The list of rewards was incredible! Priam was both happy to have four possibilities and pained. He wanted them all. If I'd known, I'd have gone for the quintuple... Scratching his chin, Priam changed his mind. He knew that he would probably have died attempting a quintuple.
"Next ti!" he exclaid. In an excellent mood, Priam took his ti. The world was frozen, and he was tired of running all the ti.
Taking advantage of the system, Priam moved his arms and tried to take a few steps. After about ten ters, he felt a sort of warning. The System wouldn't let him explore the world with impunity.
His wounds weren't healing either, but he wasn't feeling pain anymore. The System let him think about his choices in peace.
Refocusing, Priam looked at his rewards. He winced as he read about Prosse. If the System was offering this reward, that ant he had no chance of getting it otherwise. Perhaps Pride's Shadow was more dangerous than he thought...
Priam validated two options with a sigh. Prosse appeared in his hand and vibrated. Sensing its contentnt, Priam stroked his spear with a smile. It had fought well.
Seeing a fighter stroking his weapon would have seed odd to him, but he was different! After all, his weapon was developing a consciousness, so he was almost a child, and it was essential to take care of them. By making them kill dragons, for example...
Shaking his head, Priam refocused. The second option he had chosen was a new opportunity for [Double Heart] absorption. His heart could now obtain a second affinity that would be supported by [Tribulation]. Well, he still had to choose between [Sun] and [Draconic].
Priam also barred the purification of his bloodline. The Phoenix had promised to purify it if he killed Anatole. He would certainly receive his reward after his Tribulations, so it was redundant.
The last two options were more complicated. Without help from the System, he had to imagine the scope of the rewards. Ti stasis was probably a way for the System to overco its inability to control [He Who Eludes Death]. Priam refused to choose such an option. He had fought with all his might to survive his Tribulations. Now he wanted the best options for the future. Recovering the charge of his Talent was suboptimal.
Similarly, he quickly eliminated Free Attributes and Potential. He saw this as a shortcut to imdiate power. What interested him was the long term.
With this in mind, he reduced the number of choices until he had the following list:
Rewards - customized:
Quadruple Tribulation: two rewards selectable from the following list:
Next Tribulation delayed by six months.
Access to humanity's knowledge on a topic (equivalent to 500,000 words).
Four drops of [Elixir of Eternity - 10 years].
Seed of experience
Branch of Garoe - the Mist Tree
Perfect Tribulation Run mories
Evolution Token - Title
Evolution Token - Talent
Evolution Token - Legendary skill
Racial Upgrade - Human
"Ah, it's so hard! Let's proceed by elimination. Elixir of Eternity..."
This potion could undoubtedly be exchanged for a favor from a powerful faction. Priam knew his strengths and weaknesses. Haggling was not one of his strengths. He crossed out the Elixir.
Then he scratched the mory option. A hypothetical Priam who had succeeded perfectly in his Tribulations... He could imagine what would happen. If he could go back in ti with his mory, he too would have succeeded perfectly in his Tribulations.
As soon as Tribulations began, he'd rip the legs off the first locust and bury it under Safamus body. Without delay, he would unlock his Domain and mist concept by committing suicide thanks to the wyvern's laser. He would then use the Damocles cloud to defeat the wyvern and absorb its power. With the right knowledge, he could have speedrun the Tribulation. The trouble was, had he known this in advance, the System would have created other Tribulations.
Priam froze, thinking of a possibility. Could his Tribulations had been programd to force him to make Cornelian choices? The Concepts remained fairly low-key, but they could be looking for sothing in particular. For example, a spirit of steel.
After all, his and Safamu's Tribulation had forced them to put their survival before their races. Were the Tribulations as much ntal as physical?
Priam shook his head. He didn't want to try and clear his na. The dead were on his consciousness, and he would have to think about them later. As for his theory, he would ask Bechar. Maybe he was wrong, and maybe he wasn't. What was certain was that the ways of the Concepts were as inscrutable as those of God. Could a re human understand the plan of such deities?
Priam looked at his rewards again and sighed. He wanted more choices. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. There was an obvious way to have more choices: withstanding news Tribulations.
New Tribulations were just three days away. That was far too short to get a sextuple one. I should be careful not to bite off more than I can chew. Priam selected next Tribulations delayed by six months. One more.
Priam decided to forget human knowledge. He had access to everything he wanted right now. He was interested in strengthening his scientific knowledge, but the other rewards were too incredible to pass up. The list had already been whittled down.
Rewards - customized:
Quadruple Tribulation: one reward selectable from the following list
Seed of experience
Branch of Garoe - the Mist Tree
Evolution Token - Title
Evolution Token - Talent
Evolution Token - Legendary skill
Racial Upgrade - Human
The first two rewards were for Log-a-rhythm. Priam hadn't forgotten that he'd be back soon in Elysium. Seed of experience was vague, and Priam wasn't prepared to bet on its usefulness. Branch of Garoa - the Mist Tree - was to enable a tree to gain a mist affinity. Next to Log-a-rhythm, Priam would be much more powerful. The mist would be permanent near his house.
However, this would be an artificial affinity. My connection with Log-a-rhythm should be able to help change it in the long run, and I'll save myself a reward.
