Chapter 212: Life is hard; I’m harder

Chapter 212: Life is hard; I’m harder

Priam grinned as he saw Gabrielle's surprise. The teenager looked around with wide eyes, discreetly tapping the ground with her foot.

“A spatial pocket grafted onto the tree?” she asked in French.

“It's a natural organ of Log-a-rhythm,” Priam explained. Thanks to his privileged connection with the tree, he now understood that the organ grew with the plant. That was why the walls of the spatial pocket were made of wood and sap flowed inside.

“Did it absorb a spatial fragment? Or is it a spontaneous mutation? Perhaps an ancient bloodline?!”

Priam posed the question to the tree's instinct and was surprised by the response. “A spatial Tribulation raged here just before its birth. Log-a-rhythm was fortunate to inherit a spatial affinity.”

A Tribulation that had targeted the royal elf at the origin of the tree.

“Elysium is full of opportunities,” Gabrielle simply replied. “This space is rather large.”

Priam remained silent. The infirmary they had just entered corresponded to about a quarter of the total volume possessed by Log-a-rhythm. Above, a room three times larger served as a hideout for non-combatants. Priam mentally thanked Hyshana for thinking to shelter them. Jasmine wasn't the only one who could take people hostage...

As Priam prepared to lower Kazuki into a bath of regenerative sap, Gabrielle intervened.

“His wounds are open; he risks bleeding out if we put him in a bath.”

“This sap is thicker than water,” Priam pointed out. “He’ll lose some blood but not much.”

Gabrielle shrugged. “If you're sure there's no danger...”

Priam exchanged a glance with Hyshana, who shook her head. “Yeah, it's better not to take any risks,” he acknowledged.

Mentally, Priam instructed Log-a-rhythm to replace the sap bath with a reclining chair. Hyshana and he gently lowered Kazuki onto it. The hoplite weakly grunted when his thighs touched the wood. Even as the blood loss should have rendered him unconscious, the warrior clung on thanks to Micro.

A bowl of regenerative sap descended from the ceiling, and Priam handed it to Hyshana, who applied it to her husband's wounds. Priam studied his friend before furrowing his brow.

“Something is blocking his vitality.”

“His wounds are slightly contaminated by a Concept, which disrupts natural regeneration,” Gabrielle explained.

A dangerous gleam lit up Hyshana's eyes. “The bitc—” She glanced at the teenager before coughing. “Did Eleha try to cripple Kazuki?”

Gabrielle shook her head.

“She doesn't have the appropriate Concepts for that. Plague, corruption, necrosis, disease, sadness, misfortune... These kinds of Concepts can be terrible, but the Aelbes don't possess these legacies. Here, we just see a side effect of high-level combat.”

Gabrielle's explanation contained interesting information, but Priam was concerned about his friend's health.

“Concretely, what does this mean for Kazuki?”

“The higher Tier a Concept is, the more it tends to permanently alter the world—to pollute it. There are traces of one of Eleha's Concepts in the wound, which will make healing more complicated.”

“Will he be able to walk again?” Hyshana asked. Kazuki raised his head with difficulty, and Priam saw fear in his eyes. The Hoplite Champion feared nothing except helplessness.

Gabrielle immediately reassured the worried warrior. “You'll heal! Ambient aether is already breaking down the pollution. In a few days, no trace of the Concept will be left. I'm only here to accelerate the healing with some ointments and decoctions.”

As Hyshana and Kazuki shared a sigh of relief, Priam turned to Gabrielle.

“If you can help my friend, you’ll have my permission to use the Auctions,” he promised.

“Thank you so much!” Gabrielle exclaimed, bowing.

Priam raised his hand. “No need to bow. Do you need the Auctions to help Kazuki?”

“I have everything on me, but I need a workspace to mix the ingredients.”

With a thought, Priam asked Log-a-rhythm to grow a wooden table. As Gabrielle took out various powders from her satchel to work, Priam leaned towards Hyshana.

“I'm going to talk to the tribes about their request for access to the Auctions. Do you have an opinion?”

Hyshana replied without taking her eyes off her husband. “Don't let your anger dictate your actions. You're the Lord of Oasis, and its inhabitants rely on you.”

“... Are you asking me to forgive Eleha's tribe? After what she did to Kazuki?”

Hyshana shook her head. “No, that would send a message of weakness. I'm just advising you to use this incident to our advantage and get the best possible conditions. So that my husband's blood didn't spill for nothing.”

