Priam
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Chapter 223: The Elite Four
🕑 Added 2024-05-01 01:47:41 +0000 UTCChapter! A bit late, but tomorrow is a labor day in France, so that should give me a chance to catch up!
I'm off to bed and back to writing as soon as I wake up!
We're approaching the first big time skip in history...
Next chapter : Wednesday 1/05 or Thursday 2/05. I'll try to finish it tomorrow.
Enjoy!
*
Lvl Up: [Revelation Resilience] lvl 21
MEM +3
META (Affinity) +3
META (Authority) +3
Lvl Up: [Divination Interception] lvl 5
META (Affinity) +2
META (Perception) +1
On a wooden platform atop Log-a-rhythm, four rivals, each a Champion of a civilization, gathered around a round table.
Jasmine, lounging in a chair, toyed with a dagger, never taking her eyes off Arnold. The assassin seemed to be searching for a weakness in the Var Elegis' form.
Kazuki was sitting upright, hands resting on the table, his eyes closed. His muscles twitched as he experimented with Micro II, pushing his limits.
Arnold, in his homunculus form, was observing his three rivals in turn, precisely five seconds each. The periodic staring match with Jasmine seemed to enrage the young woman.
Priam was casually seated, his right hand resting on the table, his left arm on the back of his chair. Observing his rivals, he pondered their relationship and common traits. What a perfect opportunity to test Arnold.
"We're all potential paragons of various concepts. Or should I say, Concepts," Priam declared.
Jasmine furrowed her brow, Kazuki opened his eyes, and Arnold interrupted his routine.
"Excuse me?" asked the young assassin, bewildered by Priam's sudden proclamation.
"Seeing us gathered here today made me wonder: what do the Seven want from us?"
The rivals glanced at each other before Jasmine shrugged. "I'm not sure we can comprehend the goals of entities as strange and powerful as the Concepts."
"Great Concepts work in mysterious ways?" Priam grinned. "Yet it's important to understand our place on the chessboard if we want to progress."
"What's a chessboard?"
"A strategic game board," Arnold replied. Jasmine wore a look of incomprehension before shooting a glare at the Var Elegis.
"I was talking to Priam."
"Isn’t the main purpose of a question to learn its answer?" Arnold inquired.
"The main purpose of my previous statement was to make you understand that I don't want to talk to you. I don't like you. Is that clearer now?" spat the young woman as she planted her dagger into the summoned table. Log-a-rhythm trembled, and the young woman grimaced. "Sorry."
Kazuki coughed. "Let's refocus. Priam, do you know what the Seven expect from us?"
The young Homo Elysian nodded. "Maybe. Let’s start with what I know to be true: I aim for the Zenith because I want to be free. The Concept of freedom resonates with me just as the Concept of protection resonates with you. Two Concepts that slightly diverge from the Seven we know."
Dimension, Energy, Matter, Chaos, Order, Soul, Karma. The Seven Concepts seemed to encompass everything, yet they lacked a piece. The mysterious eighth Concept.
"Protection seems under the domain of Order," remarked Jasmine.
"In part," agreed Kazuki. "But the protection I envision requires an intention, an understanding, a selflessness that Order does not possess. If it did, this Universe would be different."
"Freedom should depend on Chaos or Soul," added Priam. "However, I'm also convinced that my definition of Freedom and that of the Concepts are different. If they refuse to deeply alter our souls and get too involved, it's because they seek a deviation, a personal touch that eludes them."
"What's that?"
"No idea. The only way to learn more is to become more powerful."
Jasmine nodded. "That I agree with."
"Are you suggesting that we have affinities with Concepts that interest the Seven?" summarized Kazuki.
"They're seeking to create an eighth Concept since forever; they must have an idea of its foundation. Yours, mine, and our other rivals’ raison d’être represent a possibility of reaching the eighth Concept," declared Priam. "That's my theory."
"A rather arrogant way of thinking," commented Jasmine.
"I'm not modest," smirked Priam. "But think about it: what's our common trait?"
"Our talent?" suggested Jasmine after a few seconds. "We're all geniuses at the top of our civilization... at least in terms of potential."
"Who's arrogant now?" teased Priam. "No, I know at least one exception." He could be considered a prodigy, but he knew he was far from the smartest or most athletic human. It was another quality that had allowed him to triumph over the Impossible Tutorial.
"We are extremely driven," declared Kazuki. "Each of us has an ideal, a desire that compels us to excel."
