Lvl Up: [Revelation Resilience] lvl 42
M 3
TA (Affinity) 3
TA (Authority) 3
Lvl Up: [Spear Throw] lvl 36, 37
DEXT 6
Lvl Up: [Physics - Forces] lvl 6
VIVA 3
The length of a massless projectile didn’t affect its accuracy or aerodynamics; that was one of Priam’s conclusions. Another was that creating spears solely from the Pyro Concept was foolish. Gas lacked a fixed form, making the spear's structure dependent on his willpower. It was a waste of resources when a solid could naturally retain its rigidity.
This idea had prompted Priam to create hybrid ice-fire spears. The result was both deadly and magnificent.
His previous research had culminated in the creation of four forms—teardrop, shell, bullet, and kinetic energy penetrator—that he infused with his Fire Concept. During the initial tests, the flas lted the ice, causing mid-flight explosions.
Despite these failures, Priam persisted, inspired by a comnt from the phoenix. According to it, the Symphony bonus of one Concept could be utilized by another. The Symphony of the Mist Concept was particularly intriguing:
Symphony - Your Mist is both present and absent. It’s up to you to decide who can feel it.
As the Fire Champion, Priam tried to ta his flas, not to make them docile but to make them absent. He struggled for several minutes before realizing that mist and fire reacted differently.
Mist was always more or less present as long as there was gas. On humid mornings, the horizon sotis disappeared into a white blur, without anyone declaring that a haze lingered. Evasive, the mist was as poetic as it was physical.
Flas, however, were different. When a fla was born, it fought fiercely to burn the world before it extinguished. Yet, Priam knew a fire could be rekindled; all it took was a breath. This truth was a breakthrough.
The solution to using the Symphony with his Fire Concept was not to make the flas elusive but to put them to sleep.
Priam created a mist spear, condensed it into liquid, and then solidified it into ice. He then used the spark in his soul space to infuse dormant fire into the projectile. The flas poured into the weapon, giving it a luminescent quality. “Awaken upon impact,” Priam whispered to his Concept.
Firing the projectile at an unlucky enemy, Priam watched the hybrid spear streak across the battlefield, striking a Tier 2 necro. The projectile pierced the thick hide of the hippopotamus-like creature before shattering inside its body. In the next instant, the flas awakened, and an explosion tore the beast apart from within.
“Nice,” Priam grinned.
He briefly regretted not being able to use a hybrid ice-Pyro spear, but since Pyro hadn’t yet reached Symphony, the Concept refused to cooperate.
Over the next few hours, he continued refining his projectiles to maximize their penetration coefficient and reduce air friction losses. He eventually hit a wall where further improvents beca negligible. The next step was to enhance his mastery of the Concepts or to engrave runes on the projectiles.
Progress was never-ending, and it was a good thing.
Lvl Up: [Spear Throw] lvl 38, 39
DEXT 6
Lvl Up: [Revelation Resilience] lvl 43, 44, 45
M 9
TA (Affinity) 9
TA (Authority) 9
Despite the unyielding presence of the Necromoon in the sky, ti flew by. New craters appeared as tens of thousands of undead burned. Gradually, a cloud of smoke created a black roof over the battlefield. Thunder rumbled, drowning out the screams of the necro soldiers. The battle raged on, and the flood of creatures seed endless.
Seeing his fingers tremble, Priam realized his exhaustion. How long has it been since the start of the Wave?
[11 hours 14 minutes 12 seconds.]
A grimace twisted his lips as Priam looked down. Esmée was writing in her grimoire without uttering a word. Her red eyes and ash-covered hair were the only signs of her fatigue.
In front of her, Jasmine staggered as she gutted so corrupted that weren’t drawn to Priam. After an hour of wrestling and two hours of guerrilla warfare, she had defeated the Tier 2 Earl, earning the title of Duke. Her opponent had been less powerful than the necro legionnaire, but Priam was proud of her.
Now, she no longer had the strength to decapitate a Tier 1.
Realizing he was the last one capable of finishing the Wave, Priam used his attributes boosted by Conquest and transford into a living gatling gun. Every second, he summoned and fired dozens of explosive ice spears, accelerating so with [Kinetic Control].
He eventually slowed down as a headache split his skull. He had overtaxed his willpower, and using his aether to compensate wasn’t enough anymore.
Beneath him, the waves of corrupted began to wane. Low on resources, Priam flew up to the cloud hovering over the battlefield and took control of it with Mist Concept. He injected his entire Conquest Aura into it and guided it to the ground. The last thousands of undead were silently dissolved.
Event: Necromoon
Third wave:
Victory!
You defended your ho against a horde of corrupted!
Reward:
300 Sun points
24 hours of respite
Leaning against the rock, Priam sighed in contentnt. Giving in to the girls' demands, he had dug two large, shallow holes and filled them with forty-degree Celsius water. Seated on a polished stone bench, he was subrged up to his neck, gazing at the false night sky.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Jasmine had created a massive do of shadow to mask the cursed light of the Necromoon, and Esmée had summoned thousands of tiny light runes to replace the stars. The firmant was as artificial as it was fantastic.
A thick mist separated him from the second bath behind him, preserving the girls’ privacy. They had been soaking for thirty minutes, and so far, silence reigned as they all enjoyed the calm and serene atmosphere.
