure, I was thinking of training you in the path of the sword anyway." Dean said lesiurely as he pulled out the katana through the glass casing, his hand phasing right through the containment.
For a second, Neo was afraid of the demon possessing or trying to affect his father's mind, but with Hacker's Eye running on full power, he confirmed that nothing of the sort was happening.
He was sure of it now.
The sword wanted him.
.
.
.
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A/N: Hey guys, please continue to support me on my book, add to library. For every collection I get, I'll add another extra chapter the next day [if I can(๑•﹏•)].