Priam nodded. "Let's go further: ten Champions, each with a mentality, ideas, convictions, and the talent needed to attempt the Zenith Way, are selected by an Impossible Tutorial. Then, the System exacerbates our rivalry... What's going to happen?"
His rivals fell silent, pondering the question.
"The System wants us to stimulate each other. A sort of positive peer effect," said Kazuki after a few seconds.
"There's more to it than that," said Arnold. "If we accept the First's hypotheses, then the Seven want us to influence each other."
"That's what I think too," smiled Priam. "Either they want us to rub off on each other to broaden our mindset and thus our future Concept, or they hope we can purify our vision."
When two ideas clash, there are only two outcomes: either they inspire each other to grow, or they are deemed opposing and become more radical.
"What do you think, Arnold?"
If the Var Elegis supported the second explanation, then their existences were incompatible.
The homunculus reached out and placed a golden seed in the center of the table. "I regret my behavior during our first encounter. Here, a token of apology."
Priam noted the use of the verb 'regret.' According to the Guardian of Secrets, Var Elegis regretted nothing, which indicated that Arnold had changed. The seed disappeared into the wood of the table.
Log-a-rhythm has consumed the inheritance seed of a Chamaecyparis Vita. Congratulations!
POT +2,500
Features acquired: Necro Resistance III, Rot Resistance II.
Log-a-rhythm trembled, absorbing the new abilities into its sap, circulating the life-giving liquid from its lowest roots to its highest leaves. The resistances infused every cell of the tree before reaching the other plants in its domain. Priam smiled, feeling the entirety of Oasis's trees beginning to recover from the corruption of the Necromoon.
"Apologies accepted," he said before noticing Jasmine's astonishment.
The young woman looked from Priam to Arnold, evidently confused by this turn of events.
"Var Elegis are very hegemonic," explained Kazuki. "Arnold attempted to kill Priam for this reason, and he later killed Seth. The purpose of this conversation was to confirm that his goals had changed. The gift of this seed proves that it's the case."
The Var Elegis nodded. "During my first encounter with the First, I followed my protocols and... I failed. Each of our subsequent encounters has shown that the fundamental truths of Var Elegis are inadequate. I don't intend to purify a mistaken core belief; I want to make it grow by being inspired by the First."
Priam blinked before holding back laughter. Arnold wanted to emulate him?! Poor fool... I hope he enjoys dying.
The Var Elegis then looked at Kazuki. "However, allow me to dispel a misunderstanding: my long-term goals have not changed, only my methods. I will use the System and the First's teachings to dominate this Universe."
The three Champions of Oasis widened their eyes before a wry smile spread across Priam's lips. My Terminator friend is a dictator in the making, but at least he's honest.
"I'll kill you first," growled Jasmine.
"... Is that humor or lack of awareness?" asked the confused Var Elegis.
"Let me plant my dagger between his eyes," Jasmine asked Priam through their connection.
"Later, we still need him."
Priam decided to change the subject before a fight broke out. "Well, now that we know our short-term goals lean towards cooperation, let's get down to business. It seems you have a favor to ask of me?"
The Var Elegis nodded. "I've discovered a Tier 4 Earl possessing a fragment of a divine realm. I would like to form a temporary alliance to kill him."
Priam felt his lips stretch into a smile. "I suppose you're referring to the fallen god located here?" he asked as the table's surface transformed into a topographic map of the rabhorns’ valley.
Arnold nodded. "As expected from the First. Am I to understand that you don't need my help?"
"On the contrary. They’re a formidable opponent whose Domain strengthens the divine realm fragment they occupy. Our last encounter confirmed that I can't kill him alone. Is there a problem?" Priam asked as he saw his rival blink. It was rare to see the homunculus react.
"I was just reassessing your level," Arnold replied, tilting his head slightly. "I am still far from being able to survive against a pseudo-god."
Seeing Jasmine raise an eyebrow in his direction, Priam coughed without trying to dispel the misunderstanding. Being in a position of strength in a negotiation was always a good idea. "Well, I am in favor of an alliance to destroy this monster. I have already enlisted Seth in this war and should be able to recruit Esmée. I don't know about our other rivals, but it should be possible to interest the tribes."
He decided to keep Eve's capture quiet.
Arnold nodded. "The Judge will be interested, but the Guardian will only intervene if the battle threatens the forest. I have no information on the other two. When do we take action?"
