Chapter 247: The Floor is Lava—Cheater Edition

Chapter 247: The Floor is Lava—Cheater Edition

New Title!

[Lava Summoner - Silver] - A volcanic plume of about twenty-five kilometers, over five cubic kilometers of ejected material, and the energy of fifty thousand A-bombs; that's the terror of a Plinian eruption. Your work.

The floor is lava. And the walls. The ceiling too. You will lose, but will you die?

Sub-Energy Affinity +2% (Your affinity with all sub-concepts of Energy increases by 2%)

Most mythologies place paradise in the skies and hell in the earth's depths. At this moment, Priam understood why.

The pressure in the magma chamber was titanic. After stoking it with Pyro, Priam had provided an escape route through the tunnel he had dug. The superheated gasses caused a terrible explosion, which he survived only by merging with his Fire Unity.

Seeing the unparalleled energy released by the eruption, Priam became worried for his partner.

Esmée!

A split second later, drops of magma, semi-melted rocks, and vapors replaced the flames. Without fire, there was no Unity.

Priam reappeared abruptly in the path of an infernal avalanche that drowned his guilt. The shock of being yanked from his fusion with the Fire Concept gave way to fear as the eruption pinned him against the tunnel's ceiling with the force of a titan. The viscous magma struck him with unbelievable violence, breaking his bones like twigs.

Lvl Up: [Sun Steel Body] lvl 11

CONST +6

META (Endurance) +3

Coughing blood that vaporized instantly, Priam screamed as the eruption dragged him toward the exit, scraping his body against the tunnel walls. A mix of molten rock and incandescent gasses poured into his open mouth, scorching his body from the inside.

Lvl Up: [Fire Champion Physique] lvl 8

VIT +3

CONST +3

META (Endurance) +3

Fuck!

Caught between the hard rock and the pyroclastic surge, pelted by molten stones propelled at half the speed of sound, and with his esophagus burning, Priam knew his chances of survival were slim. An eruption could last months or even years, and his resurrection would place him back at the site of his death. A sure way to die permanently. Worse, if the flow carried him to a water area, the magma would cool, trapping him in a rock casing.

It’s at this moment I know I fucked up!

Furious at his dumb decision to closely observe the explosion, Priam activated his scales, boosting his friction resistance. The fiery storm and the viscous liquid began to flow around him.

Lvl Up: [Smooth Scales] lvl 28

AGI +3

Far from reassured, Priam focused on survival. Half his attention communed with Pyro, trying to find a way to calm the volcano's fury locally. The other half concentrated on [Kinetic Control] to lower the magma's temperature threatening to incinerate him and pin him against the tunnel wall.

Lvl Up: [Fire Champion Physique] lvl 9

VIT +3

CONST +3

META (Endurance) +3

Less than a second later, Priam abandoned the first part of his experiment, feeling the liquid stone solidify around him. He was creating his own tomb.

Refusing to succumb to the panic clouding his thoughts, Priam sought a solution. Despite his draconic scales and Fire Champion physique, the magma easily burned his flesh. Feeling his skin char and be carried away by the river of lava, he instinctively activated his kinetic skill on his own body. Slowing the thermal agitation of his molecules, he tried to maintain a viable temperature for his cells.

Around him, hell unleashed superheated solids, liquids, and gasses. The cataclysm sought to obliterate all opposition, and the young Homo Elysian stood in its path.

Because I was stupid enough to try tanking an eruption!

Accepting his mistake, Priam set his anger aside and fought to survive. His body was falling apart. His hair and scalp had vanished, and when his eyelids turned to charcoal, he winced as his eyes melted. To prevent lava from entering his skull through his eye sockets, Priam cooled the liquid, ending up with two obsidian eyes.

Lvl Up: [Fire Champion Physique] lvl 10

VIT +3

CONST +3

META (Endurance) +3

While only [Kinetic Control] kept him alive by preventing heat from gaining a hold on him, Priam felt his meridians overheating. Absorbing such an incredible amount of heat was untenable, neither in the long term nor the short term. Without his ideal and epic resistance, his pathways would have already failed.