Priam didn't lose sight of one important thing: in a free, magical world, most of these rewards were shortcuts. What interested him were the rewards he couldn't get without the help of the System.
Reluctantly, Priam ignored those two possibilities. He already had a gift for his tree, and he suspected the Crimson Fruit would be compatible with it too.
All that remained were the evolutions. Title, Talent, skill and race. The dilemma was terrible.
Let's continue with the eliminations... Priam had ideas for upgrading most of his Titles. After all, his Resurrection Talent was mighty to farm improvents. The only Title he was interested in was [Iconoclast]. It concerned the soul. Enhancing it promised to be interesting.
Even so, he changed his mind. He already had a lot to do, and spreading his attention too thin wasn't necessarily a good idea.
The only Talent Priam found powerful enough to enhance it was [He Who Eludes Death]. Unfortunately, it was alien - originating from another universe - and the System couldn't help him. [Humanity adapts] was also interesting, but it was a racial Talent. If he wanted to improve it, he might as well improve his race directly.
Priam hesitated for a mont before shaking his head. His two best skills, [Moon Mist] and [Kinetic Control] still had the potential to evolve quickly and get him so attributes. What's more, he was familiar enough with both to be sure he'd manage to upgrade them. It may have been arrogant of him, but he was confident.
All that remained was to improve his race. Priam had no idea of the potential of this enhancent, but he knew that his Racial Talent was extrely powerful.
Priam sighed hesitantly. All the options were excellent, but so would be more so than others. I'm in a quandary... Just before selecting his racial upgrade, Priam decided to ask for advice.
"Lord Phoenix, may I ask you a question?" Priam remained courteous, rembering that the mythical creature loved politeness.
I'm here.
"Um, I have to choose a reward, and I'm hesitating," confessed Priam.
Give the list of rewards.
Priam complied, describing his preferences to the Phoenix.
You've analyzed the situation well. You may underestimate the difficulty of upgrading a Legendary skill, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. If I were you, I'd hesitate between improving your race and two Talents, [Bound Weapon] and [He Who Eludes Gods].
Priam looked at Prosse. "Can I make my spear more powerful?" The possibility interested him.
Indirectly. You can strengthen your bond and accelerate its growth. It's sothing that will happen naturally, but this will save you months. It will also allow you to unlock Mastery quickly, the Phoenix clarified.
"I think I'd rather take my ti," decided Priam. If it were up to him, he had nothing against torturing himself to beco more powerful. However, forcing a childish consciousness to grow up faster was at odds with his values. If Prosse was to be his partner, he intended to treat it better than he treated himself.
"[He Who Eludes Gods] would strengthen my soul I suppose? Why not upgrade [Iconoclast] instead?"
The Phoenix manages to sneer majestically. Because this Title is an insult to Viracocha. If you improve it, he might decide to pay the necessary price and reduce you to ashes. Even if he fails, he'll destroy your family, your civilization and make your life a living hell. A Tier 0 should stay away from gods, advised the Phoenix.
Priam gritted his teeth at the advice but remained silent. If he'd made so much progress in the space of a few weeks, an ancient god could snuff him out like blowing out a candle.
[He Who Eludes Gods] is linked to your alien Talent. It would indeed strengthen your soul, but... Let's just say it depends partly on the entities who entrusted you with your resurrection power. They must have modified your soul to enable you to resurrect so easily, so I can't say how effective the enhancent will be.'
Priam thought of his Tutorial. The words he had exchanged with them. It was still too early. He was still too weak.
"I'll take the race enhancent instead," he decided. "One last question, between [Sun] and [Draconic], which would you recomnd?"
The Phoenix remained silent. A second passed, then two. Ten seconds later, Priam cleared his throat and prepared to validate the race upgrade. The Phoenix finally replied.
[Draconic] is superior. A Dragon can create a star, the reverse is not true. But a Dragon is a creature made to reach the Zenith. Do you know why the System respects this option?'
The Phoenix's voice was perfectly neutral. Such a powerful creature wouldn't have let his fear show, yet Priam could sense it. A question was burning his lips. Was the most powerful Phoenix as powerful as the most powerful Dragon? Priam wasn't stupid enough to ask the question and preferred to answer the truth.
"No."
Because so Dragons are powerful enough to change the laws of the Universe. They are alien creatures traveling between Universes, sowing civilization and destruction in their wake. Fortunately, Ancient Dragons are as rare as their descendants are nurous. If you choose [Draconic], prepare to face hordes of mixed bloods. Devouring their hearts will increase the purity of the bloodline.'
Priam looked at the wyvern corpse for a mont. Basically, the draconic bloodline was a battle royale that spanned several Universes. Without realizing it, his lips stretched. If he had a gift, it was that of surviving.
"Thank you, Lord Phoenix. System, Ill take Racial Upgrade - Human."
His nerve receptors were in a sorry state. Yet when the wave of pain ca, Priam had only ti to scream before collapsing to the ground.
Status: Race change detected. Please read the notification regarding attribute calibration.
[He Who Eludes Death] charge OFF. Reloaded in 23 hours 25 min 38s
[Tribulation]: Tribulationsare coming.
Ti: 182 days 23 hours 58 minutes 51 seconds.
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