Chapter 79: This Old Man Is A Scammer!

A will that rivaled the world?

Nero frowned, trying to understand what the man meant. However, before he could ask anything, his vision blurred, and everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

The room looked surprisingly modern, with white walls, recessed lighting, and a large window overlooking a forest. A small air conditioner hummed above the door, while the bed beneath him was softer than the one at the Morgan estate.

’Where the hell am I?’

"Oh, you’re finally awake."

Nero immediately turned toward the voice.

An older man sat in a comfortable armchair beside the bed, casually drinking coffee.

He had neatly combed gray hair, a short beard, and wore a simple black shirt with dark trousers. Despite his age, he looked remarkably healthy.

"Uh... who are you?"

The man smiled.

"Your new teacher, of course."

"...What?"

Nero suddenly remembered jumping into the chasm.

"Wait! Where am I?"

He sat up and looked through the window.

Beyond the glass stretched a beautiful mountain landscape, with thick forests covering the slopes and clear blue skies overhead.

It looked like an expensive mountain resort.

’What the hell?’

He remembered falling through the strange radiation beneath the chasm. There shouldn’t have been mountains or a sky down there.

’Did I somehow enter another dimension?’

"Relax, kid. You’re at my private retreat."

"Your private retreat?"

"That’s right. I’ve been living here since retirement."

Nero looked around again.

"Then how did I get here? And why did you call yourself my teacher?"

"Because you agreed to become my student."

"...When?"

"Right before you passed out. You were so impressed by my speech that you practically begged me to train you." The man nodded proudly.

"Naturally, I couldn’t refuse such an eager young man."

Nero stared at him with a baffled look on his face.

"You’re clearly making that stuff up."

The Old Man coughed hearing this. "Too late. I’ve already accepted you."

"I have Perfect Memory. I remember everything you said before I passed out, and I definitely didn’t ask you to teach me."

"..."

The man’s smile froze.

For a moment, neither spoke.

’Did I seriously jump into a bottomless chasm just to meet a scammer?’

"Anyway, was the part about my will rivaling the world a lie too?" Nero asked.

He had almost believed the man was revealing something extraordinary about him!

"Of course not!" The man cleared his throat. "With my training, your will might genuinely reach that level someday."

"That’s not what you said earlier."

"The important thing is that I’m willing to help you."

"..."

Nero was beginning to regret coming here.

However, before he could argue further, a familiar notification appeared.

[Choice Completed: Reach the secret training location selected by the System.]

[Reward Obtained: Eyes of Origin (Mythical).]

’MYTHICAL!’

Nero immediately forgot about the conversation.

His first Mythical reward had finally arrived!

Unfortunately, before he could examine its description, an intense heat spread behind his eyes.

"Argh!"

Nero grabbed the bed in pain as a bright blue glow escaped from his eyes.

The older man’s smile disappeared seeing this.

"Kid? What’s happening to your eyes?"

Nero couldn’t answer.

His vision suddenly turned white, and two dark figures appeared before him.

He couldn’t recognize their faces or understand where they were standing. The moment he tried to focus on them, they vanished.

The room flickered, and the man’s face briefly appeared twice before returning to normal.

A few seconds later, the strange sensation disappeared.

[Eyes of Origin (Mythical) (Unawakened): These eyes possess multiple abilities. Explore them to discover their functions.]

"...Huh?"

Nero read the description again.

’That’s it?’

The System had just given him a Mythical ability without explaining what it could do!

’Couldn’t you at least include a user manual?!’

However, Nero soon noticed that his vision had improved considerably.

He could see tiny details across the room, including the stitching on the curtains and the faint scratches on the wooden desk.

Even the colors looked sharper.

’It’s like going from 720p to 4K!’

"Hey, kid. Look at me."

Nero turned toward the older man.

Suddenly, his eyes tingled.

Five units of Mana disappeared from his reserve, and something invisible shot toward the old man.

For a brief moment, the man froze.

Then he blinked and leaned back in his chair before asking. "...Did you just try to put me under an illusion?"

Nero frowned hearing this. "What? No! I was just looking at you!"

"Well, something happened when you did."

’An illusion?’

Nero quickly checked his Mana.

[Mana: 16/21]

’Five Mana just for looking at someone?!’

That was expensive!

"Don’t tell me you have no idea what those eyes can do," the man said with a baffled look on his face.

Nero shook his head.

"They just awakened recently. I haven’t figured out how to control them yet."

The man examined him with growing interest.

"Interesting. They’re capable of affecting someone’s mind directly. You’ll need to learn how to control that before you start looking at people."

"Did the illusion work on you?"

"For a moment, I felt something trying to interfere with my mind." The Old Man nodded with a thoughtful look.

’So it actually worked?’

Nero wondered how powerful the illusion would be against someone weaker.

The old man then picked up a mirror from the bedside table and handed it to him.

"Here. Take a look."

Nero examined his reflection.

"...Whoa."

His eyes had changed completely.

His irises glowed bright blue, while his pupils had become black diamonds surrounded by thin geometric lines.

The patterns shifted slightly whenever he moved his eyes.

’...’ Nero was stunned.

They were also far too unusual to hide without some effort.

Nero lowered the mirror and checked his status.

Eyes of Origin had also appeared alongside Cellular Reservoir and Telekinesis.

’Does this count as my third Talent?’

Actually, now that he thought about it, he possessed far more abilities than an ordinary Awakener.

Perfect Sleep, Perfect Memory, Thermoregulation, and Enlightenment were all abilities that could easily pass for Talents.

Even the Plane of Telekinesis gave him access to a training space that normal people couldn’t enter.

’If people knew everything I could do, they’d probably think I was some kind of freak.’

Fortunately, as far as the public knew, his only awakened Talent was Cellular Reservoir.

His Eyes of Origin might be harder to keep hidden, though.

Nero checked the description again.

[Eyes of Origin (Mythical): These eyes possess multiple abilities, including Illusion Creation. Explore them to discover their remaining functions.]

"..."

’Oh, so you update the description after I figure things out myself? How helpful.’

"What was that?" the man asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"Then think about how lucky you are to have found someone willing to train you."

Nero glanced at him.

’He’s really determined to make me his student, huh?’

He still hadn’t agreed to anything, but the completed System Choice confirmed that he had reached the correct training location.

Which meant this strange man was probably the person the System wanted him to learn from.

’Well, if the System brought me here, he must be capable of something.’

Before Nero could respond, another window appeared.

[Please Make a Choice.]