Colonel Wang Lin’s office was larger than the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. On either side of a crimson carpet that stretched far in the distance, statues stood frozen in lifelike poses.
Priam noticed that most of them wore expressions of terror.
A hundred ters ahead, he finally reached the mahogany—or so similarly luxurious alien wood—desk of the Sector leader of the rcenaries.
If one ignored the flaming wings, tallic skin, towering physique, eyes with golden rings dancing within, and the fluorescent channels tracing his skin, the man looked almost normal. I wonder how much of that is natural and how much was shaped by his choices...
“Priam Azura,” the colonel greeted, looking up from a sheet of ice. “It says here you’re curious.”
Priam eyed the solid water tablet, resisting the temptation to analyze it with [Identification].
Wang Lin smirked. “Oly was right, then.” He held out the object, which revealed nothing more than a series of carvings trapped in the ice. “This is how my mother’s people store information. Everything we know about you is here.”
Priam opened his mouth for a remark but thought better of it. He was standing before a Tier 5, a being akin to a minor god. According to the stories whispered around campfires, Wang Lin was possibly the most powerful Tier 5 in Sector Hope; a monster so formidable even phoenixes had abandoned their assassination attempts.
That was the kind of status Priam wanted.
“Respectful of power but neither servile nor fearful,” Wang Lin observed, placing the ice tablet back on his desk. “Two days to unlock the two supre skills, a Legendary rating in a Perilous Tutorial without any grooming from your civilization, six days to awaken a Concept, and an ease with aether that exceeds anything your magical instructor has ever seen. I’m almost tempted to ask why the System didn’t drop you directly at the Mage Citadel. Any theories?”
Priam had never heard of the Citadel, but he had an idea. “Because not only do I want to chase the mysteries of aether, I also wish to explore this world.”
Wang Lin smiled. “Then you’re in the right place. I hope one day you’ll join us.”
Priam raised an eyebrow at the use of the future tense. “You’re sending away?”
He had just been elected captain of the human branch of the rcenaries. While the other candidates were still being evaluated, Priam had assud his acceptance into the Guild was set.
The colonel grimaced. “I’m not dismissing you, but the rcenaries’ oath must be sworn with full awareness, and... you’re not in that state right now.”
Lvl Up: [Nightmare Resistance] lvl 4
WILL 1
M 1
CHAR 1
Priam’s eyes shifted to a misty aspect as his posture grew more assured.
“You know.”
“The Dream evolution of your ta Affinity was a giveaway.”
Priam nearly laughed aloud, realizing the leader had known everything from day one. His entire rcenary experience had been a test. But for what purpose?
“If you could elaborate, I’d be grateful,” Priam said, steadying himself as the world trembled faintly. The Tribulations were displeased with his intrusion.
“I see you haven’t lost your curiosity. A question for a question?”
“A response for a response.”
“Good. According to the records I’ve accessed, the Dream specialization under ta Affinity has only been observed during Nightmare Tribulations,” Wang Lin revealed. “Our researchers theorize this evolution strengthens the connection between your subconscious and aether, qualitatively enhancing your innate gift for this primordial energy.”
The answer confird one of Priam’s theories. While not a universal talent like Esmée, he had an extraordinary gift for aether manipulation. Yet this gift alone wasn’t enough to astonish the rcenaries’ instructor—a specter who had trained the crè de la crè of countless civilizations over centuries. If the reward from his Perilous Tutorial allowed him to simulate a once-in-a-million-years aptitude for magic... My ntor was right—Tribulations are an opportunity for the audacious.
“Using the subconscious to learn,” Priam mused, forcing himself to ignore the reality flowing around him like wet paint. A dream wasn’t ant to be traversed by an awakened mind. “It reminds of the true dragons’ ability to train their Concepts while dreaming.”
“Sa basic idea, but dragons can sleep and stay awake simultaneously thanks to their multiple trains of thought. Consequently, they are always making the most of this Talent. Fucking supre bloodlines,” Wang Lin growled. Even for a half-phoenix, half-titan like him, the synergy of draconic traits felt unfair. “I see that glint in your eye, but let disappoint you: the real self can’t coexist with the dream self. This evolution will vanish when you wake.”
Priam almost grinned thinking about all the elents within his body that weren’t supposed to coexist. [Chira] was designed to change that, and the Talent was nearing its next evolution. If that wasn’t enough, there was always the Seraphic Token. Plus, his draconic bloodline had granted Priam two parallel thoughts. If he could put one to sleep while keeping the other awake, then maybe...
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“I don’t think it’s a lost cause.”
The colonel shrugged. “You think you can steal sothing from a Tribulation before the rewards? Good luck, they’re as greedy as dragons.”
Priam smirked. “Good thing I can be very persuasive.”
Wang Lin leaned forward, intrigued. “If you pull it off, the Guild would pay handsoly for the thod.” Seeing Priam stay silent, the colonel sighed. “My turn: who are you? You don’t seem to fear , yet I can’t sense your Story. You’re no mid-Tier.”
“I’m Tier 0.”
The colonel blinked, then burst into laughter. “And you’re not afraid that, disappointed to be just a shadow in a dream, I might snuff out your soul like a candle fla? If you die here, you won’t wake up.”
