Priam
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Chapter 213: Playing Both Sides
🕑 Added 2024-04-09 20:39:29 +0000 UTCSorry, I'm late again, but it shouldn't happen again soon: I've got the outline of the next chapters and I'm well into the next one already. Next chapter: tomorrow (Wednesday 10th).
Enjoy!
*
Gryphe stormed into the Council tent in a foul mood. Her eyes locked onto Eleha, and she growled, "These recall crystals are not toys; each activation consumes two Tier 3 cores. Next time, you'll walk back," she declared.
"It was Katara who—"
"Who forced you? So, the rumor is true, you're afraid of the Tier 0s?" Gryphe taunted, turning to Felix. One of the clan's three Tier 4s and Eleha's great-uncle frowned but didn't respond. The warrior was protective of his family but despised weakness. It was evident he was disappointed in Eleha's performance.
"Your squabbles tire me." In the center of the tent, a true giant with striking yellow eyes sighed. His presence commanded respect, and silence fell.
Gryphe hastened across the tent and sat cross-legged to the right of the Aelbes' leader. Feeling the gaze of the clan's three Tier 4s upon them, Eleha and Katara swallowed nervously. Gryphe gave her apprentice an encouraging smile.
Felix cleared his throat after a few seconds and spoke up. "Eleha and Katara were on a diplomatic mission to Oasis, the territory of a Champion named Priam Azura. Their goal was to investigate the Champion and negotiate access to the Auctions," he summarized. "They both returned using a recall crystal less than ten minutes ago. Eleha, could you give us a report—"
"I can't see your arms anymore," Gryphe remarked. "And you have significant burns. How did this happen?"
Felix frowned but nodded in Eleha's direction.
"I faced two Champions to assess their abilities. I intentionally absorbed their most powerful attacks to better understand these aliens."
"I'm impressed you could utter such a lie with such confidence," Gryphe chuckled. Eleha gritted her teeth but looked away. Both knew she would need the shaman's help to heal quickly.
"Let's start from the beginning," Felix cut in. "Which Champions did this to you?"
"Priam Azura and Kazuki," his great-niece replied.
"What did this fight have to do with a diplomatic mission?" Gryphe asked.
"I thought showing them the power difference between them and us would facilitate negotiations," Eleha replied.
"I'm sure they're very impressed," the shaman said sarcastically.
"Gryphe," a deep voice growled.
"Sorry Leo," apologized the shaman.
"What have you learned about them?" the clan leader asked, turning to Eleha.
"Kazuki is a spearmaster. He has Micro II, Domain and will reach Spear Mastery II within a few days at most. His skills are highly advanced, but his Wind Concept is rather weak."
Despite the warrior's feats and talent, Gryphe wasn't impressed. The warrior was powerful but predictable.
"Priam Azura is an Ace, a Mist Sage, and a Fire Champion." Gryphe raised an eyebrow; a Champion—a Sage who reached Unity—was destined for great things. "He evolved his Fire Concept into a more... tenacious flame. He has two bloodlines: a draconic one and a phoenix one. In addition to excellent mastery of aether, he has ridiculous resistances."
Felix whistled, impressed. "All this in less than two months? He didn't waste any time."
"Are his resistances more developed than Rohan's?" Leo asked.
Seeing Eleha hesitate, Gryphe frowned. "I've been aiding Rohan since he was young. I've used the best rituals and elixirs available to strengthen and temper his body. With his bloodline, talent, discipline, and opportunities, Rohan is one of Elysium's most powerful Tier 0s!" the shaman exclaimed. The exceptional rank he received during his ninth Tribulation confirmed this. Gryphe was sure that the young lord of the Aelbes was in the top twenty thousand of Elysium's Tier 0s.
"My son and I thank you for your help, Gryphe, but I want to hear what Eleha has to say," said the Aelbes' leader. Predator, one of Eleha's Concepts, provided her with information about the strengths and weaknesses of her enemies.
