Chapter 8: A Choice.

『 Level up!』

『 Level 13 (123,000/409,600)』

Goblin King gave him a hefty amount of experience. So much so that a player can level up several times. But Neo only leveled up once and was not even midway through the next one. Still, he was happy that at least he leveled up.

Then the ball formed from the soul of the goblin king and entered his body. Neo looked at it with bated breath, as he wanted to know what was going to happen now.

There was only one line after his victory against the hobgoblin. Now he wondered if the line will disappear or not.

The ball of "soul" merged with his core as the line on it glowed brightly.

Neo held his breath, waiting for it to disappear, but it showed no sign of doing such a thing.

Neo's expression was changing along with the glow that was dimming down. He looked at his core after the glow died down completely and found that the line was still there, and now it was rotating around the core like Saturn's ring.

This phenomenon shocked him, but still a little happy, as it was not dividing the core into two. He sensed the mana in its core, but his happiness died down as the core was still divided into two which he first thought it wasn't, even when the line was not on it now.

"Just what is this line?" Neo said to himself frustrated . He brought his attention away from the core, toward the notifications.

『 Defeated level 25 Grommash the Terrible.』

『 Collecting the soul of the Grommash the Terrible. 』

『 Collecting…』

『 Collection successful.』

『 Strength+18, Agility+9, Intelligence+7, Stamina+13, Vitality +16』

『 Learned: Fear Aura.』

Neo felt his attributes increasing and an intoxicating feeling appeared again. He felt like he was getting drunk and to say that he liked it wasn't wrong, but he hurriedly brought himself out of this hypnotic feeling.

He had been taught lessons two times now as to not become overconfident and arrogant. The last notification attracted his gaze, and he checked what he learned.

[Name: Fear Aura

Description: The user emanates a powerful aura of fear that causes nearby enemies to cower in terror, lowering their combat effectiveness, and a chance for them to get stunned.

Effects:

1. When activated, the user emits a powerful aura of fear in a radius around them.

2. Enemies within the radius of the aura will have their attack, defense, and magic attack reduced.

3. The target will be stunned if he is near the host for an extended amount of time.

4. The intensity and range of the aura depend on the user's level and proficiency in the skill.]

Neo saw the description and then remembered his caved-in chest because of this skill. He shuddered, as this one was a perverted skill if used correctly.

The reward for the boss's clearance was still being calculated, so Neo stood up. After the intense battle, Neo's once pristine clothes were now tattered and torn in various places, with a large tear running down the back. His weapons were also heavily damaged, with his sword now missing its tip and his scabbard hanging loosely from his belt. Blood dripped from several wounds on his body, leaving a trail as he staggered towards the goblin king's corpse. He still had one last use for the sword before it became completely useless.

Arriving next to the king's corpse, Neo plunged his sword into its chest, he put his hand in it and took the sphere out. Its shade was deep red. He looked at it for a while before putting it away.

He then grabbed the tower necklace that was around the goblin king's neck and looked at it closely before taking it out of its neck. He remembered the strange dagger of the goblin shaman. He put the sword in its tattered scabbard and took out a potion, which he chugged down.

His health became full, but stamina was still rock bottom and only by resting would it get restored. Neo didn't know what this weird dungeon would toss at him next, so he thought about gathering his spoils first.

He arrived before the shriveled up shaman, knife still plunged into its stomach as it was lying there with that ugly grin.

Neo took the knife out of its body and checked the sinister-looking dagger.

It was a wicked-looking dagger with a dark, obsidian-like blade that seemed to draw in light. The hilt was adorned with glowing runes that pulsed with a sickly green energy. Its handle was wrapped in black leather, which was worn smooth with use. The blade was razor sharp and seemed to hum with a malevolent power.

[Name: Soul Reaver

Effect:

1. This sacrificial knife has the power to harvest the souls of its victims and use them as a medium to fuel the resurrection of the dead. With each soul taken, the knife grows stronger and its wielder gains more power.

Souls stored: 0

2. When the wielder sacrifices their own health, the knife can temporarily boost their attributes. The more health is sacrificed, the greater the boost, up to a maximum of 500% increase in attributes.]

Saying it was overpowered was kind of downplaying it. It was a sinister weapon, but if thrown in the middle of the city, everyone will fight for it and might cause war. Neo felt that it was too good to be true. There had to be some effect of it on the wielder.

He looked at the shaman's face and thought that it might be the doing of this blade. Still, he wasn't throwing it away and put it away into the dimension pocket. He moved around before throwing the goblin king's axe into the dimension too and took out the other half of the tower.

The moment he took it out, both towers started trembling. They escaped from Neo's hand and struck each other. Neo saw a blinding light which made him close his eyes.