Priam gritted his teeth. "Not for another month…. There's a problem. The Fallen has one of my friends hostage. Our attack must be swift, and our victory total. Otherwise, she'll die. I won't allow it!"
Clutching his fists, Priam fell silent and let Kazuki explain their plan.
"To prevent that, we have a plan: summon a powerful Necro Envoy with Seth's help. The forces of the Necromoon are supposed to be enemies of all System users, and an attack will be considered normal. Any other approach risks Sphinx."
"... This valley is an excellent location," warned Arnold. "If locals colonize his valley, the Fallen might react in regrettable ways."
"That’s why we must declare it as our territory," Priam said. "In a month, a tournament will decide which tribe chooses which territory, and we are invited. Each participant will designate a duelist per Tier, making sixteen duelists in total—four for Oasis. The valley will be ours if we win first or second place in each Tier. All it takes is for each of us to win a category."
Jasmine grimaced. "I'm an assassin, not a duelist. If my opponents know I'm there, I've failed at my job."
"You will wipe the floor with their Tier 0s," Priam smirked. The young woman glanced at him briefly before looking away.
"... You're the boss." Priam felt a wave of joy emanate from his subordinate.
Kazuki raised his hand. "I suppose I'll handle the Tier 1s?"
"Yes, please."
"I’ll do it. With my next High Tribulation, the abilities of the local Tier 1s interest me."
Priam smiled before turning to Arnold. "In exchange for a place in my plan to kill the Fallen and access to the Auctions, I would like you to face the Tier 3s."
A month was a long period that Priam planned to use exclusively for training. He was convinced that his growth would be impressive, but he had already picked the lowest-hanging fruits. The most powerful Tier 3s of the tribes certainly had a few centuries on Eleha. He harbored no illusions about his chances of victory against such monsters.
Defeating Tier 2 elites would already be an achievement.
"Very well," Arnold accepted without argument.
As if the System had been waiting for these words, a notification appeared in front of Priam's eyes.
New Quest: Fallen
Once a God, now a Fallen.
Will he who fell by arrogance repeat his mistake?
Kill Sumstreh, the Fragmented Rabbit.
This is a shared quest.
Reward:
Bloodline Purification (+1%)
Talent Token - Seraph Rarity
Reward (for the executor):
Title - Seraph Rarity
Difficulty: Seraphic
"You got it too?" Jasmine asked.
Priam nodded. "The System wants us to cooperate."
They had no chance individually, so the Seven encouraged them to collaborate. However, a glance at the last reward revealed that they wanted to create rivalry, not alliances.
Only one person could execute Bastard. Priam understood that their alliance would end when the Fallen began to show signs of weakness.
"The rewards are impressive," Kazuki murmured. The hoplite had already upgraded [Spear Virtuoso] to Legendary rank, but a Seraphic rank Talent would grant him incredible proficiency with the spear. Priam was almost jealous.
"Two ranks above Mythical... Too bad about the Token, I would have preferred a Gift," Arnold declared.
Priam turned to him. "Have you already used your Mythical Gift? What's inside?"
Killing a Tier 3 Viscount had allowed him to unlock a Mythical Achievement, and one of his rewards was a Mythical Gift.
"It's a Mythical-quality item of your choice. Token, weapon, resource,... Even a living being. Ask, and the Seven will grant your wish."
A gleam appeared in Priam's eyes, and he smiled. "Interesting."
"A die of temperance is available?" Kazuki asked.
"Of course."
The hoplite exchanged a glance with Jasmine, who nodded. Priam wouldn't be the only one attempting to temper his body.
The conversation died down before Arnold stood up. "I think it's time for me to leave. I'll be back in a month for the tournament."
Jasmine ignored the Var Elegis as Priam and Kazuki nodded. The next moment, Arnold disappeared, and the air rushed to fill the void left by the Var Elegis.
"Our barrier doesn't block his teleportation," Priam noted.
"The dome blocks spatial transfers, but his skill is too powerful. We should purchase specialized defenses against our rivals' talents—"
"You'll discuss that later," Jasmine grimaced. "I can practically smell Blueberry's grilled fish, and I'm starving."
"Aren't you afraid of getting fat?" Priam teased.
"This new body is great, everything goes into the boobs. Want to see?" she asked, puffing out her chest.
Priam shot an embarrassed glance at Kazuki, who just smiled. "I think Priam prefers princesses."