"Priam... I only detected one Legendary skill, and he had to overlay Supremacies, Concepts, and sacrificial skills to rip off my arms. He's weaker than Rohan in terms of attributes and offensive or movement skills. However, he's harder to kill than a cockroach. He has about ten epic resistances, several of which are ideal."
Eleha's statement was met with silence. Epic ideal resistances ensured the user would gain legendary resistances, even if they didn't possess associated Concepts. These legendary skills, in turn, enhanced the affinity of the related Concept. The Snaherts had built part of their power on the ideal upgrade of [Poison Resistance], which allowed them to awaken the Poison Concept in all their members. From this common ground, creating a heritage that strengthened each generation a little more was easy. An ideal upgrade could be one of the cornerstones of a clan.
"How many epic ideal resistances does he have?" Felix asked his great-niece.
"One of his resistances was obfuscating, but... At least three epic ideal resistances."
"If we can persuade him to exchange the prerequisites—" Gryphe began.
"Even knowing those prerequisites, you know very well that most of our youth are incapable of reaching them," Felix retorted.
Over the years, the clans had discovered several ideal upgrade prerequisites. Most required immense talent, opportunities, and resources that the Aelbes couldn't easily provide to their young.
"But Rohan might be able to with the help of the Sun Shop and the Auctions. It could save him during his next Tribulation."
"...We'll see about that later," Leo cut in after a few seconds. Before being a father, he was the clan leader. "Katara, how did the fight end?"
The shaman apprentice jumped when the Tier 4s' attention turned to her.
"La—Laepa and Vysharratjekto ended the fight. Kazuki was in critical condition, but the Gaeserts' shaman apprentice volunteered to heal him. Priam Azura finished the fight without serious injury," she explained, glancing nervously at Eleha. She didn't want to become the Tier 3's enemy, but lying in front of the clan council was out of the question. If her leader had asked her the question, it was because he was tired of Eleha's half-truths.
"I see. And then?"
"Priam Azura then banned Eleha from his territory, and we left," Katara replied, lowering her gaze.
The three Tier 4s remained silent for a few seconds before Gryphe turned to Felix. "This is what happens with nepotism. Eleha was the last person to choose for a diplomatic mission."
"I suppose your daughter was the best choice?"
"Yes! Do you want—"
"Silence!" When Leo's voice thundered, Gryphe jumped. She felt genuine anger in her chief's stifling aura. His charisma prevented her from breathing and reminded her of the power disparity that could exist between two Tier 4s. Leo had been stronger than her and Felix at Tier 3, and his Tier up had propelled him to new horizons of power.
After a few seconds, the aura receded, and Leo spoke again. His voice was as low as it was threatening, and Gryphe shivered as she listened. "You both tire me. Your sense of superiority towards the Gaeserts and the Snaherts blinds you. This Necro event can change everything, and if we're not careful, time will swallow our clan. We need these Auctions, and we need to be united."
Gryphe and Felix remained silent, accepting the reprimand.
"Does anyone have any suggestions?" Leo finally asked.
"I could go," Felix suggested. "Eleha has... been disappointing, I must admit. With a few apologies and appropriate compensation, Priam should agree to forget this deplorable affair. It would be the most favorable outcome."
"And if he refuses?" Gryphe asked.
Then I'll force him to accept."
"They..." Eleha trembled as she felt the Tier 4s' wrathful gaze. Even her great-uncle seemed disappointed in her performance. "They have nuclear weapons."
The news shocked the three Tier 4s, and Gryphe felt a headache coming on.
"... I suppose the diplomatic route must be favored," Felix grimaced after a few seconds.
"A Tier 4 might be perceived as an intimidation attempt, and I need you here to fight the waves of corrupted. I'll send Rohan to negotiate a trade agreement," Leo declared as he stood up.
