Second chap, read the 457 before!
Sorry for the delay! I wanted to post earlier, but well, I ran into some administrative hiccups. Anyway, at least that makes three chapters in less than a week.
With the lead I have now, I don't intend to bail on you again! One last chapter is coming to round out the monday-sunday week, and starting next monday, we’re moving to 3 chapters per week, every week. I’ll even try to post on the same days, but for now, I don't want to promise anything more than the quantity: 3/week
Enjoy the read!
*
Jasmine raised her hand, and Priam watched the aether flowing through certain pathways in her body under the influence of a skill. With a fingertip, she brushed the coral blocking their path, and the living skeleton reshaped itself into an archway.
The next instant, a rift opened into a place of darkness.
“Don’t break anything, respect the owner, and no jokes,” Priam warned.
“Why are you looking at me?” Jasmine asked.
“Because he doesn’t want you to get yourself killed,” Kazuki said, swimming on his only leg. “If Vertex wants your head, we won’t be able to do anything about it.”
“I’m used to lowering my eyes before the powerful,” the assassin replied coolly. “If someone has to swallow their pride, it won’t be me.”
With that, she crossed through. The others followed, emerging into a cavern devoid of light.
[Echolocation] swept across the cave, scanning every crevice, and found an enemy. A big one.
The monster must have sensed them, because it roared furiously. Underwater, the sound propagated like a shockwave that would have killed a human while alerting half the ocean. After all, even the song of a whale could be heard across the entire Atlantic.
[Kinetic Sovereignty] absorbed the physical vibration, while Esmée drowned out its spiritual component.
As the main tank, Priam advanced into the lair first. A matter of safety. Swimming with grace, he divided his attention to survey the surroundings. One third focused on the enemy, another dismantled three magical decoys, and his addon disarmed mechanical traps.
“If this is the official entrance to her palace, Vertex must really hate visitors,” Jasmine said before hesitating. “My instinct senses danger.”
Priam stopped. Beyond the reach of his Domain, a final surprise activated. [Echolocation] detected a volley of darts coming from six directions. An unavoidable ambush.
The Juggernaut pivoted smoothly, dodging most of the projectiles. Good thing he did, because they weren’t affected by his kinetic proficiency. Strange.
He looked down at the two bone spikes embedded in his abdomen and recognized a trace of radioactivity inside. Not enough to fatally irradiate him, but enough to bypass his skills. Or to kill any other Tier 0s outright.
No wonder Jasmine’s on edge.
“You sure the Monarch agreed to receive us?”
“If she hadn’t, we’d already be dead. This is just a test meant to discourage most of the petitioners.”
At least I hope so.
Pulling the bone fragments from his body, Priam pocketed them. It was rare to find material useful for training [Radiation Resistance]. Then he advanced into the main chamber where a nightmare creature waited, lying on a carpet of fluorescent algae.
[Heroic Identification][Charybdis’ descendant - Tier 1 - Prince] - The third ocean’s Terror.
Four tentacles in place of legs. Oiled skin covered in gray scales. Two wings. Bony protrusions running down its back. Crowned with multiple worms writhing like Medusa’s snakes, its head—small compared to its body—was still the size of a car. The strangest part of its upper body was two arms ending in hands, betraying an artificial origin.
“This Terror offends my eyes,” Jasmine muttered. “I can’t decide whether it’s terrifying or just ugly.”
“Beauty is subjective, and fear is a filter,” Esmée replied. “The weak find it terrifying; the strong find it hideous. Much like spiders.”
“I like spiders,” Jasmine said. “If I unlock [Chimera], I might look for a second bloodline along those lines…”
Priam shuddered at the thought.
Another roar snapped the Champion back to reality, though it didn’t worry him. On paper, as a Tier 1 Prince, the Third Terror was stronger than he was, but the Juggernaut trusted in his ability to survive. Especially since a massive chain wrapped around its waist kept it anchored in place. Between two tentacles, he spotted another rift. The exit.
“A guard dog,” Kazuki said. “Any volunteers?”
“I’m game,” Priam grinned.
“Knock yourself out.”
When thirty seconds of lethal combat could yield more level-ups than an entire day of training, Priam had no reason to refuse.
With a powerful kick, he launched forward. A tentacle tried to swat him, only for [Kinetic Sovereignty] to freeze it mid-strike. Priam grimaced as he felt the enemy’s meta-endurance rising against his own meta-authority. Like an arm-wrestling match, he first had to overcome the opponent’s resistance before he could dominate it. Thus, most of the aether he spent freezing the appendage was wasted, consumed in overcoming the monster’s natural defenses. Despite the poor efficiency, Priam pressed on, stealing the kinetic energy of every tentacle that came near him.
Annoyed by the stubborn insect, the Terror opened its mouth and unleashed an ultimate attack right at the start of the fight. Priam mirrored her. A water Breath met a pure aether Breath. Underwater, Pyro was weakened.
The explosion shook the cavern, ravaging the lair.
Ten seconds later, Priam rose from the rubble. Opening one eye, he glanced toward the ceiling and shifted slightly to the right to avoid a falling stalactite. The stone shattered upon impact with the ground.
Using Micro to inspect his body, Priam found not a single scratch beneath his mist-woven toga.
With more than three thousand constitution and an almost-maxed [Sun Steel Body], even a moderate explosion couldn’t seriously injure him.
A vibration in the water drew his attention. Dispersing the dust before him, Priam swam toward the Terror’s body, which was embedded in a stone wall.
After studying the enemy for a bit, he didn’t draw Promesse. His spear was powerful, but far too small to meaningfully harm a monster forty meters tall—the equivalent of a twelve-story building.