Neo opened his eyes after a while and found himself surrounded by a mist. He stood there in the eerie silence, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that crept up his spine. It was as if the mist itself was alive and watching him, waiting for him to make a move. Neo's heart raced as he tried to make sense of his surroundings and figure out where he was and how he got there.

As Neo walked towards the path, with a broken sword in his hand, that had opened up in the mist, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. He didn't know where he was, how he got there, and what awaited him at the end of this path. The mist that surrounded him was so thick that he couldn't see beyond a few feet. It was as if he was walking into an endless void, and the only thing guiding him was the path he was treading on.

As he walked, he could feel the icy embrace of the mist on his skin. It was a chilling sensation that sent shivers down his spine. He was completely alone, and the silence was deafening. The only sound he could hear was the sound of his footsteps echoing in the mist. It was an eerie feeling, and Neo couldn't help but feel like he was walking towards his own demise and wanted to turn around, which he did, but found the way behind was covered in mist, so he had no choice but to walk forward.

As he reached the end of the path, which was obvious as he saw a figure sitting on a throne. The throne was made of black material, and it looked like it was carved out of the very darkness that surrounded it. The figure sitting on the throne was draped in a black robe that seemed to be made of shadows. He couldn't make out the figure's face, but he knew that whoever it was, they were waiting for him.

Neo approached the throne, and as he did, the figure spoke. Its voice was deep, and it echoed in the mist. "Welcome, Neo," it said.

"I have been expecting you."

The voice took Neo aback, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over him. He didn't know who this figure was, but he felt it was not someone he wanted to mess with.

"Who are you?" Neo asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Why were you expecting me?"

The figure let out a chuckle which resounded in the area and said, "It should be me who should ask you that question, Neo. What are you expecting?" The figure paused and then said, "Let me rephrase it for you, Neo."

Then the figure moved its hand leisurely in air and the surrounding mist thickened as a chaired formed. Neo knew that the figure was telling him to sit, and he did as he waited for it to speak again.

"Now, first. Let me tell you that you are inside the tower you got from the traveler and the goblin king, Yes, they were my doing. And yes, it became one after both of them were in the close vicinity. And the mist you are seeing is because the tower is still reconstructing itself. And no, I'm not going to tell you why I wanted the tower to reach you." The figure said patiently, as though it had all the time in the world. Neo couldn't voice his complaints as the figure answered the questions that popped in his mind.

Neo took in the information while he was inwardly shocked when he heard that, but still continued listening without interrupting the figure.

"Next, the tower will bind itself to you. No, you cannot reject that as it has already happened and only because of that are we talking."

Neo, who had just settled down, was speechless as things had just been happening to him lately, and he had no power to even retaliate against them. This left a sour taste in his mouth.

"You must be feeling uncomfortable because of what is going on. But trust me, what is happening to you is for your own best, and you'll be thankful for it in the future. Your life will change, Neo. In a way that even you will find yourself hopeless during some moments."

Neo kept quiet and nodded to show that he understood but couldn't say the same internally as how could he trust someone he met like 5 minutes ago.

"I know you don't though, but worry not. We'll have all the time to build trust amongst each other. Here, this will help you regain your stamina."

The mist before him swirled and a small potion bottle appeared.

[Name: Vitality Elixir

Description: Restore stamina and clear mental fatigue. Giving "Rejuvenated" effect.]

Neo looked at it for a while before chugging it down and felt his mental fatigue clearing as he felt rejuvenated and full of energy.

He thanked the figure, who again started speaking.

"Now, let's go to something more important. This tower is a little special as it is called [Celestial Abyssal Tower.] A prison for two species, Celestials and Abyssals."

The figure said as it looked at Neo, who was already numb now and was looking at the figure calmly.

The figure then told him that there were floors that were occupied by the winged race, called the "Celestial Race" while the others were occupied by the race called "Abyssal Race." Neither of them were the races that could step out of the tower.

But it didn't tell him the reason and then went on that each floor was a trial and was ruled by the floor boss. Neo had to pass that to get to the next one along with some other conditions.

'Just like the Ascendance Tower.'

Neo took all that in as he processed the information, but then felt that the figure stopped talking and looked up to see the figure looking at him with seriousness.

"Now Neo, you have a choice to make here." It stopped as all the mist moved lively around like it was also waiting for this part of the conversation.

Neo gulped as he felt the seriousness of the matter and asked, "What type of choice?"

The figure stared at him and asked, "What do you desire, Neo Orpheus? Order or Chaos."

Neo also stared at the figure and felt that it was anticipating something, he got lost in thought and the deafening silence continued for a while before he said, but there was something strange in his voice this time.

"I CHoOsE Order/Chaos!"