The chief of the Aelbes headed for the tent's exit, ready to return to training. Passing by Eleha, he stopped briefly and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I charge you with finding appropriate compensation. If it's not enough to convince Oasis to forgive your lack of judgment, if I have to intervene to solve the problem, Felix will tear your heart out with his own hands."
Gryphe swallowed. If Leo intervened, Oasis would disappear. The chief of the Aelbes wouldn't take any risks with nuclear weapons.
With those words, the Tier 4 left the tent. Felix gave his frightened great-niece a stern look.
"Uncle Felix, I—"
"Don't embarrass me anymore," Felix cut her off before disappearing.
*
"We have a deal if you leave our territory in peace. That is, Oasis and the Rabhorn Valley to the north," said Priam.
Vysharratjekto shook his head. "I cannot promise you that. Our three tribes have not yet decided where to settle."
Upon hearing the response, Priam furrowed his brow. "I thought you were nomadic?"
"That was our way of life, but the Necro event makes it impossible. We'll have to establish ourselves on this island and fortify our bases."
"... And you need the Auctions for that," Priam understood. That was why Tier 3s bothered to negotiate with him. "Isn't the Sun Shop enough?"
"As a Tier 3, I need to defeat a Tier 0 Earl, a Tier 1 Viscount, or a Tier 2 Baron to earn a single Sun Point," the warrior grumbled. "Can you imagine the difficulty in purchasing acceptable defenses? Not to mention feeding and healing thousands of people. This event is a nightmare..."
Priam almost sympathized. His build allowed him to slaughter hundreds of thousands of corrupted and accumulate numerous points, but Vysharratjekto struggled to gather a hundred points a day.
"Our Tier 0s and Tier 1s gather as many points as possible, but even that isn't enough," the Snahert continued. "The Auctions should allow us to trade and purchase what we lack."
"Why not access the Auctions from your own territory?" Priam asked. "Laepa more or less dodged the question, but I would like to know."
Vysharratjekto remained silent for a moment. "Why should I tell you?"
"You don't have to, I can ask Laepa..."
Priam was ready to play all angles to maximize benefit, and Vysharratjekto couldn't do anything about it.
"I assure you, the Snaherts will be better allies than the Gaeserts," the Tier 3 said. "There are two reasons preventing us from accessing the Auctions directly. The first is technical: we need an Auction channel. You used the Secret Channel, but we don't have that option."
"Your leader could spend one Merit point in his Nobility Tree to buy a channel," Priam pointed out.
"Our best warrior would have to sacrifice one of his rare Merit points. Even if he agreed, it would only take an enemy breaking our altar to cancel our Auction point and therefore our channel. Too risky."
"An enemy? You mean the other tribes," Priam understood.
"Our three tribes have coexisted for centuries, and some bad blood exists between us," Vysharratjekto admitted. "The Necro event forces us to team up, but it's temporary. This brings us to the second reason: this Nobility channel bans those of the same type within a radius that varies depending on the rank of the altar. To put it simply, if one tribe accesses the Auctions, the others will be deprived."
"I suppose the other two tribes will attack?"
"They won't watch one tribe gain power without doing anything," Vysharratjekto acknowledged.
Priam remained silent for a few moments before sighing. "I understand better now. But if you need me so much, why not agree to let me have the Rabhorn Valley?"
"Because the Snaherts don't have that power, it's the business of all the tribes. Oasis's territory will be respected," Vysharratjekto reassured. "Because it's a trading zone that we all need. The rest of Elysium doesn't belong to us any more than it does to you. If you want that valley, you'll have to earn it."
"How?"
*
Priam remained silent as Vysharratjekto and Viktol walked away toward the Forum. They had finally reached a satisfying agreement. Five percent commission for Oasis, assistance from the Snaherts in case of an attack by a Necro Envoy, and the ideal upgrade of [Poison Body] for Priam, Kazuki, and Jasmine.
According to Vysharratjekto, the Gu trial was too dangerous to be attempted by Hyshana or any other hoplite. Priam was almost sure the reason was different: the Snaherts didn't want to arm potential enemies. Three ideal upgrades were already a concession.