A portal opened in Alain's cabin, and Priam stepped out. Before continuing the negotiations, he had a few notifications to check.

Ideal upgrade available for [Erosion Resistance - Rare].

Prerequisites met:

Destruction and regeneration of all your meridians.[Bloodless]'s Merit: second meridian network.Destruction and regeneration of all your second meridian network.[Homo Elysian Obsession].Your meridians have temporarily supported a power exceeding 20 MW.

Ideal Upgrade unlocked:

[Adaptive Golden Meridians - Epic] - Through destruction and regeneration, your two sets of meridians have strengthened and will now seek to adapt to other abuses. Ideal upgrade potential. Potential Cost: 320

Priam almost groaned reading the list of prerequisites. The ideal upgrades all had nearly impossible requirements. However, [He Who Eludes Death] allowed him to achieve hardly feasible feats. Who else could destroy his body, mind, and soul without consequence? With this Talent, most of the conditions required to unlock a resistance's ideal upgrade were accessible. The real difficulty was discovering these prerequisites.

Perhaps the tribes could help him with that?

You have selected the skill [Adaptive Golden Meridians - Epic].

POT -320

[Adaptive Golden Meridians - Epic] -Like the cycle of water, aether has no source or end. Filtered by your soul, ambient aether is stored in your heart. From there, it flows into your body, fueling each of your cells and the runes within them. The pathways it uses are called meridians.

People treat their meridians with care. Without them, most skills cannot be activated. Instead of coddling yours, you showed them some tough love. Your extraordinary physique and highly adaptable metabolism allowed for an ideal mutation.

Your pathways widen, strengthen, and become more flexible to allow for an increase in maximum aether flow. The speed of aether circulation increases.

META (Focus) +6

META (Endurance) +3

"Ten percent commission is too high considering the volume of goods we plan to sell. Five percent seems more reasonable," Vysharratjekto declared.

"Seven," Priam countered, glancing at the Forum. Half an hour ago, Laepa had disappeared into Ymir's pavilion, leaving the Snaherts to negotiate their partnership with Oasis. If Priam had authorized the Gaesert huntress to use the Auctions, it was to separate her from Vysharratjekto and prevent the two remaining tribes from teaming up to pressure him.

"Five percent and our free assistance if a necro Envoy attacks you."

The image of Mirscella possessed by a Tier 3 Necro Marquess imposed itself on Priam before he managed to shake it off.

"You're only protecting your investment," he pointed out.

"And it's only fair that we're compensated for it."

"... Five percent, your help in case of an attack by a necro Envoy, and a list of the ideal upgrade prerequisites for skills."

Viktol gasped, and Vysharratjekto narrowed his eyes. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't commit to that. That kind of knowledge is the cornerstone of a faction."

"Only for common or rare skills?" Priam tried. "Or could we exchange them for the prerequisites I discovered on my own?"

Being more numerous, it was an interesting deal for the tribes.

"You..." Something sparked in the Tier 3's eyes. "Do you have [Poison Resistance]?"

Priam hesitated for a moment before answering. "I have [Poison Body - Rare]."

"A high upgrade, not bad. I can't promise you a list of prerequisites, but I think the Chief will agree to subject you to the Gu trial. If you endure it, you'll unlock an ideal upgrade. That's the best I can do, and it's already generous."

The prospect of a new epic and ideal resistance interested Priam.

"We have a deal if you leave our territory in peace. That is, Oasis and the rabhorn valley to the north."

That was Sumstreh's condition. If a Tier 4 approached too close, they had threatened to kill Sphinx, and Priam knew they would do it.

Status:

PHYSICAL:

Strength 582

Constitution 979 (+75)

Agility 561

Vitality 860

Perception 719

MENTAL:

Vivacity (D) 516

Dexterity 593

Memory 476

Willpower 1 036

Charisma 631

META:

Meta-affinity 564

Meta-focus 370 (+6)

Meta-endurance 381 (+4)

Meta-perception 258

Meta-chance 230

Meta-authority 66

Potential: 9 468 (-317)

Tier 0

Sun points: 138 788 (+72)

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: OFF. Reloaded in 4 hours 35 minutes 43 seconds.

[Tribulation]: Three Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until:

Time: 162 days 5 hours 8 minutes 56 seconds.

Next thresholds: 6 attributes > 600 / 3 attributes > 900 / 1 attribute > 1 200