Beneath the soft pink glow emanating from the fruits around the treehouse, Neo gently placed a finger over the glowing spot of light.
His vision abruptly darkened, and his mind glitched.
For a split second, it felt as though he wasn't in control of his own mind before everything suddenly returned to normal.
A flood of information suddenly surged into Neo's mind.
"Gah!"
The transfer of information from the tome to his mind was excruciating. Neo's mind felt like it was being pierced by thousands of hot needles.
His eyes grew bloodshot, and his breathing became strained. The transfer of information barely took a few seconds, but those moments felt like hours to Neo.
Once the transfer was complete, a string of words began to form in Neo's mind.
All the knowledge in the tome had been completely downloaded into his memory. He knew everything there was to know about the technique within, and Neo was surprised, to say the least.
First off, it wasn't an art, skill, or spell. It was a manual.
The Overlord Spear Manual
As overbearing as the name of the manual sounded, its description was even more so. Neo almost chuckled at the arrogance of the manual's creator.
'One spear to pierce the heavens, one warrior to face the world: The Overlord Spear Manual is designed for the absolute best!'
If this didn't scream cocky, what else could?
The creator of this manual was too narcissistic!
But he was also inspiring!
Neo could immediately picture a scene where he stood tall with his black spear in hand, watching confidently as hundreds of thousands of Ascendeds stood before him.
Then, as the enemy Ascendeds began charging towards him with all their powerful arts and spells, he would casually raise his black spear and make a gentle sweep.
Like those legendary major characters, his sweep would defy all the laws of physics and human vision to appear slow when it was actually fast. And it must also be completely silent.
Then...
Crack!!
Neo's eyes widened in a daze as his body suddenly felt weightless, before they shone with realisation...
That crack from earlier was from the main branch supporting his treehouse breaking!
What void cracking?
He knew the sound had felt too real!
Thud!
Neo felt his body and his half-finished dream hit the ground together.
His body might have survived the fall, but his dreams definitely did not.
That surely didn't go according to the script.
Neo sluggishly stood up and dusted his naked buttocks. A stalk of white grass had wedged itself between his cheeks... Neo felt strange as he pulled it out.
Anyway, his dream was too unrealistic if he wanted to achieve all that with just a spear manual. Manuals weren't like arts, skills, or spells.
They were more like detailed guides containing multiple attacking, defending, and movement methods for a particular weapon, with the aim of creating a unique martial flow that differed from others'.
A sword manual would contain different sword moves for attacking, defending, and various scenarios. The same applied to other weapon manuals.
In essence, this manual would teach Neo a particular spear-fighting style!
It was extremely valuable!
And extremely expensive as well!
Neo grinned toothily as he fixed his broken treehouse once again. He had already made up his mind to learn from this manual... it had come at just the right time.
Although he planned to return it to the family of the deceased party member who owned it once he got out, that didn't mean he couldn't learn from it as well, right?
Of course it didn't!
No one would ever know!
After fixing his treehouse, Neo climbed back up and settled into a comfortable position.
He began making plans for the next day.
He intended to explore the gorilla settlement to see if anything seemed suspicious.
Neo's treasure sense was tingling. He knew there had to be a reason the gorillas had chosen that particular place for their settlement, and he was determined to find out.
He hoped it was a treasure that would be beneficial to humans, so he could quickly improve his strength.
But for now, he only intended to scout.
After that, he would start learning the spear manual.
His goal was to master the manual within two to three Spirit Months. That way, when he left the Spirit Realm and returned to Earth, he would be able to perform decently in his final year exams.
It would also make hunting much easier. His spear-fighting was honestly dreadful and far too straightforward.
He had only been managing because his enemies so far had been beasts.
Neo knew his movements were too telegraphed and basic. He would be defeated in mere moments if he were to fight even a half-decent human fighter, so he had to change that soon.
As Neo was about to place the items back into the satchel and sleep for the night, something caught his eye.
Had he missed something?
Neo picked up the small black box and examined it curiously.
He had nearly overlooked this box and wondered what could be inside.
Open it then!
Neo swiftly opened the small box and peered inside to see its contents.
He abruptly froze.
Neo's mind went blank. Only a primal, frenzied, and barbaric desire for greed and lust remained in his thoughts.
His whole body began to tremble, and his eyes grew bloodshot. Neo stared in shock at the soft green lotus made of energy resting within the box.
What was wrong with him?
Why was he feeling so hungry and desperate to devour this treasure?!
"Gahh!"
The more Neo resisted the urge to devour the treasure, the more greedy thoughts filled his mind.
He was going mad, and his self-control was waning!
Neo watched in stunned horror as his fidgety hands moved on their own to pick up the treasure!
He wasn't in control of his own body!
That rotten sensation again!
'But I'll explode if I eat a treasure raw!'
What mortal dared to eat a treasure raw? Their explosion would be immense!
Neo was panicking seriously in his mind.
Slowly, his hands clutching the lotus rose upwards, and his mouth opened on autopilot.
Neo's mouth opened so wide it looked like a wormhole!
Neo couldn't do anything but watch as he stuffed the pulsing treasure into his mouth and swallowed.
What the hell was going on?!