Priam congratulated himself, satisfied with the negotiations. Maybe he could have gotten a better deal, but to have a predatory deal with powerful neighbors was a bad idea. Replacing Priam would be complicated for the tribes, but not impossible.
Once the two Snaherts were inside Ymir's pavilion, Priam's shadow trembled, and Jasmine emerged from it. She sat on a chair next to him, frowning. Despite the grimace, the assassin remained particularly beautiful. It was the first time Priam had seen her since her race change, and he had to use Micro to calm his hearts.
"Do you have an opinion?" Priam asked, averting his gaze. Thanks to their bond, he knew that Jasmine had stayed in the shadow of the apprentice shaman throughout the discussion.
"I didn't hear anything," Jasmine replied. "I delved deep into his shadow to avoid arousing the Tier 3's suspicions. The image was too blurry for me to lip-read, and I had no sound."
Priam nodded as his Domain hadn't noticed the assassin in his shadow. My sphere of authority isn't as absolute as I thought...
"We've got a good deal for Oasis," Priam smiled as he saw the hundreds of Sun points he was already starting to earn thanks to his commission. "But I couldn't get anything for Bastard Valley."
"What?! But if they settle there..."
"Sphinx will die. Fortunately, Vysharratjekto mentioned a way to acquire this land."
"Which one?"
"I thought the alliance of the three tribes was fragile, but it's worse than that. The Aelbes have more Tier 4s but fear the alliance of the other two tribes. They're three, which maintains a certain status quo, but they're staring stonily at each other. Within a month, they'll have mapped the island, and it will be time to determine who owns what."
"And will we have a say?" Jasmine asked ironically.
Priam grimaced in response. "Not directly. Normally, it's the Tier 4s who decide that, but the Gaeserts and Snaherts opposed it—they prefer to bet on the low Tiers. Each tribe will choose a champion per Tier and have them fight. The first will win three points, the second two, and the third one. They'll add up the points of each Tier, and the tribe with the most points will choose the location of its camp first, plus a sovereignty zone around it. The second tribe will then make its choice, and then it will be the last one's turn."
"Our rivals won't be pleased," Jasmine commented, twirling a few strands of hair around her fingers.
"It will only cover a small part of the island; the majority will remain in the hands of the Necromoon. But the Rabhorn Valley is in the island's center and near Oasis—so near the Auctions. According to Vysharratjek, it's a defensible area with an underground full of interesting resources—Bastard didn't settle there by chance. This valley will certainly be sought after by a tribe, and we can't accept that."
"Are we going to participate in this tournament?" Jasmine asked.
"The tournaments will be internal to choose their Champion," Priam corrected. "Here, it will just be three duels per Tier, taking barely a few hours. Vysharratjekto agreed that Oasis would participate. If we also convince Laepa, we have our place. It suits them to have four participants rather than three."
Organizing two semifinals and a final with three parts wasn't practical.
Jasmine thought for a few seconds before grumbling, "If we only compete within the Tier 0s, we won't earn many points."
"Nothing stops us from participating in the high Tier duels," Priam winked.
"Except that we have no chance of winning?"
"You're too pessimistic. We have a month to prepare. I admit I don't yet understand the qualitative difference between Tiers very well, but I think I can face Tier 2s after partially tempering my body. If Kazuki dominates the Tier 1 competition, you dominate the Tier 0s, and I manage in the Tier 2s, we can hope for second place. After all, we'll only have two duels each."
With her brows furrowed, Priam found Jasmine adorable. She thought for a few seconds before grimacing. "You may be underestimating these tribes. We've only had the System for a few weeks, and they were born with it."
"I have confidence in us," Priam replied. "I have confidence in you."
Jasmine blushed slightly, turning her gaze away. "And I'm sure you'll surprise those Tier 2s. However, even if we win our six duels, we're not assured of being first if one tribe dominates the others in the Tier 3 category and ranks second in the other ones."
