Chương 346: Chapter 336: End of the Tribulations - Part 3

Eyes shut, Priam summoned a dozen fire spears, unleashing them blindly into the enemy's toxic haze. The thick fog made aiming impossible, but when one of the explosions sounded different, he smiled. That hadn't been rubble. The wyrm's scales were tough, but not invincible. Zeroing in on their approximate position, Priam wrenched a massive chunk of concrete from the wreckage and launched it like a trebuchet. The bunker shook with the impact, but no enraged roar followed—he had missed. Not that it mattered.

Priam had always been more artillery than sniper. At Unity, Pyro barely cost anything to maintain, and each of his flame spears could punch through the armor of a modern tank. [Kinetic Sovereignty] offered a secondary offensive mode, and most of the nearby debris had already been launched at supersonic speeds toward his enemies. The only obstacle between him and victory was visibility, but even that was shifting in his favor.

According to the Mercenaries, the first threshold of Meta Authority allowed a person to better resist the dominance of a higher-tier Aether. If two opponents of equal attributes and skill fired off [Fire Arrows] at one another, the one with the weaker Soul Tier would suffer greater damage. That passive rule didn't apply here, since they were all Tier 0—but Priam's Concept was undoubtedly stronger. Bit by bit, his mist was gaining ground against the elf's blight, shrinking her safe zone.

At this rate, in ten minutes, his Domain would consume the entire bunker. He just didn't have ten minutes. His arms—half-devoured by his enemy's creation—made that abundantly clear. The virus wasn't simply infecting his cells; stripping him of his limbs at the fundamental level. Any cell that resisted the virus was detonated from within to prevent the development of a resistant strain. Worse, those explosions were scattering viral agents to infect its neighbors.

It was a self-correcting weapon, preventing mutation and stunting the growth of [Virus Resistance] by design. Understanding the horror of his son's creation, Priam had devoted half of his focus to purging the infection. In vain. Biology had never been his strong suit since he had dropped the subject in high school to focus on physics and engineering. His strategies were desperate at best.

First, he had tried isolating infected cells with his Domain only to realize that while it could detect them, his authority's sphere lacked the resolution to analyze what was happening at a microscopic level. The supremacy best suited for pinpointing contamination was Micro, but the elf had been right—at his current rank, he could not command his cells at that scale. Still, Priam refused to give up and turned to magic. Constructing runes to create a magnifying lens had worked—to a degree.

But it was a crude substitute for a microscope and failed to penetrate deep enough to discern cellular changes. As a last resort, Priam studied the hidden aetheric signature embedded in every part of his body. Like an authentication certificate, it defined what belonged to him. If the virus corrupted his cells, it had to leave a mark—just like a drop of ink darkening a glass of water. He just had to track it.

[Ideal Aether Perception] allowed him to compare the aetheric signatures of hundreds of his cells, and the results confirmed his theory: the virus tainted the magical imprint. Not enough for his soul to reject them outright, but enough to see the difference. Though it validated his hypothesis, the discovery left Priam with a dry mouth.

"I just checked a thousand of my cells… aside from the ones in my eyes, all of them are infected." Even the virus seemed to respect the presence of his ocular curse.

"Shit," Jasmine muttered.

"This bastard got you."

"He's my son. He knows my weaknesses."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm no healer. I can't fix this." Priam glanced down at his legs and grimaced—there was nothing left below his knees. His upper body wasn't faring any better; his arms ended at the elbows.

"The current stalemate isn't in my favor. I need to end this while I still can." Jasmine answered with the mental equivalent of a hug, and Priam managed a faint smile before halting the production of his flaming spears. A surreal silence settled over the bunker for a few seconds before the Champion burst into flames, transforming into a living torch. Whatever Concept that undead elf was using, it had burned his face like hellfire before, and Priam wasn't eager to dive headfirst into agony again.

"Round two," he announced before charging forward. He streaked into the corrosive mist like a comet, growling as it smothered his flames. Time was running out. Darting through the thick fog, he scanned for his enemy. The elf found him first. A spectral arrow slammed into his flaming body, and Priam roared in pain. Whipping around, he surged toward the attack's origin, spotting the rider nocking another arrow on a bow made of bone.

