Chapter 23: I Kant choose

Chapter 23: I Kant choose

Priam would have liked to tell Claire to back away to safety behind him, but he didn't want to lose sight of the girl. Besides, he wasn't planning to exterminate everyone in the room. He had questions, and a massacre wasn't a great start. On the other hand, it could be a great end...

Priam's plan was simple: get Claire out to prevent her capture. Then he could deal with the rest of the Amazons and Albin's men. He'd defeated two Barons, so it wasn't a few novice fighters that would scare him.

Anne spoke up, and you could feel the surprise in her voice. "Priam?!"

"Yeah. You forgot to finish the job with Orthos and Nemea, and I had to take care of it. Then, when I tried to talk to my friend Claire, she was gone! Lucky me, you found her. What a chance, really..." The young man always had a tendency to respond disrespectfully when people took him for a fool. Albin and Anne had led him on, and he intended to make them pay. Clowning around amused him, and if it would piss them off, that would be fine. An irritated enemy made mistakes.

"What?" Albin looked stunned. He looked for the young man with his eyes, but the mist prevented him from seeing him even though they were less than eight meters apart. Honestly, in such a closed environment, the young man did not fear confrontation. He had only detected one crossbow, and his enemies were essentially blind here.

"You're a bit slow dude..." Priam said while straightening up. He didn't have all day to spend with a bunch of poor killers. He had a week to find his family, and a day had already almost passed. But he might have a lead. The door had to be the passageway to the dome previously guarded by Orthos.

"I came to rescue my friend and get to the dome. As for you, I didn't much like dealing with two Barons while you... What exactly are you doing? Why is this door still not open?"

During his speech, Priam had taken Claire back into the cave and was starting to walk along the wall.

"How long do you think you'll keep messing with me kid?" Albin backed away from his men. He bumped his foot against a stalagmite and grumbled, "You can't see anything here! Surrender to my guys near the entrance, or I'll order my men to shoot. Paul has a crossbow as I'm sure you know and I have other guys with skills."

"I don't think I'm going to do that, and you better start talking to me politely. What else are you talking about? You're not much of a strategist, right Albin? If you order your men to fire into this mist, they would have every chance of hitting the Amazons in the crossfire."

Priam had thought about telling Claire to get down on the ground, then charging in. However, in real life, there were consequences to his actions. He didn't know the skills of Albin's men or Anne's Amazons. He would blame himself terribly if something happened to the young woman because he had been too thoughtless.

"Let's calm down." Anne had stepped forward. The Amazon had already regained her composure. While Albin had entrenched himself near two of his men like the coward he was, Anne had instead isolated herself to assert her willingness to talk. Courageous on her part, but stupid. She must realize the difference in power between us. She wants me to see her as weak but proud. To underestimate her. Unfortunately for you, Anne, I don't underestimate you. I know precisely what a viper you are...

"Priam First, congratulations on Orthos and the second Baron. The System must have showered you with awards. Let's not get worked up, okay? We can talk like civilized people and solve our problems," she announced calmly.

Her voice was calm but firm. She sounded like a mediator, ready to resolve an annoying conflict peacefully. Suddenly, Priam felt reassured. After all, why get upset when they could talk like civilized people? I'm sure with Anne, we can find some common ground. She seems like a fair woman.

"It is unfortunate that it had to come to this, but the men we killed on the way out were criminals. One of my Amazons can see a hint of 'sin'. They were probably rapists or killers before the Tutorial, and I don't want to have those kinds of people getting stronger through the System. I had them near me to ensure we got rid of them. Can you imagine the kind of acts that a powerful, evil individual can do now?"

"I guess so..." Priam stopped instantly. His body was getting hot, and his instincts were screaming that something strange was happening. His Will was fragile, like the flame of a candle in a storm. His Vivacity sharpened his logic and allowed him to think faster. He wasn't smarter, and the System wouldn't change his personality, but he was a better version of himself. Priam had always had good instincts as well as logical intelligence. Right now, the conclusions he was drawing from Anne's speech were contradictory. His logic warned him that the speech was full of errors, but he wanted to believe it. He knew the words were wrong, but Anne could not be lying. What a paradox. It would be so much easier if it were true...

Suddenly, Priam clutched his wounded hand to clear his head. The pain woke him up. The Tree of Merit [Brainless] allowed his mind to be protected by his body. His Vivacity prevented Priam from succumbing to this kind of manipulation. There was no paradox. His Will found strength in his conviction. He would not let anyone manipulate him. Anne was lying, and one of her skills was trying to control him. He had hated the manipulations of the System, of the Passiflora, and now he hated Anne's. His mind was sacred. She's going to pay for this. But she's pretty damn strong. Her skill broke through all my lines of defense. She must specialize in manipulation...

Anne had continued her speech, but Priam was no longer listening to her. Her skill seemed tied to her voice, and he was thinking of ripping out her vocal cords. I need to develop resistance to mental manipulation and find a way to increase my Will. This attribute is too important to stay so low.

Anne had launched into a great monologue to cement the effect of her skill. Priam cut her off curtly.

