"You..." Zestia stared at Neo as if she were looking at something unbelievable.

​"You what?" Neo raised an eyebrow. "I never said I was willing to go on a suicide mission. Sorry, I’m young and I still want to stay alive. Thank you."

​With that, he turned to leave, and the little slime, Atlas, made a mocking face that only infuriated them further.

​"Wait right there!" A young man with red hair and an ear piercing stepped forward, standing domineeringly in front of Neo.

"You came here, slapped our Captain, insulted our whole crew, and now you want to leave just like that?"

​The flashy crimson laser sword in his hand slowly pointed at Neo’s handsome face threatingly.

Seeing the laser sword and feeling its deadly sharpness, Neo’s brows furrowed.

​"Put it down, red monkey," Neo said coldly, looking completely unafraid. "First, get permission from your leader; then you can bark all you want."

​The red-haired boy flinched, recalling the mind-controlled Spirit Blades still hovering above.

Nevertheless, his pride stung.

He looked back at Zestia to seek her permission, but he only received a shake of her head, indicating that he should let Neo go.

​The young man felt a knot in his stomach.

Just what happened between Zestia and this rude bastard to make her act like this?

He had harbored a crush on Zestia for years, so seeing his favorite woman act so considerately toward a stranger fueled his jealousy.

​His eyes flashed with genuine killing intent.

He wanted to kill Neo right then and there, but those unpredictable Spirit Blades made him hesitant to attack. He clenched his teeth, withdrew his sword, and stood aside.

​"Good boy," Neo said, patting him on the shoulder. "If you had attacked me, I would have made sure you were the first to die."

"Bastard!" The red-haired man scowled, and attacked with his sword.

"Stop Leo!"

But Zestia stepped in and stopped immediately.

​Neo, uncaring of whatever happening behind him, walked away with his suit and his pet slime intact.

After walking for 20 minutes, Neo checked the wristband of his suit to see if there were any messages from his crew. Unfortunately, there were none yet. Perhaps the communication device had malfunctioned.

​Setting that aside, Neo took out the invaluable metallic powder he had stored in his pocket. As he looked at it now, the powder was glittering like celestial essence instead of the regular dark shade of titanium. Even the system struggled to appraise it.

​[ Item: ??? ]

[ Grade: ???? ]

[ Estimated Value: Unknown ]

​Neo couldn’t understand the phenomenon at all.

Why did the system couldn’t provide the appraisal now, when he clearly remembered it showing while he picking them up.

Naturally, he panicked, thinking the cells of this precious species were dying.

Thus, he immediately searched for a secluded spot and found one among a dense cluster of large boulders. The location was hidden from all sides, invisible to everyone except for anyone looking directly down from the sky.

​There was no one to witness what he was about to do, except for the curious little slime, Atlas, who was perched on one of the rocks. Neo didn’t care if Atlas saw his secret talent, as the little fellow was easily misguided.

​After stripping himself completely naked, Neo held the sparkling life essence within both palms. Then, in a silent whisper, he commanded the Universal Synthesis to activate.

​Humm!

​The ethereal blue energy of the synthesis covered both Neo and the strange life essence in a magical dome.

​[ Synthesis Initiated... ]

[ Human DNA + (????) ]

[ Progress: 1%... 3%... 11%... 33%... ]

[ Overriding Human DNA ]

The progress bar didn’t just represent a change, it represented a systematic demolition of Neo’s humanity.

​At 45%, the chilling sensation transformed into a searing, white-hot agony. It felt as if his veins were being injected with molten glass. Every nerve ending in his body screamed in protest as the "Life Essence" began to rewrite his genetic code.

His bones groaned, clicking and snapping as they shifted to accommodate a density they were never meant to hold.

​At 60%, the pain reached a crescendo.

"Argh!"

Neo fell to his knees, his fingers digging into the dirt, but he couldn’t even let out a word.

His vocal cords were being reconfigured into something more resonant, more stronger.

His skin began to ripple like the surface of a disturbed lake, flickering between soft flesh and a terrifyingly hard silvery membrane.

​[ Warning: Cellular Collapse Imminent ]

[ Stabilizing DNA Recombination... ]

[ Progress: 72%... ]

​Neo’s vision fractured. He saw the world in vibrations and light frequencies rather than shapes. The sheer pressure inside his skull felt like a hydraulic press was slowly crushing his brain. He could feel his heart slowing down. Not out of weakness, but because it was becoming a biological engine of immense power.

Instead of red blood, it pumped silvery white essence.

​At 88%, the "Titanium" properties took hold of his skeletal structure.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The sound of his own ribcage strengthening into something stronger reverberated against the boulders like the hammering of a blacksmith’s forge.

​"Argh... hhh..." Suddenly, a choked metallic sound escaped his throat.

"You want to take over my life? Never! I would never give up," Neo roared internally as he was fighting an entirely different battle of will inside his mind.

​The little slime, Atlas, watched in horror from the boulder. To his eyes, his master was disappearing, replaced by a cocoon of blinding blue energy and shifting silver plates.

From outside, one could see the air around Neo began to distort, as if the space itself warping as the "Pureblooded" essence forced the universe to accept Neo’s new form.

​[ Progress: 95%... 98%... 99%... ]

[ Synthesis Complete. ]

[ Your species evolved to: Homo-Sapiens → Eragon ]

As soon as Neo registered the notifications, something else echoed inside his mind.

And these were definitely not from the system.

"Oh hoh, looks like your seed has found its host, Eragon. Do you want to meet him?"

"Yes. Summon him!"

Puff!

Neo disappeared from reality like a puff of white smoke.

What destiny awaits Neo from henceforth, no one had a single clue.

But one thing was for sure: He had stumbled into something big. If he could make it alive, he’ll be a ruler. If he can’t, he’ll be dust.

​