Lvl Up: [Adaptive Golden Meridians] lvl 9

META (Focus) +3

META (Endurance) +6

It took Priam only a fraction of a second to make a decision. His primary goal was survival; everything else was bullshit. The part of his split vivacity controlling his kinetic skill chose to sacrifice his unnecessary body parts. His legs and arms were discarded, left to the mercy of the furnace that devoured them in seconds. The sensation was atrocious, but ever since the Tutorial, he had been ready to make the necessary sacrifices to survive.

There was a reason he was the First.

Gritting his teeth, Priam let his limbs disappear without resistance and felt relief as his meridians could once again absorb some of the thermal energy that was carbonizing his body.

However, even that wasn't enough. Priam was dying slowly, and the only way out was to adapt; it was time to invest his Merit points.

Trees of Merit

[Tribulation Wyvern Heart - Gold] - Tier 5: Locked. Requires a Legendary Title.

...

[Three-headed Hydra - Silver] - Tier 3: The poison in your blood now causes accelerated aging.

[Life is Hard; I’m harder - Gold] - Tier 0: Your resistances are even more effective.

[Mist Sage - Silver] - Tier 5: Locked. Requires a Legendary Title.

[Bloodless - Bronze] - Tier 1: Aether flows through your veins, elevating your body. LOCKED - Requires epic-grade temperance.

[Ace - Legendary] - Tier 2: Talented Candidate: Choose one of your Talents from the list and evolve it.

List: Aether Citizen, Promesse, Chimera, Spectral Familiarity.

[Soul Scarred - Gold] - Tier 0: Just like your body, your soul is now capable of regenerating to some extent.

[Breathless - Silver] - Tier 1: Second Breath, Second Wind: restores your body to its most exceptional form possible.

[Lava Summoner - Silver] - Tier 0: Gaïa’s Wrath. You can awaken any Plinian-class volcano once a week.

10 Unused Merit Points.

Eyeing the Merit of [Breathless] for a bit, Priam still preferred another Merit.

[Life is Hard; I’m Harder - Gold] - Tier 0: Your resistances are even more effective. ACQUIRED

[Life is Hard; I’m Harder - Gold] - Tier 1: You can develop resistances normally inaccessible to your race.

9 Unused Merit Points.

The change was immediate, and if he could have, Priam would have sighed in relief. The second tier of constitution allowed him to feel his resistances spreading their wings, gaining the equivalent of half a level of rarity.

As the terror of the flames became more bearable, a half-melted rock struck Priam on the shoulder, breaking his collarbone. A second and then a third were kinetically deflected by his add-on, which detected them through his Domain.

Pinned to the tunnel wall, submerged by an infernal river reminiscent of the Phlegethon, struck by high-velocity rocks, compressed by the magma flow, and eroded by burning winds, Priam gritted his teeth and waited. If a Tier 0 could survive a plunge into the heart of a volcano, it was him.

Lvl Up: [Fire Champion Physique] lvl 11

VIT +3

CONST +3

META (Endurance) +3

Stay alive and adapt. I refuse to die, I refuse to lose, I refuse to let this be my end. I REFUSE!

Priam never gave up. Never.

Rohan ignored the brothers' nonsense as he surveyed the forest. "One thing's for sure, these leaves absorb the corruption. It's a natural shield that could save the weaker members of our clan..."

The brothers nodded solemnly. They continued their trek through the rejuvenated forest in silence, ever alert; this was where Eleha had vanished.

"Do you think this is turning us into corrupted beings bit by bit?" asked the polite twin. "Like, one morning we wake up as skeletons?"

"I wake up every mornin' with a boner, does that count?" the second warrior snickered.

"You're as dumb as your father."

"We got the same old man, idiot."

"Exactly, so I know what I'm talking about."

"Silence," ordered Rohan. "We're here. August, watch the trees. Gustau, keep an eye on the roots. At the first sign of an ambush, you attack."

Following a Concept's guidance, Rohan pushed aside a branch and stepped into a clearing.

"Shit," muttered August.

With its tall grass swaying gently in the wind and the sweet scent of wildflowers, the place seemed idyllic. But a closer look revealed a chilling detail.

