Novel East
Chapter 43: Heart Supremacies
"Evolution, then. I assume it's the move to Tier 1?"
"That's right. This is one of the few times the System isn't holding your hand - this choice is crucial. In advanced civilizations, some masters can look at your path and advise you. There are many possibilities, as each individual is unique. Fusion with cores, resources or monsters, cultivation methods, change of species or race, symbiosis, etc. You'll have to find your own way," Mercury replied with a shrug.
The two men strolled through a magnificent patio, but Priam focused solely on Mercury's words.
"You can access Tier 1 at any time. Its first interest is that it pushes back the thresholds of Tribulations. The more Tribulations you've gone through in Tier 0, the more margin you'll have in Tier 1. There are other advantages to changing Tier, but above all, there's a test of the System at the end of an Evolution. A High Tribulation..." Mercury's voice whispered the last words, and Priam felt a mingled respect and awe wash over the merchant.
After a few seconds of silence, the two men arrived at a fountain. A servant bowed as he caught sight of Mercury before moving away, and Priam thought that humanity was quick to adapt. Of course, bowing was expected in some countries, but the Tutorial had taught most humans the importance of hierarchy in this new world. Never, Priam promised himself.
"For your Tribulations..." continued Mercury, pausing to observe the fish. "I can give you a short list of Titles and their acquisition method. I'm unaware of many titles, they're closely guarded secrets. In addition, Tjay has already given you a list of rare items to... borrow. You can trust it. I'm the one who whispered these things in his ear." Mercury winked.
"Thank you, Mercury. What about my family?" asked Priam.
"I'll do everything I can. I wont lie, I'm already looking for them, but they're not in this Dome. I've asked us to go through all the Domes with a fine-tooth comb. We'll find them," Mercury smiled.
Priam turned toward the fountain with an impassive face. He was disappointed that his family wasn't in the Dome. He had also noted Mercury's innuendo. The factions knew he was looking for his family, and some were already looking for them to control him. Priam was too powerful to be ignored but not powerful enough to be absolutely respected.
"What will it cost me?" he finally asked. Mercury was still a merchant. Priam preferred a deal to a gift. He wanted to know the price.
"I don't want cores, resources or artifacts. Of course, I may change my mind if you think you have unique resources, but I assume you've already consumed them," Mercury explained. "I want you to do something for me. I want you to steal something. I'd also like to see the owner dead, but I predict you'll take care of that anyway."
He talks so easily of murder. According to their conversation,Mercury had not been involved with the mafia before the Tutorial, and the request surprised Priam.
"Why do you think he deserves death?" asked Priam cautiously. Theft was less of a problem for him. Priam understood that he wouldn't survive long in this world if he wasn't flexible with his morality.
"Anatole is the leader of the Cult of Revenants," Mercury explained with a smile. Priam froze before returning the smile. He'd been busy lately but hadn't forgotten the Revenants. Everything seemed to fit together for Priam to visit them.
"I see you're up for it. He's in Viracocha but beware, he's extremely dangerous. In his possession is an urn corrupted by the Depths. You must know what I'm talking about since I assume you also stole the corrupted Tear?" the merchant asked. Priam nodded.
"The urn will protect you from corruption if you consume the Tear of the Deep. But its protection applies only to the bearer. Don't swallow it amid allies... If you accept, one of my agents will wait for you in Viracocha to retrieve the urn afterward."
Priam thought for a second. The merchant wasn't a fighter, but he was undoubtedly a dangerous man. If he refused the offer, he'd have to kill Mercury and anyone else looking for his family. That was impossible, and the deal was honestly rather advantageous for him. Lose a valuable object - the existence of which he didn't even know a few minutes ago - to find his family? Even his greedy side agreed.
"I accept," he replied as Mercury smiled.
"Perfect. I propose that we seal our agreement with a contract. My skill will oblige each of us to take responsibility. Does that suit you?"
Priam wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. Initially, he thought he should trust Mercury. He remained cautious about his decision because, despite his help, Mercury remained a merchant. After the episode with Claire, Priam was suspicious. A contract was precisely what he wanted.
"You help me find my family and possibly protect them while I join them, and offer me your list of Titles. In exchange, I'll bring you the item you want and kill Anatole. Is that it?" Priam recapitulated.
"Exactly," Mercury replied.
"Then we have a deal," said Priam, extending a hand which Mercury shook.
Priam had left the residence a few minutes earlier when a servant approached Mercury. He was still standing in the middle of the patio, staring into the fountain. A triple Tribulation was no small matter.
