A Novel Concept - A death a day, MC will live anyway!

Chapter 21: The Phantom Menace

A few minutes before the death of Orthos.

Claire was running in the direction of the Orthos cave. She had quickly obeyed Priam, knowing she would be a dead weight. Besides, even if she was grateful to him, she had things to do, especially to save her family.

The Amazon on her left turned to her and quietly indicated they had arrived. They were in the heart of the Baron's territory, and there was little chance of other creatures lurking around, but it was best to remain cautious. The mist gradually gave way to a small mountain.

It took the two women several minutes to finally find the entrance to the cave. In the mist, it was not easy without help. Claire's new skills were mainly focused on the mental part of her characteristics.

Physically, the young woman was doing better than average. She had practiced boxing since childhood which served her well during the Tutorial. Unfortunately, one physical skill was not enough to have impressive physical characteristics. She had always considered the sport a hobby and a way to unwind. Her level had not allowed her to become a champion before the Apocalypse, and she certainly would not become one after. Claire knew how to use her head, which would have to be enough.

In any case, Claire didn't have an incredible perception, and it was challenging to navigate through the fog. If she had been able to spot Priam during their journey, it was because of her racial trait. It allowed her to spot humans easily. Claire would have preferred to inherit [Humanity adapts], but circumstances had left her no choice.

Claire smiled as she thought back to the last few hours. Priam must have thought she had exceptional perception. Priam's gaze pierced the haze with his perception, and he must have concluded she did too. When observing a strange fact, it was easy to jump to the wrong conclusion. With his current strength, Priam had been like a beacon in the mist for Claire's talent.

But if all went according to plan, if she succeeded in her main quest, she would catch up. The advertised reward was incredible: 100 points of Potential and an improvement in her racial skill. Plus, a position that would make the rest of her journey easier. A reward appropriate to the difficulty of the quest. The System was always fair.

"Quite honestly, without Priam, the chances of us succeeding in this quest were still pretty low. The second Baron would have decimated all the survivors." the girl muttered.

She knew that Orthos was dead. The first part of her quest was to get into the dome, and defeating the guardian was the most obvious solution. She had analyzed the monster and knew that no one but Priam had stood a chance against the Boss. Claire had even been partially rewarded for defeating the Baron, even though she had done nothing but escort the executioner. But a quest reward was always welcome. She was relieved that Priam was able to kill the first Baron but worried about the second. Priam was a monster, but so was Nemea. Claire knew a thing or two about monsters... I hope you make it through, Priam.

"Claire." The Amazon pulled her out of her thoughts, and the girl smiled. They had arrived. The cave was right there and the guard had been defeated by Priam. Right now, the second guard was occupied by Priam, and Claire had to believe in him. She had lied to him in a way, but if he managed to kill the two Barons, the System would amply reward him. Claire was happy for him. Now she also had to think about herself, about her family.

"Let's go," she replied to the Amazon, who was waiting respectfully. The Tutorial had given Claire a certain edge, a position of power she had earned. She had cultivated that edge in the Revenants' village and would continue it at this Reunion. If Orthos' lair and the Dome were to enrich anyone, it would be her.

A few meters inside the cave, individuals were waiting. The Amazon came closer.

"Anne! Albin! Sorry, I'm late. I stayed a while to watch the fight," Claire announced. The two Revenant sub-officers had been waiting for her. Claire knew they must not have appreciated her order. But like oil and water, they hated each other too much to get along and to ignore her directions. You don't choose your allies, the young woman mused.

Albin frowned. "So what? The white boy you came in with is doing well?"

"From a distance, I saw that he was destroying Orthos. My talent tells me that he has become even more powerful than before. Since we received the System reward, I guess he won. If Nemea hadn't interfered, I think he would be arguing with us now..."

Anne looked at Claire with concern. "Do you think he can defeat Nemea and then come here?"

"No. The cat is not stupid and will understand not to get too close. Nemea was slaughtering the survivors the last time I saw him, and Priam will try to stop him. It's pretty sad, honestly. But if he does manage to kill him, I guess he'll come running in here and demand an explanation. I would like to have some explanations too, Anne. Why did you slaughter the fighters on your mound?"

"... When we wanted to leave, one of the men asked where we were going. They wouldn't let us escape the fight quietly. I had no choice," Anne replied, her jaw clenching.

"We still have a choice, Anne. We'll talk about it again, but I'd advise you to stick to the plan for the rest. I do not need unknown variables in my plans. Especially not when they come from an ally. If Priam manages to get here, you'll explain to him that you had no choice, right? I'm sure he'll understand the value of killing twenty fighters rather than knocking them out." The sarcasm in Claire's voice reassured Anne. If Claire had decided to eliminate her, she wouldn't have bothered to laugh at her.

Anne nodded slowly. She was not afraid of Priam despite his strength. He had a code of honor from what Claire had said. But Anne had seen Claire in action. The young woman looked cute, but in her opinion, the end justified the means. Anne did not want to be sacrificed.

