A Novel Concept - A death a day, MC will live anyway! - Chapter 162: Mechanical Phalanx

In the dark sky of Concepts Archipelago, a figure danced, leaving a fiery trail behind. The glow of the flames cast a supernatural reflection in the Fire Sage’s hair. If mist had invaded his eyes, the fire had transformed his hair. Each concept brought forth a physical manifestation.

Behind Priam, a pair of fiery wings vibrated. Each was composed of forty flaming feathers arranged like the petals of a half-lotus. Their size and placement left nothing to chance, exuding a beauty that would have moved any onlooker. Too bad the only one was the hologram of a dead Prince.

Analyzing his wings with his Domain—Priam couldn’t see them directly—the whole seemed to be the beginning of a geometric series capable of repeating. Natural inspiration and a touch of mathematics had been used to make [Phoenix Wings] a sublime skill.

But that was just the beginning. Forty pairs of feathers were a low number destined to evolve.

Congratulations on creating a new skill: [Phoenix Wings – Rare].

[Phoenix Wings – Rare] – With wings comes the ability to fly. Well, not for the emus, but they managed to conquer the Australians, so their honor is intact.

Associated with freedom, wings symbolize emancipation and represent the dreams of many men and women. Today, you can finally explore the skies.

However, be warned: the higher you soar, the harder you fall.

This skill is the start of a series.

META(FOCUS) +2

META(END) +1

Lvl Up: [Phoenix Wings] lvl 2,3,4

META(FOCUS) +6

META(END) +3

Being of rare rank, the skill was temporary and aether-expensive, but the phoenix had confirmed that one day, these wings would become semi-permanent. The ability to freely summon phoenix wings brought a smile to Priam’s focused face.

After another barrel roll, he came to a stop. Levitating fifteen meters above the ground, he focused on his new appendages. His aether permeated the wings, while his Domain fueled them with fire. Attached at his shoulder blades, the wings exchanged Priam’s aether for fire. Part of the cost was absorbed by his Fire Concept, reducing his expenses. The heat released into the air was captured by [Kinetic Control] to aid his levitation.

Thanks to his dexterity, Priam quickly took control of his fiery wings, but gaining two new limbs was a strange sensation.

Even stranger was their connection. The skill called upon his Fire Concept to summon and manipulate the wings. The synergy between Domain and Concept allowed potentially perfect mastery of the skill. Now, all he had to do was practice.

Thanks to the Harmony’s bonus of his concept, their creation was cost-free. However, flying consumed his aether reserves. Reserves that were not infinite.

[Aether Reserve: 189/235]

With the help of his Assistant, Priam could now gauge his aether levels. He needed two aether units for every minute of levitation. This figure increased when Priam tried to move. His wings would vibrate rather than beat, and his speed would then increase dramatically.

After over two hours of training, Priam realized these wings were not just meant for slow and steady flight. Any rare skill could allow for that. [Phoenix Wings] focused on speed and maneuvering.

A speed that seemed limitless. The more aether he spent, the faster he moved. Killing himself was a real danger if he forgot all caution. Test number two hundred and three.

Priam used [Aether Manipulation], sacrificing twenty aether units to his wings. The air thickened as his speed skyrocketed. Something gave way. He absorbed his speed a fraction of a second later, stopping less than a meter from the edge of his world. From zero to four hundred meters per second instantly, he calculated as his eardrums vibrated from the supersonic boom that just caught up with him. Not bad.

Lvl Up: [Phoenix Wings] lvl 5

META(FOCUS) +2

META(END) +1

On Priam’s back, a fifth pair of feathers gained realism, and their flames took on a golden hue. The skill was designed to change aesthetically, reflecting its level. Each level converted an additional pair of feathers. To Priam, it was as classy as it was useless.

“You’re a rather vain race, right?” Priam asked as he returned to the center of his world.

“Among other things,” the small holographic phoenix agreed with a smug air.

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“You criticize a lot for someone who just received a skill with unlimited potential.”

Upon hearing the phoenix’s words, Priam apologized. The skill was incredible, and the blueprint provided by the phoenix was as complex as that of [Mask – Epic], confirming the generosity of the bird.

“By the way, in this specific case, you misunderstand our vanity,” the phoenix said. “The feather color change has a purpose.”

“Other than social?” Priam asked while still levitating. The phoenix nodded.

“Legend has it that this skill was created by one of the first phoenixes for their disabled child. The ultimate goal of this skill was to recreate real wings, as perfect as those of a primordial phoenix. At that time, the Seven had not yet captured any of us, so this skill was developed in our original universe.”

Priam nodded and waited for the phoenix to continue before furrowing his brow at the phoenix’s silence.

“And?” he asked after several seconds of silence.

“Do I have to spoon-feed you all the answers?” the phoenix sighed. “Before the Tutorial, did you have access to the System?”

“No, on Earth we…” Priam widened his eyes in understanding. “Without the System, it’s challenging to assess our mastery level of a skill. The coloring of the feathers replaces level-up notifications.”

“Exactly.”

“Clever,” Priam acknowledged. Not as clever as inventing a System, but smart nonetheless. “By the way, you mentioned unlimited potential. Does that mean I can upgrade this skill to the Zenith?”