"We've found Claire," reported the servant.
Mercury looked away from the pond. "Send a message to Maya. I want her alive," he ordered. Whether Priam survived or not, humanity had to win.
Guided by Sphinx, Priam took a corridor to one of the Palace's great towers. After a few minutes, they arrived in the Palace's training room. It was spacious, probably the size of a soccer field. Entering the rectangular room, Priam was astonished to contemplate the immense infinity of space behind a transparent ceiling. Far above him, in the middle of this black picture, was the Earth.
"Why train here and not in the Colosseum?" asked Priam, stamping his foot on the sand-covered floor.
"Because the entrance is too small for me," Sphinx replied, moving closer to a pane of glass overlooking a beautiful garden. The walls featured metal plates and glass panes overlooking a lovely sunny garden.
That made an excellent reason, and the debate was over instantly.
"Have you made any progress in reducing your size?" asked Priam. Currently, Sphinx was so imposing that simply moving around in the Dome would have created problems. Fortunately, the Palace was adapted to her size, as was the portal for Viracocha.
Priam planned to find Anatole's urn with Sphinx's help before unleashing his Tribulations - an extra Tear would be helpful. Mercury had indicated that the Cultist leader was dangerous, but Priam refused to believe he could harm Sphinx.
His friend was therefore working on a miniaturization skill, so she could follow Priam and infiltrate the Cult's lair. Besides, Priam had no intention of hiding Sphinx forever. She would be better accepted by humans - and their infrastructure - if she wasn't five meters tall.
"I'll be finished before your training's over," announced Sphinx, proudly raising her head. nπvπlπasπ.cππ
"Incredible, you really are the best," Priam congratulated her. He smiled as she gloated, proud of herself. He wanted to pat her on the head, but it was physically complicated right now.
During his studies, he had briefly been a teacher and had learned a few things from his contact with children. One of the first was that a child should always be encouraged when they made an effort. Education was a full-time job, requiring many qualities and knowledge that Priam didn't claim to have. But Sphinx was barely two days old and she needed him now. Priam intended to do his best.
Sphinx finally remembered that they had to train.
"Enough joking. We don't have much time to train you."
This training was a first for Priam. He needed to become more powerful without triggering more Tribulations. If he couldn't increase his attributes - and therefore his skills - he could still work on his Heart Supremacies: Domain, Micro and Mastery. It was time to prioritize quality over quantity.
"What are we going to work on first?" asked Priam. He had barely two days to train, steal a few trinkets and leave for Viracocha.
"It's up to you," said a voice behind Priam, making him turn around. Bechar had just entered the room, hands clasped behind his back, an enigmatic smile on his face.
"Hey Bechar," says Priam.
"Hey Priam," replied Bechar before turning to Sphinx. "A good day to you, O great Sphinx," Bechar bowed, winking at Priam. Sphinx purred with delight and Priam smiled. Bechar knew how to deal with children.
"What are you doing here?" asked Priam.
"Our Dome Lord invited me to supervise your training. Watching weak humans struggling without making it past the fifteenth wave gets boring pretty quickly, so here I am," said Bechar.
Priam didn't see the changeling working in an office, so he wasn't surprised by his answer.
Bechar walked over to a window and revealed a table laden with victuals. A few chairs later, a picnic had been prepared by the Colosseum Supervisor. Once seated and stuffing his face, Bechar continued.
"The three Heart Supremacies are Domain, Micro and Mastery. Each is subdivided into Stages, and no one has reached their final Stage. You have affinities with all three Supremacies and I don't want to disrupt your path. So, the choice is yours," Bechar concludes.
"Can you summarize my affinities?" coughed Priam to hide his embarrassment. The question was deflected because asking for information known to Sphinx - the equivalent of a two-day-old little girl in a Boss body - made him feel ashamed.
Bechar looked at him with a sneer and Priam knew he'd been found out. He put down the thing he'd been devouring.
"You can already project your mind into your mist. This will help you create your Domain: a zone where your control is absolute. You'll be able to know what enters it, block your enemies' perception, weaken their skills..."
"That's what I was using to block your pathetic attacks," Sphinx added with a laugh.
Priam sighed when he heard this. Sphinx was a child without filter and hadn't said it to be mean. The truth came from children's mouths, and sometimes the truth hurt. Priam wasn't sad; he was aware of their power and talent differences.
"And the rest?" asked Priam, trying to forget his ego.
