Chapter 179: I’m Friendly!

A chapter written during my long train journeys... A few explanations about the System. Read these with the understanding that they are the conclusions of the characters, not necessarily the absolute truth.

Next chapter on Monday. I'm one chapter behind, which I'll catch up on next Thursday (I took a day off for that, as I said before).

Thank you again for your support, enjoy! 

*

"You must be Osiris," said Priam, materializing with a smile. Empty-handed, his charisma activated, and draped in a cloak of mist, he aimed to appear as friendly as possible. After all, he needed Osiris' help, and threats wouldn't aid his cause.

Despite his apparent lack of weaponry, an enemy would be mistaken to believe Priam was defenseless. An invisible mist enveloped the room, ready to unleash Promesse. In the center of the room, the innocent campfire had a burning desire to help the Fire Sage.

The child turned around, a surprised expression on his face. "It's me! How do you know my tongue?"

"I have some rudiment," Priam smiled. The knowledge that had cost him forty bronze Coins. He didn't regret the purchase; the language of the two brothers was special.

[Duat language - Epic] - A language spoken by the living and the dead. For those who practice it, death is a temporary interruption of life, not a definitive end. Born from complex Concepts, its words influence souls and spirits.
Be careful not to sell your soul by mistake. If you have one.
MEM +3
META (Authority) +6

"Your accent is weird," Osiris laughed, pushing back his long black hair. "Are you friendly?"

"I mean you no harm," Priam promised. He smiled as he saw Osiris nod. He had just passed some kind of test. "And you, are you friendly?"

"Yes!" said Osiris before displaying an embarrassed expression. "Well, except with the bad guys. I put them to sleep, and Seth captures their souls. But since you're not a bad guy, we can be friends!"

Scary kid.

"It's great to help your big brother... Is that an artificial muscle in your hand?" Priam asked to divert Osiris' attention.

"Yes, but it's defective," the child sighed, brandishing the muscle.

Priam approached, enveloping the organ with his Domain. The muscle was saturated with aether and much more powerful than a human one.

"It's infused with your aether. Are you using a skill to strengthen it?"

"Most enhancements are temporary. This is a prototype that retains its physical attributes permanently. To achieve that, I had to modify the aetheric structure of the muscle cells in the System's fashion," the child explained in his high-pitched voice.

Priam widened his misty eyes. "You mean you've artificially increased the strength, constitution, agility, and vitality... permanently?"

Osiris nodded, focusing on the organ. "Not vitality, but the rest, yes. By observing my own cells, I was able to isolate the System runes governing these three attributes. I copied them onto a muscle cell, which I cultivated to form a complete muscle."

The subject greatly interested Priam. For a human, the System was as magical as it was mysterious. Yet, it also followed rules. Knowing them meant avoiding detours on the path to the Zenith.

"Why not vitality?" Priam could understand that a perception rune was less crucial on a muscle - even though it allowed Micro to better understand the organ's state - but vitality allowed fibers to regenerate faster.

"The System runes are tiny. Each cell has dozens of runes, with the larger ones being those of the attributes. I don't have the System's precision, so my runes are larger. There was no room to implant vitality." The child's ashamed expression was adorable. Despite his genius, he felt inadequate.

"Still incredible!" Priam exclaimed to lift his spirits. "Did you copy the runes one by one?"

With [Aether Manipulation], his Domain, and his system, Priam was capable of such a feat. Osiris certainly didn't have access to the same tools.

The child shook his head. "I created a fourth rune that encompasses the previous runes and spreads throughout any material infused with my aether. That's why I didn't have room for vitality. It only takes a few hours for the entire muscle to be uniformly infused and reinforced."

"Is that what happens in our bodies?" Priam asked before grimacing. The question was stupid.

"No, otherwise there would be a fraction of a second when our cells are weak; just after their creation but before they receive their runes. The System uses another method. I have theories, but nothing concrete. All I know is there's a connection with our aether and attributes. If I saturate a lizard's body with aether and cut off its tail, it will regrow without attributes."

Priam's mind and his add-on began to race at full speed. If Osiris was telling the truth, the consequences were terrifying. For example, it was possible to trap someone in their own body after purging their aether. Micro, the Supremacy that managed an individual's control over their body and internal aether, became fundamental.

Ignoring these considerations, Priam had an idea. "Can you create clones?"

If Osiris could clone his cells, he could eventually clone bodies. By enhancing their attributes, he would have access to an army.

"Not for now," Osiris sighed, turning his gray eyes toward Priam. "I haven't managed to reproduce the entire rune network. I lack many attributes, not to mention skills. Because of that, I have to fill the runes of this muscle myself."

Too bad, I wanted to introduce Sumstreh to the Attack of the Clones.

"With this technique, could you increase an individual's attributes without developing his skills?"

"That's what happens when you consume a treasure," Osiris smiled. "I just inject aether compatible with the cell runes."

"Smart." And terrifying. Mentally, Priam elevated Osiris's level of danger. The child's fine control allowed him to increase someone's attributes without the person gaining a skill.

