novelhk Chapter 272: A Gentle Duel: Terminator vs Juggernaut
Chapter 272: A Gentle Duel: Terminator vs Juggernaut
The Terminator was a monster. An inhuman endurance backed by a robotic mind, as precise as it was relentless. His energy attacks obliterated the forest, annihilating any corrupted unlucky enough to stray too close to the battle. Eight novas would have drained any other rival of their aether, but the homunculus unleashed them without limit. Priam's theory? The Var Elegis had two energy sources: in addition to the aether reserve created by his meta-endurance, a nuclear reactor allowed him to generate a terrifying amount of thermal energy.
Against any other opponent, this would have been the end of the fight. Not for Priam. His instincts allowed him to dodge the core of the explosions, and his resistances kept him alive long enough to escape their blast zones. Plus, the fires sparked by the detonations became his emergency teleport points, thanks to his mastery of the Fire Concept.
The chase dragged on for minutes. Priam was regenerating his body while bombarding his foe with an absurd number of explosive spears... with underwhelming results. When it became clear neither was gaining a real advantage, Arnold switched tactics. Instead of trying to vaporize Priam outright, he decided to slice him to death with a thousand laser cuts.
While Priam could dodge the worst of the novas, he was a sitting duck for this new weapon. Star Wars had lied to him: dodging a beam of light fired by a machine was nearly impossible.
The next few minutes were as bloody as they were blinding, with Arnold firing several lasers at once. The beams targeted Priam’s most vulnerable spots. Eventually, the Homo Elysian had to shut his eyes after his opponent managed to recreate a disturbing scene from Final Destination.
The battle raged on. Trees collapsed, the forest burned, and the corrupted stumbled over the severed fingers and toes of a hunted rival.
Lvl Up: [Solar Resistance] lvl 21
CONST +2
VIT +1
Lvl Up: [Fire Champion Physique] lvl 23
VIT +3
CONST +3
META (Endurance) +3
Any spectator would’ve been horrified by the duel, but Priam was far from fazed. Sure, he couldn’t dodge the lasers, but did he really need to? [Homo Elysian Obsession] and [Life is Hard; I’m Harder] let him evolve, hardening him against the attacks. Most people fought to survive, but Priam? He survived to fight.
A fierce glint ignited in his eyes as he activated one of the last Merits he'd earned.
[Life is Hard; I’m Harder - Gold] - Tier 3: You can select a resistance and accelerate its rate of progression.
Selecting [Solar Resistance], Priam felt something akin to an epiphany spread through his cells. The next round of lasers ripped through his body, searing his muscles, scorching his skin, and stimulating his molecules.
Lvl Up: [Solar Resistance] lvl 22
CONST +2
VIT +1
The level-up arrived twice as fast as his add-on had predicted. A split second later, the lasers stopped. Clearly, the Var Elegis could assess his opponent's attributes—and he was too damn smart to keep helping Priam bolster his resistances. ṟ
“You’re stronger than me,” Priam admitted, breathing hard, one lung punctured. “But you won’t kill me like this.”
The homunculus nodded. “You’re right... I’ll have to get my hands dirty,” he said, leaping with the grace of a tiger.
Priam met his rival’s charge with a thrust from Promesse, slicing off Arnold’s ear. In return, a punch folded him in half.
The two Champions launched into a savage martial dance, clashing throughout the burning forest. The Var Elegis fought like a monk, using nothing but his body as a weapon. Their Domains canceled each other out, the clash preventing any Concepts from manifesting. It left only two bare-knuckle warriors, fighting savagely, trying to tear each other apart with their fists, feet, and sheer rage.
Priam landed an uppercut that could have cracked a slab of granite, only to wince as his joints exploded from the impact against his opponent’s jaw. The Terminator had earned his title. His body didn’t shapeshift, but the metal beneath his skin was so dense that Promesse dulled against it—not that close-quarters combat gave him many chances to use the spear anyway.
Promesse needed an upgrade, and that was possible with the reward he had just earned.