Instead, the Juggernaut seized a rising stalagmite with his kinetic mastery, snapped it at the base, and drove it through the Terror’s skull, pinning it to the cavern wall. The sight of the projectile punching through enemy flesh filled him with deep satisfaction.
Then, as he turned away confidently, a tentacle seized him.
Priam frowned. Not only because an immense force was crushing him like a boa constrictor, but also because even with a stone spike through its skull, the beast was still moving. Multiple brains? Like an octopus?
“I’m detecting a drop in aether within the chain restraining the Terror,” Esmée warned.
“And the hair on my arms is standing up,” Jasmine added. “The shit’s gonna hit the fan.”
The seal that had restrained the draconic beast was lifting. Meanwhile, the stalactite-stone spike inside its head was dissolving, corroded by acidic blood. The Terror’s face regenerated rapidly.
Still trapped in the tentacle’s grip, Priam smiled.
“I knew a Tier 1 Prince couldn’t be that weak. Go on through. I’ll handle this.”
The moment he finished speaking, the beast tightened its muscles, trying to wring every drop of blood from his body.
Priam flexed [Kinetic Sovereignty], stealing the kinetic force that threatened to crush him. The legendary skill rose to meet the colossus’s strength, and matched it. Immense energy flooded through his meridians as he watched his companions swim swiftly toward the exit.
None offered to help. They knew it wasn’t necessary.
Enraged by the intruders’ escape, the Terror spat a cloud of ink straight at Priam. Beyond blinding him, the substance began devouring his skin.
Lvl up: [pH Inert] lvl 2CONST +3
Priam smiled. Thanks for the level-up. But it’s time to get serious. Kinetic Juggernaut.
The principle behind the new ultimate was simple: derail [Kinetic Sovereignty]. Instead of flowing through his meridians into the reservoir of his soul, the kinetic energy coursed through his veins—made possible by [Bloodless], which had transformed them into secondary pathways. The power stolen from the Terror surged through his body, searching for an outlet. There was none.
The density of aether rose to critical levels. Priam’s constitution and resistances held for five seconds before a rupture appeared. A capillary burst, releasing a thread of kinetic energy into a deltoid. Fueled by terrible power, the muscle contracted, and the Juggernaut raised his arm. Despite the colossal strength of its owner, the Terror’s tentacle gave way. As Priam tore himself free from the trap, his limb exploded from the effort.
Lvl up: [Fount of Pseudo-Ichor] lvl 33VIT +9
Channeling so much energy so quickly had consequences. Kinetic Juggernaut was a double-edged sword. A technique as brutal as it was crude, guiding [Kinetic Sovereignty] straight into his muscles. A savage mode that allowed him to briefly manhandle Aarthash of wave ninety-four.
Annoyed by the insect that refused to die, the Terror roared.
Water pressed in on Priam’s chest from every direction. Under the monster’s will, a Concept attempted to imprison him in an aquatic cell. To crush him like an ant.
Already his hearts struggled to beat, his lungs tightening. Thirty more seconds and the situation might become critical. He had no intention of letting it reach that point.
Two slits opened across the Juggernaut’s back. Then, three liters of kinetically charged ichor formed a skeletal structure that Pyro filled. As his phoenix wings unfolded, Priam shivered at the horrifying amount of energy contained within them.
They erupted on the first beat, but their purpose was fulfilled.
Lvl up: [Nestling Phoenix’s Wings] lvl 8META(Focus) +7META(Endurance) +2
In a geyser of blood and flames, under one of the most brutal accelerations of his life, Priam burst free from the water prison, practically teleporting above the Terror. He raised his hand and, using Micro, created half a dozen ruptures in the veins of his remaining arm. Every last shred of kinetic energy inside him detonated.
His palm fell like the hand of Buddha. Inevitable. Instantaneous. Final.
A third of the Terror ceased to exist.
Lvl up: [Kinetic Sovereignty] lvl 13PERC +9META (Focus) +9META (Perception) +9
*
Arnold watched the satellite orbiting his species’ homeworld explode with his clone army on it. That loss would set him back months. Painfull.
A vision of defeat he could not escape, considering the apex being held his decapitated head in her hand. His connection to his bases had been severed. Even his Concepts—upgraded to Tier 2 during the fight in a desperate attempt to win—seemed warped. Without question, he was entirely at his enemy’s mercy.
“Without a moon to host your civilization, I wonder if you’ll be able to attend the second Reunion…” The vacuum of space should have prevented sound from traveling, but the dragon’s voice could not be silenced. “I suppose you will. The Seven likely isn’t pleased with my interference. Too bad for them.”
Though he could not look at the one who had spoken, Arnold was certain her face remained impassive. The dragon had displayed no emotion during the two minutes their duel had lasted. His linguistic matrix supplied the proper term. Not a duel; a correction.
Indeed, the enemy had been so far beyond him she seemed untouchable. Where the First was mysterious, Vertex was absolute. By comparison, even the Colosseum seemed easy. If Arnold had not yet conquered wave ninety-eight, it was more from lack of time than anything else.
Suddenly, his vision shifted. The dragon held him at arm’s length to observe him. Then she let go.
Weightless, Arnold remained where he was.
“You are free.”
“…Why?”
“Because you asked the question. A homunculus is not curious. He can’t have instincts. A Dragon is too proud to let an insult like your attack pass, then too angry to stop a fight once it begins.” Vertex turned away. “We are exceptions to axioms. In a sense, you are my opposite. Perhaps by observing you, I will find answers to my own questions.”
With those words, a portal opened and she vanished, leaving Arnold’s head drifting alone in space.
The Var Elegis was left drifting through space. The laws of Elysium would recall him in twenty-four hours.
He found the wait long.
*The third Terror of Valaryth. Aka Vertex's pet
*