— Half a day later —
WAAA!
A large cyclone of Spiritual Energy!
Another breakthrough!
2nd Plane of Awakening, Enhancement!
3rd Plane of Awakening, Venation!
4th Plane of Awakening, Adamance!
Nylon was just barely able to breach into the 4th Plane when his |Spiritual Condensation Pill| reserves ran dry. 4 |Gold Petals| had been created thus far, each one a dazzling show of brilliance in the visible part of his soul.
"The power coursing through me right now is leagues greater than what I had at the 6th Plane," Nylon clenched his fists, filaments of golden energy dancing in-between the webs of his fingers. He could defeat ten of his old self with ease right now.
This level of strength would make many content, but not him. Although his new undefined relationship with Tessa might make it possible for him to gain his freedom, it wouldn't truly make him free in this world. The Eye of Helios hiding above the clouds was proof enough of that.
If he wanted to take control of his own destiny, like he had in New Dawn, then he had to become powerful. More powerful than anyone else.
There was also a certain Goddess of his dreams somewhere out in the world whom he had to find…
Rising from his spot of cultivation, Nylon stretched a little. Unexpectedly, as soon as he started to leave the scene, a system screen flashed in front of him.
*Ding!*
[Main Quest #2 (Survive and Eliminate) Activated!]
"Hmm?"
Opening up this Main Quest, Nylon saw:
{[Main Quest #2]} - [Survive and Eliminate]
[Objective: Survive through the night, whilst eliminating all of the Assailants from the Water Treader Association that aim to take your life and harm Tessa Northstar] - [Difficulty: D+]
[Reward: 50 Reward Wheel Spins, 50 System EXP, 100 |Spiritual Condensation Pills|, 1 |Divine Absorption Pill|, 1 |Mid-grade Tempering Potion|, 2 Rare-tier |Jagged Burner| Martial Spirits, 1 Epic-tier |Godland Third-eye| Martial Spirit]
The rewards were so enticing for Nylon that he hurried back to the Manor as fast as humanly possible. He arrived within half a minute, and though a blanket of darkness had just covered the sky, Amary and Tessa were still awake.
Sniffing like a hound dog on the verge of catching a scent, Tessa suddenly turned in Nylon's direction. "Darling~!" she exclaimed, jumping at him from the couch she had been reading on.
*Puff!*
Nylon helplessly reciprocated the hug. "I apologize for my abrupt absence today, My Lady, but something important came up—"
"Grrr…" Tessa growled, nibbling on his arm. "If you don't call me by my name or 'My Love,' I'll go back to calling you Doggy!"
She gave him his options. The choice he made was an obvious one.
"Te… Tessa, I hope you'd—"
"And stop speaking so formally!" Tessa interrupted again, nibbling even harder on his arms. "Ishzz annoyying…!"
Nylon exhaled a tired breath of air. "Tessa, were you lonely while I was away?"
"Yes," Tessa answered instantly, rubbing her cheek up against his. "Don't ever leave again without taking me, humph!"
"...That might be a little difficul—" Nylon paused, his alert gaze shifting toward the windows of the Manor's 1st floor.
"Is something the matter, young Nylon?" inquired Amary, who was just as perplexed as Tessa concerning his weird behavior.
"You can't sense it?" Nylon asked without turning his head.
Amary shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't."
"Well, simply put…" Nylon paused dramatically, shielding Tessa with his taller, larger figure.
CRACK—!
Glass panels shattered all around!
"...We're under attack," Nylon finished, successfully preventing any glass shards from hitting the 4th young miss.
"!!!" "!!!"
Amary reacted quickly, jumping to protect her Master. However, she was surprised to see that same young miss flying toward her.
"You can keep her safe, can't you?" A sudden question came from Nylon.
Amary absent-mindedly nodded. She looked down at the equally confused woman in her arms, before they both watched as Nylon blurred.
FWIP!
Reappearing outside, he immediately saw the two combat maids Maya and Saria. They had reacted pretty quickly to the danger, which came as quite the surprise.
"You dare attack the Manor of the 4th Daughter of the North Sea Family in the dead of night!?" the combat maids aggressively shouted at dozens of cloaked figures poised all around the area.
Silence…
"Courting Death!!" Maya, with all her feistiness, charged at one of the unknown cloaked figures.
But before she even made it more than a couple feet, a large hand landed on her shoulder. Nylon was standing over her, his expression stern as he looked ahead.
"A pretty woman shouldn't have to bother herself with taking out the trash," he said, letting go of his clasp before moving forward. "Let me handle things in your stead."
"Loser bum…?" Maya tilted her head cutely. She wondered why he was here. Also, what was he talking about? His cultivation wasn't very strong either.
Nylon nearly tripped. He turned around very briefly, requiring all his willpower not to run over and slam the short Chihuahua into the ground.
"What are you doing? Flirting while faced with certain death?? What a bunch of fools!" An irritatingly annoying voice came from the front of the group of cloaked figures. Taking off his hood, the owner of this voice revealed himself to be…
"The human garbage!?" Maya showed visible shock, making exaggerated gestures.
Now it was Kevin's turn to stumble.
'So it isn't only me she gives horrible nicknames to…' Nylon didn't know whether to feel relieved or not.
"Y-You dare humiliate me like this!??" Kevin brandished his sword, an Ancient Magical Artifact from his personal collection. With it, his combat power soared, testing the limits of the Awakening Realm.
Maya and Saria dreaded the energy being released from the Water's young master and his Magical Artifact. But when Nylon stepped in front, all the pressure on them seemed to disappear without a trace.
"Loser bum…"