Three hours later, the fire began to subside. Priam was aware that the imnse blaze must have piqued the interest of many foes. Fortunately, [He Who Eludes Death] was still prid.
Seeing the flas wane, Priam decided to advance. The longer he waited, the greater the risk of soone beating him to the punch.
Stepping into the flas, Priam winced. The temperature must have still been hovering around six hundred degrees Celsius. Holding his breath, Priam braved the fire, enveloped in a shroud of liquid mist.
Without [Infantile Phoenix tabolism], he would have had to wait several hours longer.
The fires parted in his wake, while the heat attempted to boil his blood. The world was a black and white painting, kissed by red hues.
Lvl Up: [Infantile Phoenix tabolism] lvl 12
VIT 2
CONST 1
His bare feet sank into the incandescent ashes, and Priam trembled. Micro dulled the pain but not the information. What reached him was grim. The soles of his feet had sizzled like a juicy piece of at. Then, the heat had turned his skin to charcoal. Finally, the charcoal had crumbled away, revealing raw flesh beneath.
To break this vicious cycle, his body was evolving. If he lost this race, Priam would end up walking on his own bones.
Lvl Up: [Infantile Phoenix tabolism] lvl 13
VIT 2
CONST 1
Perhaps thanks to Micro, teetering on the edge of evolution, Priam felt [Veteran], [High Human Adaptation],and [Infantile Phoenix tabolism] battling the consequences of thermal energy. His body was strengthening and adapting every second to survive.
Lvl Up: [Infantile Phoenix tabolism] lvl 14
VIT 2
CONST 1
His vitality approached five hundred points, and his regenerative capabilities were rapidly increasing. Each new cell was tougher than the last. On his path of ash, Priam closed his eyes, focusing on his new favorite skill.
[Infantile Phoenix tabolism - Rare] - Your body is transford. Your cells beco half material, half aethereal. The chemical reactions your body needs to function change. Slowly, you're letting go of your humanity. It is the path you have chosen in order to survive.
You can now convert part of your thermal energy into pure aether. The water in your body remains liquid even at over 100C - 1 bar pressure.
He felt his cells change. So were burnt by the heat, but their ethereal aspect resisted. When a new cell was born, this aspect fused with it, strengthening and accelerating its evolution.
Lvl Up: [Infantile Phoenix tabolism] lvl 15
VIT 2
CONST 1
Priam was still unable to grasp exactly what was unfolding within his body. His mastery of aether was in its infancy. But his Talents and Titles didn't need his help. The attributes he had painstakingly earned and the Titles he had fought for were synergizing, regenerating his body. His body was tempered by the flas.
Lvl Up: [Infantile Phoenix tabolism] lvl 16
VIT 2
CONST 1
Arriving at the gaping hole that had once held the abandoned tower, Priam was almost disappointed. Behind him, the fire still roared in its fury. Seeing his attributes skyrocket so swiftly, Priam realized he had underestimated his greatest asset: his adaptability.
He decided to grind his resistances as soon as possible. If he had to plunge into all those acid baths, beco a human lightning rod, and be chewed on by evil creatures... He would.
I should use the die as soon as possible... He had brought it into his inner world. Just in case.
Focusing back on the present, Priam leaped into the hole. It wasn't that large, barely fifteen ters in diater, just a tad bigger than the base of the abandoned tower. The glowing pit reminded him of the Gates of Hell in Turknistan - a natural gas fire that had been burning for over fifty years.
Landing fifty ters below, Priam winced. The temperature in the cavern was infernal. Expanding the size of his mist cloak, he surveyed the surroundings.
The silk had burned completely, leaving only scorching ashes. The stone that ford the cave walls was blackened from the gases released by the combustion. Despite the heat and the explosion, not a crack was visible. The composition of the rock on the continent or island he was on was unknown, but its resilience was imnse.
In the center of the room floated a sun, peacefully levitating. In the cave, no other fla remained. Priam suspected that the star had sothing to do with it. His perception noted that it had slightly grown, and Priam retrieved it, satisfied. His gamble had succeeded, and he had another card in his hand.
Beneath the vanished celestial body, only a mound of ashes remained where the silk throne had once stood.
Gripping Prosse, Priam slamd the end of its shaft to the ground, creating a sonic wave and a rush of air. His Domain selected the latter, and [Kinetic Control] boosted its kinetic energy.
The enhanced wave swept the ashes in all directions, clearing the floor. The synergy of a Supremacy and an epic skill had turned a simple action into an explosion.
This new application tipped the scales.
