Chapter 68: Body Jacking

Chapter 68: Body Jacking

Priam's blood boiled at Anatole's words. The knuckles of his hands turned white and he had to hold back with all his might to avoid directly smiting the evil man facing him.

[Focus]. [Focus]. [Focus].

Despite using his skill, Priam's thoughts remained disturbed. His anger prevented [Focus] from truly calming his thoughts.

Realizing his anger would not be easily quelled, he embraced it and redirected it.

Anatole had to die. His threats were futile, and by doing nothing, his web would eventually suffocate all humanity. The Revenants would convert more and more humans, and a schism would be created. Priam knew that Anatole was far more dangerous as Master of the Revenants than as creator of the Abominations. The Viscount could destroy a thousand Abominations a day, but he couldn't stop Anatole's propaganda from manipulating weak minds. For many humans, resurrecting a loved one was a possibility too sweet to ignore.

Anatole had to be killed while there was still time. Priam intended to do it with his own hands, so his rage would be calmed by his revenge. If he was going to be angry, it might as well be in the service of his violence.

This thought calmed Priam and allowed him to reactivate [Focus]. Slowly, his seething ire turned into a cold, dark river.

You have gained the skill: [Emotional discipline - Rare].

[Emotional discipline] - The human being, a creature with an organic brain, is a species that feels seven emotions - joy, surprise, fear, anger, disgust, sadness, and contempt. It is not the case for all species, and this emotional capacity is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Some of your mental attributes - Vivacity, Willpower, Memory and Charisma - are affected by and affect your emotions.

You discipline yourself to regulate your emotions. You begin to impose your Will on them.

Note: Tier Evolutions are a way of removing these emotions.

WILL +3

Priam blew out his breath and loosened his grip on his spear.

"I suppose Anne told you about me, right? It's true, I let her get away when I should have killed her. But this world punishes us quickly for our mistakes. I'm different now, unfortunately for you," said Priam, raising his spear. "I don't negotiate with bastards."

When Priam threw his spear, he paid close attention to the result. Anatole had blocked his first attack, and he wanted to know if it was a fluke. The weapon disappeared from his hand, shot into the air, and hit Anatole about a tenth of a second later. The Urn of the Depths glowed, and some translucent shield materialized, blocking his attack. The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.

"It's useless. The Urn protects its wearer passively, and no Tier 0 attack can escape it," announced Anatole, an almost bored expression on his face. "Too bad for the people of Viracocha, but my word is absolute."

The Grand Master of the Revenants pulled a metal sphere from his clothes and brought it to his mouth. "Gather the civilians in the cathedral square. Start with Priam's father."

Priam gritted his teeth in rage.

Is my father in danger?

Answer: Papous is doing really well and will soon find you.

Priam sighed with relief before feeling his anger rise again. He'd just wasted a question for nothing. Anatole had mentioned his father and seemed to be looking for him. He'd threatened him directly to throw him off balance. You'll pay for that, you little fucker!

The Viscount teleported his weapon into his hand and attacked again. Whether an artifact was powerful enough to stop all Tier 0 attacks seemed impossible to him. The System had never suggested that Tier 0 had a limit. His conversation with Mercury had proved that the System controlled user performance through Tribulations. But at no point did an evolution to Tier 1 seem imposed.

If that were the case, some monsters must have spent thousands of years in Tier 0. Their power would undoubtedly be greater than a Tier 2 or 3. How could an artifact found by a mere human resist that? Priam was more than skeptical about Anatole's statement.

"If I were to believe an opponent I'm fighting against, I'd really be an idiot," he spat as he attacked.

His spear smashed against Anatole's shield, and Priam recalled it. He returned to his firing position.

Throw, observe the shield invoked by the urn, recall his weapon, and throw again. The cycle only took a second, and Priam had already attacked the master of the Cult a dozen times. He could have executed a more powerful attack by expending his kinetic energy, but a level up in [Kinetic Control] would trigger a new Tribulation. He was at almost 100 in META (Focus), and already had eleven attributes above this threshold.

"It's useless. You're wasting your time and mine," said Anatole.

"I doubt it, or you wouldn't just be a Baron. If my attacks really had no effect, you'd have defeated a Viscount by now," Priam remarked.

Anatole closed his eyes, and the Abominations collectively turned their attention to Priam. One of them screamed and leaped towards Priam. The chimera must have weighed several tons, but it managed to jump more than ten meters into the air. Seeing the monster approach, Priam leaned on his stalactite and pushed himself back. The chimera struck the ceiling with full force, sending tremors through the cavern.

Priam landed in a roll in the middle of the Abominations on a rocky floor. He drew back his spear to defend himself. With surprise, he noticed that no attack was raining down on him. In fact, not a single Abomination was moving. Using [Aether Perception], Priam saw that they were all linked. One of the links also connected them to Anatole. The man stared at him, his hand on the sapphire. Shit. An aether arrow appeared and struck Priam instantly.

The world disappeared, a black veil covered Priam's eyes, and he lost control of his body. The Viscount panicked momentarily before sensing a presence trying to invade him. [Brainless] allowed his mind to possess his entire body. Now, another consciousness was trying to manipulate his body. Fortunately, Priam's Tree of Merit allowed him to resist.

[Brainless] - Tier 1: Your mind is bound to your body. Any external manipulation on your mind must first pass the protection of your physical envelope.

Thanks to this, the hostile spirit struggled to take control of Priam's body. Rather than being manipulated, Priam stood his ground, and his powerful body helped him. The Viscount activated his Potential and concentrated on his defense.

First, he tried to use Micro. Unfortunately, his Heart Supremacy was not developed enough to repel the invader. Right now, Micro only gave him information about his body, and the attack was mental.

Priam hesitated to activate [Bullet Time] to gain time but changed his mind. It was too dangerous when a single level-up would trigger a fifth Tribulation. Priam then focused on formidable willpower and let his instincts guide him. He had accumulated more titles and more power than any other human. He would defeat Anatole.

Lvl Up [Manipulation Resistance] lvl 3

WILL +3

STR +1

AGI +1

DEXT +1

Priam was thrown brutally backward. He activated [Kinetic Control] to stabilize himself after several dozen meters before raising his head.

The chimera had a big hole in its belly, and Priam could see the cavern floor through it. The penetrating power of his skill was terrifying. The Abomination collapsed.

Priam stretched for a moment, checking for any major injuries, before trotting off in the direction of the corpse. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Gloria. The young woman seemed content to remain in her corner, analyzing the situation.

Had he been able to, Priam would have attacked her directly, but without aether, he could no longer call back his spear through the mist. Worse, he could no longer use [Aether Perception] to check whether she was setting a trap for him. If he could kill her by hurling a rock at supersonic speed, that would be perfect, but he suspected she'd have a way of protecting herself. Fighting an opponent manipulating invisible traps was a stupid idea just before his Tribulations, and Priam decided to wait until he'd recovered some aether.

Reaching the Abomination's level, Priam bent down and began to search the corpse with his hands. His resistance to the Depths allowed him this madness.

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

PHYSICAL:

Strength 155 (+3)

Constitution 258

Agility 166 (+2)

Vitality 284

Perception 299

MENTAL:

Vivacity 176

Dexterity 201 (+5)

Memory 50

Willpower 288 (+14)

Charisma 150

META:

Meta-affinity 141

Meta-focus 98

Meta-endurance 90

Meta-perception 32

Meta-chance 114

Potential: 1085 (+14)

Tier 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge OFF. Reloaded in 6 hours 22 min 36s

[Tribulation]: Tribulations are coming.

Time: 10 hours 42 minutes 30 seconds.