"None of us stand a chance against Tier 3s," Priam sighed. "Even with a month of intensive training, I won't be able to face an alert Eleha—and something tells me she's not the most powerful Tier 3 of the tribes."
"We might have a chance not to finish last among the Tier 3s if we choose a strong champion."
Priam narrowed his eyes. "Who are you thinking of?"
"Dishnu, Arnold, or the Judge. They're the only rivals potentially capable of facing a Tier 3 head-on."
Priam tensed at the mention of Arnold's name, but another name caught his attention.
"The Judge?"
"I met him once before—"
The young woman interrupted herself and turned to the west. Priam froze as his link with Log-a-rhythm warned him that something had just knocked against the barrier of Oasis. Something powerful and familiar.
Event: Necromoon
Second wave:
A horde masses near Log-a-rhythm, commanded by the body of a former friend.
Defend your territory.
Reward:
400 Sun points
A passage opened in the trunk of Log-a-rhythm, and Louis emerged. His hands were shaking.
"She’s here…"
*
Status:
PHYSICAL:
Strength 582
Constitution 979
Agility 561
Vitality 860
Perception 719
MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 516
Dexterity 594
Memory 471
Willpower 1 036
Charisma 631
META:
Meta-affinity 563
Meta-focus 372
Meta-endurance 391
Meta-perception 260
Meta-chance 230
Meta-authority 66
Potential: 9 790
Tier 0
Sun points: 155 036 (+16 248)
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: OFF. Reloaded in 3 hours 47 minutes 44 seconds.
[Tribulation]: Three Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 162 days 4 hours 20 minutes 57 seconds.
Next thresholds: 6 attributes > 600 / 3 attributes > 900
Comments
Pickled Rick
If Rohan has successfully completed 9 tribulations then Priam needs to complete 10 and he also needs to complete a Quintuple Tribulation. They are supposed to be really hard but that assumed that the person doesn't have all the advantages priam does like being an eventual sage of two Tier 1 concepts.
Zaim İpek
I can tell you don't understand what I'm trying to communicate, and maybe that's my fault for explaining poorly.
Opal
Although, his Mist Concept does have one over his Fire in that it has something of an "internet optimizer" that smoothens his use of raw Mist, and I assume that is what you want for his Fire Concept as well. However that isn't necessary for his use of the Concept and the Sage trait does a good job of that anyway, so I believe he is fine as is.
Opal
Assuming that's the case, every fire skill is already automatically linked to the Fire Concept or else it wouldn't be a fire skill, so there is no problem since he is a Fire Sage. The only problem per se would be "offline apps" with no service, but we need offline apps to operate the system, they don't need any unnecessary "internet connections" if they work fine as they are. The point is that he doesn't have to become entirely Fire or Mist themed in all his skills just because he is a Sage if the skills already work as intended. The only skills he needs connected to his Concepts already are, and they are better for it. The girls you talked about speced in builds focused on particular Concepts, while our boy is more of a generalist. They don't have to be the same.
Zaim İpek
Pretty sure it doesn't work that way. A concept is too big to be merged exclusively to one skill or even one person. It's better to think of it like an internet connection. Concepts would be websites, you can access it on a browser while also running other applications, but it might be better if the application was already linked to the website for the sake of efficiency, such as the Steam and Spotify apps. And obvious multiple apps would be potentially able to link to a single site.
Opal
It wouldn't make sense to limit all of a concept to just one skill by merging with it. The use of any of his fire skills is already enhanced by his Fire concept, and Moon Mist allows him to control the Mist concept better. He can also use his Fire concept independently of any skill, same as his Mist, but it wouldn't make sense for Priam to use his Mist concept independently because he has a skill to help better utilize it. I think what you're looking for is a skill the comprehensively improves his control of his concepts, like Moon Mist, not him merging his concept with skills. An example of someone who doesn't to our knowledge have such an enhancement skill but still uses a concept would be that Mercenary leader lady. She uses the Silk concept, but without a skill, and only with Chain Mastery. She would benefit from any skill involving the Silk concept, such as something like "Silk Manifestation" or something, but doesn't necessarily need one.