Lvl Up: [Kinetic Control] lvl 40
VIVA 2
DEXT 3
TA (FOCUS) 4
[Kinetic Control] has reached level 40. As an epic skill, a bonus is available. Choose one of these three options:
[Burst] - Your ridians are less affected when you expend a large amount of kinetic energy in a burst. POT -30
[Reserve] - Doubles your kinetic energy storage capacity. POT -30
[Microscopic Control] - You handle kinetic energy on a microscopic scale better. POT -30
Priam hesitated for only a mont. All the upgrades were incredible, of course, but he could work around the issues of the first two. [Erosion Resistance] would eventually address his burst problem, and he had a hunch that one of his ta-attributes was linked to his aether reserves - and thus, kinetic energy.
In comparison, the third option was sothing Priam had been eagerly awaiting.
POT -30
[Microscopic Control] - You handle kinetic energy on a microscopic scale better.
Instantly, Priam felt his knowledge crystallize. Previously, he understood the theoretical relationship between kinetic and thermal energy at the molecular level. Now, he could apply that knowledge.
Temperature was a asure of molecular agitation. When molecules were well-ordered and slow, matter was solid. By imparting thermal energy, they beca more agitated, transitioning to a liquid and then gaseous state.
Other possible states like the Bose-Einstein condensate, superfluids, absolute zero, or even plasma existed. However, Priam suspected he'd need to increase the rarity of his skill before approaching such intriguing phenona.
The influx of knowledge and possibilities made Priam smile. The next mont, he wanted to ascertain the scope of his new ability.
Creating a mist cloud at his fingertips, Priam condensed it before slowing down the molecules. He couldn't select and manipulate them individually due to the uncertainty principle - a complex quantum concept - but his Domain and [Kinetic Control] seed to bridge the gap between this impossibility and reality.
The water molecules slowed and arranged themselves. The temperature dropped. Soon, an ice flower appeared at the tip of Priam's index. Without needing Potential, he had changed the state of water!
A burst of laughter echoed in the bubbling cavern. Not even the sensation of being cooked in a giant oven could dampen his optimism. Just a few days after the apocalypse, he owned magical powers! It was his childhood dream, and Priam allowed himself to be carried away by the mont.
An observer might have wondered about his sudden joy. After all, he had already achieved impossible feats like fighting a wyvern or traveling to another world.
Well, one must understand the fundantal difference between those actions and creating this flower: he had made this flower alone.
Fighting the wyvern had been a series of more or less suicidal and profoundly destructive actions. Traveling to Elysium had only been possible thanks to the System.
Here, Priam had used hundreds of calculations per second and inhuman perception to sculpt a flower. His perfect mory had provided its structure, and his Domain had followed its construction ice crystal by ice crystal. He had created water through his affinity with mist - a concept that was part of him - and had slowed down the molecules by the sheer force of his will.
The System could vanish tomorrow, and Priam would still be able to create an ice flower. It was the fruit of his efforts.
His kinetic reserves were slowly depleting, consud in the battle against the ambient heat. Priam eventually released his skills, and the flower lted in monts. He was here for sothing else.
Turning his gaze to the ground, Priam knelt. The shockwave had swept the floor, leaving only bare rock visible. Yet, Priam's perception detected sothing else. There was a tiny rift in the air. Almost invisible, its white hue contrasted against the black background of the stone. The fissure was about five centiters above the ground.
Priam brought his index finger closer and tested the texture of the disturbance. Almost painless, he felt his skin and flesh part around the crack. It was like touching the sharpest blade in the world.
Intrigued, Priam withdrew his finger and observed it. Despite his constitution, not for a mont had his skin resisted. A space disturbance?
If so, Domain couldn't detect anything beyond this disruption. Either the space beyond possessed a different dinsional geotry, or his Supremacy was too weak.
For several minutes, Priam observed the rift, using his new senses and skills to analyze it.
Lvl Up: [Infantile Phoenix tabolism] lvl 17
VIT 2
CONST 1
According to [Aether Perception], a significant amount of aether was infiltrating it. The rift was as thin as Priam could imagine, yet it absorbed massive amounts of aether. The space behind had to be poorer in aether than Elysium, and the fluid sought to balance itself.
But there was sothing more interesting: the rift wasn't just absorbing, it was giving.
It was thanks to [Tribulation Hunter] that Priam understood. The skill recognized a concept. An unowned concept, capable of enhancing a user's affinity. A portion of the ambient aether was tinted by this source. Approaching his finger again, Priam watched it regenerate before his eyes. A concept of healing? Life? Growth?
There was sothing behind this rift. A space low in aether but rich in sothing else. Sothing that had allowed the Brood Mother to advance to Tier 1. Priam harbored no illusions: the mother of spiders was undoubtedly the weakest Tier 1 he would encounter in Elysium.
Nonetheless, the rift had allowed her to rank up. It was too important not to delve into this enigma.
Bringing his hand closer again, Priam tapped into his Potential. He needed answers. Could he pay to get them?
Micro Rift detected.
