Chapter 16: Hot Water and Cold Mind

Chapter 16: Hot Water and Cold Mind

Priam relaxed for the first time in nine days. With his body immersed in the warm pool, he felt the tiny currents of water caressing his body. The warm, smooth stones were strangely comfortable. Only his head was sticking out of the water. He had started by closing his eyes to preserve Claire's privacy because, at this distance, the thick fog could not totally block his perception. Priam, relaxed, was enjoying this rare moment. The purifying hot water and the calm allowed him to recover from the fatigue of the fights. Thermal waters have always had therapeutic properties, depending on the minerals they contain.

In Japan, onsens were reputed to soothe pain, cure skin diseases, constipation, menstrual disorders, etc. In France, the country of his birth, half a million people took a spa treatment yearly, a medical procedure used to treat sinus and respiratory diseases. Priam was not ill, but the young man felt the beneficial effects of the hot spring infused with aether.

However, a part of his brain wondered about the geothermal energy needed to heat the water. To increase the temperature of the water, the Moon now had to have a molten core. The System demonstrated once again its limitless capacities. The water circulated underground, capturing beneficial chemical elements as it passed through and reached Priam. If I dive with the current, can I go deeper into the Moon? I could surely find another treasure. Maybe this Concept fragment? But that's a useless thought, I'll be dead before ten minutes from lack of oxygen.

With his eyes closed, Priam began to meditate. Sleep to overcome physical and mental exhaustion would have been a better solution, but Priam refused to fall asleep in the middle of a hostile environment. His own ghost would have insulted him in unknown languages if he had died in his sleep.

Meditation helped him to focus his attention on himself. He inspected his wounds before analyzing his last fights. It was this methodology that allowed him to improve day by day. Priam had years of reflexes and knowledge to catch up with the champions of other civilizations in Elysium. Many other humans had fighting skills as well. Priam had a head start with his skills and titles, but there were geniuses out there. For now, his superior attributes would allow him to dominate over-trained military or MMA champions. But for how long? They had experience, talent, reflexes, knowledge, and exceptional training. The young man knew he had to work harder to maintain first place. Being second was much easier than being first. Less pressure and a clear goal in mind. But Priam wanted to be free, and the second was never really free. Only the first could sometimes claim that.

For half an hour, he emulated the fights in his imagination, analyzing his decisions and their consequences. He questioned their effectiveness and tried to point out his mistakes. Identifying his own errors was difficult. A trainer or coach could have saved him valuable time, but it allowed Priam to take a step back. The exercise was made easier by his mental characteristics. His Memory allowed him to recall fights in detail. His Dexterity remembered his movements. His Vivacity increased his speed of thought. His Willpower helped him to concentrate.

Priam watched his fights from every possible angle. His technique did not yet allow him to replay a battle under different circumstances - facing more wolves or fighting underwater - but it would come. Little by little, he found solutions to each of his problems. Finally, after half an hour, he was sure he could face the same opponents without a scratch. He had confidence in himself. If I don't have confidence in myself, who will?

Lvl Up: [Meditation] lvl 2The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.

WILL +3

Lvl Up: [Shadow Boxing] lvl 4

FOR +1

AGI +1

DEXT +1

Well, even if I'm tied up one day, I'll be able to train. But that goes for the locked-up hoplite champion too... I'll have to take care of him as soon as I get back, or I might get some nasty surprises. I can't wait to see who will have progressed the most!

Holding back a smile, Priam finally embarked on an exercise he had been dreading and putting off for as long as possible. An introspection.

Lately, his life has been a succession of adventures. Adventures that he had not chosen. He was simply reacting to the problems that the Concepts were sending him one after another. Briefly, when he built Log-a-rhythm, he thought he was planning what to do next. He first created a skill he liked and then began to explore the area. On his first trip out, a rabhorn killed him. It was his fault, and he made no excuses. Then the problem appeared. Was it a coincidence that he had met the hoplite champion on his first outing?

Since his arrival in Elysium, Priam had felt the portal activate eight times. Unless he was mistaken, eight rivals - including Arnold and the Hoplite - were pacing around the portal. To encounter one of these champions so quickly - who didn't even seem to be looking for him - was suspicious. Most of them would be within five kilometers of the portal. Beyond that, the danger became too great, and you could only take advantage of rare resources if you stayed alive. In concrete terms, the area reserved for the beginner measured fifty square kilometers. To visualize this, it was roughly the size of Manhattan or twice that of a city like Paris. Without being huge, Priam suspected that the chances of meeting a rival on his first outing were low.

Priam wondered. Was he really free to choose? The notion of coincidence became blurred when seven genuine Concepts governed the universe. To escape them, there was only one solution: use the System. At the end of the Tutorial, each participant received a personalized message from the System. Priam remembered it very well.

No one is born free. Neither men nor gods. For some, even death does not offer freedom.

