Chapter 128: Echo? Echo!

Chapter 128: Echo? Echo!

Lvl Up: [Swimming] lvl 9

STR + 1

The sun watched the waves crash against the reefs. Most were natural, simple rocky peaks rising above the sand. However, one obstacle had caught Priam's attention: a wreck. The discovery of the weathered wooden carcass of an old ship had initially surprised him, before he recalled his arrival. He had landed on a beach bordered by the ocean on one side and a city on the other. This fragment of the world had once sheltered a civilization. Perhaps it still does.

The exploration of the wreck had been as brief as it was disappointing. The ship was in ruins, and nothing more than the structure had survived. Priam couldn't estimate its age, but the hull was wooden. In fairly good condition - as good as a hull resting on the ocean floor could be - it must have sunk recently. At most a century ago. That meant intelligent creatures had used this sailboat in the near past.

Their descendants must still be here...

The wreck was as small as it was empty, and Priam quickly forgot about it. Nevertheless, he decided to stay in the vicinity because the location intrigued him. Less than five hundred meters from his base island, the wreck was surrounded by reefs that broke the sea. With a seabed less than thirty meters deep and obstacles as massive as they were visible, it was a prime spot for honing his future echolocation skills.

And so, Priam found himself sitting cross-legged on the mast of the wreck. He was ready to unlock this skill, and the thought pleased him. Who didn't enjoy training and discovering new abilities? To him, it was the silver lining of this new world.

Closing his eyes to focus, Priam began by recalling the basic principle of echolocation.

First, he had to emit a sound wave. According to physics, sound was a mechanical vibration propagating through a fluid. The only difference between air and water was that the speed of sound was four times higher in water. So, his skill would be more effective underwater than on land.

Next, the emitted wave would bounce off nearby obstacles before returning to him. He would then need to pick up these sound signals. Typically, this was the role of the eardrums, which captured sounds before amplifying and transmitting them to the inner ear. At the end of it, hair cells transformed the mechanical deformation into nerve impulses that the brain could understand.

Here, it was impossible; humans didn't have ears sensitive enough to detect ultrasonic waves. Priam would have to receive these waves using his Domain.

Finally, he would need to translate this information to create a mental image of his environment. This will surely be the most challenging part...

Still underwater, with the ocean currents caressing his skin, Priam smiled. All his school years weren't in vain! Without his high school biology and university physics classes, he would have probably had to spend Potential to create an echolocation skill. He would be his last resort. After all, his Potential was diminishing rapidly, and without a quest, it would be difficult to accumulate more.

I wonder how much I can save.

Potential - Skill Creation

Please think about the skill you want to create. The Concepts will help you in its design.

Current potential: 641

Priam contemplated echolocation, and the System offered him a price.

Potential required: 92

Create skill?

"I'm the wealthiest human, and yet I'm poor," Priam sighed in his head. "Enough wasted time, it's time to test the theory."

Keeping his eyes and mouth closed, Priam vibrated his vocal cords. Their vibration transmitted through the water, and Priam felt the wave travel through his Domain. The speed of sound was very fast, but the Supremacy, his perception, and quickness allowed him to keep up. This reassured him because it was the prerequisite for developing his technique.

Priam waited a second before grimacing. He hadn't felt the echo return. Not surprising with all this noise. Every second, his sphere of authority detected hundreds of different vibrations, from the crashing waves to ocean currents, or Priam's own heartbeat.

Mentally, he focused on the interfering sounds, attempting to ignore them. If the brain could ignore its own scent or the beat of its heart, then it should be able to filter out these sounds. Easier said than done...

Eyes still closed, breathing calm, Priam delved deep within himself. His Domain captured an abundance of signals and particles - light, waves, molecules, atoms, and aether. Activating [Frozen Meditation], Priam became a spectator of his own body. How could he ignore these parameters? Within the isolated confines of his skill, the answer seemed simple. Its a matter of willpower.

Breaking his meditation, Priam gathered this peculiar attribute. It was difficult to quantify his will. It didn't make him procrastinate any less, for instance. Yet, when he tried to grasp it to imprint his will on his Domain and mind, it responded.

Some interfering signals disappeared, but his Domain still picked up sound waves. Priam then had an idea. Why not use his add-on? He remembered his physics lessons, particularly Fourier Transforms, an elegant method for analyzing and decomposing sounds. His system activated, easily filtering sounds using mathematics before sending back to his brain only the important signals. I should have thought of it right away, Im so fucking stupid!

Smiling, Priam briefly surfaced, looking for a breath of air.

Thirty seconds later, he was back on his mast. Without wasting any time, he attempted to vibrate his vocal cords again. His Domain captured the emitted wave, then received several returning waves. Echoes. The first step was a success, and Priam smiled.