Despite Wang Lin’s relaxed deanor, the words carried the intimidating weight of a Tier 5’s authority. The question silenced the war between Priam’s Hecate’s New Moon and [Free Will], both ready to fight a futile battle. In the real world, his add-on took advantage of the truce to regenerate its host’s body.
“My curiosity outweighs my fear,” Priam replied as reality cracked around him, the Tribulations unable to tolerate his transgression. “And my instincts tell you won’t strike down one of your own. I have sworn no oath, but these past days matter, dream or not.”
“You’ve got the heart of a rcenary,” the colonel declared. “I’ll help you.”
“The evolution of your ta Affinity is intriguing. I’ll train you until the start of your Reunion,” Wang Lin announced as Priam stirred awake.
Priam’s hazel eyes widened. “Personally?!”
“Personally. Moreover, as we only have twelve hours left, we’ll use a ti-dilation chamber.”
Priam imdiately thought of Dragon Ball, where Goku trained for a year while only a day passed on Earth. “Good magic. What’s the ratio?”
“Fifteen days to an hour.”
Priam whistled. “How long will I stay?”
“Fifteen days. I’d prefer longer, but... let’s just say so things are out of my control. Anyway, you’ll spend half your ti with and the other half with our casino manager, Lasha.”
Priam nodded. The leader of a galactic faction probably had better things to do than babysit a Tier 0.
“Hi!”
Priam jumped at the voice near his ear, spinning around to find an elf with mischievous eyes stepping out of his personal space. His gaze slid from her flawless face to her fluorescent cyan hair, which floated as if gravity were a suggestion.
“Good evening,” Priam said politely, ignoring her prank. One didn’t argue with a Tier 5 capable of razing a planet’s surface to sever a minor god from their Faith. Rumor had it that after killing her target, Lasha had infused the souls of the faithful into the chips of her casino to prevent any fraud.
“Any objections?” asked Wang Lin.
Priam recognized an opportunity to change his fate and seized it.
“None.”
A fla floated in the air, less than a ter from Priam. If it hadn’t been his creation, the forr science student might have been horrified by the way it blatantly defied at least one law of classical physics.
At first glance, the fire was bizarre: it radiated heat but produced no smoke. In a way, that was to be expected from a fla fueled solely by aether. According to Wang Lin, this primordial energy was the fundantal building block of Creation, capable of substituting for anything. While Priam knew the boundary between matter and energy was thinner than most believed, he had been skeptical that such a universal fluid could fuel a chemical reaction by replacing atoms entirely. Reality had proven him wrong. The aether pulsing through his heart reacted with the surrounding air to ignite a fla before his eyes.
“If aether can serve as fuel,” Priam wondered aloud, “could it also act as an oxidizer?”
“If you’re planning to light a fire in space or underwater, the rune you’re using won’t cut it,” a voice answered from behind him. “You’ll need to assist it with your Fire Concept, one of its cousins, or a fire-affinity bloodline to color your aether. The simplest solution would be to attach a secondary rune to generate the oxidizer. Alternatively, a three-dinsional rune could handle it all at once, but that’d be overkill for your purposes.” The voice paused, giving Priam ti to process before continuing. “What do you feel when you look at that magical fire?”
Priam blinked, letting the flickering flas sear their image into his mind. Each spark escaping the plasma was extinguished by the ambient air, snuffed out before it could reach the ground. A stray thought crossed the mage’s mind: the fate of fire was tragic. It gives all its warmth and light to the world, only to burn itself out. Alternately seen as a savior and a destroyer, fire led a passionate life—brief but free.
The revelation resonated deeply, nudging a door in his soul that he had partially shut when he chose his father during the Tutorial’s ordeal. For while fire might die easily, a single ember was enough for it to be reborn elsewhere.
As Priam reached toward the fla, a sharp tap on his hand snapped him out of his reverie.
“The problem with geniuses like us is that we tend to burn our wings. Don’t do your enemies’ job for them.”
“Yes, Colonel,” Priam replied, bowing to a veritable giant. A half-titan, he corrected himself.
“You’re fixated on the fla because you’re approaching the second stage of Concept mastery: Harmony,” Wang Lin continued, his tone instructional. “Don’t let it control you. Otherwise, you won’t survive Unity. Normally, I’d let you learn that lesson the hard way… but not this ti. Can you tell why?”
“Because that’s not how I learn best, and a good teacher adapts to their students.”
Wang Lin smirked, a dangerous gleam in his eye. “Nice try, but I’ve been immune to basic manipulation since your civilization was chiseling cuneiform. You’ll need to do better than that.”
“I had to try,” Priam smiled before answering the question. “Even though the flas are my creation, they can still hurt .”
“Exactly,” Wang Lin said with a nod. “You could bathe in them if you actively controlled them, but as they are now, your natural defenses won’t oppose them. This fire would scorch your ridians like kindling. With your first Reunion so close, I’d rather not add to your regenerative debt.”
Priam grimaced inwardly. His rapid acquisition of three Tortures—as Wang Lin called the Titles—had left his body and aether pathways significantly fatigued.
“Now that you know how to light a fire, let’s learn how to extinguish it,” Wang Lin said, conjuring three glowing runes above his palm, “These represent Heat, Asphyxia, and Sleep.”
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