His body was crumbling away, turning into dust.
Neo unleashed his Aura of Death and Darkness to reduce the impact of Holy and Life elements over him.
He absorbed the blood droplet hurriedly.
The half of the blood droplet disappeared.
Neo was shocked to see the amount of Divine Energy stored in the blood droplet.
If the droplet was not inside the Well of Death, it would've cause war among the monsters for its ownership.
Half of Neo's arms had crumbled away.
The Holy and Life Element healed his wounds before burning them away again.
Neo bit his lips to stifle the screams.
Five times and a fourth….
Five times and a half….
Neo encountered a new problem.
His body was rejecting the Divine Energy.
It was too overwhelming.
He had become an overcharged battery.
Anymore and he would burst.
Neo gritted his teeth.
"This… is my blood… Fuck you mean I can't… take it back…."
He activated all of his Spells.
His mental energy was being drained at a rapid pace.
Blood trickled down his nose.
The Spells reduced his Divine Energy and made space for more.
Eight times and a half…
Nine times and a half…
Neo absorbed the blood droplet.
He used Immortal swiftly and returned to world of living before the Holy and Life elements pulverized him.
He stumbled and fell to his knees, groaning.
Too much Divine Energy.
His current reserves were comparable to Grade 3, or even Grade 2 Mythic Demigod.
Neo used Ocean's Embrace, activated his blessing and materialized condensed bolts of red lighting.
Using three Divine Energy heavy techniques reduced the burden, but it was barely enough.
His skin turned purple as more and more of his blood vessels burst, unable to handle the Divine Energy.
Neo clenched his fists.
His nails dug into his skin.
He tried to concentrate.
The Darkness bloomed like a flower.
It crawled up Neo's skin and seeped into his body.
He devoured the Divine Energy.
The overflowing power disappeared slowly and Neo could finally breathe.
"Haah, fuck. I almost thought it wouldn't work."
Neo devoured the Divine Energy until only a fourth of his present reserves remained.
He kept his Divine Energy suppressed and devoured it as soon as it recovered more than a fourth.
"Better to place a limit on myself than explode like a balloon."
He could finally stop worrying about his Divine Energy pool.
Now, whenever there was a battle, he could stop limiting his Divine Energy reserves and use Essence Breath Spell to recover it to its full capacity.
With the amount he had, he wouldn't run out of Divine Energy even if he used all of his techniques at the same time.
"That's one thing out of the way."
Neo nodded to himself.
"Out of the frying pan into the fire."
He would wake up in the Well of Death when he returns to the Underworld.
"Maybe I shouldn't have been too hasty in entering the Well."
He let out a bitter smile.
Despite his words, Neo would've done the same if had a second chance.
There was no guarantee no one else would enter the Well and steal the blood droplet.
A soul with Holy or Life element could survive down there.
"There are two ways I can resist the Holy and Life elements.
"Either my mastery in Death or Darkness reaches a high level.
"Or I awaken Holy or Life element myself."
He massaged the bridge of his nose.
"I would need to reach Expert mastery Death and Darkness to resist the overwhelming among of Holy and Life down there.
"I don't know how long it would take.
"My safest bet is completing Barbatos' training and receiving the Holy element from the system quest."
His expression worsened.
He still had no idea how he had to surpass himself to clear the fourth trial.
It was always bad to worse.
Neo looked at the rising sun.
"I'll take a short nap before the classes start."
He needed rest to regain his mental energy.
After a power nap, Neo visited the meditation hall.
He knocked on the office door.
"Professor Daniel, are you there?"
The door opened, much to Neo's surprise.
A young man, seemingly in his early twenties, opened the office door.
He adjusted his glasses and stared at Neo with a stern gaze.
"You again? I told you I won't help you awaken your time element."
"Professor, I can compensate you—"
Neo clicked his tongue.
However, he did not leave.
There was a reason Neo worked hard to become the first ranked student.
It was to abuse the powers that came with the position.
"I am the Ruler. One of the privileges given to me is I can ask for any professor for a private lesson and they must comply unless there is a proper reason."
Contrary to Neo's expectations, Professor Daniel was not angry.
He blinked, confused, when he heard of the privilege.
"When was that rule added?"
"A few hundred years ago."
"Oh." Professor Daniel made a thoughtful expression. "I don't remember it being there the last time I checked the academy rules."
"I will teach you if a rule like that exists.
"But not right now. I'm busy at the moment. Come back later."
Neo struck his foot in the doorway to stop it from closing.
Professor Daniel frowned.
"How much long should I wait?" Neo asked.
Instead of answering, Professor Daniel stared at Neo's foot.
"Is this how student act these days? Do they have no concept of respect for teachers?"
"I apologize for it. But I have a tight schedule. I can't wait here all day for your work to be done."
Professor Daniel's eyes scanned Neo from head to toe.
"Impatience isn't a virtue for a time mage."
He looked at Neo with a stern gaze.
"This wouldn't work. You won't be able to awaken Time as you are right now. You are too impatient.
"I'll teach you right now. But you need to pay first."
"How many credits do I need to pay?"