Tier 1 - Rank: Earl
Use 500 POT to open a secure passage?
The System confird that it had discovered a rift. Possibly a passage to another world. Or another universe? That was unlikely. Priam was pretty sure a rift to another Universe wouldn't be labeled as a Micro Rift.
What did he know about these rifts? Almost nothing. [Eidetic mory] reminded him of a recent conversation. Bechar had let slip that Elysium was the spearhead world. A world certainly connected to many others.
By extrapolating a bit, Priam decided it was possible for this kind of rift to be common in Elysium. Of course, not all natural rifts could allow the passage of objects or people. They very likely had to be wide enough for that.
However, it hadn't escaped Priam that the System had given him a clue. He could pay to open a secure passage. This ant a path was already there, albeit unsecured. Should he pay? If so, should he do it now or wait until he returned to his base? If one of the rivals discovers it during my absence...
Lvl Up: [Infantile Phoenix tabolism] lvl 18
VIT 2
CONST 1
While Priam was still kneeling and his body struggled against the ambient heat, his Domain registered a probe. His instinct trembled, and Priam's face darkened. According to [Phantom], he had a high likelihood of being detected.
Priam slowly rose, then turned to observe the cavern's entrance. Behind him, he wove a thin thread of mist. Then, he remained on guard and waited.
A second later, a figure appeared at the edge of the pit. It stood out against the red and white flas burning in the night, but the distance prevented Priam from identifying it.
The stranger leaped into the blaze, and Priam felt the impact on the ground. The newcor was heavy. But that wasn't the question that interested Priam. Friend or foe?
He remained silent, disinclined to give information to a potential adversary. The heat in the air blurred his vision. Like a mirage, the light propagated abnormally due to layers of air at different temperatures.
The individual began to walk in his direction, and Priam remained on the defensive. His opponent seed oblivious to the ambient heat. Moreover, they had easily detected Priam despite [Phantom] and his mist cloak. Priam wasn't betting big on his victory if a fight erupted.
At less than twenty ters from each other, Priam began to make out the stranger's features. Tall, inhuman, and muscular, his eidetic mory found an imdiate match.
Arnold!
The homunculus leaned forward. Imdiately, Priam activated his connection with his mist and disappeared, following his thread.
The rift trembled.
For a brief second, a whirlwind of color greeted Priam. Then, his eyes exploded.
Micro alerted him that one of his legs had vanished, then a second. His human heart squeezed, and his right arm stretched out, victim to spaghettification. Am I near ablack hole?
Lvl up: [Gravity Resistance] lvl 5,6
CONST 6
Lvl Up: [Star Iron Body] lvl 21
CONST 3
Lvl Up: [Cut Resistance] lvl 18
CONST 1
Lvl Up: [Perforation Resistance] lvl 11,12
CONST 2
Constitution exceeds 500 points. First milestone reached. Congratulations!
For the span of a heartbeat, Priam felt his body toughen. His constitution had just breached five hundred. The threshold fortified his form, fine-tuning his cells and molecules. It wasn't quite enough. The spatial tempest shredded through him.
Lvl up: [Gravity Resistance] lvl 7
CONST 3
Lvl Up: [Star Iron Body] lvl 22
CONST 3
Lvl Up: [Cut Resistance] lvl 19
CONST 1
Lvl Up: [Perforation Resistance] lvl 13
CONST 1
After three seconds, Priam's body was nothing but tatters. Guided by [Tenacious Spirit - Silver], his mind then tried to withstand the spatial storm. Focusing his Potential into [Spirit Resistance], Priam clung to life as if it were his last. Which it very well might be if he resurrected amidst this inferno.
Lvl Up: [Spirit resistance] lvl 2
WILL 3
His mind fractured.
Where was he? Who was he? It didn't matter. He wanted to live, and that desire echoed within him. His instinct roared, and his will raged.
Lvl Up: [Spirit resistance] lvl 3
WILL 3
Sothing resonated within him. [Tribulation Wyvern Heart] had been destroyed, but not the tribulation it had rged with. It awoke and enveloped his mind.
Lvl Up: [Spirit resistance] lvl 4
WILL 3
The surrounding chaos continued to rage, rapidly eroding the protection. Finally, it shattered. At the sa instant, the fractured mind sensed a change.
A faint ache jolted Priam awake. According to Micro, sothing just made a go at severing his pinky. Domain spotted the culprit: a crab. The wielder of the claw took a second shot, prompting Priam to crack open his eyes.
The crab's bravado dwindled, and it scuttled away. Priam swiftly got to his feet, surveying his surroundings.
He was undoubtedly on a beach. Behind him, a city lay in ruins. Ahead, an ocean stretched out.
A lone sun glead in the sky.
Priam voiced aloud the first of a thousand questions swirling in his mind.
"Where the fuck am I?"
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