"You try to pull a trick like that again, Anne and I'll cut you open. Is that clear?" threatened Priam. His voice was full of anger, and he was close to making a massacre.

"... Sorry" replied the Amazon weakly.

"Indeed," Priam continued. "I can imagine the kind of acts that a powerful and ill-intentioned individual can perform now. Coldly ordering the murder of twenty men, for example. Not to mention that I have no way of verifying your Amazon's skill. It's your word against dead mens. Convenient."

"Excuse me for the skill. I got into the habit of using it to increase the resistance of my subordinates. I admit I have no proof of their sins. But you can give me the benefit of the doubt for now and make your judgment later. After all, it's survival of the fittest now, isn't it? You're stronger than we are, so you can execute us without a trial." Anne's answer made Priam uncomfortable. He had nothing against killing in self-defense. It wouldn't keep him up at night. But if the Amazons laid down their weapons, he wasn't sure he wanted to be an executioner killing opponents after a surrender... She knows very well what she is doing. She understands I am not cruel and is counting on that to get her through. I don't know about the other Amazons, but I won't forgive the fact that you got inside my head, Anne.

"Regarding the door... We have to wait an hour before opening it to not harm the guard's killer. Or have a title of nobility. Couldn't you possibly help us? We have done no harm to Claire. As you can see, we are not your enemies," Anne finished.

"You are not my enemies? That's simply because I'm stronger than you. Indeed, you haven't done anything to me that's beyond my moral limits - other than trying to control my thoughts - but something is bothering me. May I ask how you knew that a passageway existed here before Orthos died?"

Anne opened her mouth to answer before closing it again. She knew the boy would not believe another lie.

"That's what I thought. My quest tells me that this passageway leads directly to the dome. Orthos was the first Baron to be defeated. It seems strange to me that you have such vital information. Unless you have other information than me because the system does not treat you the same? Orthos was not the 'threat' we were all looking for, despite the certainty with which you repeated it. Do you see where I'm going with this? The poor dog was the dome guard, and you killed him. Or that you manipulated people to do it. From there to think that the 'threat' is you..."

Anne clenched her jaw.

"And so? What are you going to do? Despite what the System says to pit us against each other, we are humans looking to find our families."

[Identification]

CHAR + 3

Priam swept his eyes around the room. Every man and woman who met his gaze quickly looked down. They knew they were wrong, but most were just trying to survive with what the System had given them. I probably would have done the same in their place.

Priam's gaze rested on Anne.

"But some of you will have to answer for your actions. I am a selfish person. I put my family and friends before everything else. I am not a vigilante, but I will not stand idly by and watch the slaughter and destruction of human civilization. Indeed, a trial is in order. I have neither the time nor the inclination to be part of it, but I will ensure everyone knows the charges against you. You will be judged. Anne, you ordered murders and will answer for this crime."

Priam felt relief as he said these words. He was finally being honest with himself. In truth, he had no desire to judge these people himself. He wanted to be free, and that meant he wanted to be able to choose his actions. He just didn't want to bother with it. Priam looked at [Soul Mirror] and understood. His reflection seemed angry at Anne and indifferent to the rest. A new chain tightened around his neck.

In the end, the death of twenty fighters did not affect him personally, and he was no hero. The massacre had been horrible, and Priam would have prevented it if he had been there. But he did not want to be the judge of these people. He was willing to catch a stranger's jug before it hit the ground but not to pick up the pieces if he missed it. He did not want to see murder become commonplace and would never condone it. However, he did not want to be involved in protecting the people. He admired heroes, but he was not one. Priam did not intend to spend precious hours sorting out the truth from the falsehood of anonymous deaths. He would not be rewarded for it and had more pressing business. Delegating this responsibility to a court of law suited him perfectly. I am not a hero. I am not a villain. I am me.

If social pressure asks me to avenge the dead, I say no. I will not kill innocent people, but I will not be the judge of the guilty. I impose morality on myself, but if others do not follow it, it is not my problem. If I don't want to intervene, I wont. And if I want to intervene, I will. But I don't owe anything to anyone. I am me, and I am free. The reflection smiled, the chain broke, and [Mirror of the Soul] purified his mind. Priam finally shed the vigilante costume he had unwittingly put on. He was fighting for his freedom, not the freedom of others. He had confused the two for a moment.

And I want to get back at Anne.

The young man's eyes became piercing. His desire for freedom screamed vengeance. "But you will also answer for the attempted manipulation of me. I am the victim, and I will also be the judge. We'll discuss this later." You asked for justice. You will get justice. Now that I have isolated you from the others, they know I am only after you Youre alone, Anne.

"I think everything is said. To speak more would be useless. There is one simple question left. Will you let us pass and tell the dome about your existence, or shall I use force?"

The young man raised his spear and prepared a kinetic charge.

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

PHYSICAL:

Strength 78

Constitution 92

Agility 108

Vitality 126

Perception 95

MENTAL:

Vivacity 96

Dexterity 77

Memory 33

Willpower 48

Charisma 50

META:

Meta-affinity 44

Meta-focus 44

Potential: 208

Tier 0