Neo walked on in silence for what felt like an eternity.
The hidden cave stretched on endlessly, and he must have been walking for hours.
His body was wounded and battered, and he felt weak, but due to his common-grade physique, he was able to recover his energy as time passed.
What's more, his wounds were beginning to heal!
The minor scratches had already started to scab over!
His healing speed was astonishing. The common-grade physique was quite overpowered!
Despite his current condition being dire and his fate still unknown, Neo managed to smile.
Anytime he thought about how easily he had obtained the common-grade physique, he felt hopeful.
Hopeful because, if he could survive his current predicament, he would be able to rise in strength rapidly.
His growth would be historic!
Neo abruptly stopped in his tracks as a magical sight unfolded before him.
He had reached the end of the cave and seen what lay beyond.
"Wow."
There was a magical tree at the end of the path, and it was undoubtedly the most magnificent and radiant tree he had ever seen in his life!
It looked so stunning that Neo felt unworthy of being in its presence.
It was too otherworldly! It made Neo truly understand the meaning of the word magical.
It was a ten-metre-tall tree with rainbow-coloured leaves.
Each leaf shimmered in rainbow colours, yet the whole tree looked like a seven-layered rainbow, each layer bursting with vibrant hues.
It was breathtaking!
Neo stood before its grandeur and sighed.
On the tree, there were three fruits, all arranged at increasing heights.
Neo's wide-angle vision had registered this fact, but he had not dared to actually focus on the fruits themselves.
It was well-known that the more powerful and mysterious a treasure was, the more natural phenomena it exuded, which could harm the physical eyes upon sight.
Some treasures could even blind a person just by looking at them!
These were the life-changing treasures, waiting for the worthy.
Still, Neo managed to glimpse that these fruits glowed and twinkled like gems, making them appear both mysterious and marvellous.
After contemplating for a few seconds, Neo fixed his gaze on the lowest fruit.
The lowest fruit was grey. Just by looking at it, Neo felt as if he was staring at the blade of the sharpest sword in the world.
It almost hurt his eyes!
Neo was stunned.
If the lowest fruit was already this powerful, what could the others be like? How wonderful were they?
His curiosity was piqued.
Neo's gaze moved upwards, and he saw another grey fruit.
This time, it felt like he was staring into a wormhole. The longer he gazed at the fruit, the stronger the force of attraction and repulsion that overwhelmed his senses. His mind nearly collapsed under the strain.
Neo shakily looked away. That sensation was terrifying! He felt as though he was going to lose consciousness.
Neo contemplated whether to look at the final fruit for a full minute before he decided to do it anyway.
If he couldn't even stare at the fruit, how was he going to pluck it?
Summoning his courage, Neo looked up. His gaze fixed on the fruit, and in the brief moment before his body reacted, he could only register that it was grey.
Then...
"What the f—!"
Neo's body moved on its own as his gaze was forced away. His body couldn't bear to withstand the sight of the fruit and had to look away as a form of self-preservation.
For real?
Could something like this actually happen?
Was he truly that unworthy?
Neo didn't know the criteria for these mysterious fruits, and honestly, he didn't care.
He was going to pluck these three grey fruits, or he wouldn't be able to leave this place.
He had finally found his treasure.
Neo dropped his black satchel, placed his spear on the ground, and approached the tree.
The moment he came within five feet of the tree, a sudden, tremendous force pushed him downwards.
Neo recognised this force—it was gravity!
The concept of gravity!
One of the rarest fundamental concepts in the world, and this tree could even utilise it?
Neo gritted his teeth and tried to adapt to the sudden shift. His vision swam slightly as his blood flow was disrupted, and his breathing became laboured.
But after a few seconds, he managed to adapt and moved forward.
First step.
Second step.
Third step.
After the third step, the gravity increased again. Neo felt light-headed at this point and had to take a full minute to adjust.
This was shocking, considering he had a common-grade physique. The quality of his body was far better than some Body Spirituals!
Yet he still felt this way.
Finally, he adapted to the gravity again and took the last step.
He reached the base of the tree and lightly caressed the bark of the stunning tree.
It felt warm and smelled of florals. Neo smiled as the soothing scent calmed his tense nerves.
Then, he slowly looked up. The tree was not that tall, just ten metres, but with the effect of the gravity, it would be one hell of a climb.
Neo slapped his cheeks to motivate himself and jumped.
Since he was seven feet tall, he managed to reach the first branch easily and began the climb.
As he climbed higher, the increased gravity's symptoms became more evident, and the ascent grew harder.
But Neo's determination and focus didn't waver in the slightest.
His eyes shone with a mix of greed and resolve, and before long, he found himself mere inches away from the fruit.
But as his hands neared the grey fruit, an invisible, formless, yet devastatingly sharp mental attack pierced Neo's mind.
Boom!
Neo's brain went blank, his vision went white, and his body convulsed as blood spurted from his mouth.
It was a mind attack!
Bang!
Neo hit the ground with a loud thud, the added gravity making the fall more gruesome, and combined with the mind attack, Neo was seriously wounded.
Yet, a sadistic smile spread across his face as he clenched the grey fruit within his palm.
He had done it!