It was a terrible power in a world where certain attribute thresholds triggered deadly Tribulations.

"What's your current limit per rune?" Priam innocently asked.

"Five hundred points. With my Tier 1 race, that's the maximum energy my cells can withstand. After that, the runes burst with the cell."

"My race is also Tier 1, but I continue to gain attributes with each level-up even after surpassing this threshold," Priam remarked. "I suppose the System must change the rules at that point?"

Surpassing the threshold caused a qualitative change and increased the attribute's versatility. Thanks to that, Charisma improved the compatibility of his Aura with his Concepts.

"Yes, the network changes," Osiris confirmed. "I think auxiliary runes are created, but [Aether Perception - Epic] doesn't allow me to see deeply enough..."

"Reaching five hundred is a milestone for both the user and the System," Priam understood.

Silence settled between the adult and the child, immersed in their thoughts. Priam wondered what to do with Seth's brother. Kazuki's AI had recorded the fight against the necromancer, and Priam had watched it. The deceased rival was powerful, but the influence of the Necromoon made him predictable. A predictable opponent wasn't dangerous.

Osiris was different. He observed the muscle with the intensity that Priam had when putting everything into surviving. Osiris wouldn't let anything distract him from his goal. In a few years, this kid will be a monster or a hero. Depending on my choices, he'll be either a valuable ally or a terrible enemy.

"Do you want to stay with your brother?" Priam asked.

Osiris turned his gray eyes in his direction. "I have to protect him."

"He will hurt you."

"Not if I save him first."

The child's clear gaze didn't waver. Priam nodded. "If you fail, come find me."

"...Did you come to kill my brother too?" Osiris's fists clenched. He's nervous.

"Too?" Priam asked.

"Half an hour ago, his clothes caught fire while we were eating. A few moments later, all his specters died one after another due to various accidents. He left after detecting an asteroid fall. I know he was afraid for me, but I couldn't do anything..."

Priam shuddered at the extent of Esmée's powers. She wasn't the most dangerous rival in a fistfight, but with time and information, she became a terrifying enemy. Fortunately, she must be spending more time trying to kill her brother than thinking about me...

"Seth annoyed a princess. All Disneys have the same moral: don't mess with the princess."

"In my country, the princess ate people," Osiris shrugged. "What's a Disney?"

"It's an animated film. I could show you one if you help me with something."

Before the Tutorial, Priam prepared to be a physics teacher. He was used to children and knew being honest about his intentions was always better.

"So, you didn't come to kill my brother?" Osiris confirmed.

"I won't piss on his body to extinguish a fire, but I didn't come to kill him. He attacked one of my friends, but if you help me, I'll consider it water under the bridge," Priam promised.

Although if he becomes a god, I might consider pissing on him. Gotta upgrade [Iconoclast].

"What do you need me for?" Osiris asked.

"I plan to upgrade my race to Tier 2," Priam revealed. "For that, I plan to..."

In the next few minutes, Priam and Osiris exchanged thoughts on the feasibility of his technique. Clearly interested, the child studied and tested Priam's hypotheses. From the first seconds, their collaboration became fruitful.

Priam had accumulated a plethora of questions, hypotheses, and theories. His Vivacity, eidetic memory, and knowledge made him an excellent geneticist. By consuming Potential, few problems became unsolvable. Yet, his conversation with Osiris illuminated the path to racial upgrade. A mutual epiphany seemed to have seized them both.

In his original world, Osiris was a prodigious biomancer, surpassing his older brother. The child had less computing power but an innate understanding of anything related to biology. His ideas were bright, his questions pertinent, and his intuitions brilliant.

The two complemented each other. They optimized the upgrade method in less than half an hour, surpassing Priam's ambitions. Engrossed in their passionate conversation, they spoke faster as the problem unraveled.

Finally, the solution emerged into the light.

Lvl Up: [Human Anatomy] lvl 18,19,20

MEM +3

[Human Anatomy] has reached level 20, its maximum level as a common skill. Depending on your background, three upgrades are available.

[Anatomy - Rare] - General upgrade. No future upgrade possible. Potential Cost: 5

[Zootomy - Rare] - By dissecting animals, you begin to better understand their anatomy. Future upgrades possible. Potential Cost: 15

[Humanoid Anatomy - Rare] - You have conducted impressive research on the anatomy of different humanoids, even sequencing their genetic heritage. Impressive. High upgrade potential. Potential Cost: 20

You have selected the skill [Humanoid Anatomy - Rare].

POT -20

[Humanoid Anatomy] - Human, empyrean, and arkanian. You have studied, sequenced, and analyzed part of the genetic code of three humanoid species. Through constant regeneration, you begin to have precise knowledge of your own body. Macroscopically and microscopically, you continue your study of humanoid organisms.
Creating a cat-girl species is no longer just a dream.
MEM +3

"So, it is possible to reduce the energy of a rune to lower an individual's attributes," Priam smiled, ignoring the System's taunt.