The second shot pierced through his form, injecting an alien Concept that forced him out of his energy state. Priam reappeared, wearing a manic grin. Reduced to little more than a torso, he lunged forward to deliver a brutal headbutt. The impact sent the elf flying from her mount. As she fell, the Juggernaut followed, mouth open, inhaling the ambient aether. Along with it, he swallowed a lungful of corrosive gas which seared his throat. Priam endured it stoically.

Anyone hoping to win without sacrifice crumbled at the first hardship. Draashat'h crashed into the ground gracelessly—an expected outcome as she had lost both legs—and rolled for several meters before managing to face the sky. With the elf's furious mount hot on his heels, Priam reached her too quickly for the elf to defend herself. He delivered another headbutt, hard enough to fracture her skull, then pinned her down with [Kinetic Sovereignty].

As he prepared to unleash a point-blank Breath attack, the necro wyrm roared, and an undeniable certainty gripped Priam. That thing just tied our fates together. That wyrm has karmic powers! Anyone else would have hesitated. Priam didn't. He opened his mouth wide just as the necro rider screamed in French.

"You'll die if you do this!" The Juggernaut winked at the stunned elf and unleashed his Breath. Congratulations, you are dead! Your Talent [He Who Eludes Death] brings you back to life once a day. Number of deaths: 26 Synergy detected with your talent [Homo Elysian Obsession] and your Titles [Three-Headed Hydra] and [Life is Hard; I'm Harder]. Your body and spirit are rebuilt and will be more resistant to what killed them: … Attribute potential redirected to skills per user request.

Lvl Up: [Necro Resistance] lvl 13, 14 VIT +6 WILL +6 META(Endurance) +6 Lvl Up: [Fire Champion Physique] lvl 34, 35 VIT +6 CONST +6 META (Endurance) +6 Lvl Up: [Shear Resistance] lvl 6 CONST +7 META (Endurance) +2 Lvl up: [Consequence Resistance] lvl 13 CHAR +3 META (Chance) +6 Lvl Up: [Poison Body] lvl 32, 33 CONST +2 VIT +2 META (Endurance) +2 Lvl Up: [Virus Resistance] lvl 12,..., 20 VIT +9 [Virus Resistance] has reached level 20, its maximum level as a mundane skill.

Depending on your feats, three upgrades are available: [Virus Resistance - Rare] - General upgrade. No future upgrade possible. Potential Cost: 5 Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. [Virus Resilience - Rare] - You have survived over a hundred different viruses. Future upgrades possible.

Potential Cost: 10 [Biological Virus Resistance - Rare] - Every cell in your body has succumbed to a magically engineered virus capable of bringing any low-tier, carbon-based race to its knees. High upgrade potential. Potential Cost: 20 You have selected the skill [Biological Virus Resistance - Rare]. POT -20 [Biological Virus Resistance] - Biological, magical, or digital, a virus is an agent that hijacks a system's resources to replicate itself.

The membranes of your cells have evolved to hinder access to biological threats. What spreads rapidly, destroying its environment without thought? Answer: Humanity. VIT +3 New Title! [Genitaless - Silver] - Whether by choice or misfortune, you have lost your external genitalia—the full package. Let's see the glass half full: that's one less weak point. Most eunuchs earn the Bronze rarity easily, but achieving Silver requires more… creative solutions.

Erasing all traces of your penis from your genetic code qualifies. The System's kid-friendly policy promotes the term [Genitaless]. Everyone else just calls it [Dickless]. CONST +1 You now have increased resistance to manipulation from the fair sex. Your voice can now hit higher notes. This fucking System is screwing with me… [Scarred Soul - Gold] becomes [Twisted Soul - Legendary]! [Twisted Soul] - The essence of your being, the seat of your consciousness, the home of your Concepts, the soul is all that and more.

Yours has been irreversibly altered. In most cases, this would warrant an apocryphal classification, but your Story remains free of that designation for now. It is strongly advised not to attempt upgrading this Title. META (Endurance) +10% META (Chance) +20% META (Authority) +10% NEW Shit. When Priam opened his eyes, everything was dark, and the stench of rotting flesh assaulted his nose. It took him nearly five seconds to realize he was inside the wyrm's stomach.

