A Novel Concept - A death a day, MC will live anyway! Chapter 228: No Pain, No Gain

Lvl Up: [Revelation Resilience] lvl 29, 30

M 6

TA (Affinity) 6

TA (Authority) 6

Lvl Up: [Sun Steel Body] lvl 8

CONST 6

TA (Endurance) 3

Lvl Up : [Gravity Resistance] lvl 23, 24

CONST 6

Lvl Up: [Inhuman Workout] lvl 10, 11, 12, 13

STR 12

"Finish your push-ups!"

The command—or was it an order?—threw Priam off balance, causing him to collapse. The hypergravity slamd him brutally to the ground, and in shock, he released his aether. A powerful impact struck his back, and he groaned in pain. Under the imnse acceleration of artificial gravity, the wooden marble he had just managed to lift off the ground fell back.

With a shoulder jerk, he pushed away the wooden ball, which the hypergravity made as heavy as osmium, and rose while massaging his sore shoulder blade.

"Are you trying to sabotage ?" he asked, annoyed.

"You're doing a good job of that yourself," the phoenix teased. "How do you expect to beat my record if you don't use your only advantage? Use your draconic vivacity."

"That's what I was doing! Part of my focus was on push-ups, and a parallel thought finally managed to lift that marble," Priam grumbled. "Until you distracted ."

"You had stopped your push-ups."

"I'm not allowed a break?"

"Mid-set?" countered the phoenix.

Priam sighed as he weighed the wooden marble. "My aether proficiency takes precedence over my physical training." It was the final step before beginning to temper his body, and that temperance was the only way to beco powerful enough to survive his upcoming Tribulations. "I managed to make this marble float by briefly gathering all my focus, and that's what matters, right?"

"You managed to propel it into the air and slow its fall," corrected the phoenix. "That's not the sa thing. I yelled at you because you weren't using your draconic vivacity. Otherwise, you could have responded to without dropping the marble."

"For a human, it's bizarre to have two thoughts simultaneously," Priam grimaced. "It's going to take so ti to get used to it."

"Priam, you're no longer just a human."

"I know, I—"

The campfire's flas doubled in volu as the phoenix's anger flared. "No, listen to . You have died dozens of tis, and you conjure fire and mist with a re thought. If you were to make love to a human female without care, you would kill her, and even if you were careful, a kick from the child during gestation would do the job. Maybe you regret it, but you're no longer just a simple human. You can accept it and move forward, or you can lie there and wait for death."

Priam opened his mouth, then closed it. Several seconds passed before he responded.

"My body has changed, my powers too, but not my dreams or my ego," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't want to leave all my humanity behind, but I guess I can give up so unnecessary habits."

If he had truly used his evolved attribute well, only one of his parallel thoughts would have been disrupted by the phoenix. It was frustrating to fail, but it was the kind of lesson that stuck.

"In the future, I'll keep two thoughts at all tis," he promised.

"That's your only advantage over my original at the sa age: you have to use it and abuse it."

Priam nodded. He had a day and a half left to beat the phoenix's record.

Lvl Up: [Revelation Resilience] lvl 31

M 3

TA (Affinity) 3

TA (Authority) 3

Lvl Up: [Sun Steel Body] lvl 9

CONST 6

TA (Endurance) 3

POT -100

[Test 47 :

Domain Potential double marble]

Sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, Priam projected his aether into his Domain and condensed it around two marbles. He tapped lightly into his Potential and let the Concepts guide his hand, teaching him how to optimally manipulate his aether.

POT -5

His draconic vivacity generated two parallel thoughts, each focusing on one sphere. By comparing his performances, he could consider improvent strategies.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The two marbles rose as quickly as each other, the two compartntalized thoughts being identical. Until an external event disturbed them.

A piece of charcoal struck one of the marbles, which fell to the ground. Priam opened one eye, looked at the phoenix, and smiled. The thought that was taking care of the intact ball hadn't lost any of its attention.

A second piece of charcoal flew toward the second marble. Priam deflected it with a flick of his finger, and the orb continued to float peacefully.

"My two streams of thought are distinct, but they communicate regularly," Priam smiled.

"A dragon would do better," said the phoenix.

Priam waited for advice, comnts, or remarks, but none ca. At last, he had t so of the phoenix's expectations.