Digitize: Rebirth of the Silver Death God

Chapter 181: Level 10, An Unexpected Change?

After spending a good while within the Balkras's residency, Nero soon left the compound; he was escorted by a vehicle to the Gutter Zone entrance, where he exited and decided to walk the rest of the way.

Now, the hours were quite late; the nightly wind blew softly about as it scattered fallen papers and other objects that littered the streets.

Nero didn't seem to mind the silence. His eyes had a thoughtful look as if he was pondering something as he walked.

'I've gotten quite the good payment, but... is it even worth it? Mother's no longer...' 

As Nero's thoughts reached here, he sighed and shook his head, recalling the lively look on Elly's adorable face as she gave him his first pay smugly and spoke.

"Here's your money; you better not skip out on me next time!"

Nero chuckled at the bit as he recalled the words, his manner less gloomy as he muttered, "I suppose continuing with these lessons wouldn't be so bad."

As Nero smirked while looking, he looked a bit silly, but luckily, no one was around wandering at such a time, so he was free to be as silly as needed.

Of course, this was only a misconception, as another presence was also nearby, acting as a tail at a reasonable distance.

As if he only just sensed his arrival, Nero didn't show shock or surprise; he glanced behind himself from the corner of his eye and spoke, "So you're back, how was your visit? Did you find your crush?"

Ryu was a bit surprised by Nero's words, he didn't know how Nero came to that conclusion, but as he didn't care, he snorted as he played a game on his smartphone and replied calmly.

"She's doing just fine."

Nero wanted to try and tease Ryu in hopes of him showing a flustered appearance, but sadly, he didn't see the reaction he hoped for. With a disappointed grunt, Nero no longer bothered with him and continued onward.

Soon, they arrived before Nero's rusty iron gate that barred entry to the small house on the lawn. After giving it a stare, Nero turned to Ryu and spoke, "Well, I'm headed off; I've got a lot of training to do; see you around Ryu."

Ryu nodded at this and spoke, "Good, the Gate of Legends is near, and your Inheritance Quest is the first obstacle you'll need to overcome to claim any advantages during that event. Hurry and reach Level 10."

Following those words, Ryu turned and left towards a nearby building before vanishing into the darkness. Nero's eyes flickered at this as he knew that the special event wouldn't be so simple, but first, he had to focus on the gathering this Friday.

"I'll do the best I can," Nero muttered as he walked into the compound soon after entering the house and closing the door.

Adult Nero smirked at this as he had already prepared a hellish regiment and couldn't wait to see his younger self face of regret, but his eyes soon narrowed as he glanced around the house before they became normal again.

There, he saw a few stealthy silhouettes hidden in the dark, each having a formidable aura as if they were dragons sleeping in a pool.

'Oh, stronger than the last batch, it seems that attack from last time had cautioned them a bit. Good, at least I won't have to worry about stepping in during any conflicts on Earth, and even that troublesome fellow.'

With Adult Nero's thoughts, his eyes shifted towards a tall building in the distance. There at its summits was the figure of a familiar-looking man in black with a ponytail.

He currently faced the direction of Nero's house with his red shades shimmering due to the night lights as his sharp and cold eyes observed it with interest.

Soon, a smile crept at the corners of his lips as he spoke as if speaking to himself, "So, my search had led me to you, brat, it's your turn; I'll start by thoroughly observing you from this point forward. Even if you have nothing to do with the true target, eventually, I'll pay you back for that time."

The once calm wind now chilly as it swept across the surroundings, almost as if foreshadowing a dark future.

***

A few days passed quickly, and it was now the fourth day of the week; after another long day of grinding, the night had set in, and the time was gradually nearing the hours for Digitizers to leave the World of Promise.

A fierce battle was currently unfolding between youth and monster within a mountain range, filled with spikey rocks that protruded high into the air.

Bang! A bright light of spiraling silver energies swirled around rapidly, covering a rocked scaled beast that seemed similar in appearance to a turtle that was roughly eight meters in size. 

The monster didn't falter due to the sudden attack; it stood its ground like a boulder as it opened its mouth and roared, its breath scattering a sonic wave that dissipated most of the rays.

Suddenly, the beast's eyes turned to the right as if they sensed something; there, they reflected the rapidly moving silhouette of the boy with a scythe that swooshed towards it from an angle with the scythe held behind him.

Feeling a sense of danger, the turtle beast tensed its muscles as the rocky scale that wrapped over it glowed in an earthen-colored light, almost as if reinforcing itself.

The youth didn't stop his charge; his lips curved into a smile as he swung his scythe rapidly, sending many bright rays of silver arcs towards it, each a size bigger than the last.

Wherever these lights went, chunks of rock fell to the ground as blood oozes from the flesh of the beast, forcing it to hide in its even sturdier shell that emitted metallic-like sparks on contact with the arcs of energies.

As this battle continued, a few Digitizers who were also struggling to battle in the vicinity also took note of the battle, but their eyes only showed shock as if the person fighting was none a human but a beast even more vicious than the monster.

"This guy, he's truly deserving of his fame... truly a wild freak," An observer said with fear in his eyes.

"Indeed, to think he can fight a Level 9 Rock Snapper like this, I shudder to see what he can do once he levels up and breaks the threshold." Someone else said with a deep expression on his face.

Following the last person's words, the spirals silver lights soon vanished. Nero then came to a halt as he glared at the beast before him with his icy red pupils.

"Since you want to play hard, then I'll let you taste a bit of my full strength," Nero said as he adopted his Dancing Reaper stance; his eyes flickered in a baleful red light as he invoked his skill, "Blood Reaper's Dance!"

In a second, his figure vanished in the blink of an eye. Once this happened, many scarlet red arcs of lights scattered from one direction before arriving at the back of the Rock Snapper at quick speeds.

These lights then gathered in seconds as Nero appeared with his back facing the beast, his arm holding the scythe behind him as his hair fluttered in the wind.

"Hmm, what happened?" One of the observed asked in confusion. 

"It's over," A more experienced Digitizer said as he looked at Nero with a stern look on his face.

"You can't possibly mean that he so easily killed" The other person wanted to say something, but his eyes widened as he saw the shocking result.

Crack! The Rock Snapper's massive body split into multiple pieces as even the giant metallic-like turtle shell shattered into similar segments that seemed to have been cut by a laser due to its smoothness.

Unaware of its death, the Rock Snapper didn't even have the chance to make a pitiful cry.  Its organs and blood-spattered about along with a few items.

Many of the onlookers released exclamations as they saw the scene, but Nero didn't pay them any mind. He swung his scythe, splashing off the blood before giving it a twirl and putting it on his back. He then picked up the loot from the creature's corpse before and at the notification that popped up before his eyes.

____

Ding!

[You have defeated a Rock Snapper, 85 EXP received.]

Ding!

[You have leveled up! All stats have increased as follows - HP: 20, MP: 20, SA: +5, CF: +10, BT: +3, SP: +3km]

Ding!

[You have risen to Level 10!]

Ding!

[Congratulations, you have reached the limit, commencing true Novice Rank Initiation!]

____

"This... what's going on?"

Nero uttered in shock as he saw this information, he wanted to ask his older self what was going on, but before he could say anything, a bright light shone from his body as a startling change occurred.