The phoenix scratched its head. “I learned this skill as a child to better control my own wings. I was so small that I couldn’t sign a contract, that’s the only reason I could teach you such a powerful skill. For the next levels, you’ll have to rely on the System because I’ve never needed its epic rank.”

Priam was disappointed, but it made sense. The skill was rare because it was suitable for newborns. That’s why I didn’t need to spend Potential to learn it.

“If I meet the right prerequisites, will the System provide me with the next skill evolution?”

“I think so,” replied the phoenix. “Now that you have no more questions, you should train. The wings can also defend and attack. During the fledgling stage, juveniles are trained to…”

The phoenix was wrong; Priam’s curiosity was far from satisfied. What were the other interesting Merits? How to better manipulate his aura? How to better master his Fire Concept? Questions crowded his mind. Nevertheless, for the sake of his training, he stayed silent and listened.

Lvl Up: [Phoenix Wings] lvl 6,7

META(FOCUS) +4

META(END) +2

Louis looked regretfully at the remnants of his left arm. They lay on the ground in a pool of blood, flesh, and bone. One minute ago, his will had finally buckled under the combined force of the crab and mental fatigue. Despaired, the old man had decided to fight back, refusing to die without a fight.

Saturating his body with his Mastery and exhausting his will, he had delivered a punch containing all the stress that the horrible crustacean had caused him. His vengeful fist had pierced the shell and shattered the Tribulation’s brain. Exhausted by the backlash, Louis had let his guard down. Adrenaline had accelerated his heart rate, and the blood pressure had been enough to blow up his left arm.

“I’ll tell the others I did this while battling an Earl,” Louis decided. “Or even a Marquess.”

End of a Double Tribulation.

The air changed, and a divine presence descended. Louis felt his attributes return to normal, while a multitude of notifications spammed him.

A portal opened as Louis selected his rewards.

“Glad to see you in one piece,” Priam smiled as he entered the Tribulations Chamber.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“I lost an arm,” Louis pointed out. He considered himself a tough guy, but Priam’s lack of shocked reaction bothered him. “Louis, how are you? Oh my god, your arm! You’re not even crying? You’re so brave, Louis…” Is that too much to ask?

“Ah, yes. With your vitality, it should grow back,” the young man reassured him.

“…”

For a person with two hearts, this kid is heartless.

Did I mess up? pondered Priam as he saw Louis ignore him.

Smiling, the old man reassured everyone around him, basking in their congratulations. Louis seemed to relish being the center of attention. When Blueberry dragged the giant crab’s carcass out of the Tribulations Chamber, gasps of surprise erupted from the onlookers. The old trickster’s joy intensified.

“You killed that thing?” Mirscella asked, her surprise unhidden.

“With a single punch,” Louis boasted.

“Can we eat it?” Blueberry inquired.

“It’s a great idea!”

“I’m hungry!” added Sphinx.

“Wait a moment,” Priam requested. He approached the corpse and analyzed it using his Domain. Unfortunately, his sphere of authority was small, and the giant crustacean was massive. Priam circled the boss before climbing on top.

There! Above the monster, where its armor was thickest, Domain detected something. The last time Priam felt this sensation was facing his own Tribulations. [Tribulation Hunter] activated, easily tearing a concept fragment from the corpse. Priam sent it to join the others in the pond at the center of his internal world.

Lvl up: [Tribulation Hunter – Unique] lvl 8

META (Chance) +9

“It’s all yours, Blueberry!”

As others gathered for the impending feast, Priam checked his reward.

[Concept fragment: hardness.]

A simple yet effective concept. Priam had used a purity fragment to enchant the aether siphon in his world. Perhaps he could use this fragment to reinforce the Tribulations Chamber? Either way, he was satisfied. His skill allowed him to benefit from the Tribulations of his allies.

Too bad he couldn’t use it during his allies’ Tribulations. The System would tolerate no cheating. After all, Louis could have easily defeated the crab if its shell hadn’t been so hard.

“Oh well,” Priam smiled, heading toward the campfire. The training was starting to wear on him, and he was hungry.

“What is this delight?” Jasmine asked between bites.

Sitting next to her, Priam raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never eaten crab? It’s a kind of crustacean that lives in water and devours anything it can find, dead or alive,” he explained to his subordinate.

The assassin shook her head. “I’ve never seen the ocean, and lakes are polluted on Arkana. The fish are radioactive abominations. Well, I’ve had aquarium fish once.”

Poor Nemo. With the amount of fish Alain caught, Jasmine’s diet was about to change.

“Have you talked with Mirscella?” Priam asked, looking at the others. Around the fire, everyone was enjoying the meal, with Blueberry handling the cooking. Priam suspected the bear had spent Potential to unlock culinary skills. Jasmine was right; the crab was delicious. Even Muyri, nestled between Sphinx and Rose, was indulging herself.

“We trained together all day. Her Tribulations are tomorrow, and I think she’s ready.”

“Is she better than you?”

Jasmine let out a small mocking laugh at the question.