"Micro allows you to use your body to its full potential. Move your body to the nearest hundredth of a millimeter, use exactly the amount of force you want to use, synergize your muscles, etc. If Dexterity is the software that allows you to use your body, then Micro is your ability to use the functionalities of this software," explained Bechar.
"I find it less useful than the Domain..." Priam had never really had a problem with his Dexterity. He knew he could use his body better, but it wouldn't save him from a Tribulation.
"You're making a mistake. If the Domain is external, Micro is internal. At higher levels, you can better use your internal skills and prevent enemies' skills from impacting you. You'd be impressive if you could use [Kinetic Control] and Micro. For example, you could perfectly control each of your muscles, strengthening your moves and body. There are even more interesting uses, but more on that later."
Priam clenched his fist. This was terrible news for him. If the hoplite warrior had used Micro, he wouldn't have been able to project it with [Kinetic Control]. If his future enemies could ignore part of his main weapon, he would have to work on that urgently.
Protecting himself or mitigating the effects of skill on his own body - and therefore his mind, thanks to the Merit of [Brainless] - seemed paramount. Micro and Domain were both useful abilities for both defense and attack.
"And Mastery?" asked Priam.
Mastery refers to a weapon: your feet, fists, spear... Mastery of a weapon increases your affinity and harmony with it. It bridges your will - your Heart - and the aether. It enables your weapon to perform feats that would otherwise be impossible. For example, you have to use a great deal of energy to pierce a steel plate. With Mastery, you could pierce it as if it were wood. At my level, an unenchanted steel plate holds me back no more than air," explained Bechar.
Priam picked up a bowl of fruit that looked like blueberries and began to swallow them mechanically. Their tangy taste helped him to think.
"All three Supremacies seem extremely useful. I suppose they're all useful for overcoming my Tribulation. Is there anything I can do to evolve one of them quickly?" asked Priam.
"You could create a Domain instantly by evolving your Title [Brainless]. To do this, there's a simple solution, but it requires your death," Bechar warned after a second's thought.
"Not now then," refused Priam. "I have something else planned for my next death."
Bechar nodded. "Well, that simplifies things. Micro requires training and time, whereas Mastery requires actual combat and time. Micro will strengthen your physical skills and [Kinetic Control], and Mastery will strengthen your spear and connection."
Priam quickly consulted his status. "I mustn't win points in Constitution, or I'll trigger another Tribulation. I guess the only good real fight in this Dome is against the Viscount under it," Priam asked.
Bechar shrugged. "I can't answer that kind of question. It's up to you to discover opportunities. But, I would advise against triggering a fourth Tribulation. I've only known one warrior who managed a triple Tribulation at Tier 0 and... He's a monster who became a Diamond Rank Mercenary," Bechar explained.
The changeling pointed at Priam. "Your only advantage is your environment if you become Lord of another Dome and your special talent for resurrecting. Be careful to time the arrival of the Tribulations just before your coronation. It would be a shame to die because you got a Title at the wrong time."
Priam nodded. He already had a plan to defeat the Lord of Viracocha.
"Well, I guess we can start Micro's training," he replied, rising to his feet. Priam had another reason for choosing Micro. Training would increase the level of his skill [Kinetic Control]. This one was almost level 20, and if he could improve his technique before the Tribulations, he'd have a real chance.
Bechar smiled before turning to Sphinx. "I'll let you start," he said.
"Here we go," exclaimed Sphinx, indicating Priam to head for a corner of the room. The Dome Lord was excited and rushed off, kicking up clouds of sand behind her.
"Carefu..." Priam began. He quickly found himself covered in sand under Bechar's hilarious gaze and had to spit out the sand that had found its way into his mouth. Looking up, he saw Sphinx happily waiting for him. She was too cute for him to scold her, and Priam laughed before joining her.
Moments later, Priam was sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Where do we start?" he asked.
"At the beginning!" exclaimed Sphinx, pressing the buttons on a console that had just emerged from the floor. Seconds later, a bubble appeared around Priam.
"I am free for the taking through all of your life, though given but once at birth. I am less than nothing in weight, but will fell the strongest of you if held. You have five minutes!"
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 107
Constitution 194
Agility 131
Vitality 203
Perception 217
MENTAL:
Vivacity 148
Dexterity 132
Memory 36
Willpower 76
Charisma 101
META:
Meta-affinity 92
Meta-focus 80
Meta-endurance 55
Meta-chance 46
Potential: 278
Tier 0
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: OFF. Reloaded in 18h 24 minutes 40 seconds.
[Tribulation]: Tribulations are coming.
Time: 46 hours 54 minutes 34 seconds.
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