CCTnovel Chapter 304: Last Stop Before Proxima
Chapter 304: Last Stop Before Proxima
Jasmine was mumbling in her sleep when Priam entered the igloo.
“More chicken... No, no vegetables, I don’t like them...”@@@@
“Nice to see not everyone’s fighting the same battles,” Priam chuckled.
He closed the shelter behind him and shivered. Maybe it was the purification of his Phoenix bloodline, but the cold always grated on him. With his constitution and [Cold Resistance], it wasn’t a threat—just a nuisance. The chill had a way of sneaking past his defenses.
“Jasmine,” he whispered, crouching beside her. From her shadow quilt, pale arms and legs poked out. She had probably just finished regenerating them. If everything had gone according to plan, he was no longer the only one with [Axolotl or Hydra]. “Wake up.”
“Mmh?” Her messy hair framed a single drowsy eye as she yawned and smiled. “You’re here.”
“I’m here.”
“Good. Let me sleep a bit longer... It’s still dark outside.”
“The storm outside’s blocking the sun, remember?” Priam glanced at the timer for [He Who Eludes Death] before adding, “Dawn’s near.”
“I’m still tired,” she mumbled, yawning again. “I waited for your Achievement before crashing.”
“Why so long?”
“Stress chased sleep away,” she murmured, a trace of drool on the corner of her mouth.
“...”
She hadn’t slept until she was sure Priam was safe. Worry had outweighed exhaustion. “Go back to sleep,” he said, brushing her hair gently. “I’ll make something to eat.”
A contented smile graced her lips as she nestled her head onto his lap. Moments later, her breathing evened out, soft and steady.
It took Priam five minutes to extricate himself from her grasp without waking her.
“Did you find a lingerie store in the eye of the cyclone?”
A few hours later, Jasmine was fully awake, raising an eyebrow at him. Draped in a shadow-woven dress that clung to her curves like a second skin, she radiated her usual lethal charm.
“Nah. I ran into a System Administrator,” Priam explained, flipping a slab of meat on the makeshift grill. Usually a fan of French breakfasts—hot chocolate or coffee with a pastry—he was broadening his horizons today by sampling what amounted to yeti bacon.
“Unless he gave you that boxer, I’m not seeing the connection.”
“He did give me this boxer,” Priam groaned. “I think he was angling for free advertising for his brand. Every mid-Tier who divines me will get an eyeful.”
“Would you prefer they saw your junk instead?”
Priam’s only response was a grunt. “This Administrator... I’m starting to think he keeps tabs on me. He even spices up the descriptions of my skills and Titles for his own amusement.”
He recalled the quirky annotations in his skill logs and wondered just how much Thaal knew about him. Some of the details predated the Tutorial. Had the System been keeping files on all its prospective users even before integration? rᴀꞐồbÊⱾ
“So he’s watching you like The Truman Show?”
“Yeah. Wait—how do you know about that?” Hearing pop culture references from Jasmine threw him off.
“Rose told me,” Jasmine laughed before adding, “Though I gotta admit, it’s hilarious that a Tier 8 got so fed up with you strutting around naked he crossed worlds just to gift you underwear.”
“That’s not the only reason he came!” A shadow of doubt crept into Priam’s mind. Thaal had claimed the matter was beneath him. “At least, I hope not...”
“Well, at least he has taste—it suits you. Give us a spin?”
Without quite knowing why, Priam complied.
“Yup, makes your butt look great,” Jasmine declared. “Though it’s gonna make practicing [True Sight] harder for me...”
“That’s your skill to pierce illusions, right?”
“Yeah, it works against all kinds of visual barriers—shadows, mist, flames. Super handy when my targets try to disguise themselves.”
Priam stayed silent, cheeks flushed, focusing on the sizzling meat. All this time, she’d been able to see...
Hail pelted Priam’s skin without leaving a mark. The weather in the second zone could level cities, but it wasn’t enough to faze him anymore. Recent level-ups had made the storm’s outskirts a mere inconvenience.
Lvl Up: [Cold Resistance] lvl 8, 9, 10
CONST +3
VIT +6
Lvl Up: [Shear Resistance] lvl 2, 3, 4
CONST +21
META (Endurance) +6
Lvl Up: [Sun Steel Body] lvl 16
CONST +6
META (Endurance) +3
“You got so many rewards, and I got nothing!” Jasmine grumbled.
“You didn’t even make it to the eye of the Deluge,” Priam pointed out, floating above the icy water. “In fact, you hitched a ride with me to get to the fourth zone. Objectively speaking, you don’t even deserve Valaryth’s rewards.”
“Everyone’s got their own travel style. You like trudging through snow; I prefer lounging in your shadow. Same destination, different means.”
