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

Chapter 126: A Second Skill

"Hey Rose, check out what I can do!" shouted Sphinx.

Rose turned toward Sphinx and took a step forward. Instantly, she fell upward. A few branches of Log-a-rhythm caught her as Sphinx burst into laughter.

"I'll get you back," chuckled Rose, starting to climb the branches in reverse.

In her miniaturized form, Sphinx somersaulted through the air. Since she learned to manipulate gravity, it had become one of her favorite games. She created zones of weightlessness and played around with them. The two friends had a blast, especially with liquids. There was something incredible about bathing in a huge floating water sphere.

Suddenly, Rose exited the weightless zone, and gravity reversed. Startled, the teenager cried out and clung tightly to the branches to avoid falling to the ground. Hesitating for a moment, she decided to climb the tree. She had just been scared and wasn't quite ready to rejoin Sphinx. She was her friend, of course, but sometimes the mythological girl was a tad too exuberant.

Or maybe it's just me feeling lost...

Rose was weak, and she was aware of it. Even her friend's innocent games reminded her of this. Since her arrival in Elysium, she had felt like a burden, incapable of helping or ensuring her own safety. This feeling bothered her. She wasn't as feeble as before, but the gap between her and the others wasn't narrowing. Quite the opposite, in fact.

To clear her mind, Rose smoothly scaled the Log-a-rhythm trunk. She relished in her newfound agility and the freedom the attribute provided her.

A few meters above the trunk, she caught a glimpse of Alain. Priam's father was kind, but more importantly, he was the only one not constantly reminding her of her own weakness. His pursuits were less aggressive than the others, and he put his skills to use for the community.

"Rose?"

Apparently, he had spotted her.

"Yes?"

"I've finished your treehouse. Would you like to see it?"

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the teenager.

Ten seconds later, she stood next to the old man, gazing at her new abode. Perched high on Log-a-rhythm, shielded from the forest by a few branches, a cabin made of wood and vines overlooked the clearing. Its brown hue blended well with the red of Log-a-rhythm, and a few rays of sunlight filtered through a skylight. On the simple door, a name was engraved. Rose.

The architect had outdone himself.

"I love it," she murmured, moved. "Thank you, Alain."

"It's my pleasure," smiled the old man. "A teen needs some personal space. Go inside and tell me what you think."

Rose nodded. They had arrived just over a day ago, and the lack of privacy had been keenly felt. The space inside Log-a-rhythm contained only a living room and Priam's bedroom. Kazuki and Louis slept outside, and Alain took turns resting with the girls, but it wasn't sustainable in the long run. The group's handyman had thus decided to build cabins within Log-a-rhythm.

Pushing open the door, a simple yet cozy room greeted her. The treehouse couldn't have been more than ten square meters, but Rose didn't mind. It was hers.

A skylight and a window let in light, slightly tinted by the amber resin. Rose was surprised at how well she could see through them. The only piece of furniture was a bed, crafted by Alain and covered with red leaves. Stepping into the cabin proper, Rose looked down at her feet.

"The floor is warm!"

"Log-a-rhythm created a slab and heats it. I built the rest from salvaged wood and helped with the windows. The trickiest part was carving the door gongs," he explained.

"So, I can reach my room from anywhere?"

Alain smiled at the possessive use.

"Exactly. You're the only one who can enter your room from the trunk. The door is for guests and if you feel like climbing," winked Alain.

Rose smiled, sitting on the bed.

"Surprisingly comfortable for a pile of leaves."

"I'll do better when Priam brings back some silk," Alain said. His face lost its smile, and Rose scolded herself. Im dumb!

"Sorry, I... He'll come back. Sphinx says he's immortal."

"A parent always worries."

The old man hesitated before continuing.

"And you, Rose. Are you doing well?"

The question caught Rose off guard, and she opened her mouth without answering. To others, she would have lied, but to Alain...

"I'm useless," she finally admitted.

Alain tapped the floor, and a stool sprouted. Perhaps because it sensed a blood connection, Log-a-rhythm listened to Priam's father more than anyone else.