Jasmine narrowed her eyes. "What princesses?"
"Let's finish this meeting quickly and go eat," Priam grunted, hoping to divert Jasmine's attention by invoking her passion for food. "What are you going to do this month?"
"I'll train," Jasmine replied. "If I lose against one of their Tier 0s, I'll be ashamed for life."
Kazuki nodded before turning to Priam. "My defeat against Eleha opened my eyes. It's when I felt death coming that I unlocked Spear Mastery II. I want to regain that feeling by facing necro elites. My spear thirsts for blood, and it's time to make my people proud by achieving some Achievements."
Priam looked at Kazuki with concern but didn't try to discourage him. Before being his friend, he was his rival.
“Good luck, bro.”
"Tell that to my enemies," said Kazuki fiercely. "What about you?"
"I'll temper my body," Priam declared. He also planned to upgrade [Kinetic Control] and optimize his build with his various unused rewards.
"What does that mean?" asked Jasmine.
"Well, I’ll abuse my resurrections to unlock as many ideal resistances as possible—without triggering a sixth Tribulation. Then, I'll go hunting to obtain trophies."
The best ones came from monsters he killed himself, which had a draconic affinity. Priam knew of a world where such beasts existed.
"But first, I have two things to take care of: using my Sun points and having a conversation with Eve."
"Nah, first, we’re going to eat!"
*
Status:
PHYSICAL:
Strength 620
Constitution 979
Agility 608
Vitality 916
Perception 760
MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 516
Dexterity 622
Memory 635 (+5)
Willpower 1 051
Charisma 631
META:
Meta-affinity 636 (+6)
Meta-focus 387
Meta-endurance 432
Meta-perception 293 (+1)
Meta-chance 230
Meta-authority 105 (+3)
Potential: 14 146 (+5)
Tier 0
Sun points: 1 184 370 (+797)
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED.
[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 160 days 13 hours 49 minutes 55 seconds.
Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attributes > 900 / 1 attribute > 1 200
Comments
Ihsan Gunay
It just recentlY did after he killed the necro giant.
Ihsan Gunay
On a second thought he should try to get an epic ideal upgrade token first. Maybe he can bypass everything and still go for the ideal manipulation.
Zaim İpek
That's so OP! But it's less of a reward if one hasn't spent all their merit points. Even better is to simply retroactively give two merit points for each title earned up until that point. And anyone who would clear round 100 at tier-0 surely has plenty of titles and merits, so that's a really great idea! It would be fitting for an achievement of this magnitude that not even genius Aces with strong draconic bloodlines could approach. For narrative drama, I do hope Arnold at least makes it to the phoenix fight in the Colloseum so he can better appreciate the magnitude of Priam's accomplishment when he clears the 100th wave. But I bet the best reward for clearing the 100th wave is the merit tree that comes from it. It should be at least twice as good as the Ace merit tree. And that would fit the double merit points reward so he could immediately max out the tree upon getting it. I feel like it's that significant.
Zaim İpek
I don't know exactly how it will happen, but I think there will be another race upgrade. It will most likely involve Osiris, and it will probably be extremely OP for it's tier in ways that are both obvious and subtle. He will probably get a sample of Eve's and Týr's DNA as well as the native humanoid tribes. He might even get some material from Sumstreh's bones for Osiris to analyze. Where that all ends up, only the author knows.
Ihsan Gunay
Oh I just figured out what Priam is going to use the mythical gift for. He is going to ask for a aether manipulation puzzle and use the divine kingdom fragment to upgrade his archipelago.
Ihsan Gunay
I was thinking a good reward for winning the 100th round in coliseum before the reunion would be resetting his merit trees and giving him the merit points back while keeping the benefits and enhancing the trees like how he got the enhanced benefit that allowed him to unlock pyro. This would be a good way to let a genius newcomer fix the unoptimized mistakes he made with the merit trees and enhance his early merit tree rewards at the same time.
Some guy
You know I forget which character it is were its other humans talking about evolution and crossing human and troll or some other such nonsense and prim will probably have to deal with other humans wanting to to know the high human dna sequence to become the best human possible without humans having to deal with crossing will other races to get an advantage at beginning stage. That is a long way of saying I wonder what prim will do with the other dna sequences of other humanoid races will he pull another miracle of homo Elysium with build in regeneration (trolls) or other racial traits to bring about stronger humans ?