"I mean, there's little chance," Claire resumed. "Nemea's skill is almost a cheat..."

One of the Amazons had been able to analyze the second Baron's skill. Nemea thought it was a master of camouflage, but it could make mistakes. Identifying an animal's strengths by its excrement was one of the skills available to a hunter.

"You're right. We're safe for a while," said Albin, trying to break the icy atmosphere. If anything happened to Anne, he wouldn't last long, and he knew it. He hated his rival, but she had to survive until the end of the Reunion.

Claire clapped her hands to get public attention. "Okay, everyone. We're almost there, and we're several days ahead of schedule. Let's not just stand around. It's time to proselytize!"

As her comrades walked back into the cave, Claire had one last thought for Priam. She blamed herself a little for keeping things from him, especially after he had helped her so much. But Priam was too powerful. His disagreement could have had devastating consequences. Would he have understood? Banishing the doubt from her mind, she comforted herself. He'll be fine. We all have our commitments, and I must take care of my family. I'm their only hope...

The second Nemea opened his eyes, Priam rushed to his spear. His left hand was more or less useless. He grabbed his spear with his good hand and turned in one fluid motion.

Nemea got up painfully, weakened by his resurrection but also frightened. Priam took the opportunity to think. I must not give it time to come to its senses and kill it again quickly. Maybe more than once. According to the Tutorial, the Concepts like to draw on our culture for events concerning humanity. If this is true, then Nemea must have nine lives because the System would find that interesting. I get one for every day that passes, so I guess I can't complain...

Nemea was an assassin designed to pounce on its prey from an impenetrable mist. In an open confrontation, he was less dangerous than Orthos. Fortunately for Priam, because if Anne and the other fighters hadn't trapped the canine boss, he would undoubtedly have lost his life. Well, at least one life. Priam tightened his grip on his spear. He had already lost one hand and didn't intend to lose the second. Using a spear in a dense forest was complicated, especially with his skill level, but he had no choice. Is there a skill for spear mastery?

The feline leaped, not as fast as before. It was afraid, but it was programmed to fight. Priam tilted his spear to skewer the animal. He pressed the end of the hoplite weapon against the ground to cushion the blow. The resurrection of Nemea seemed to have confused him because he was no longer trying to dodge. The Boss wanted to kill Priam and despised the warrior's weapon. The hoplite spear penetrated the cat and stopped it dead in its tracks.

Nemea had miscalculated its attack. A steel weapon would not have been able to pierce its fur. The hoplite spear did so without difficulty.

Nemea's inertia should have brought him closer to Priam. It certainly intended to slide down the spear before finishing the human off with a paw. But [Kinetic Control] had stolen that inertia even as the spear had gone a good half-meter into the animal's body. Severely wounded, Nemea tried to take Priam with it by weakly waving its claws. Priam dodged, backing away as the animal exhaled. The spear had pierced its heart. Its body fell to the ground, taking the weapon with it.

Lvl Up : [Strike] lvl 14

FOR +1

Without wasting any time, Priam put his foot on the belly of the beast and pulled hard to remove his spear. Once the weapon was out, he plunged his hand into the wound. His experience with boars had given him the idea to look for the Baron's core. For its skill to work, maybe he needs this medium. If not, I'll kill him seven more times...

The spear had pierced the beast's heart, and Priam looked for the core. He soon felt a stone under his fingers. He grabbed it even as Nemea's wound began to close, and a supernatural force pushed his arm away. Screaming, Priam clenched his fist around the stone and pulled with all his might.

As pain shot up his arm and the force threatened to tear his hand apart, the spherical core dislodged from the Baron's body, and Priam fell backward. On his buttocks, stunned, he smiled weakly as he looked at his new notification. Work smarter, not harder.

Completed Quest: Predator - Baron II

Reward: Potential + 20. Participation: 100%.

You have eliminated a Baron without help. An exceptional performance.

Potential +20.

Title won! [Lunar Baron - Bronze]

Congratulations!

[Lunar Baron - Bronze] - For outstanding performance in the Reunion, this title of nobility is granted to you. Being a Lunar Baron opens many doors for you, and you can enter any dome without a toll.

Beware, as a Baron, you arouse the curiosity of other Nobles.

FOR + 10

CONST +10

AGI +10

VIT +10

PERC +10

Your Agility exceeds 100 in Tier 0. Congratulations! If your Agility exceeds 200 at Tier 0, a Tribulation will descend on you. This is your second characteristic above 100. If any of your other characteristics exceed 100, a Tribulation will descend.

Achievement - Bronze: You are the first human to eliminate a Baron without help.

You lead the way, and your species admires you.

Message for humanity:

Priam Azura single-handedly eliminated a Lunar Baron.

Humanity will be rewarded for this achievement.

