Oasis, a few minutes earlier.
“Yesterday was Priam’s birthday,” Jasmine announced.
“WHAT?!”
“MOOOOOO!”
The simultaneous exclamations of Sphinx and Moonie echoed in reply. While the first was clearly shocked, the second was simply mimicking the reaction, likely without understanding the concept of a birthday.
“I don’t have much ti,” Jasmine continued. “We’re leaving for Proxima in a few minutes. I’d like your help to plan a party for when we get back.”
“Of course!”
“Mooo?”
“It’s what we do for birthdays,” Sphinx explained. “We celebrate with food, drinks, gas, and feasts!”
“Mooo!” the little wyrm exclaid, chasing after her own tail to express her excitent. Like Sphinx and her master, she was very invested in matters of the stomach.
“Out of four items, two involve eating,” Jasmine pointed out.
“It’s the most important part.”
“Wise words,” the young woman acknowledged. “But you’re forgetting sothing…”
Sphinx tilted her head in thought before her eyes lit up. “Oh, right! Do you have it?”
“Not yet…”
“Mooo!”
The little wyrm headbutted Sphinx lightly, expressing her frustration at being left out of the loop.
With an air of mystical authority befitting her species, Sphinx spoke. “You hide it from people even though you know soday you’ll give it away forever. You won’t be sad when it's gone, even though you went out of your way to make it perfect... A gift!” ʀάℕọＢÈṦ
Jasmine nodded. “Unfortunately, I don’t have ti to handle this myself, and Rose and Alain are busy with their Tribulations. Of everyone left, Blueberry is the only one close enough to Priam to contribute, but he’s already handling the food. That leaves only you two for this mission... if you accept.”
“We accept!” Sphinx cried, her eyes shining.
“Mooo!”
A few seconds later, Jasmine reentered Priam’s shadow, leaving Moonie and Sphinx alone.
“We need an amazing gift,” Sphinx decided, and Moonie squealed her agreent. “But what’s the best gift?” The child frowned, recognizing a riddle to which she didn’t yet have an answer.
The two children brainstord for hours—or rather, Sphinx thought aloud while Moonie chirped and chid in enthusiastically. The session ended when Louis approached, holding two fish.
“Freshly caught,” he grinned, tossing his two catches. The wyrm and the sphinx pounced, devouring scales, bones, and all in a flurry of gluttony. The aquatic prey lacked the nutrients of corrupted beasts but tasted far better—especially once gutted.
“You two scheming sothing? It’s been two hours since you’ve caused any trouble,” Louis teased, his tone light.
“What’s that supposed to an, old man?” Sphinx narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, don’t give that look. I know that behind that cute exterior lies a little feline mischief. I’ve had cats, you know?” Seeing Sphinx bristle at the comparison, he quickly changed the subject. “So, what are you up to?”
“Moooooooooooooooooo.”
“...”
“We’re looking for a gift for Priam’s birthday,” Sphinx translated. “But we can’t think of anything good... Do you think he likes fish?”
“rmaids, maybe—I’ve seen the way he looks at that princess,” Louis chuckled.
“Oh! Can you catch those?”
“I’m a bit too old,” laughed Louis. “How about drawing him sothing? That’s what kids usually do.”
Sphinx flexed her claws, and Moonie flicked her tail. Art was not their forte.
“Yeah, that complicates things,” Louis admitted. “Besides, most drawings are ugly. Parents say it’s pretty to be nice, but if an adult made the sa thing, we’d lock them up in an asylum.” He scratched his beard thoughtfully. “You could always put on a performance.”
“...I think I’d prefer sothing material,” Sphinx mused. “What do people usually give n?”
Louis shrugged. “Shirts or pants? But given Priam’s exhibitionist tendencies, we can scratch that. Perfus or watches might work, but without a mall nearby, good luck. Actually, let’s generalize that.” The old man gestured to the forest around them. “Here, aside from dragon hearts, I’m not sure you’ll find the perfect gift.”
Sphinx’s eyes lit up with a mix of mischief and excitent. “Moonie, follow !”
“Mooo?”
“To find a gift, no ti like the present! With your bloodline and my karmic powers, we’ll pull this off!”
As the two bounded off, Louis felt a sinking feeling in his gut. Still, he made no move to stop them. When kids were set on getting into trouble, they would find a way eventually.
In a hangar five stories high, Ishaka stood waiting. Around him, his guards patrolled with precision, securing the periter for the arrival of the other two Generals. A hundred ters beneath the surface and at the heart of the Hoplite Empire’s military power, their vigilance might seem excessive. Anyone who thought so was a fool: when facing the Var Elegis, no defensive asure was too drastic.