Zaim İpek
I don't think that's the same. The way it seems to have been presented in the story is that some concepts can actually integrate into a skill and change it either as an upgrade requirement that enhances the skill in some way or something else. I do think it's likely that Moon Mist has probably integrated fully with his mist concept, but that seems to be a product of his Moon lord merit tree that is now Elysian. He does have fire-related skills, and I think his being a fire champion helps him immensely in using those skills, but it doesn't seem like his control of the concept and control of the skill are really unified the way it is with his mist. When he is using his fire/pyro concept, it seems to be some extra thing in addition to a skill or used independently. That means using more mental processing to do two things together rather than a single thing. Even if it takes very little effort, it's not the same as both being integrated into a singular process. It seems to me that Jasmine's shadow concept and her shadow skills are functioning together as one and the same. The same seems to be the case for Eve and Esmee from what I remember in the chapters where it was pointed out. Priam will separately activate a skill and activate a concept at least with his fire, and I think that's the difference.
_mori
Priam’s concepts have a skill they work with closely. Mist & Moon Mist, Pyro/Fire & Fire champion + pheonix wings. Same goes for his supremacies. Kinetic control has strong synergies with both micro and domain. His spear mastery and everything Promesse related. It’s not just the girls, and unlike his rivals, Priam probably has the most legendary skill slots open.
Zaim İpek
I don't think he can have any more concepts at his current tier without triggering the system to punish him or just not being able to control the concepts well because of his natural soul limits at tier-0, but poison would definitely merge extremely easily with the concepts he already has. It's a good one to aim for after he advances tier.
Zaim İpek
Woah! I just realized Priam doesn't have a endurance/resilience or adaptation concept! He needs to get one. The synergy would be amazing, 'adaptation' would probably be better to merge with mist, fire, and pyro into a higher-tier concept. He also needs to figure out how to combine concepts and skills. Jasmine should teach. I think she is the only one in the group that has done it. Kazuki also needs to figure out how to integrate wind concept into his skills somehow. It's dumb to be a fire champion and not have his concept actually integrated with his skills. It seems like all the girls figured it out! Eve, Esmée, and Jasmine all have concept-integrated skills. Are men just worse at this particular aspect?
Zaim İpek
I don't think he needs to increase the amount every time since the tribulations increase the relative difficulty on their own. The trick is that everyone else who starts off with multiple tribulations does successively smaller bundles untill they only do one at a time, because eventually the single tribulation is as relatively difficult as the 5x tribulation. So if Priam just manages to maintain the same number of bundled tribulations every time, that should be enough to maintain his freakishly exponential growth speed. I think 5 is ideal for him to maximize rewards while also not crossing over the line in ruining reader-immersion. Being able to tribulation hunt is his second greatest advantage after his extra-life trait. Being the first and only tier-0 with that ability (pretty sure), he needs to exploit that as much as possible. Priam didn't break the record in his first round of tutorials because there are monsters who have done 6x tutorials for their first round. . . but I would bet there isn't even a single one who has passed a 6x twice at the same tier. Those who have passed a 5x twice in the same tier is probably a two or three digit number in the history of the entire multiverse. But there are definitely none who have done a 5x three consecutive times in the same tier. I doubt there would even be record of three consecutive 4x tribulation successes, and if there is, it's maybe a two-digit number, or probably a one digit number. So I think if Priam merely maintains his current rate of four at a time, while also increasing his racial tier to make the thresholds higher, he should be able to maintain his current pace and overtake the growth rates of every other Elesyum champions within a couple months to a year at the latest even if they all tier-up except him. Arnold, Judge, and Dishnu definitely grow fast and have many advantages, but Priam is closing the gap faster than they are growing.
