A Novel Concept - A death a day, MC will live anyway! - C.210: Free Fiery Hugs

POT -50

His Potential flowed freely to keep [Kinetic Control] activated. Rather than immobilizing a stronger opponent, Priam froze his own hand.

His opponent's arm pulled with terrifying force, but Priam's grip refused to yield.

Opening his mouth, Priam released the Breath he had quickly condensed. The attack lacked energy—he had less than a second to gather aether—but his newfound ability to manipulate and concentrate aether had enabled a swift charge.

Pyro merged with the Breath to create a terrifying laser. The unknown woman blocked with her second dagger and Kazuki backed away. Turning his head, Priam directed the Breath toward the arm he was locking. It was physically impossible for his opponent to dodge, and she screamed in pain before delivering a kick to his chest.

The speed of the attack left him no chance to dodge. A second train of thought activated, and [Kinetic Control] absorbed a small part of the kick’s energy. Priam shot backward like a cannonball before briefly merging with his mist to cancel his inertia. Landing a few meters away, he used [Three-Headed Hydra] to heal his wounds in an instant.

Despite his rapid regeneration, Priam gritted his teeth. The woman's blow had driven into his chest like a battering ram. Two attacks of that nature would be enough to kill him.

[Enemy Tier 3 detected.

Analyzing attributes...

Probable Build:

Strength, Agility, Dexterity ~4000.

Perception, Constitution, Vitality ~3000.

Mental attributes ~2000.

Danger level: mortal.

Note: Physically oriented. Without a critical error from the target, the host’s chances of victory are nil.]

[Identification]

[?] - Hidden record.

Lvl Up: [Identification] lvl 14

MEM +1

"Not very encouraging..."

An explosion sounded, and Priam used his Domain to slow Kazuki. The hoplite landed at his side with a limp arm.

"Who's this?" Priam growled, summoning Promesse.

Kazuki shook his head. "A haughty representative of the local tribes. I could handle her for a bit with Knightmare but I fear for Oasis..."

Priam shook his head, letting the adrenaline rush over him. "Brother, your enemies are my enemies. Think we've got a chance together?"

"To win? None, but Jasmine is hidden in the shadow of the Tier 0 she accompanies. There are two other Tier 3s, but as long as we don't target them, they shouldn't intervene."

Priam glanced at the young woman watching the fight next to Hyshana and grimaced. He wasn't proud to take a teenager hostage, but if it were the only way to save those he loved, then he wouldn't hesitate.

"What does she want?" he asked, refocusing on the fight.

"Officially, access to the Auctions. Unofficially, she's testing us."

"Great," ironized Priam. "I might have a way to surprise her with a kamikaze attack. You have something in stock?"

"If the fight lasts a little longer, I should be able to reach Spear Mastery II, which should be able to penetrate her defenses. By the way, I've become an Ace," announced the hoplite with modesty.

Priam smiled. With such a rival, he had no chance to rest on his laurels.

The dust cloud raised by the fight settled, and the unknown woman advanced. Her left hand was badly charred, but was still holding a dagger. "Kelak coompa bla't’h?"

"... What did she say?" Priam grimaced. He hadn't had time to use a skill crystal and didn't understand the language of the tribes.

"She's asking why you're interfering in a duel."

"Tell her this is my land. If she wants to duel, she can do it elsewhere."

Kazuki gave him a slight smile. Priam had taken care not to offend the hoplite's honor.

The woman shook her head upon hearing the translation before pointing to herself. "Eleha."

After introducing herself, she flashed towards him. Promesse blocked, but the energy behind the blow sent Priam several meters backward. Without giving him time to react, a new attack followed. Activating Micro and [Kinetic Control], he parried again. Despite his defense, the impacts of the attacks were too powerful for his body, and Priam soon tasted a metallic tang in his mouth.