He repeated it several times to better grasp this new sense. Quickly, his face darkened. The waves he received were... raw, for lack of a better word. Instinctively, he sensed there wasn't much to glean from them. Before trying to force the issue, Priam took a few seconds to think. There has to be a physical explanation.

[Eidetic Memory] trembled, immersing him in his memories. At twelve, while waiting for his mother at the doctor's office, he had read a scientific journal about dolphins. These masters of underwater echolocation used frequencies higher than 100 kHz to locate their prey within a hundred meters.

A few years later, in a wildlife documentary, he learned that at greater distances, dolphins used frequencies lower than 60 kHz.

Pleased to have chosen [Eidetic Memory], Priam drew a conclusion from these anecdotes. The frequency of waves was proportional to precision. The higher the frequency, the more accurate the tracking. The lower it was, the farther the wave traveled.

Lvl Up: [Physics - Wave] lvl 2

VIVA +3

The level-up of one of his oldest skills - unlocked during the Tutorial to test the System - reassured Priam. He was on the right track.

If I want precision, I'll need frequencies higher than 20 kHz. It was bad news, as it was the maximum frequency of human vocal cords. Fortunately for Priam, he wasn't entirely human anymore.

Closing his eyes again, he vibrated his vocal cords, reaching for higher pitches. The higher the pitch, the higher the frequency. Quickly, Priam reached and surpassed the human limit. His agility and race evolution had altered his vocal cords.

Smiling, Priam used his dexterity to push his voice further. Eventually, the sound disappeared. Faced with this new problem, Priam put on a blas expression. My ears aren't sensitive enough to detect these frequencies!

From the start, Priam suspected this would be the case. Since the beginning of the Reunion, he hadn't noticed significant changes in the sound spectrum. His heightened perception increased his hearing sensitivity, not his hearing range. Perhaps by surpassing 1000 in perception?

Stopping his vocal exercises, Priam surfaced. It was time to do things properly. His voice could reach beyond 20 kHz, but could it reach 100 kHz? If so, he needed to know when. He couldn't continue training without knowing the frequency of the sounds he was emitting. Dolphins managed to navigate without ever hearing the word "frequency" in their lives, but he didn't have their instinct or physique.

Summoning his Domain, Priam linked it to [Priams System]. Treading water, tossed from crest to trough by the waves, Priam vibrated his vocal cords. His sphere of authority recorded the sound waves and sent the results to [Priams System]. Like an oscilloscope, his new skill provided him with the exact frequency of the sound waves he produced. Perfect.

Satisfied, Priam dove back underwater. Perched on the mast of the wreck like a lookout seeking a ship on the horizon, he tested his vocal cords. His add-on monitored his abilities in real-time. In seconds, Priam reached 100 kHz, only to realize he had difficulty maintaining a steady frequency.

Without a moment's discouragement, Priam summoned Micro. The Supremacy, on the edge of evolution, allowed him to pinpoint the exact movement required for a given frequency.

Upon reaching the edge of the island, Priam took a deep breath and dove in.

Lvl Up: [Echolocation] Lvl 2

PERC +2

DEXT +1

The light vanished as pressure enveloped him like a wrestler's embrace. According to his add-on, Priam was four hundred meters deep. He had calmly followed the ocean floor, getting used to his new skill.

The speed of sound in water and air was different, and it took several minutes for his system to catch up. It was now up to speed, and Priam wore a self-satisfied look as he explored the abyss. Around him, there was only a slope of sand sinking into the depths, some seaweed and fish, and a multitude of rocks.

His first goal was to unlock the next Title, reaching five hundred meters deep. The second was to learn to fight underwater.

The world must have heard his wish, as a second later, a wave struck his Domain. Priam lowered the frequency of his echoes and turned to his right. Spamming his skill, he noticed a massive shape. With each echo, the unknown creature drew closer.

One hundred meters. Fifty meters. Thirty meters. Was he in danger? Should he flee?

Despite the absence of light, Priam tried to identify his adversary.

[Identification]

[Adult Megalodon - Tier 0 - Viscount] - Its name means "Big Tooth." One of the largest and most powerful predators to ever exist on earth, this monster is a small fish around here. Physically powerful, weighing over a hundred tons, it smells the blood of its prey from miles away. Delicious in sushi.

If it's self-defense, don't be gill-ty.

A smile on his lips, Priam summoned Promesse.

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

PHYSICAL:

Strength 350 (+3)

Constitution 604

Agility 349 (+2)

Vitality 503 (+3)

Perception 559 (+5)

MENTAL:

Vivacity 310 (+5)

Dexterity 378 (+4)

Memory 116 (+5)

Willpower 598

Charisma 418

META:

Meta-affinity 295

Meta-focus 225

Meta-endurance 171 (+1)

Meta-perception 84

Meta-chance 216

Meta-authority 12

Potential: 656 (+15)

Tier 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED.

[Tribulation]: Three Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until:

Time: 177 days 10 hours 42 minutes 27 seconds.