"If I had a nickel for every time a draconic creature swallowed me during a Tribulation, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice," he joked before summoning the full wrath of Pyro. A few spasms later, the wyrm hurriedly vomited out the human cosplaying as a nuclear warhead. The bunker was bathed in a dim, flickering glow from the still-burning debris as Priam burst from the reptile's maw. The corrosive cloud had finally dispersed and only his nemesis and the wyrm remained.

Of the zoophile elf, only a charred silhouette remained on the ground.

"Welcome back," said his son. Clearly, he was used to his father not staying dead for long. Which, perhaps, explained Priam's current predicament. The Champion frowned, glancing down—no arms, no legs. His resurrection was supposed to restore him fully, yet…

"The link between my soul and body screwed me over," he realized.

"By modifying my genome, you altered the physical blueprint recorded by my soul."

"Ten points for Ravenclaw!" his nemesis confirmed.

"One of your weaknesses… though you've partially patched it."

"What do you mean?" Priam wasn't about to ignore something that could cost him his life.

"Normally, my virus should have rewritten the genetic code in all your cells within seconds. Instead, it took nearly ten minutes. Your soul resists change, so your body does too."

"Oh. That must be the second Merit of [Iconoclast]," Priam mused.

"My soul is proud and resilient to external modifications." His son's head snapped up, a look of shock on his face.

"You invested in that taboo Title?!" He burst into laughter.

"I suppose if anyone's crazy enough to piss off the gods, it's my father…" Priam shrugged, then scowled.

"Did you really have to take my dick too?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I did it to lower your aggression by depriving you of your main source of testosterone?"

"No."

"Ah! Well, the truth is a little embarrassing." His nemesis's lips curled into a thin smile.

"Your absence during my early years left me with a bit of an Oedipus complex. Now, at least I can be sure you won't be sleeping with Mom anytime soon." Priam grunted.

"Not a chance. Vic's dead." His son went pale.

"How?"

"She betrayed me in the Tutorial. You should know by now—I don't tolerate that." That was the wrong thing to say to a mama's boy. His nemesis let out a furious scream, thrusting a finger toward his father. A tingling sensation spread through Priam's body. A second later, he groaned as an unbearable itch crawled over his skin, as if every single cell of his body were under siege. Which, they might have been as by breathing, he had inhaled airborne viruses and infected himself all over again.

He had thought it inconsequential, but this time, his son intended to erase what remained of him. In the end, it didn't change much. Floating a meter above the ground, Priam drew on one of the rewards he had kept for situations like this. If viruses were a weakness, it was time to fix that. Token - Legendary Skill used. Choose a skill to upgrade to Legendary rank: Note: This forced upgrade will not result in any Titles or Achievements. No Potential or attributes will be granted for unearned levels.

[Biological Virus Resistance - Rare]. Status: PHYSICAL: Strength 915 Constitution 1 616 (+23) Agility 1 256 Vitality 1 537 (+54) Perception 881 MENTAL: Vivacity (D) 634 Dexterity 787 Memory 974 Willpower 1 221 (+9) Charisma 894 (+6) META: Meta-affinity (O) 1 103 Meta-focus 633 Meta-endurance 1 122 (+24) Meta-perception 558 Meta-chance 678 (+11) Meta-authority 555 (+34) Potential: 27 235 (+13) Tier 0 Sun points: 1 143 444 [He Who Eludes Death] charge: OFF. Reloaded in 17 hours 47 minutes 26 seconds.

Concepts: Breath (T0): 100% / Harmony Fire (T0): 100% / Unity Pyro (T1): 100% / Unity Mist (T1): 100% / Symphony Bloodlines: Phoenix: 3% Dragon: 2% Rewards standing: Fusion Token - Skill (Epic) Affinity Token - Tier 1 (30%) Alien Concept fragment (7th Terror) Talent Token - Upgrade (Seraph) Revelation Token - Ideal Prerequisites (Epic) Colosseum VIP Token Reborn Token - Reset biological lifespan (Legendary) Minor skill Epiphany Seed of Potential Trophy Compass [Tribulation]: Two Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until: Time: 29 days 19 hours 48 minutes 14 seconds. Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 900 / 6 attributes > 1 200 / 1 attribute > 1 800 Tribulations ended and next arc already complete on Patreon if you want to find out what happens next! https: //www. patreon. com/ANovelConcept