Despite missing the System’s quest, the lazy woman had still reaped Valaryth’s gifts. Not bad for a few hours hidden in Priam’s shadow.
“By the way, why’d you ask to enchant Sumstreh’s core with [Free Will]? Wouldn’t the seventh Terror’s core have worked just as well? It had a strong mind affinity, perfect for bolstering your resistance.”
Thaal—or rather the System—had agreed to infuse Sumstreh’s core with the essence of a compatible High Tribulation for a Soul gate. Still, Priam already had an ideal trophy worthy of [Free Will]: the seventh Terror’s core. The reason he hadn’t chosen the essence of another gate as his reward was simple.
“Honestly, I thought about it—it was the easy option. Our chat made me reconsider. Thaal might be eccentric, the words of a Tier 8 carry weight. He seemed to emphasize the concept of Story, implying a connection between Myth creation and immortality. I think he was referring to Tier 7.”
“Isn’t it a bit early to worry about that?”
“The farther ahead you plan, the fewer dead ends you hit,” Priam replied, braving the gale-force winds. “I’d rather prep for Tier 7 now than discover later that a shortcut I took closed crucial doors.”
“It’s not really your fault; you couldn’t have known.”
“People who lose everything will still look for someone to blame.”
“Why not the System? It gave you this quest.”
“They’ll want a scapegoat they can punish,” Priam clarified. “It’s pointless, but cathartic.”
“If they’re determined to find someone, they’ll pick you anyway. You’re an invader, after all...”
“Not if I give them someone else first,” Priam mused, landing lightly on the roof of his outpost. He greeted Myuri and the artisans before stepping through the portal.
In Oasis, the situation was relatively calm. Corrupted attacks were dangerous, but everyone had grown accustomed to them. His father and Rose were still embroiled in their respective Tribulations, so Priam sought out Kazuki. The hoplite stood in the clearing, organizing the departure. Each mech present hauled a wooden crate filled with samples of Elysium’s flora and fauna—a request from the hoplite scientists.
“Congratulations on your High Tribulation,” Kazuki greeted him, the wind whispering Priam’s arrival.
“Thanks. Congrats on regrowing your arms and legs. Did you unlock [Axolotl or Hydra]?”
“Indeed. Now, my wife will stop feeding me with a spoon.”
“I’m heartbroken I missed that.”
Kazuki’s lips twitched into a faint smile before he asked the inevitable. “So, it’s decided? You’re triggering your quintuple on Proxima?”
“I trust our civilizations more than I trust the Terrors—or our rivals,” Priam confirmed. At least, I can beat the shit out of them if they try something funny.
“Very well.” Kazuki turned to the convoy. “We have been waiting for you. Anything you need to pack?”
“Just my boxers, Promesse, and my inner world,” Priam grinned. “I travel light.”
“Cheater,” his shadow muttered.
Kazuki nodded and signaled Hyshana to activate the Hearthstone. A portal opened before her.
“Proxima—battlefield of civilizations.” With those words, she stepped through, followed by half her subordinates and Kazuki.
Ready to face his Tribulations, Priam left Elysium.
Status:
PHYSICAL:
Strength 893
Constitution 1 422 (+39)
Agility 1 173
Vitality 1 322 (+12)
Perception 858
MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 599
Dexterity 752
Memory 891
Willpower 1 012
Charisma 653
META:
Meta-affinity 999
Meta-focus 559
Meta-endurance 915 (+13)
Meta-perception 539
Meta-chance 594
Meta-authority 429
Potential: 27 621 (+18)
Tier 0
Sun points: 1 143 444
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: OFF. Reloaded in 15 hours 48 minutes 50 seconds.
Concepts:
Breath (T0): 100% / HarmonyFire (T0): 100% / UnityPyro (T1): 100% / Half-step UnityMist (T1): 100% / Symphony
Bloodlines:
Phoenix: 3%Dragon: 1%
Rewards standing:
Fusion Token - Skill (Epic) Evolution Token - Skill (Legendary)Affinity Token - Tier 1 (30%)Alien Concept fragment (7th Terror)Talent Token - Upgrade (Seraph)Revelation Token - Ideal Prerequisites (Epic)Colosseum VIP TokenReborn Token - Reset biological lifespan (Legendary) Minor skill EpiphanyHigh Tribulation essence (Soul Tailored - Sumstreh’s half core)Seed of PotentialTrophy Compass
[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 132 days 16 hours 18 minutes 3 seconds.
Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 900 / 3 attributes > 1 200 / 1 attribute > 1 500
Next arc already complete on Patreon if you want to find out what happens next!
/ANovelConcept