As the tallic clang of exoskeleton boots echoed in the building, reality itself tore apart. A circular portal appeared, flooding the hangar with crimson light. Ishaka shivered as he felt an alien power attempt to influence his mind. It vanished quickly, leaving in its place one of his compatriots. With hair as black as midnight and scales as white as sea foam, Hyshana Akashi erged from the portal, returning from her mission.
“General Hyshana, welco!” the Hoplites roared in unison.
Hyshana stepped into the hangar, pausing briefly. Ishaka noticed her gaze montarily lost in the void—a telltale sign of soone reading a notification. The pause lasted only a heartbeat before she resud her stride. Her gaze swept the room, landing on Ishaka for a fleeting mont before flicking away without acknowledgnt. The Hoplite within him sighed. The one he loved disdained him—or rather, she despised his ideals.
The warrior within Ishaka suppressed all emotions to focus on the unfolding events.
Behind Hyshana, chs piloted by an elite unit followed. One by one, they passed through the portal, dragging various containers. At the very least, the scientific mission was a success. When the last ch cleared the threshold, Ishaka’s attention sharpened.
A giant stepped through. Towering a head above the average Hoplite, he moved with preternatural grace. His scales glinted gray, his piercing eyes radiated authority, and his presence exuded an air of sovereignty. The hero had returned.
“Champion Kazuki, welco!” the Hoplites thundered, slamming their fists against their chests in a deafening salute.
Ishaka observed his warriors stand a little straighter than before. Regardless of their personal loyalties, the recent shared dream had shifted their opinion. Despite his absence, Kazuki was now regarded as a living legend, and even Ishaka felt a surge of pride as he watched the warrior before him. The two generals rarely agreed, but Ishaka still respected the Champion’s talents. It took much to defeat the clone of their founder.
“Glad to be back,” Kazuki declared. Stepping aside, he allowed the portal to shimr one last ti.
He stepped through.
Ishaka’s pupils contracted as primal fear clawed at him. The general had fought nurous wars to rise to his rank, and now he felt as if he stood at the center of a battlefield. Yet neither his guards, the chs, the automated turrets, nor even the nuke hidden in his exoskeleton provided him any comfort.
The portal closed, and Ishaka’s experience and instincts whispered that he was facing an apex predator. The man before him—the Homo Elysian, he corrected—was far more than Tier 0. This was a machine of destruction that would obliterate any opposition.
His ntal attributes allowed Ishaka to remain upright until he t the newcor’s gaze. Then, for the first ti since the Tutorial, despair engulfed him.
New Quest: Proxima - Defense
A Champion of a rival civilization has invaded your territory.
Eliminate him.
Reward: Teleportation of one million Hoplites to Proxima.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringent.
Reward (last hit): Acquisition of the target’s racial Talent(s).
Difficulty: Mythic
Despite Micro’s control over his body, Ishaka’s eyes widened as he read the quest. The harsh breathing of so of his elite guards confird that he wasn’t the only one seeing it. A second later, a hundred and fifty-nine urgent ssages from various high-ranking officers flooded his inbox, all demanding orders.
His answer was short.
“To all units: Abort quest.”
Just like that, the general avoided a cataclysm for his race.
You have just left Elysium.
Location: Proxima - Sector Hope
A battlefield for nine newly integrated civilizations.
You cannot leave Elysium indefinitely.
Calculation of your conditional freedom ti:
You have changed sectors.
No secure passage opened between this planet and Elysium.
No ongoing event.
No authority on this planet.
Conditional freedom ti granted: 1 day.
One day. It wasn’t much, but it should suffice for his Tribulations… and the rest. Based on Hyshana’s previous description, Proxima was a unique planet, a war world hosting all of the rivals’ races. Priam frowned, noticing only nine civilizations listed out of his ten rivals. A discrepancy? If the System hasn’t lost track of one, then…
The silence greeting his arrival pulled him from his thoughts. Thanks to his high vivacity, only monts had passed, and Priam chose to observe his surroundings.
He stood in a massive hangar capable of accommodating four or five comrcial planes. The structure was entirely tallic, a feat considering this world had been a pristine wilderness two months ago. So Hoplites had managed to bring their chs into the Tutorial, kickstarting their industry, but it was evident Kazuki’s civilization was one or two centuries more advanced than his own.
That was one of the reasons for his presence here. He didn’t want the Hoplites and humanity to beco enemies.
Priam shifted his focus to the soldiers, whose intense scrutiny was almost unsettling. He felt like a steak in a vegetarian buffet—the center of attention, but not in a way he appreciated. Fixating on the uncovered faces among them, Priam saw a mix of emotions in their eyes. Fear, yes… but also greed.
“Kazu?”
“Mmh?”
“Your warriors are staring at pretty intensely. Makes glad I rembered to put on boxers today.”