Lvl Up: [Sun Steel Body] lvl 2

CONST +6

META (END) +3

[Diagnostic] indicated that microcracks were appearing in his bones. With one good arm, Kazuki entered the fray to prevent Eleha from continuing her assault.

Priam took a fraction of a second to reconnect with his Potential. The artificial divine inspiration opened his eyes. [Three-Headed Hydra] exchanged his lifespan for terrifying vitality, and Priam felt his body restore itself. Opening his mouth, he began to accumulate aether in his draconic lung. A full-power Breath was their only chance to seriously injure their opponent.

Seeing Kazuki step back, Priam plunged back into the melee. His friend was injured, and Eleha was an enemy. That was all it took to make the world perfectly clear.

Eleha turned towards him. Her daggers sparkled as she tried to decapitate him. [Kinetic Control] briefly connected to his Domain to slow them down, but the Supremacy vanished. Her Domain supersedes mine.

Priam didn't let himself be rattled and adapted. Promesse met the blades, and boosted by his Potential and [Kinetic Control], [Parry] blocked the attack.

Lvl Up: [Parry] lvl 18

STR +1

Kazuki struck to draw aggro, and Priam stepped back to maintain an optimal distance for his spear. [Unrelenting Thrust]. Eleha blocked, parried, deflected their spears, and dodged. Behind her, Kazuki launched many pincer attacks to prevent her from moving. The two rivals danced together to occupy the enemies. Separately, they had no chance, but together, they had a slim one. At least, I hoped so.

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The Forum was the stage for a three-way dance. Though lethal, the exercise brought smiles to Priam and Kazuki's faces. Eleha was the most powerful opponent they had ever faced, and the danger propelled their progress by leaps and bounds. Kazuki seemed in a trance, wielding his spear with his good hand and adjusting his posture and guard in real-time.

Meanwhile, Priam was attempting to invoke his Domain. Sharpening his Supremacy over his opponent's, he prevented her from easily controlling the course of the battle. Each time his Domain imploded, Priam grimaced as he felt his soul space tremble. However, each failure allowed him to better master this power.

[Kazuki’s aether reserves are low.]

Priam grimaced as he read the analysis of his add-on. The high-intensity combat was taking its toll on his friend. We need to change the pace!

As a part of Priam drew from Micro I and Mastery - Spear to catalyze his spear skills, a parallel thought summoned his mist. Ice spikes enveloped in Conquest Aura began to shoot toward Eleha while a layer of ice gradually covered the ground.

The ice invoked by his Concept vanished before doing any damage, crushed by the enemy's Domain. Despite the attacks' inefficacy, Priam persisted: Eleha couldn't split her mind like him. She had to focus on each attack to destroy it. Her offensives and counterattacks were becoming slower, and her decisions suboptimal.

With a growl, Eleha's eyes changed color. A mental pressure descended on Priam, but his will and pseudo-apocryphal soul allowed him to resist easily.

Kazuki let out a scream and Eleha took advantage of the opening to slash his limp arm again.

When Eleha attacked him again, Priam gracefully dodged before counterattacking with a spear slash.

Lvl Up: [Matrix Dodge] lvl 8

AGI +2

DEXT +1

Lvl Up: [Hoplite Slash] lvl 5

STR +3

The deadly ballet continued for a few seconds until Kazuki’s spear blade began to glow. He was channeling a colossal amount of aether.

Priam's instinct told him Eleha would try to dodge. Closing his eyes, he activated [Moon Mist]. Boosted by his Sage affinity Mist Concept and a lot of Potential, the skill materialized a true cloud.

POT -150

[Kinetic Control] froze it, forming a solid air cocoon around the Tier 3 just as Kazuki struck with his good arm. Eleha roared. Her muscles tensed, and the cloud exploded under an Aura blast. Her first dagger intercepted Kazuki's attack, and the second cut towards Priam.

A radiant blade was ejected from the weapon and flew towards Priam. Neither his draconic scales nor his constitution prevented the amputation of his right arm.