Yet Priam wasn’t idle. Half his attention was reorganizing his ridians to prepare his temperance, while the other half created small water currents. The experience was pleasant—he enjoyed the sensation of warm fluid caressing his legs—and instructive as he felt his mastery of mist and [Kinetic Control] increasing.
Not every training has to be torture, he thought with a smile.
“Have you decided where to place the rift?” Jasmine’s clear, strong voice woke Priam from his thoughts.
He nearly turned around before rembering the girls were bathing naked, and he could see through his own mist.
“In Log-a-rhythm,” he replied. “When I feel the aether seeping from Valaryth, I think of a tree growing tall to withstand the storm. Log-a-rhythm needs a Concept to endure its High Tribulation so it fits. At the sa ti, it will allow to offer the hoplites training in Valaryth and thus defend the other side of the rift.”
If a Wave ca to destroy the rift on Valaryth’s side while Priam was occupied... It was a stupid way to lose access to an entire world. All this without even ntioning a potential invasion into Concepts Archipelago.
“A sha for your inner world,” Jasmine noted.
“It should not be neglected.” Priam recognized Esmée’s lodious voice. The princess must have trained hard to achieve such a pleasant voice. “Mid-Tiers are based on cultivating an inner world. If you could start at Tier 0, you would gain ti and a solid foundation.”
“By mid-Tiers, you an..?”
“Tiers 4, 5, and 6. I don’t know the details, but low Tiers are about creating your own Concept, and mid-Tiers are about creating your own world.”
“Béchar—the supervisor of humanity’s Colosseum—told all Tier 5s have an internal world,” Priam recalled before sighing. “I know Concepts Archipelago is currently underutilized, but I lack the ti to use it properly.”
“You could use Bastard’s fulcrum for the upgrade,” Jasmine pointed out. “You don’t really need to exchange it for an aether puzzle.”
Priam still rembered the desire Concepts Archipelago had for Sumstreh’s fulcrum shard. He had to carry it by hand, fearing his inner world would consu it.
“An aether puzzle is never useless,” Esmée interjected. “Direct aether manipulation grants you a flexibility that skills will never achieve. It’s a talent too powerful not to cultivate constantly.”
Having unlocked [Ideal Aether Perception] and [High Aether Manipulation], Priam couldn’t agree more with the princess.
“We’ll loot other shards from Bastard’s body,” Priam vowed. “I was thinking of trading this one for sothing useful at the Auctions.”
“What kind of thing?”
“I have a few ideas,” Priam admitted. “However, suggestions are welco.”
“If you didn’t already have a thod of temperance, I would have said to buy one,” Esmée replied. “That’s what I plan to do.”
“I’m looking for an item, a core, or a bloodline that contains one of the evolutions of the Shadow Concept,” Jasmine said. “My Shadow Heart is a first step, and one of the rewards from the Skull Temple interests too, but I want several points of comparison to create sothing unique.”
Both of them have a plan to beco more powerful.
“If you need Sun points, let know,” he told Jasmine.
“...Thanks.” Priam smiled, hearing the note of joy in Jasmine’s voice. His offer was purely pragmatic—the assassin was a part of his strength—but if it made her happy, all the better.
“You are not offering ?” Esmée asked playfully.
“Do you want to be my subordinate?”
“In your dreams,” Esmée laughed. “Besides, I can earn my points on my own.”
The provocation was evident, and Jasmine groaned.
“Are you implying I need Priam’s charity? I earned nearly seven hundred thousand Sun points with my kills.”
“One million three hundred twelve thousand Sun points.” Esmée’s voice was full of pride.
Priam froze at the number. He had seen thousands of undead perish in various accidents during the Wave, but he hadn’t realized the extent of Esmée’s impact on the battle.
“You tripped up a lot of monsters over those fourteen hours,” taunted Jasmine.
“Without , the cenote would be filled with corpses, and the rift would be in the hands of the Necromoon forces,” Esmée retorted.
“Without , bosses would have road the battlefield, and I don’t see how you could have dealt with the centipede.”
“You are simply upset because I won.”
“Won what? You were writing in your diary while I was saving your ass.”
Priam smiled, hearing the rivalry in the voices of the two Champions. He found them cute, but he wasn't suicidal enough to tell them so. [He Who Eludes Death] didn't cover that kind of mistake.
“By the way, how many points did you get?” Esmée asked the young man.
“One million two hundred ninety-four thousand. Less than you, but I consider my main contribution to be these two hot springs,” Priam joked.
“...You’re the MVP,” Jasmine sighed contentedly.
“I agree,” Esmée acknowledged.
Status:
PHYSICAL:
Strength 707
Constitution 1 105
Agility 614
Vitality 1 040
Perception 760
NTAL:
Vivacity (D) 570 ( 4)
Dexterity 652 ( 12)
mory 824 ( 21)
Willpower 1 134
Charisma 661
TA:
ta-affinity 780 ( 15)
ta-focus 403
ta-endurance 608
ta-perception 339
ta-chance 274
ta-authority 207 ( 12)
Potential: 13 517 ( 22)
Tier 0
Sun points: 1 979 223 ( 1 081 412)
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRID
[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Ti: 156 days 18 hours 33 minutes 59 seconds.
Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attributes > 900 / 1 attribute > 1 200
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