Reacting to his thoughts, Priam's draconic instinct stirred. A pessimistic feeling washed over him. If he attacked with a Breath, the Shaman would survive. Then, the entire village would pursue him into the forest. Not a good idea.
Priam was confident in his ability to outmaneuver his enemies in the woods. Unfortunately, once the alarm was raised, the rest of his quest would beco more challenging. His pyromaniac side itched to unleash an ultra-powerful attack, but Priam didn't want to be controlled by his instincts. The mission took precedence.
With regret, he temporarily set aside that option. Rationally, Priam knew it was better to face the boss without its minions. If he had to eliminate the weaker warriors first, assassination was a good idea.
Surveying the village with a glance, Priam retraced his steps. The first to die would be the sentinels. Having encountered two sentry groups while advancing toward the village, Priam was reasonably sure there was a two-line security periter. Might as well start there.
Three hundred ters further on, Priam stopped at the location of the first skulc he had killed. ntally, he conjured a map of the surroundings and drew a circle centered on the village, passing through his current position. There was a good chance this circle corresponded to the first guard periter.
[First periter around Skulc village: approximately 4,000 ters (distance to the village center: 400 ters).]
Avoiding fir trees and focusing on [Phantom] and [Art of Movent], Priam began to follow the circle clockwise. Less than fifty ters later, he spotted a new sentry.
Immobile and lightly covered by a snowy powder, the skulc looked in the opposite direction of the village. Priam was on its left, concealed behind the thick branches of a fir tree. His goal was to assassinate the target without it realizing.
[Moon Mist]. Concentrating on his skill, Priam started to summon a bit of water vapor. Its aether consumption should have been significant - after all, water vapor was only a component of mist - but Priam was in Harmony with the concept of mist. This reduced his creation costs by ten.
Water vapor materialized at his fingertips. In the form of gas, pure water was invisible. The white color of clouds or mist actually ca from micro droplets of liquid water that absorbed and then scattered almost all of the sun's white light.
Only his Domain and mist concept allowed Priam to easily detect his invisible mist. Using [Mist Moon], he began to control it, creating knots and shapes. A few seconds later, Priam smiled. Despite its high cost, he could easily manipulate the water vapor.
His gaze shifted to the lookout. The first skulc had spotted his invisible mist at ten ters. Either the warrior had an exceptional Domain, or Priam had made a mistake. The second option seed more probable.
Gently, Priam braided his water vapor like a cable before making it crawl toward his opponent. Outside his Domain, only his skill and affinity with the mist concept still allowed Priam to detect his own creation.
The thread continued its path until it was less than ten ters from the sentry. Instantly, the skulc turned towards the attack, drawing its sword. Showing its teeth, it leaped. Its weapon sliced through the snow and the mist thread.
Twenty ters away, Priam squinted. The skulc had easily detected the presence of his mist - while it was outside its field of vision - but not its nature. If it had understood it was mist, it wouldn't have tried to cut it. Only a Roman emperor could be foolish enough to slash water.
The skulc raised its head, surprised. The next mont, its gaze followed the mist thread. It looked in Priam's direction without seeing him and began to walk along the invisible cable.
anwhile, Priam tried to understand how the monster could detect his attack. If it can't see the light... Aether? That was the only possible explanation.
At fifteen ters from Priam, the skulc suddenly raised its chin. Its eyes fixed on Priam's silhouette, and it opened its mouth. A fraction of a second later, thirty centiters of Prosses steel silenced it forever.
Priam hastily buried the corpse before continuing. If skulcs could see the aether controlling his mist, that was problematic. It ant his mist would be visible to most of his enemies. His dreams of assassination were crumbling.
Thoughtful, Priam stopped fifty ters further. An immaculate skulc stood forty ters ahead. No snow on it. It had arrived recently. The village organized a rotation of its sentinels. It seed obvious, but it was troubleso for Priam. As he eliminated his enemies, one of the replacents would eventually notice.
A problem for my future self.
For now, Priam wanted to create invisible mist. He had an idea.
[Aether Perception] allowed him to detect nearby aether. It was a skill Priam always kept active. The higher its level, the greater its angular resolution and the longer its range. Priam was pretty sure his skill hid a secret.
Using [Aether Manipulation], he tried to redirect a tiny part of his aether into the ridians in his eyes. Without [Human Anatomy], he would never have attempted the experint. Fortunately, the skill allowed him to highlight his ridians. Rather than manipulating aether directly, risking harm to his eyes, Priam chose to create a dam at a crossroads.
His ridians ford a real labyrinth in his body. ntally, Priam found a node, a crossroads of ridians at the level of his sinuses. There, a pair of channels went up towards his ears, another towards his eyes, and two paths descended into his nose. Priam partially blocked one of the latter, redistributing the excess into his ears, eyes, and right nostril.
The next mont, the world gained new colors as [Aether Perception] absorbed the excess aether. Bingo, Priam smiled.
He slightly increased the amount of aether redirected to his eyes, and the world gained even more clarity. The evidence was there: [Aether Perception] could be boosted. The more aether Priam allocated to his sight, the better it perceived aether.
His ticulous manipulation of his aether was rewarded.
Lvl Up: [Aether Manipulation] lvl 20
TA (PERC) 1
TA (AFFI) 1
TA (FOCUS) 1
[Aether Manipulation] has reached level 20. As a rare skill, a bonus is available. Choose one of these three options:
[Internal] - Increases your ability to manipulate aether within your body. Slightly improves your internal skills. POT -30
[External] - Increases your ability to manipulate aether outside your body. Slightly improves your external skills. POT -30
[Nature] - Reduces losses when your aether changes affinity. POT -30
Lvl Up: [Aether Perception] lvl 23
TA (PERC) 3
You have selected [Internal].