The Seven Concepts congratulate you.

Potential + 50. Improved skill!

[Moon Mist - Epic] lvl 1 - By modifying the environment of the Moon, the Concepts have chosen to artificially increase the weight of the atmosphere. A semi-permanent haze has been placed on the surface of the satellite. Made of aether, oxygen, nitrogen, and tiny water droplets, it hinders the inhabitants' perception.

You can easily control the moon mist and are immune to its effects. Beware, if the mist is already manipulated, your total immunity turns into partial resistance. You can now materialize and control this mist. If you remain motionless, the mist envelops you and camouflages you.

PERC +4

CHAR + 2

META (AFFI) +3

The characteristics were very useful, but it was the Title, Achievement, Potential, and skill enhancement that made Priam very happy. In all honesty, he had been quite disappointed with the skill he received when he defeated the first Baron. But now, as it increased in rarity, it became fascinating. Useful, even after the Reunion.

Priam had been fighting with all his might since the beginning of the Tutorial and had been extremely lucky. Even so, the fight against the Boss had been a tough one. Honestly, he didn't think many humans could have matched his feat. Perhaps some hunters could eliminate a Baron by carefully choosing their opponent and preparing for the confrontation. But not right away, not as quickly as he did. Even if another human could do it, he would not receive an Achievement. He was ahead of most of his peers, and the reward was impressive.

The Potential would soon come in handy. Priam found his first skill really useful and wanted to add to his arsenal. Finally, this title offered him a third chance to greatly improve a Tree of Merit. He quickly looked at his options.

Trees of Merit

Each new Title opens a new Tree of Merit and allows you to upgrade a Tree of Merit once.nove(l)bi(n.)com

Upgrading a Tree of Merit to Tier 9 uses 10 Titles and thus condemns 9 other Trees. Be careful which trees you upgrade...

[Heartless] - Tier 0: Once a day, your heart regenerates instantly.

[Brainless] - Tier 3: Locked. Requires a Silver Title.

[Questor - Silver] - Tier 0: Your instincts are sharpening.

[Pseudo Phoenix] - Tier 0: Your affinity for flames allows you to manipulate uncontrolled fires.

[Axolotl or Hydra ?] - Tier 0: following a regeneration, your body becomes more resistant to what has damaged it.

[Apprentice of Hermes] - Tier 0: Future messenger, you are temporarily accepted by traveling to other worlds than Elysium.

[Lunar Baron] - Tier 0: You are getting familiar with the mist.

4 Unused Merit Points.

The last title was interesting. Synergy with his new ability seemed like a good idea, but Priam would have to test his skill before deciding. Besides, he didn't want to commit to a tree without really thinking it through. Increasing a Tree of Merit required acquiring a Title for each Tier. Earning a Title was no small task, and Priam did not want to take any chances by choosing a suboptimal Tree of Merit.

Priam quickly observed the clues scattered by the System in its previous messages. From the looks of it, a Tribulation was coming soon. He didn't know what that meant in practical terms, but he had seen the result of the Tribulation, which destroyed Log-a-rhythm. If the System bothered to warn him, the tribulation promised to be frightening. Given my characteristics, it will be soon!

Priam then took a minute to analyze the rest of the notifications. His gaze lingered on the vocabulary used by the Concepts. If these other Nobles were Barons, the System would have written Baron. I suppose there are even more powerful monsters than Orthos... I'm not looking forward to meeting them!

Finally, Priam observed the nucleus of Nemea. He decided to identify it. He was not yet powerful enough to allow himself to miss any information. The weak often have no choice. To act like a strong man when I am weak is madness. A mental barrier will not dominate me.

[Identification]

[Core - Tier 0] - A solid aether core, crystallizing most of Baron Nemea's power, skill, and essence. Has multiple uses.

The System was stingy with details. But one thing was sure: these cores had a purpose, and Priam had to find out what it was. Perhaps he could acquire attributes or skills from the Boss? Maybe he could even partially resurrect the beast? Or maybe they were just energy sources... Tempering his body might require the use of these cores. Either way, they seemed valuable. Priam stopped rolling Nemea core between his fingers and put it next to the asp venom in his purse. He would have time to think about it later. Too bad about Orthos' core.

Priam saw that he was still sitting on the ground. He propelled himself into the air with a kick and twisted to land on his feet. Before the Tutorial, a crowd would have applauded the move. With no spectators to marvel at his prowess, he ran toward the cave, which he could now see clearly. The mist no longer hid anything from him, not even the two Amazons who thought they were safe from view at the entrance to the cave. Anne was going to have to answer for her actions.

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

PHYSICAL:

Strength 78

Constitution 92

Agility 107

Vitality 126

Perception 91

MENTAL:

Vivacity 92

Dexterity 77

Memory 31

Willpower 48

Charisma 42

META:

Meta-affinity 41

Meta-focus 44

Potential: 199

Tier 0