_mori
This and if he intends to undergo many tribulations, he’ll need to keep increasing the amount in each attempt to at least try and stay ahead of the difficulty curve.
_mori
“Epic ideal resistances ensured the user would gain legendary resistances, even if they didn't possess associated Concepts. These legendary skills, in turn, enhanced the affinity of the related Concept. The Snaherts had built part of their power on the ideal upgrade of [Poison Resistance], which allowed them to awaken the Poison Concept in all their members. ” This is another interesting detail. We already know that legendary skills increase affinities, but ideal epic upgrades apparently grant enough of a boost to affinity to awaken a concept? Now, for Priam, this may not be that enticing. Waiting to upgrade his skill to a non-ideal legendary is probably not as tempting as simply holding out and getting ideal legendary. Not in the long term at least. So, if not a legendary upgrade, then would his temperings offer comparable benefits? If, for example, he got [ideal Poison Resistance], tempered it, increased poison affinity (with an added boost because it’s an ideal skill), would it match the upgrade to legendary? What would happen if he also got the venom sac of a poison wyvern? Makes me wonder if an ideal draconic trophy could just straight up fulfill a skill’s legendary prerequisites. I bet the Snaherts have a trophy he can possibly trade for. They seem to both have a draconic bloodline and specialize in poison. My guess is they’d have an interest in storing trophies that have both properties. Unrelatedly, A poison mist would be diabolical. Or a Fire that released poisonous fumes. Easy synergy Edit: poison sac trophy + spiritual breath = poison breath. Another easy synergy? If Priam had picked pestilence instead of conquest, I’d imagine he’d become an AoE type with just those two.
Baconwargod
Nah you can choose to not announce your achievements. He probably only let the hoplite race see it.
Andrei
Shouldn't there have been a World notification then?
_mori
My guess, is that while the system measures supremacies as thresholds or fixed progression, the multiversal reality may view it as a spectrum? Not every species may even progress through supremacies the same way.
_mori
It’s been implied that the event will last several millenia, but their island isn’t stationary. The concept won’t force them to fight such powerful enemies, and if the locals are choosing to settle on their island, chances are that the danger won’t soon exceed what even the average (Elysian) tier 4 can handle. That and the island being primed with opportunities and exploits for the rivals, but it’s probably a cost-benefit relationship that the 7 expect them to manage.
_mori
You’re right, and I agree with you. But Priam’s build seems to force him to grow in response to everything. His deaths tier up his soul, his affinities increase, he gains more and more ideal resistances. If Kazuki is close to stage II domain, then Priam has to be closer than even he is, with his familiarity to his soul and its unceasing growth. Micro’s probably not too far off either (with the skull opportunity thing still within reach), and mastery is a sure bet with Promesse. Priam may find ways to put off his tribulations, but I don’t think it’s reasonable for him to shy away from tempering, especially if they can strengthen him in the short term
Zaim İpek
I just hope he delays tempering until it's absolutely necessary. The Necromoon is going to last many years, and I want to see how many insane achievements and Sun Points he can stack at tier-0 during this event. Can you even imagine what the reward would be for surviving the entire Necromoon event at tier-0?? The reward would probably be bigger than any we have seen so far. Everyone else in Oasis will probably be at least tier-1, if not tier-2 or 3 by the time the Necromoon passes just to survive the constantly strengthening waves of enemies. At the peak, there might even be a tier-6 necro-monster ripping through space to invade Elesyum. And if Priam somehow survives this as a tier-0 without dying or succumbing to the Necro-moonlight, that might be a never-before seen accomplishment. It might be bigger that beating wave 100 of the colosseum.
