"Allowed," William said, reading through some type of newspaper.
Yet those words greatly shocked Neraxis.
"What? You're seriously allowing me a week off?"
"You are nothing but a trouble magnet, so a week off for you will benefit the other students immensely." William looked up at him. "There will be a test soon; however, you will be taking it at a later date."
"I see... Sure? I agree to your terms as long as you don't go back on your word." Neraxis nodded, hiding the faint smile forming.
All it took was a simple, "Can I have a week off for personal reasons?" and he was allowed.
"I don't go back on my word most of the time," William said, standing up. "Are you heading into Dreamspire?"
Neraxis tilted his head at William's words. "You figured it out pretty easily. Yes, I'm going to be clearing it."
A moment of silence ensued before it was interrupted by William's chuckle. "You are a very peculiar individual. I don't like you, but I can respect your dedication."
Neraxis rolled his eyes and cut the conversation short. "Thanks for the pep talk. May I go now?"
"You may. I expect to see you Monday. If I don't, you're expelled," William replied before waving his hand in the air.
And before Neraxis could even say anything, he felt the familiar feeling of being pushed into something.
However, he found himself in front of the Dreamspire tower instead—just this time, without William accompanying him.
I should probably send some texts...
Taking out his phone, he sent a message to Aella first.
Unsurprisingly, he received a reply within seconds.
Putting on a smile, he sent the same message to Celina.
But the reply did not come instantly, therefore, he switched off his phone.
Neraxis had spent the entirety of the ride back researching every single tutorial floor of Dreamspire, from the third all the way up to the tenth.
And now, he had a good grasp of what challenges lay ahead, as well as what potential deviations hard mode would bring him.
Obviously, he had told his parents he'd be at his friend's house for the week so they wouldn't worry.
Therefore, he finally approached the booth where a guard had been sleeping and knocked on the glass, startling the guard awake.
"Apologies, I have a habit of resting my eyes a bit—oh, it's you." The guard's eyes widened.
"Hello." Neraxis curtly nodded.
It was the same guard from last time; therefore, they skipped all formalities and Neraxis placed his finger on the fingerprint scanner.
"Neraxis Valen, Rank 721,994,251," the guard recited what he had seen on the hologram before turning to him. "Entry confirmed. You may enter whenever you want. Just be safe, kid."
Neraxis chuckled and proceeded toward the massive door, placing his hand on it.
Immediately, his vision contorted before he found himself sitting on a comfortable sofa again, staring at the timer ticking down from ten minutes.
[Registered Climber: Neraxis Valen]
[Position: 721,994,251]
[Records: Astral Tower - 2/12]
[Dreamspire - 3rd Floor Hard Mode: Garden of Shadows]
[Objective: Reach the other end of the rope.]
[Status: Initializing...]
Good, it's the same— Neraxis froze as another bout of messages appeared.
Seriously. He let out a sigh.
But it didn't mean much—after all, he had Evangeline to guide him.
After the ten minutes finally passed, he was suddenly transported to an incredibly dark place.
It seemed like his blindness penalty hadn't kicked in yet, as the floor was still in the preparation phases.
[10 Seconds Remaining Until The Third Floor's Trial Begins]
In the meantime, he took a good look around, and at the very end of the darkness was a faint white light, signifying the end of the rope.
Neraxis was still uneasy because of what he had seen back in the Astral Tower, but nonetheless, if he wanted to get stronger, he had to not be a pussy.
[Neraxis... I can't materialize,] Evangeline stated seriously. [Each time I try, it says, "Dreamspire has forbidden the usage of outside interference."]
It's fine, you can just tell me instead. He nodded, and soon, the timer ran out.
Immediately, his vision turned black, sending shivers down his spine.
Neraxis tried using mana to sense something around him, but that seemed to not work; therefore, he awaited Evangeline to speak.
[You're on the right track. Just go straight.]
[Turn slightly left.]
What? Neraxis froze. Which is it, Evangeline?
[Straight is the safest bet. You positioned yourself perfectly.]
[You're slightly off. If you go straight, you'll fall into the void and die.]
It did not take him long to realize what was happening.
This was a floor that played on his psyche, and what better way to start off than to deceive him with the person who would be guiding him?
Their voices were the same, but he knew that the chances of both of them lying were higher than not.
Therefore, Neraxis leaned down, stretching his arms out and outlining the platform on which he stood.
It seemed to be five meters by five meters, and it didn't take him long to find the rope.
Curious, he asked, Which way?
No wonder. He chuckled. The voices held the same monotonous tone, meaning Evangeline was not actually with him right now.
She mentioned outside interference earlier, so if that was anything to go by, then he was likely all alone.
Therefore, he shut out his thoughts and felt the rope.
Despite Magnus saying it was the width of two forearms, for Neraxis, it was merely the size of a single forearm.
That meant one wrong step, and he'd be dead.
Can't say I feeling. Neraxis thought with a small frown and stepped onto the rope.
His balance was good enough to not fall, yet after roughly five steps, he felt a gust of wind that nearly set him toppling over.
Yet he held himself, continuing forward for what felt like a hundred meters.
That was until he heard voices again—just this time, they were not Evangeline's.
[Neraxis, why did you let me die?]
[If you had come sooner, I wouldn't have had to suffer.]
Elara. His face stiffened as he tried his best to ignore the voice.
[What good will you do this time around? I will be killed by the same person again, and you will be powerless to stop it. You were the cause of mine and our parents' deaths after all.]
After a short pause, Elara's voice rang out again.
[But there's one way for our pain and suffering to disappear... Kill yourself. Jump into the void. If there is no Neraxis to manipulate, then his family would be spared.]
Fuck off already. Neraxis was growing frustrated with each word it spoke; therefore, he sped up his pace.
By his estimations, he was already at the halfway mark.
[Hahahaha...] Shrill laughter resounded.
Yet this time, it did not belong to Elara—it was someone else.
It was his own voice, but different, emotionless.
[Why don't you succumb to your emotions and let me take over your body again?]
[The Fragment of the Eternal Sin shall guide this world anew. All you must do is let go.]
Sucks to be dead, doesn't it? Neraxis taunted despite the situation.
[I am not dead nor am I lying,] the voice said in a serious tone. [The moment you lose control, you shall bring forth a ruinous eve upon this world and all others. If you don't believe me, here.]
[Unread System Logs: 1]
[Would you like to view them? Y/N]
What...? Neraxis froze. Wait, hold on!
However, he did not receive a response. Instead, there was only the sound of laughter growing further and further away until, eventually, Evangeline's voice was heard again.
[You're a bit off balance. If you turn slightly to the right, I'll give you a surprise once you finis—]
Quiet down already, you're annoying. Neraxis shot back before suddenly sprinting across the rope.
He had gotten the general idea of how this rope looked, therefore, it did not take him long to finally reach the other end.
Soon, his vision slowly returned, and what greeted his sight were the completion messages.
[Dreamspire - 3rd Floor Hard Mode: Garden of Shadows - Complete]
[Climber: Neraxis Valen]
[3rd Floor Rating Generating...]
[Anomaly Encountered!]
[Rating Generated: SSS+]
[Position: 721,994,251 -> 487,221,004]
[Current Progress: 3/? Floors]
[Dreamspire - 4th Floor Hard Mode: Forge of Endurance - Available]
[Do you wish to enter?]