At the center of the clearing, half-hidden by grass, a mound of earth partially covered Eleha. The sight of the Tier 3 warrior half-buried and serving as fertilizer for a red flower was horrifying. More terrifying still, she was alive.

"We come in peace," declared the young master into the empty air. The clearing seemed deserted, but his instincts told him that attacking even a single tree would trigger a hard fight.

"To what end?"

A voice echoed in his head, and Rohan signaled his subordinates to be ready to raze as much forest as possible if things went south.

"I am Rohan Aelbes, sent by my Chief to retrieve the body of Eleha Aelbes."

"Dishnu, humble Drya and guardian of this forest."

When no other response came after a few seconds, Rohan stepped closer to the huntress's body. As he neared, a wave of aether surged through the tall grass, giving it razor-sharp properties. Each blade was now as cutting as a Tier 1 sword and just as solid.

The warning was clear.

"I came in peace and apologize if she caused you any trouble. I'm willing to pay a ransom, but I won't leave without her. She’s of my blood."

"This woman is more useful alive than any ransom. She helps the forest."

Rohan frowned and then felt it. Each heartbeat of his cousin pumped blood through her arteries and aether through her meridians. The red flower emerging from her mouth absorbed this energy and diffused it into the forest. Eleha was catalyzing the forest's growth.

The young man noted that the flower also paralyzed her nerves. His cousin wasn’t suffering... at least not physically. Knowing she would spend the next centuries as a battery without help was torture in itself.

Rohan sighed, placing his hand on his sword hilt. He drew and sheathed it in one swift motion. The crimson flower began to wither as Eleha's body relaxed.

In a single strike, the young prodigy had pierced her brain and heart.

"May her death erase her debt," Rohan declared. "May her body fertilize the forest."

"So be it. This is her last chance."

The presence vanished, and the tall grass lost its sharpness. Rohan advanced to the corpse, confirming the absence of traps. With a swift movement, he retrieved the core from Eleha’s chest and turned back.

"We're leaving," he declared, flexing his tiger bloodline to suppress the cat’s core. If she decided to attack the forest after her resurrection... Rohan had no desire to fight in the heart of enemy territory.

"Was that necessary?" asked one of the twins. He didn’t particularly like Eleha, but she was a fellow tribeswoman.

"We would have won, but we wouldn’t have killed him," Rohan explained, analyzing the core for any tampering. "If sacrificing one of Eleha's nine lives can appease a Champion, it's worth it. Besides, the flower had already ruined her body and meridians; she was beyond hope."

Of course, some treasures could have saved her, but no council member would have agreed to use them to preserve one of Eleha's lives—not even her great-uncle Felix.

"She ain't gonna forget that," pointed out August.

"I hope not," Rohan growled. "Our clan has enough problems without making an enemy of that caliber."

The Aelbes were powerful locally, but their young master knew they were insignificant on the scale of the Wandering Islands.

"Maybe this death will help her grow," Gustau chuckled, gently pushing aside a branch. The Tier 3 had no desire to become an aether battery himself.

"She's too stupid for that," sighed August. "Otherwise, she woulda learned the first time. This her third death now?"

"She has six lives left," Rohan confirmed before widening his eyes at the sight of her core. "Fuck!"

The twins turned, surprised. It was the first time they'd heard Rohan lose his composure.

"She should have six lives left... But I count only one active resurrection rune."

As he spoke, he remembered the Drya's words. "This is her last chance."

It was to be taken literally; Dishnu didn’t give third chances to the forest’s enemies.

Status:

PHYSICAL:

Strength 726

Constitution 1 175 (+70)

Agility 897 (+31)

Vitality 1 125 (+67)

Perception 767

MENTAL:

Vivacity (D) 592

Dexterity 658

Memory 853 (+11)

Willpower 1 168

Charisma 692

META:

Meta-affinity 813 (+8)

Meta-focus 415 (+3)

Meta-endurance 704 (+75)

Meta-perception 340

Meta-chance 274

Meta-authority 222 (+6)

Potential: 13 718 (+74)

Tier 0

Sun points: 1 482 203 (+802)

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED

[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until:

Time: 153 days 9 hours 33 minutes 2 seconds.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attributes > 900 / 1 attribute > 1 200