NOVPUBSeveral hours later.
***
"Neraxis?" A feminine voice rang out, causing him to jolt awake.
It was none other than Amara who stood there, staring at him with a puzzled look.
"We turn around, and you get yourself arrested? Did you steal something?" Amara asked before letting out a sigh. "You know what? I don't really care... just come out already. We bailed you out."
Neraxis rolled his eyes as he stood up and approached the bars. "How long was I in here? I fell asleep."
"Long enough to make us look for you for five hours," Amara replied as she pulled out a key and unlocked the cell. "It cost a pretty hefty sum to free you, you know?"
Despite her trying to scold him, Neraxis merely walked past her as he already had a destination in mind.
He'd taken time to think things through. One of the many things he wanted to do now that he was out was to gather information, kill the Eternal Sin, and then get out.
It was clear that whichever timeline the Astral Tower sent him to was real, so killing the Eternal Sin could serve as great practice before he finally left Dreamspire.
But he also had to handle the woman trailing behind him.
"I saw Valthor earlier. I tried killing him, but the guards stopped me and took me away," Neraxis explained, causing her eyes to widen.
"Neraxis..." Amara muttered, facepalming. "Is that why you ran off?"
"Yep." He nodded. "It's just a pity you can't kill anyone in the city. I wouldn't be surprised if Valthor just stayed here the entire time."
Amara fell in thought for a few moments as she let out a soft, but angry breath.
"I'm going to deal with him personally. You can do whatever you want..." Amara said flatly. "Also, I saw your sister in the city. Not sure if you can call her that though after all you've done."
"I'm aware..." Neraxis sighed as he finally left the prison.
She was right behind him, and now, they were going to separate.
But the moment he turned to the side, he spotted three people glaring daggers at him.
Celina, Aella, and of course, Elara.
There was also Aurelia, but she didn't seem angry with him for some reason. Instead, she seemed shy.
I don't have time to deal with this... Neraxis sighed. As the girls waited for him to approach, he suddenly dashed up a building and ran away.
He saw Celina attempt to chase after him, but she couldn't keep up with his speed.
Yet as he ran through the rooftops, Neraxis suddenly had an ominous thought.
...I was Neraxis in the Astral Tower... the Neraxis of that world. But now that I've left that tower...? Neraxis's brows furrowed. There might be another me somewhere.
[This is pissing me off,] Evangeline chimed in. [Touching her breasts didn't work! You lied to me!]
What? Oh, right. Neraxis chuckled. I guess it only works when I do it. Anyways, did you hear what I thought about a moment ago?
[There being more of you? Yeah, I heard,] Evangeline replied. [I know which one is you, so don't fret over that. If I see the other you, I won't hesitate to kill him.]
About that... Neraxis scratched his cheek. If you see him, can you spare him? I want to send him back to the girls here.
[How gracious of you, Neraxis.] Evangeline teased. [But okay, let's meet up soon. I'll make sure to clear the 10th floor within the next two hours. See you in a bit.]
See you.
With that, Neraxis headed straight for the adventurer's guild, which just so happened to be in the very center of the city.
It took him a few minutes to arrive, and when he did, he was met with an old, medieval-style building. Basically an inn.
Even so, he went inside and glanced at a wooden board lined with a dozen quests, each pinned by miniature knives.
Neraxis walked over to them and inspected each one, looking for a few particular quests. However, even after his extensive search, he came up empty.
Is it that hard to ask for help? Neraxis sighed. All I need is someone rich asking for help...
He trailed off, taking one more look through the quests to make sure he didn't miss anything.
And on the second attempt, he saw it. But it wasn't exactly what he was looking for.
<Assist Jeanne d'Arc in an expedition. Difficulty: Level 50–150>
<Reward: 19 gold coins.>
It's her... Neraxis thought in wonder.
The main scenario. It was mentioned back when he first cleared the 9th floor. And according to the message he received, Jane was supposed to appear on the 15th floor.
However, here she was, asking for help in some sort of expedition.
Nonetheless, she was as good of a help as any, so Neraxis simply walked up to that quest, ripped it off the wall, and took it to the guild receptionist.
But he immediately ran into trouble.
"What's your level?" the receptionist asked, tilting their head. "You don't seem to have any equipment. Do you think this quest is a joke?"
"No, ma'am," Neraxis replied, shaking his head. "I'm level 50, you can trust me."
"Well, I don't think I can," the receptionist said matter-of-factly, and pulled out a glowing blue orb, placing it on the desk in front of her. "Place your hand on this. It will tell me your level."
Neraxis stared at the orb for a few moments before letting out a sigh.
"How about this... If I complete the quest, I give you half the reward? How does that sound?" Neraxis asked, causing the receptionist's brows to furrow.
She didn't seem convinced and began rhythmically tapping on the orb, as if urging him to place his hand on it.
Seeing no way out, he went along with it.
Neraxis placed his hand over the orb, and to his surprise, there was a momentary bright flash as his system lit up.
<Your level is being inspected...>
<Calculating total stats...>
<Your level is...>