“In tracking or infiltrating high society, maybe. As an assassin, she lacks nerve, skill, and experience. I’ve been trained all my life for it, and she… She’s pretty much self-taught,” Jasmine replied, shrugging.

Instead of answering, Priam chose to consult his Assistant’s report. A summary of Jasmine and Mirscella’s training was transmitted to him with just a thought.

“You’ve improved,” he commented, seeing the level-ups.

“Mirscella has new ideas about using certain skills. The System likes it when we explore all possibilities.”

It was absolutely true, and the reason why Priam hadn’t yet upgraded [Moon Mist] and [Kinetic Control] to level sixty. The System expected more before allowing the transition to Legendary rank.

“You’ve improved too,” Jasmine remarked. Priam glanced at her before nodding.

“I awakened a bloodline and unlocked a concept,” he revealed, summoning a flame in his hand. It danced, casting shadows on the ground. “You use shadows, don’t you?”

Jasmine nodded, closing her hand. The shadows on the ground gathered before enveloping the assassin. In the dim light, she was almost invisible.

“Not bad,” Priam commented as Jasmine dissipated her camouflage. “It’s a Tier 1 concept, right? Harmony stage?”

“Symphony,” Jasmine corrected. “Soon to be Unity. I received this concept at twelve,” she explained, seeing Priam’s shocked look.

“Arkana mastered concepts before the Tutorial?”

It was unexpected but not surprising. Priam knew his rivals had an advantage. After all, the hoplites had Masteries and Micro, while the Dryas manipulated aether for millennia. Only humanity was mundane. But with [Humanity Adapts], it was only a matter of time before they caught up.

“For centuries,” Jasmine confirmed. “Our technology evolved to use concepts. But less than one in a million people could directly manipulate a concept. Those who did called themselves the Chosen…”

Seeing Jasmine lose her appetite, Priam understood she didn’t appreciate those individuals.

“That’s in the past now,” he replied, not entirely believing it. Thanks to their bond, Priam felt that the assassin was concerned about something.

“Are you doing something to the fire?”

The question surprised Priam. Since the beginning of the meal, he had been practicing manipulating the campfire flames, controlling their intensity, color, and temperature. To avoid disturbing others, Priam decided to make only micro changes. The fact that Jasmine could detect a temperature variation of less than one degree Celsius surprised him.

“Yeah, how did you notice?” If Jasmine could know, then other rivals could too.

“The shadows cast by the flames are different. It’s subtle, but if I concentrate, it’s quite obvious.”

“I see. Since all concepts are linked, if I modify the fire, then the heat, air, light, shadows, and many other parameters change…”

His actions had consequences that his enemies could detect to trace back to him. It was good to know, proving once again that Priam lacked knowledge. It was expected as the System was still new to him, but it was a flaw he needed to fix.

While pondering, he watched Jasmine lean toward the flames to grab another crab piece. Priam’s gaze lingered on the slender figure of the young woman. She was really pretty, and her focused look added to her charm. Despite that, he had no intention of trying anything. This would not have been right because she couldn’t say no to him.

Even without that, Victoire had left scars in his heart.

“Damn,” Jasmine muttered, furrowing her brows.

Priam cracked a smile, understanding that she had set her sights on the biggest crab piece cooking in the heart of the flames. Because of its constitution, the crab’s flesh required a very high cooking temperature.

With a thought, Priam canceled the heat transfers from the fire. Jasmine’s arm reached out to grab the crab piece before bringing it back to her plate. Blueberry gave her a dirty look, which she ignored superbly.

Feeling Priam’s gaze on her, Jasmine turned to him. “Want some?”

“Yeah.”

The three suns rose, dispelling the ominous influence of the Necromoon. The entire camp was still asleep, except for Priam. His vitality and frequent resurrections spared him this waste of time.

The young man sat at the center of the campfire. Flames licked his body as he manipulated them. His Concept and Merit had further increased his fire resistance, and burning wood no longer harmed him. Better yet, he found the presence of flames… comforting.

Priam knew that a plunge into the small sun would kill him, but he was relatively sure he could now survive several minutes in the sun’s radiation.

He swept these useless considerations from his mind to focus on his concept. Enveloped by the flames, Priam felt their union becoming more intimate. Unity: to become one with fire.

Suddenly, his instinct trembled. Priam turned his head toward the center of the clearing. Twenty meters away, the air shimmered, and space distorted. A rift appeared, growing into a portal.

On the other side, Priam saw a phalanx of mechas.

“What terrible timing,” he grimaced.

The hoplites were arriving, and Kazuki was still trapped in his Tribulations.

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

PHYSICAL:

Strength 420

Constitution 773

Agility 432

Vitality 666

Perception 652

MENTAL:

Vivacity 359

Dexterity 453

Memory 185

Willpower 706

Charisma 456

META:

Meta-affinity 408

Meta-focus 298 (+14)

Meta-endurance 239 (+8)

Meta-perception 170

Meta-chance 228 (+9)

Meta-authority 15

Potential: 1120 (+17)

Tier 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED

[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until:

Time: 173 days 21 hours 40 minutes 58 seconds.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 400 / 6 attribute > 600 / 1 attribute > 800