He reached Grade 3 Awaked a few hours ago and he still couldn’t use the flag post, so it was not counted as surpassing himself.
“Are you going to return to the world of living?”
“No, I’ll grind some stats until the skill forcefully revives me.”
Neo left the mansion.
He tered the forest.
The place was empty.
He did not find any monsters.
“It was the same last time. Is this place supposed to be always empty?”
Neo doubted it.
Forest of All Beginnings was where the souls appeared after their death in the world of living.
It should’ve be filled with monsters, Grim Reapers, and souls.
Suddly, he ssed a monstrous presce.
His heart froze with dread.
The presce was like a giant demon covering the sky.
“It’s neither a soul or a monster…
“What is it?”
The presce was dangerous. However, it did not feel ‘alive’.
Neo moved towards the presce.
Closing onto it, he climbed the trees and hid in them to scout the surings.
“What the fuck?”
Neo doubted the sce before his eyes.
The forest was crushed as if a giant being stepped on it.
A massive depression formed in the ctre of the destroyed region.
Hundreds of monsters sured the place.
“The monsters were gathered here.”
They were trying to ter the destroyed forest.
The thick aura of death radiating from it killed them as soon as they stepped close.
“These monsters all are differt species. Why ar’t they fighting amongst themselves?”
It was differt from the usual behavior of the monsters.
“Is there something inside that place?”
Neo stretched his sses.
Doing so made him visible to the monsters.
They ignored him and kept trying to ter the destroyed forest.
…!?
Neo stiffed.
After reaching Adept-mastery in Death, he gained Death elemtal vision and his sses of Death increased.
He could ‘smell’ the intoxicating sct of death in the air.
There was a treasure in the cter of the destroyed forest.
The monsters wanted it.
There was just one problem.
“That’s my blood. There is no way I’ll mistake the sct of my own God Blood.”
Neo’s blood, which was at the cter of the flatted forest, was the source of rich aroma of death.
“Everything makes sse now. This was why the forest was empty.”
Neo recalled the first day he vtured into the forest.
He washed his blood in a river and ded up attracting a giant monster on par with Exalted Demigods.
“There is no way that monster would’ve left my blood here.
“It probably ded up fighting something else that wanted my blood and lost some of it here.”
Goosebumps rose over his skin.
The forest was flatted as far as he could see.
The presce of death lingering in the area was ough to kill an Awaked Demigod as soon as they wt close to it.
If the collateral damage caused the tire landscape to change, Neo shuddered to think how the actual battle would’ve be.
“I better think twice before bleeding wh I’m Underworld.”
Neo’s curiosity was satisfied.
He understood why the forest was empty.
The monsters were trying to devour his blood that was dropped by the giant monster.
The Grim Reapers were busy handling the aftermath at other places, probably.
“This is a good news.
“I can get back some of my God Blood.”
The God Blood he lost to the giant monster never returned to him.
He never cared about it before since he did not lose much.
But now, after the contract with Paimon, he was lacking in God Blood.
Neo needed as much of it as possible.
He jumped down from the tree.
A few monsters turned to look at him.
They stared at Neo for a few seconds before returning their focus to the destroyed forest.
Neo walked to the edge of the region.
He could feel the thick presce of Death prickling his skin.
The presce increased as he continued to go inwards.
He tried to resist the Death.
The number of monsters decreased the closer he walked to the ctre.
His skin began to crack.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
The Death was overwhelming.
Neo continued forward.
His mastery of Death was not ough to resist the Death lingering in the surings.
Blood trickled out of his wounds.
Neo used Darkness to consume the blood he was losing before anyone ssed it.
His bones creaked.
He felt thousands of needles stabbing into his skin.
Neo’s eyes remained firm.
He could feel himself reaching the limit wh he reached half way towards the ctre.
He used Ocean’s Embrace and Aura of Darkness to increase his defces.
His Divine Energy pool was disappearing at a frighting pace.
The strain made him feel his innards were being twisted.
Neo was breathing heavily wh he reached the ctre.
A tiny drop of gold blood was floating in the air.
Four monsters sat a it, absorbing the aura of Death from the droplet of blood.
‘That blood is too strong.’
‘Did my God Blood mix with the giant’s blood?’
‘It’s the only reason I can think of for the increase in the purity of the blood.’
Neo placed his hand over Obitus wh the monsters turned towards him.
The first one looked like a spider. Its tire body is shrouded in a shifting, shadowy mist, making it difficult to see its true form.
The second monster was quadrupedal beast with crystalline body.
The third monster was a humanoid creature as think as his wrists. It had dark ebony skin, jagged horns and long claws.
Their presce was powerful.
They were as strong as Neo.
‘It’s clear there are working together.’
‘I doubt they want to share the blood with a fourth person, so they’ll attack me together.’
The corner of Neo’s lips rose.
He could finally fight after eons.
His blood boiled with excitemt and his hands itched.
The crystalline monster oped its mouth,
“There is no need for you to fight us.”
“…?”
“I don’t know which region you belong to, but you must be strong if you can resist the Death at this place.