Zaim İpek
The phoenix is wrong. It's that simple. Priam is uniquely built (by the author) to excell where none else can. That's why he was first to Elesyum, and that's why he is a tribulation hunter. Tribulations are where he is strongest. Priam should have much more than 9. To be a real mc, he needs to do at least 20. And all need to be done in groups. No single tribulations for Priam. The author already set the default suspense level when he faced the 4x with abysmal odds of success. Now he has so many specialized tools and techniques to help him adapt to any and every possible challenge of mind, body, and soul. It would bring the story down to not have Priam constantly push the absolute limit with his tribulations.
Lijwent
There will be the problem of tribulation, Rohan had at least 9 at tier 0, so we can expect at least that much, but that's really close, and apparently he will not survive 5 at once according to the phoenix, so 4 than another few, but they will get more and more complicated to finish Though it would be really nice to have him reach the top by staying tier 0 (but nor really possible, because of the whole soul not strong enough for some stuff, maybe with apocryphal soul but more issues...)
Zaim İpek
This chapter seems to make it clear that the system rewards people for waiting as long as possible before advancing their tier. Every single possible feat and achievement seems to have a lesser reward with higher tiers. I think Priam should totally forget the tiers for a while and just focus on being the most powerful tier-0 ever. He already plans to slay a tier-4 at tier-0. He should aim to test the absolute limit and see if it's even remotely possible to slay a tier-5 at tier-0. He might need help to do it, but the possibility seems to be there if he trains hard enough for long enough without advancing his tier. I want Priam to still be tier-0 after Kazuki and Jasmine advance. I want to see him beat the entire colosseum, overcome a quintuple tribulation with maximum possible rewards and score ranking in the universe. I want to see Priam do things that have not been done in the entire multiverse in thousands of years or maybe not done ever. Let him tier up after he gets maximum tier-0 achievement. I want to see the impossible.
Zaim İpek
We shall see. She has improved very much lately with her shadow heart and race upgrade. Now she just needs to train like crazy against hordes of undead and sparring against Kazuki and Priam. Her poison will be useless, but perhaps other methods will work. She is an assassin after all. She has many methods to be deadly and get past an opponent's resistance/defense.
Zaim İpek
Having faced nine tribulations, doesn't mean he faced many at the same time. He is old. He has probably been taking the tribulations one or two at a time to build gradually. Priam did 4 at the same time, and is probably going to do another quad for his second. Then he will have done 8 tribulations in only two sessions.
Baconwargod
Cool interested to learn what that entails.
PriÀm
He's half step Mastery 2. For Eleha, it's not the same as fully Mastery II
PriÀm
yup! He said it to Priam chap... 210 I think?
Andrei
Wait, if Kazuki has domain that means he's an Ace?
BelligerentGnu
Gaaah, nothing's ever simple.
connor hitchins
Ye I noticed that aswell I assumed that they had to all be done together
Andrew
Thank you!
_mori
It was implied that tempering isn’t a one and done affair? It can be completed in steps? That’s really interesting. Priam would still need ideal treasures to start, but I’m looking forward to the effects the process will have. Hopefully he can trade for something via the auctions. It feels like there’s really a lot to do now. The current event, dealing with the tribes, dealing with sumstreh, ideal skills, coliseum/moon, tempering, etc, and probably not in that order.
the oldest dream
thanks for the chapter
Luciaron
Hmm sounds like the Tribes tier 0 can fight Jasmine no problem
_mori
Some interesting conversations were had. The young master of the Aelbes is probably more than capable of facing tier 3s. 9 tribulations is really a lot lmao. But that just gives me more hope for Priam. Thinking of what he’d be capable of after having overcome 5 more tribulations exciting. He’d not only have another 5 impactful powerups/rewards, he’d get potentially even more than 5 tribulations’ worth by virtue of his tribulation hunter skill.
James Faulkner
Tftc!
Baconwargod
Great chapter as usual. Interested to see the young master of the cat tribe. Should be interesting for sure. I thought Kazuki broke through to Mastery 2 in the Eleha fight. Why did she say he would break through in a few days?
Derze
Nice
Lancelot DuLac
I needed this.