Zaim İpek
" but he had already picked the lowest-hanging fruits." This statement just seems completely false. Why would Priam even think this? There are two very significant "low-hanging-fruit" that he could get within maybe a week of concentrated effort based on his previous progress rate: Mist Champion and Pyro Champion. Those are two low hanging fruit that would make a very VERY big difference in his capabilities. Getting that ideal Poison resistance upgrade is also a low hanging fruit that is basically being handed to him on a silver plate. He also has an entirely new spear technique that has very much potential for further development and can even be reworked into movement. The rift is also a low hanging fruit now with his upgrade to Duke. And I could probably list more things, but that alone is enough to make a very big difference. P.S. Haven't seen Eidetic memory level up in a while. I feel like it definitely should have at some point recently with how much Priam has been dealing with large quantities of information and is always passively recording using his system so that he can reference later.
_mori
I wonder what Gabrielle’s clan will offer. And the aelbes too. Priam only needs two more ideal skills, and there’s 3 clans. The aelbes are probably going to cough up even more than the other two did because of the actual fee for using the auctions, and as part of their apology. Priam won’t need a third ideal resistance from the clans (and given time, he could probably tease out two more anyway but this is just to speed up his progress). So if he’s getting at least an extra ideal skill, with the other two already slated to come from gaesert and snaherts, maybe he should get a combat skill from the snaherts? They seem to possess the bloodline of large cats. If they have an ideal ‘roar’ skill, maybe Priam could bastardize it and make a draconic counterpart?
Baconwargod
It is a Tier up with Maximum Benefits and no danger. It’s apparently such a massive deal that Gods will leave their Heavens for the chance of getting one.
Zaim İpek
I look forward to seeing the test to get ideal poison resistance. I also look forward to Priam progressing more along his new path of combining Kinetic Control seamlessly with his Spear Mastery. He has just touched the tip of the iceberg on a whole category of techniques available to him by using his kinetic control in clever ways that could actually multiply his combat effectiveness without any change in stats.
Zaim İpek
I have missed Water World. I think Priam is going to manage to bring the entire thing into Elesyum and get a Seraph rarity (or higher) title/achievement for it. Worst case scenario, he has the entire population of the tribe fit into his inner world, and brings them over that way. I also look forward to him spending more time in the spatial rift and allowing himself to be torn apart by the forces to level up his spatial resistance and maybe get an ideal upgrade for it. Arnold uses space warping abilities, so that will definitely be helpful in a fight against him in the future.
le moi
I actually like that he emphesizes priams distance from the regular human.
le moi
Priams tribulation are related to him passing the tresholds of his attributes while Kazuki's high tribulation is the result of him achieving micro 2 which is not allowed in tier 0 so he has to do a high tribulation to advance to tier 1.
Lijwent
Oh back to the ocean world, nice
Luciaron
always love a good training montage
Art
What are the differences between a high tribulation (Kazuki) and Priam's quintuple tribulation?
copperspike
i don't know if it's been mentioned before, but calling characters (mc mainly) "the homo elysian" always comes across as very awkward to me, either just call them "the man/woman/person", use a more colloquial name for their species (which doesn't really exist yet), or another descriptor, whether that is a physical descriptor, something that describes him as no longer being the same species that he was born as without needing scientific names, or something entirely different doesn't really matter, but the way you do it now always trips me up and i don't feel like it almost ever actually fits well where you put it
Ihsan Gunay
Does anyone remember what a grace soul baptism is? It’s on the google sheets but I couldn’t find the source chapter.
Ihsan Gunay
Probably at a higher rarity skill than rare.
TheCommensuratePup
When he captures the incoming divinations, can he siphon off some of the concepts used? If so he could throw them into his personal world if they were compatible.
_mori
I think the time skip will jump to right before the tournament starts, or when Priam is done hunting for trophies and is about to begin tempering?
James Faulkner
Seraphic rarity, lets fucking go!
Subliminary
I recall our esteemed author promising a time skip eventually. I just realized we are still just like 3 weeks after the story began? Are we finally going to see any sort of time skip/short training montage during this month? Or will it come after the next Reunion/when he becomes Tier 1?
Alecksandria Gailendale
We're stocking up on so many sun points and potential both - excited to see how they're spent. Thanks for the chapter!
Andrew
Thank you!
Subliminary
Woo thanks!
Satanael
When will we fight to become champion of the Pokémon league