Completed Quest:Fallen
Once a Fallen, now a dead.
Sumstreh died the way he lived: stupidly.
The Sphinx's revenge claimed him.
Reward:
Bloodline Purification (+1%)
Talent Token - Seraph Rarity
[Talent Token - Seraph Rarity] - Choose one of your Talents from the list and evolve it to seraphic rarity.
Note: Talents are etched into the soul. Upgrading by multiple rarity levels may negatively impact the user.
List: Ultimate Sensory Memory, Promesse, Chimera, Spectral Familiarity, Hoplite Warpath, Blessing of Viracocha, He Who Eludes Gods.
Priam hadn’t delivered the finishing blow to Sumstreh, but he would get a second chance after traveling back in time. For now, he needed to pick a bloodline to purify and a Talent to upgrade. The bloodline was tricky. The draconic was clearly superior, but he could improve it by killing other carriers like the skulcs, certain Snaherts, or the Terrors of Valaryth. His phoenix bloodline, though, was much harder to cultivate, according to his mentor.
Choosing a Talent was just as difficult. There was no room for error—like his bloodline, the seraphic Token wouldn’t be refunded by Back in Time.
According to Hyshana, some blacksmith hoplites had enhanced mechas by incorporating new magical metals. Kazuki had also revealed that reaching Spear Mastery II helped awaken wielded weapons. In short, Promesse could be upgraded without wasting a Token. Other Talents tempted him, but Priam still vividly remembered how close to death he came when upgrading [Eidetic Memory]. Rushing could be fatal, even with [He Who Eludes Death] primed.
More confusing still was the presence of [He Who Eludes Gods] and [Blessing of Viracocha], two Talents that couldn’t be upgraded previously.Could my celestial soul be a prerequisite for improving them? If so, why is [Knight of the Aether] not on the list?
“I’m sorry, Osiris, but I don’t think I can share an island with your brother,” Priam mused, surveying the aftermath of Seth’s rampage on the tribes.
The corpse of the necro titan was visible, half draped over the fortifications. Braato was beside it, methodically dismantling the skeleton, bone by bone. The tribes wouldn’t waste the body of a Tier 4. Braato noticed Priam’s gaze and leaped toward him.
“...I’m sorry,” the warrior said, his voice tired, sad, and ashamed. It wasn’t in a Gaesert’s nature to abandon their allies in the heat of battle.
“Your clan comes first,” Priam said. He would have done the same to save his own family. “Seth...?”
“The shamans are hunting him down to retrieve the souls he stole.” Braato’s knuckles turned white from clenching his fists. “When they bring him back, I swear his soul will power our latrine enchantments for the next thousand years.”
Priam thought to himself that he had no desire for his rival to see him taking a piss. Unless he becomes a god.
“They’ll catch him. What about Ophis?”
“Leo’s trying to stop the monster that’s taken control of him...” Braato furrowed his brow, then gave Priam a hearty slap on the back. “But why dwell on our losses when we can celebrate a victory? The Fallen is dead! I don’t know how you managed it, but we owe you.”
Popped his shoulder back into place, Priam grinned. “You can pay that debt right now. See that rival over there? He’s trying to kill me, and I could use a hand putting him in his place.”
[1 hour 56 minutes before optimal activation of Back in Time.]
Status:
PHYSICAL:
Strength 782
Constitution 1 445 (+10)
Agility 930 (+3)
Vitality 1 380 (+10)
Perception 822 (+5)
MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 599
Dexterity 684 (+3)
Memory 896
Willpower 1 193
Charisma 754
META:
Meta-affinity 923
Meta-focus 444
Meta-endurance 804 (+6)
Meta-perception (A) 443
Meta-chance 332
Meta-authority 258
Potential: 12 485 (+13)
Tier 0
Sun point: 41 (+41)
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED
[Tribulation]: Six Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 152 days 7 hours 27 minutes 14 seconds.
Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attribute > 900 / 3 attributes > 1 200 / 1 attribute > 1 500
This arc is already complete on Patreon if you want to find out what happens next!
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