Lvl Up: [Atomos] lvl 7, 8

CONST +6

Priam let out a cry as he fell to his knees. In shock, he almost released the Breath he had been accumulating. It wasn't so much the physical pain as the spiritual anguish that tortured him. Grasping his arm, he repositioned it, and [Three-headed Hydra] reattached it. His soul sighed in relief.

Riding the mist, Priam reappeared next to Kazuki and looked up at the center of the Forum. There, Eleha massaged her injured eye and stretched her twice-charred left hand. Obviously, blocking Kazuki's ultimate attack with just one hand hadn't been easy.

"She's using Micro to speed up her healing," Kazuki said. Despite the liters of blood he had lost, the hoplite still stood tall, and the hand holding his spear didn't tremble.

"No rest for the wicked," Priam grunted before riding his Schrodinger mist. His Breath was maturing, and it was time to end the fight.

Eleha spun around just as Promesse sought to impale her. Her palm diverted the spear, and she delivered a kick.

Priam's torso merged with Fire as he shielded Promesse with Pyro. The flames failed to burn his opponent but ignited her sleeve. Eleha's kick pierced through his fiery torso, and Priam screamed. The Tier 3 had employed a Supremacy or a Concept to hit him. Only half of his torso reformed. Fuck!

Kazuki arrived at that moment, a halo as transparent as the wind enveloping his weapon. When his spear collided with Eleha's dagger, the halo exploded.

The three combatants were thrown backward. Kazuki spat blood upon landing, and Priam attempted to do the same before realizing he no longer had a stomach. Between the two males, Eleha trembled with rage, touching a gash on her cheek.

Priam lifted his eyes just in time to see a flash of anger pass through her feline eyes. The clanswoman turned toward him and accelerated. Nothing prepared Priam for such an explosion of speed. Before he could react, Eleha transformed into a cat the size of a tiger and slammed him to the ground. Two long claws—her former daggers—emerged from her pads and pierced both his hearts and the Forum floor.

Lvl Up: [Aura Resistance] lvl 4

CONST +3

META (Endurance) +3

META (Authority) +3

Lvl Up: [Kevlar Tissue] lvl 2, 3, 4, 5

CONST +12

Priam attempted to ride his mist, but a flex of her Domain locally annihilated the Concepts. His cloak of mist and flame disappeared, leaving him naked as a worm. The cat looked down at Priam's second spear and froze, evidently surprised by her opponent's lack of clothing.

"If I still had a bladder, I would've pissed on you," Priam taunted futilely, grabbing the animal's paw and activating [Kinetic Control] to seal their embrace.

Eleha's surprise turned to astonishment as Kazuki's spear impaled her from behind. Under the shock, her Domain flickered, and Priam called upon the Fire Unity. He didn't attempt to flee—something prevented his hearts from reforming and he was dying—but invoked the Concept.

The Fire burns all, and here is my pyre.

His flesh transformed into flames, and Priam added a touch of Pyro. He locked eyes with Kazuki for a moment before releasing the Breath he had been accumulating since the beginning of the fight.

A devastating pillar of fire surged toward the heavens. The blast was so powerful that it drowned out a feline's roar.

That was a fiery hug.

Status:

PHYSICAL:

Strength 563 (+6)

Constitution 893 (+33)

Agility 555 (+3)

Vitality 840

Perception 719

MENTAL:

Vivacity (D) 516

Dexterity 589 (+1)

Memory 462 (+1)

Willpower 1 036

Charisma 631

META:

Meta-affinity 553

Meta-focus 358

Meta-endurance 361 (+7)

Meta-perception 258

Meta-chance 230

Meta-authority 57 (+3)

Potential: 9 850 (-179)

Tier 0

Sun points: 135 922 (+0)

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED.

[Tribulation]: Three Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until:

Time: 162 days 6 hours 2 minutes 53 seconds.

Next thresholds: 6 attributes > 600 / 3 attributes > 900 / 1 attribute > 1 200