POT -30
The question didn't even arise. Priam intended to use Heavenly Dragon, his temperance thod, soon. [Internal] was the most suitable enhancent for reforging his ridians. That was not to ntion that most of his skills were resistances. This option made them more effective.
[External] would have helped him with the manipulation of [Moon Mist] and [Nature] would have given wings to [Kinetic Control], but Priam knew his priorities.
Reaching out, he summoned his mist again. A mont later, a knot of invisible mist lazily levitated above his hand. Despite the transparent nature of his mist, Priam could see the aether composing it perfectly, thanks to the boost from [Aether Perception].
He now knew how the skulc had spotted him. But how to change that? Busy with this new problem, Priam lost concentration for a fraction of a second. [Aether Manipulation] blocked the ridians leading to his nose, increasing the volu of aether sent into the tiny ridians covering his eyes. So burst, and the world lost its colors.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Only Micro prevented Priam from screaming.
His eye sockets boiled as a terrifying power stirred in its sleep. The pain was so intense that Priam hesitated to rip out his eyeballs before regenerating them. Reason stopped him. A battle was approaching, and he would need all his abilities. Blind, Priam focused on his Domain to ward off an attack.
The pain began to diminish as [Healing ridians] and his vitality erased the damage. Gradually, his vision returned as his ridians reconnected.
It took almost three minutes before Priam stood up again. At so point, the pain had made him fall to his knees. Fortunately, the sound of the snow wasn't loud enough to alert the skulc lookout.
Taking stock of the situation, Priam realized he had almost activated Hecate New Moon manually. The System had hidden sothing in his eyes. Apparently, his eye ridians were already under pressure due to the mutation and couldn't support much more aether. Lets hope Heavenly Dragon will change that...
His temperance thod had to optimize his ridians and strengthen them. If that was the case, could it allow him to use his mythical mutation?
Such questions could wait.
Still trembling, he refocused on his mist. Slowly, he guided a bit of aether into his eyes again to boost his perception. His invisible mist appeared as a golden cloud in his aether sight. Against the white background of the snowy carpet, it was noticeable.
He had to find a way to fix this.
Priam then connected to [Moon Mist]. Thanks to the Tier 1 of his rit Tree - The Mist hides you. You are one of its own, Mistwalker - the mist was supposed to be able to hide him. From there, one could think that mist was a stealthy concept. At least, that was Priam's feeling.
An idea born partly from his closeness to the mist.
[Mist - Concept] - You have touched on a minor Concept.
Affinity - Your connection now allows you to capture certain truths about Mist.
Harmony - The source of aether is infinite. Allows you to use Aether Mist while expending more energy. Cost [Moon Mist] x10.
His affinity with the mist allowed him to better understand it. If his instinct told him it was possible, then it was. Always linked to his skill, Priam took the ti to reflect on his mist. Knowledge was the key.
This phenonon was a cluster of fine droplets, ice crystals, and water vapor that sotis stuck around microscopic particles. A natural aerosol of water droplets and more. Depending on visibility and language, it could be called mist or fog.
However, the mist was more than a physical phenonon. Its ability to conceal events, disappearances, or monsters was legendary, and used in many tales. The Mist Concept took that into account.
What particularly interested Priam was the beginning and end of the phenonon. Its appearance, like its disappearance, was gradual. Mist arrived and departed unnoticed. It was in its nature.
Clutching onto this idea, Priam connected to his concept. His soul touched the representation the universe had of mist and exchanged with it. He shared his thoughts, and the Concept shared back. Suddenly, sothing in his mind clicked into place. Priam smiled, receiving a sort of epiphany.
Raising his hand, he commanded [Moon Mist] to create a nascent mist. It was still just a possibility, as present as absent. The mist would be and was simultaneously.
According to [Aether Perception], there was nothing above his hand. According to [Moon Mist] and Domain, there was sothing.
Lvl Up: [Moon Mist] lvl 50,51,52
PERC 12
CHAR 6
TA (AFFI) 9
Priam smiled. He could feel their connection and manipulate it, but yet, it didn't exist yet. However, he had to act quickly. This state, reminiscent of Schrdinger's cat thought experint, was unstable. The mist would rise, and every second it was prevented, Priam felt tension building up.
Without wasting a mont, he sent his mist towards the skulc. Twenty ters. Fifteen ters. Ten ters.
Priam held his breath.
Five ters. The skulc continued to look straight ahead.
The mist stopped two ters behind the sentry. It was unlikely that it had unlocked Domain, but Priam didn't want to take any risks.
Summoning Prosse, he rode the mist.
[Unrelenting Thrust].
Lvl Up: [Phantom] lvl 3
AGI 3
The spear penetrated the back of the skulc's skull, instantly ending its life. Without wasting ti, Priam buried the corpse under a layer of snow and set off again.
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / N 10 / TA 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 399
Constitution 662
Agility 422 ( 14)
Vitality 538
Perception 614 ( 14)
NTAL:
Vivacity 338
Dexterity 434
mory 139
Willpower 657
Charisma 437 ( 10)
TA:
ta-affinity 349 ( 13)
ta-focus 257 ( 2)
ta-endurance 185
ta-perception 128 ( 9)
ta-chance 216
ta-authority 15
Potential: 587 (-7)
Tier 0
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRID.
[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Ti: 175 days 21 hours 33 minutes 17 seconds.
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