CCTnovel Chapter 281: A Conversation About Ideals
Chapter 281: A Conversation About Ideals
Priam had no illusions: a mid-Tier divination expert could probably still scry him without him even knowing, let alone stop it. However, even they would now receive far less information than before.
“This is weird,” came a feminine voice.
Opening his eyes, Priam found himself nose to nose with Jasmine. “You’re way too close.”
The assassin stepped back with a mischievous smile. “Oops.”
He noticed she had changed clothes. Her sleek, sporty bodysuit had been replaced with a shadowy cocktail dress, dark as night. Made of shadows, it wasn’t restricting her movements in the slightest, but announced a shift in her mood. The sadness from earlier had been replaced by playfulness.
“What’s weird?” asked the part of Priam not constantly analyzing his surroundings.
“[Identification] is throwing an error, and my shadows are struggling to detect you.” Jasmine frowned. “Even my Domain’s having trouble pinning down your outline. But my eyes can see you, my ears can hear you, and my nose can smell you.”
“Just say I stink.”
“No, you smell like... a mix of smoke and nature, maybe?”
[Ciphered Record] was masking Priam’s Akashic signature—whatever that meant. It was expected that the resistance would block [Identification], but the fact it could also scramble the senses granted by a Domain or Concept was fantastic news.
“A skill truly worthy of its legendary status,” Priam smirked, sealing his Memory. Just one level-up of his new resistance, and he would trigger a sixth Tribulation. A stupid way to die.
“Think I could get the same resistance?”
Priam pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “It would definitely help an assassin like you, but I don’t know how to make it happen. Without the Sector Hope administrator's intervention or ‘Back in Time,’ I wouldn’t have even met the prerequisites for it.” As Jasmine pouted, Priam had an idea. “You could declare your Achievements? That would fulfill some requirements.”
“And ruin others,” Jasmine replied, shaking her head. “I’m an assassin. Some of my skills rely on me staying under the radar. It’s already bad enough being a Champion without drawing more attention. I’ll just wait until I hit other ideal prerequisites. I’m sure there are similar resistances out there for people like me.”
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” interjected the phoenix.
“Most ideal skill prerequisites involve putting yourself in serious danger,” Lasha explained, her sultry voice making every word feel like a secret promise. “If you refuse to level up your abilities and take risks, you’ll eventually die. The only workaround is to downgrade a skill, but that costs a ton of Potential. There’s a reason only one in ten million people has an ideal skill.”
“Priam’s got ten of them,” Luc pointed out, leaning against a balcony railing. Below, a sprawling metropolis stretched out—skyscrapers made of ice stood alongside stone trees. This extravaganza of wonders could have been the capital of a civilization, but it was the exclusive property of Lasha. The young man had almost been impressed until he remembered he would soon be rich enough to buy it all. All it took was for Priam to keep defying the impossible.
“Priam’s an anomaly. Most descendants of mythical clans have fewer ideal prerequisites.”
Luc grimaced. Even with the nearly two million contribution points he had withdrawn, he wasn’t rich enough to ask the Mercenaries to grant him that many ideal skills. Priam was a freak of nature.
“I figured some ancient clans would have more than ten ideal skills.”
Lasha, the manager of the Mercenaries’ Casino, let out a laugh. Luc knew she was teasing him, but her laugh was so charming he let it slide. The fact that she charged him normal rates for their lessons—when, as a Tier 5, she could have multiplied the price a thousandfold—warmed his heart.
“You underestimate the jealousy of the nobles and the powerful,” the stunning elf finally replied. “Few of them are willing to raise a generation stronger than themselves—afraid they’ll be replaced. Of course, there are exceptions, but those prodigies often meet an untimely end... or live long enough to become monsters themselves.”
“And us?”
“Us?”
“The Mercenaries.”
Lasha gave him a surprised look, then playfully mocked him. “You think you’re a prodigy in danger?”
“Not really; no one would dare mess with your boyfriend.”
“You haven’t won your bet yet,” Lasha responded, her hair stirred by a nonexistent breeze.
“It’s only a matter of time.”
“I hope so...” Her words made Luc’s heart race. “To answer your question, the Mercenaries were founded by people who aim to reach the Zenith. This competitive spirit and our strict rules prevent the slaughter of our geniuses. That’s why we’re one of the most powerful factions in the universe. Plus...” Her gaze darkened. “A multiversal war is brewing. Now more than ever, our faction is looking to create powerhouses.”
Luc swore he would be one of them. He would bet on every opportunity until he hit the jackpot.
“So, about ideal skills—anything else I need to know before making my choice?” he asked eagerly.
Lasha raised two fingers. “First, having an ideal skill saves you a prerequisite when upgrading it.”
“The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” It was true, even for a gambler like Luc.
