After the gullible boy announced the death of the two, everyone became alert, while they all assumed it must have been the cold ground.
Neo overruled their assumptions by telling them it was the berry.
"Come on, let's move out now," the gullible boy suggested, and everyone seemed to agree.
Since they were traveling through the night, they grabbed bonfire sticks for light.
But before leaving, Neo lingered behind, staring at the two corpses, specifically the girl's.
Neo squatted beside them. There was a reason he hadn't warned them.
"Is something wrong?" asked the gay senior. After settling their differences, he had been staying around Neo more than usual.
And Neo didn't like it one bit. Even now, he stood directly behind him.
"No, I thought I saw her flinch," he said before standing up to leave.
-[Time Limit Left: 3 hours 57 mins 34 secs]-
Neo checked his time interface. 'So the poison worked after an hour,' he thought.
In the original novel, Neo was never chosen by any primordial god, which meant even if he found a sanctuary...
He would still be incomplete, excluded from the system's protection.
Which was why he remained calm despite knowing time was slipping fast.
However, he had one worry. "Esme," he muttered. "Don't be stupid, Esme. Find a sanctuary," Neo sighed.
If Esme ended up dying, then looking for this relic would be a complete waste.
"Guys!! We found it!" a girl shouted, pointing at the temple opposite the mountain they stood on.
It was majestic: two golden giant statues carrying a boulder while water streamed down between them. A bridge stretched straight through the waterfall, or rather, the fountain.
This was the Fountain of Ymir, the giant god, and one with a compatible blood attribute for Esme.
-[Time Limit Left: 1 hour 53 mins 40 secs]-
Some of them fell to their knees at the sight of the sanctuary, tears rushing down their faces. "Finally," a boy said. After all, they had less than two hours left.
"We found it? Ungrateful fucker, I led you all here," the gullible boy boasted, taking all the credit.
The gay senior glanced back and noticed Neo wasn't entirely pleased. "You don't seem happy."
Neo stared at him with his usual poker expression, one where you couldn't tell what he was thinking or planning next.
Then he forced a smile and rubbed the back of his head.
"Come on, let's go in together," the senior said, stretching his hand toward Neo.
But then a group of students rushed past him and piled onto Neo with hugs.
"That's the real genius right there," one of them said.
"We'd be dead if it wasn't for Neo."
"I guess a villainess' son can be a hero."
Neo smiled.
With that, the group of eight students made their way across the bridge.
Below lay a vast sea; a fall alone would kill a monster, let alone a human.
According to the academy, one would awaken within a space of primordial statues, selecting one, or one compatible would bind with the incomplete.
But this wasn't the case for the Ymir Sanctuary.
When they passed through the waterfall, their lights went out. However, the cave itself glowed with green crystals along the walls, leading to a narrow, majestic door ahead.
"That must be the awakening space. We actually did it. I can finally become awakened and help raise money for my little sister."
"Let's go."
Neo exhaled and made sure to stay behind everyone.
Not even if he were crazy would he enter the Ymir chamber.
According to the author, those who sought the Ymir blood relic without sharing her attributes would be killed by the giants within her chamber.
"Is something wrong?" the gay senior asked again. He wasn't naive like the others; he could sense something was off about Neo.
Then the gigantic door, etched with intricate designs, creaked open. Inside was pitch dark, but the crystal light from outside revealed an altar.
Without hesitation, the students hurried in, only to be startled by blue flames suddenly igniting along the walls.
Now they could see everything clearly: statues of different primordial gods surrounded them, but one sat upon the throne, Ymir.
"Woah, check out Hades."
"Damn, isn't that Poseidon?"
Those who weren't distracted would know Zeus was the father of all gods, yet Ymir held the seat, because this wasn't a sanctuary of primordial gods; it was Ymir's chamber.
"Come, let's go in," the senior urged.
But Neo stood still, then took a step back, then another.
"Yo, Hades, I pick you to complete me, hahaha," the gullible boy joked.
"That's not how it works, lmao, hahaha," and laughter spread among them.
But then, the giant statue of Hades twitched its finger, as if shaking off stiffness. Cracks spread across its body.
"Hold on... the statue... it just moved?"
"Hahaha, April's jokes on you, hahaha," the gullible one laughed. But when no one else joined in, he noticed a looming shadow behind him.
"Fuck."
He turned, and Hades' foot crushed him instantly, his body bursting apart like crushed tomatoes.
He was the first to die.
As the students screamed, the rest of the statues began to move, and the door slammed shut.
The gay senior witnessed it all, terror locking his body in place, but Neo remained calm.
The senior straightened, trembling. "What have you done?" he coughed. The students' screams echoed loudly, mixed with desperate attempts to break the door.
But Neo didn't reply. "What does it look like? A feastival of gods... get it? FEAST... bwahahaha," Neo laughed menacingly.
That snapped something in the senior. Before Neo could react, a punch slammed into his face, leaving a bruise and a bloodied nose.
Neo staggered back, wincing in pain, yet still smiling. "You're ruining the festival's music," he said, referring to the students' screams.
"They trusted you!" the senior shouted. "Psychotic monster." He lunged forward for another strike.
Neo saw it coming and sidestepped, then drove his knee into the senior's abdomen.
The senior staggered, blood already turning black as it oozed from his nose and mouth.
Then he saw Neo pull out berries from his pocket and drop them one by one onto the floor. "You lasted longer than an hour. Impressive," Neo said.
"Smart... you poisoned the drink," the senior coughed, collapsing to his knees in regret.
"Smart? No... I'm not smart at all. I just know everything."
"You think you'll get away with this? The academy will investigate. You'll be dead before sunrise.", he said, weakly.
Neo chuckled. "You said it yourself. No one knows what happens in the origin."
"Holy shit!!!" Paul yelled, frozen at the scene before him.
The gay senior felt a flicker of hope that justice might still come, but then his body gave out, and he collapsed.
"Neo?" a familiar, soothing voice called out, one Neo had been expecting. Esme.