The wise find a superficial freedom in their minds. You are not a wise man, and this kind of freedom is not enough for you.

You seek the ultimate freedom. You seek the Zenith.

Write your story.

Priam remembered those lines. When he read them, every word was written in letters of fire deep in his soul. Part of the reason Priam was the champion of humanity was that he represented the greatest desire of his species. Humans aspired to be free. It was the first right they claimed. It is my fundamental right, and it is my duty to fight to be free.

Priam opened his eyes. The concepts, the hoplite champion, Arnold, the Reunion, and many other things would come between him and his right.

"Life is such that it tests us. A reward is only valuable when victory is snatched from the world. I will not win my freedom. I will take it, for it is mine. No other shall write a word in the book of my life," Priam murmured.

Priam was motivated once again. He had spent nine days surviving, not really thinking about anything else. It's hard to want anything but life when spiders and rabbits bully you. From the moment he arrived in Elysium, Priam had moved on, because to do otherwise meant death. But man was not made to survive. He was made to live. By finding a purpose, Priam was finally able to breathe again. Of course, he had short-term goals, the first of which was to find his family. But saving his loved ones or himself from death was still survival. He wanted to live.

Priam smiled, for his decision, his quest for freedom, was resurrecting him far better than his skill could. [He Who Eludes Death] was resurrecting his body. His ideal of freedom was resurrecting his soul.

"Is that what you're fighting for?" asked Claire.

Priam turned to Claire. He could barely see her behind the screen of mist, and it seemed to him that the young woman was scrutinizing him. She seemed intrigued by his words.

"For freedom? In the long run, yes," Priam explained. "The System is an incredible opportunity, and I'm glad it happened. But I'm not a Sim. I want to decide my life. If I'm going to chain myself down, through responsibilities for example, I want that to be my own choice."

"A noble cause. What do you mean by 'chaining'?"

Priam took a few seconds to formulate his words.

"Looking for my family. Get married. Have children. Making promises. These are choices that carry responsibility. If I make those choices freely, I will happily chain myself to the causes that affect me. I'm not running away from that. If my freedom is so precious, giving some of it to those I love is wonderful. How can you say you truly love when you are ready for no sacrifice? I am ready for that. But this world didn't ask me. This System takes what I have not given it. Its gifts do not redeem that. I do not seek to destroy this System or the Concepts. They are just neutral parts of this universe. But I will not let them make a puppet of me," he stated.

After a pause, Clare asked. "What are you looking for then?"

Each Tutorial was different, and you didn't learn exactly the same things. But at the end, each survivor was given a broad question. The System answered that question, and some of the information was of interest to Priam.

"Many hunters have asked how to gain power. One of the main ways is tempering. Using aether and rare resources to strengthen and reforge the body," Claire explained. "I don't know much more about it, but the more contaminated the body is, the more complicated it is to temper the body. This cleansing is welcome, too bad we can't take advantage of it more."

Priam began to think. The fragment had cleansed him, body and soul. It was good for his temperament, of course. But even better, he could finally think straight. His brain was no longer flooded with the drugs created by panic, and his state of mind was pushing him forward. This was the most important thing, because he finally felt like himself. His brain had made him a spectator to his lives and deaths to protect him. The young man didn't want to be protected or to live his life like watching a movie, from a distance. But risking my life and dying again could put me back in that second state. Unless I can purify myself again. That fragment would be so helpful...

Capture the Purity fragment?

Cost: 40 Potential

Absorb the Purity fragment?

Cost: 80 Potential

Priam laughed. There was always a solution. You just had to be rich enough to find it. Yes! He mentally selected the second option.

The world seemed to freeze as an infinite consciousness touched Priam's soul. With a divine look, the hot spring lost its physicality. A thought later, it was sucked into the young man's mind. With his eyes closed, he saw the hot spring as a mirage. Concentrating, he mentally approached the pool. When he reached the edge, he bent down and looked at the reflection of his soul. He looked tired but smiling.

"Am I going to have to wait a long time and pretend everything is normal?" Claire asked.

Priam opened his eyes. The mist had dispersed, and he was sitting on a pile of white pebbles stinging his buttocks. Across from him, a woman who was still wet was looking at him disapprovingly. A gust of wind picked up, and she shivered. Priam looked at it one second before looking away. She wasn't completely naked and didn't seem to mind, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"You stole the water, and now you're stealing a glance." She began to laugh. "Do I get an explanation?"

"Sorry. I..." A notification stopped him.

Perk obtained!

[Mirror of the Soul]

Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)

PHYSICAL:

Strength 61

Constitution 78

Agility 92

Vitality 113

Perception 67

MENTAL:

Vivacity 78

Dexterity 51

Memory 30

Willpower 48

Charisma 40

META:

Meta-affinity 8

Meta-focus 20

Potential: 70

Tier 0