“A universal truth. Second, a legendary ideal upgrade doesn’t require a connection to a Supremacy or a Concept. That means you can get a skill that’s outside your usual build.”
Luc raised an eyebrow. He already had plenty of skills that had nothing to do with his Luck Concept.
“You might not see the appeal now, but think ahead,” Lasha advised. “Unless you’re an absolute genius, you’ll only master one Concept at the same Tier as your soul. At Tier 5, you’ll get an evolution of your Luck Concept, and all your skills will center around that. It’ll limit your ability to min-max your stats, but it worsens. Imagine you run into a nemesis who’s resistant to Luck-based tricks—you’ll be stuck throwing epic-tier fireballs at them. Not sure that’ll cut it. But if you’ve managed to get ideal upgrades, those fireballs will be Legendary, maybe even Mythical. Enough to surprise an enemy who thinks they’ve cornered you.”
“Just Mythical?”
“After that, getting prerequisites that don’t align with your Concept is a nightmare.”
A gong rang, and Lasha clapped her hands together. “Break’s over—back to training.” She pulled a coin from her pocket. “If you guess right, you get to choose the next lesson’s focus.”
With a flick of her thumb, she sent the coin spinning through the air. Luc watched it, aware that with more perception and vivacity, he could simulate its fall and predict the outcome. But that wasn’t his style.
“Tails,” he called before it hit the ground. When the coin settled on the thick carpet, he smiled. His Luck was progressing fast, and he couldn’t wait to see the world through his Concept’s Unity.
“It’s getting too easy for you. We need something harder...” Lasha grumbled before smirking. “Next time, you’ll have to guess the color of my underwear.”
“You’re not even wearing—” Luc stopped mid-sentence. Too late.
“Oh? And how do you know that?”
Note: Talents are etched into the soul. Upgrading by multiple rarity levels may negatively impact the user.
Priam's mind flashed to his previous upgrade of [Eidetic Memory]. He had almost died trying to handle power beyond his capacity. If even the System felt obliged to include a note to warn him, it was certainly necessary.
“So what do I do? Sell the damn Token?”
“A two-rank jump is already risky. With [He Who Eludes Death], you can try for three—no more. You need to get [Chimera] to Legendary rank before you use that Token.”
With a raging cry, Priam stood and hurled the Token back into the pool in frustration. “Fuck! What’s the point of giving me a useless reward?”
The phoenix finally turned to face him. “It was a reward meant for a Champion capable of contributing to the downfall of Bastard. Is that what you did?”
Priam froze. Only Sphinx’s sacrifice had made Sumstreh’s death possible, and he knew it. His sole achievement had been surviving a few minutes against the Fallen’s blind rage and wounding the first layer of his soul—a minor injury, given Sumstreh’s origins.
“I don’t deserve this reward.”
“Of course you don’t. The System likely intended for you to face Sumstreh at Tier 1, right before the second Reunion. With several months of preparation, the Token would have been perfectly suited to your progression. You were clever using Back in Time, but you will still have to work a bit to make the most of this reward. At least, you have a bloodline purification.”
“One of [Ace]’s Merits can boost [Chimera] to Silver,” Priam thought aloud. “I need two more ranks... The Colosseum?”
“Wave seventy-five will get it to Gold,” the phoenix confirmed. “As for the Legendary upgrade, starting your body tempering should do the trick. It will purify your draconic bloodline, which will compete with the phoenix one. [Chimera] will react to prevent an internal war, and with some Potential—and possibly a death—you should be able to stimulate its evolution.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Priam said, opening his Merits.
Status:
PHYSICAL:
Strength 807
Constitution 1 187
Agility 948
Vitality 1 130
Perception 828
MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 599
Dexterity 690
Memory 891
Willpower 987
Charisma 648
META:
Meta-affinity 945
Meta-focus 444
Meta-endurance 804
Meta-perception 443
Meta-chance 379
Meta-authority 285
Potential: 17 872
Tier 0
Sun points: 1 000 650 (+41)
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED
Concepts:
Breath (T0): 100% / DormantFire (T0): 100% / UnityPyro (T1): 95% / SymphonyMist (T1): 100% / Symphony
Bloodlines:
Phoenix: 1%Dragon: <>
Rewards standing:
Fusion Token - Skill (Epic) x2Evolution Token - Skill (Legendary)Affinity Token - Tier 1 (30%)Alien Concept fragment (7th Terror)Bloodline Purification (+1%)Talent Token - Upgrade (Seraph)Revelation Token - Ideal Prerequisites (Epic)
[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 152 days 0 hour 44 minutes 14 seconds.
Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attributes > 900 / 1 attribute > 1 200
Next arc already complete on Patreon if you want to find out what happens next!
/ANovelConcept