The applications in combat were numerous, but that wasn't what interested him. To elevate his race, Priam needed to modify his genetic heritage. His high constitution made that impossible, but Osiris and he had just found a way to temporarily reduce it. All that remained was to finish analyzing the human, empyrean, and arkanian genomes. In a day or two, Priam would upgrade his race.

"But you have to be the one to do it, and it has to impact all the cells in your body simultaneously. The best way is to create a ritual. I can do it," Osiris proposed.

Priam shook his head. Creating a ritual required acquiring new runes and thus a lot of Potential.

"You've already helped me a lot. I certainly gained days of research from our conversation alone; not to mention I needed the initial technique. I'll take care of it."

"Please..."

Seeing Osiris lower his eyes, Priam felt a tug at his hearts. Osiris was a good boy and had helped him a lot.

"Do you have something to ask me?"

"I want you to bring back my brother," Osiris asked. His bright eyes struggled to hide tears of worry.

Priam grimaced. He should have expected that.

"I—"

"I'll also give you a drop of my blood to make sure your new race will be Tier 2!"

A silence began to settle as Priam hesitated. Seth was a dangerous and crazy individual who had attacked Kazuki and Sphinx. Yet, thanks to Osiris, Priam had enough knowledge to create a ritual to ensure his Tier up. Helping Osiris save his brother was different from forgiving Set.

In addition, with this drop of blood and a ready ritual, he could be done in two days. At that point, the Tribulations wouldn't risk killing him every moment.

I'd also have a more powerful race. Not Tier 3, but close...

"Please... You're my only friend..."

Seeing the child's big eyes, Priam felt his hearts squeeze. His charisma and instinct told him that this was no attempt at manipulation. Priam considered himself a good friend and a terrible enemy. Osiris, a child, had helped him without asking for anything in return. If I abandon him now, I'm not worth much...

"Just this once," Priam sighed.

*

A silhouette streaked above the forest canopy. Harnessing the full might of [Kinetic Control], Priam absorbed the thermal turmoil from the air into his Domain, fueling his flight. His velocity approached that of sound, a boundary he cautiously avoided breaching to keep the attention of elysian monsters at bay.

Beneath the bloody moon, Priam tracked the glow of a firefly. Enchanted by Osiris, the insect guided him toward Seth's soul. After five minutes, the verdant horizon morphed as he neared the coastline. The island abruptly terminated, yielding to emptiness. Below, an endless ocean unveiled itself to Priam. Despite the titanic waves clashing kilometers beneath him, the sight of the sea reassured him. Born by its side, it embodied nature for him.

As Priam watched the raging sea, an undead leviathan broke through the crimson surface to devour a bird. From the floating island, the avian had looked tiny, but its size had been massive. The mere sight of the sea monster gave Priam a headache.

"I'll bathe next time," he said, turning away.

The firefly fluttered in his palm, and Priam followed its path along the coast. A few seconds later, he halted. Several kilometers away, a plume of smoke ascended. Focusing on the insect, Priam cursed before cautiously approaching. Esmée had some persistence in her. Seth must have taken a beating.

Over a half-kilometer radius, the trees had vanished. The earth had been upheaved, and wisps of smoke ascended from a gigantic crater. Did he take a meteor to the face?

Were the princess's skills truly this terrifying? It was suspicious. Squinting, Priam discerned a humanoid figure at the center of the crater. The stranger juggled a skull. After a final glance at the firefly, Priam sighed.

Rather than laying all his cards on the table, Priam opted for an open approach. Within a kilometer, the stranger turned toward him. He is near the first perception threshold… Unless he's been onto me for a while and is trying to catch me off guard.

Spotted, Priam accelerated, landing about thirty meters from the warrior. Tattoos adorned his face, and scales resembling skin covered his body. The stranger observed him in silence.

"Hey, I'm friendly," Priam began in the Duat language. Infused with Concepts, it could convey intent to any being capable of dying.

The warrior opened his mouth, flicking his forked tongue in the air. Does he have snake blood? Or... Priam's eyes widened as he felt his draconic bloodline react.

The stranger tossed the skull into the air before vanishing. The next moment, his fist pierced Priam's fiery body. United with the flames, the high human invoked Promesse. The spear's shaft, boosted by Micro and the staggering strength of its wielder, violently collided with the warrior's temple.

[Kinetic Control].

The warrior's body catapulted backward at nearly four times the speed of sound.

"I said I'm friendly," Priam growled, catching Seth's skull.

*

Status:

PHYSICAL:
Strength 449
Constitution 794
Agility 455
Vitality 684
Perception 667

MENTAL:
Vivacity 390
Dexterity 495
Memory 229 (+11)
Willpower 836
Charisma 506

META:
Meta-affinity 415
Meta-focus 338
Meta-endurance 260
Meta-perception 201
Meta-chance 230
Meta-authority 21 (+6)

Potential: 3309 (-12)
Tier 0

Sun points: 3693

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED.

[Tribulation]: Six Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 169 days 22 hours 56 minutes 57 seconds.