His friend disguised a laugh with a grunt.
After Kazuki dispelled the tense atmosphere, Hyshana, Priam, and he were escorted out of the hangar. They walked through a maze of corridors, first tallic, then gradually covered in stone. Unlike the slabs of a dieval castle, these were painted.
“Each color represents a hoplite value,” Hyshana explained, noticing Priam observing the architecture. “Black for honor, red for courage, blue for intelligence… These colors also correspond to the different hoplite paths: justice, war, research, and so on.”
“Makes it easier to find your way around,” Priam remarked, glancing at the volcanic stone under his feet. “What does black stand for?”
“Honor. A value linked to Justice, the domain of our host.”
Priam's gaze fell on the broad back of Ishaka. He was the political rival of Kazuki and Hyshana, the third head of the hoplite triumvirate. Each of the three generals was responsible for a significant sector of society, as well as minor ministries. For example, in addition to research, Hyshana oversaw education and finance. Only a hoplite could consider money a minor concern.
Loyal to his friends, Priam didn’t like the general in charge of the forces on Proxima, but neither did he distrust him. According to Kazuki, Ishaka was a political adversary who worked for the good of his people. Despite their differing opinions, the three hoplites respected one another.
During their brief introduction, the general had been cordial, though distant. He hadn’t even batted an eye at Prosse, whereas Priam was certain a human leader would have tried to confiscate the weapon. It was a different mindset, but also proved Ishaka wasn’t a fool.
The procession eventually stopped before a large door that opened in front of them. Priam was the last to enter, stepping into a large office. Its most striking feature was an enormous window dominating the far wall. The young man stepped closer to take in the view.
The first thing he noticed was the stars in the sky. The constellations were different from those visible from Elysium or the Moon. It took this realization for Priam to fully grasp that he was in another world. I wonder if one of those stars is our new sun.
The question would remain unanswered for now, and he lowered his gaze. A city stretched out before him. It wasn’t a sprawling galopolis, but its lights, the bustle in the streets despite the late hour, and the sheer number of buildings marked it as a thriving tropolis.
“How many inhabitants?” Kazuki asked as he joined him. The hoplite appeared calm, but Priam’s superhuman senses detected a tremor in his voice. After being separated from his people for so long, the reunion stirred deep emotions in the Champion.
“Is it wise to discuss this in front of our guest?” Ishaka interjected, gesturing toward Priam.
The young man shrugged. “I can leave if you want. Just point in humanity’s direction, and I’ll be on my way.”
Hyshana nodded, and Ishaka pressed a button. “We’re preparing the data.”
“How many?” Kazuki repeated, his eyes still fixed on the city.
“One million eight hundred thousand,” Ishaka finally replied.
“When I left, projections estimated two million,” Hyshana pointed out.
“The projections didn’t account for our belligerent neighbors. Lately, the Var Elegis have turned all their armies against us.”
Priam wasn’t the only one to clench his fists at the ntion of Arnold’s civilization. The hegemonic ambitions of the Champion and its race ran deep.
“I thought the Duatians were holding half their forces in check?” Hyshana frowned. Priam recognized the civilization of Seth and Osiris.
“That’s no longer the case. They’re all dead.”
Just like their Champion, the Var Elegis had begun annihilating the competition.
Status:
PHYSICAL:
Strength 893
Constitution 1 422
Agility 1 173
Vitality 1 322
Perception 858
NTAL:
Vivacity (D) 599
Dexterity 752
mory 891
Willpower 1 012
Charisma 653
TA:
ta-affinity 999
ta-focus 559
ta-endurance 915
ta-perception 539
ta-chance 594
ta-authority 429
Potential: 27 621
Tier 0
Sun points: 1 143 444
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: OFF. Reloaded in 15 hours 33 minutes 30 seconds.
Concepts:
Breath (T0): 100% / HarmonyFire (T0): 100% / UnityPyro (T1): 100% / Half-step UnityMist (T1): 100% / Symphony
Bloodlines:
Phoenix: 3%Dragon: 1%
Rewards standing:
Fusion Token - Skill (Epic) Evolution Token - Skill (Legendary)Affinity Token - Tier 1 (30%)Alien Concept fragnt (7th Terror)Talent Token - Upgrade (Seraph)Revelation Token - Ideal Prerequisites (Epic)Colosseum VIP TokenReborn Token - Reset biological lifespan (Legendary) Minor skill EpiphanyHigh Tribulation essence (Soul Tailored - Sumstreh’s half core)Seed of PotentialTrophy Compass
[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Ti: 132 days 16 hours 2 minutes 43 seconds.
Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 900 / 3 attributes > 1 200 / 1 attribute > 1 500
Next arc already complete on Patreon if you want to find out what happens next!
/ANovelConcept
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