Once seated, Alain offered a smile to Rose. "No one is asking anything of you, you know?"

"I know, and I hate it. I need to feel useful to be sure that..."

A tear rolled down Rose's cheek, and Alain remained silent.

"You're not my parents; you owe me nothing. I'm afraid of being left alone..."

And I'm afraid of being abandoned. That's what Rose felt and what she was ashamed to say.

"I'm not the best at reassuring people," Alain admitted after a few seconds of silence. "I'm not your father, but I won't abandon you. Neither will the others. We're a group now, and everyone likes you. They voted for you to have the first cabin, you know ?"

Rose smiled weakly, looking at her hands. Just talking about her fears had lifted a weight off her.

"Thank you..."

"You're a smart girl, Rose," Alain said, rising. "I understand not wanting to feel useless, and I'm sure you'll find a way to help the group. If you need to talk, don't hesitate. At worse, Ill make you help me.

I would like that.

Smiling, Alain left, closing the door behind him.

For a few minutes, Rose replayed the conversation in her mind several times. Finally, she let out a deep sigh. Mom, Dad, I've found good people. If only you were here...

Rose looked up at the amber ceiling. The wind shifted a leaf, and a ray of sunlight momentarily blinded her. Rose let herself fall onto the leaf mattress.

What can I do to be useful?

Priam reread the notification several times. With Eidetic Memory, it was utterly pointless, but he had a feeling it might help.

He was in deep contemplation, which seemed to happen every time he had to choose a reward. The three methods seemed incredible. According to the description of the die, each was supposed to be flawless.

"Why are there three different rarities, then?"

The mere thought of selecting an inferior method sent his blood boiling. Forcing himself to breathe calmly, Priam listed the advantages of the various methods.

The die was of mythical rarity, the same rarity as Mist King. Moreover, the method was labeled as Unique. Presumably, that meant he would be the only one in the Universe practicing it. It was an appealing notion.

What bothered Priam was not knowing the order of rarities. Was Seraph rarer - and therefore more potent - than Mythical? Or was it a special grade pertaining to the Tribulations and gods?

Instead of tearing his hair out over an unsolvable problem, Priam focused on the content of the methods.

Mist King would strengthen his mist, paving the way to enhance his Concept and unlock a Legendary skill. Priam had come to appreciate his mist but was naturally more drawn to the sun than the rain. He loved the softness of water but admired the might of the stars. Should he alter his nature - even for something so minute - to continue advancing his mist concept? The idea was displeasing.

Death Lover... Priam spared a thought for his Patron. Despite their boundless power, they had been brought to their knees by the Concepts. His Patron planned to seek revenge, and Priam knew that his role was to infiltrate the System. However, he had no desire to rebel against the Concepts. Thus, it was possible that his relationship with his Patron could deteriorate. In that case, Death Lover seemed like a trap. His boss had a mastery of Death that even the Concepts envied.

Furthermore, the method mentioned a sacrifice. The notion of dedicating his enemies to someone was highly disagreeable to him.

That left Heavenly Dragon. The title was a bit pompous, but the description resonated with his goals. No one should be freer than you.

The method blended the power of the Tribulations, a trial capable of bringing almost the entire universe to its knees, with that of dragons. These fantastical creatures stood atop the hierarchy, and Priam found them undeniably cool.

Most importantly, this method was based on his second heart and was a power Priam had earned with his own hands.

Convinced, Priam confirmed Heavenly Dragon. The next moment, he lost consciousness.

The cry of a seagull jolted Priam awake. Grimacing, he opened his eyes and sat up slowly. As he sat, he rubbed his temples, spitting out sand. A pounding headache was assaulting his skull, and to make matters worse, his mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. Priam felt like he'd downed some bootlegged rum.

Not just a mug, but a barrel.

It took a few minutes for his vitality to alleviate his headache. Finally able to string together coherent thoughts, Priam got to his feet. Need to piss... and dive into some ice-cold water.

Staggering, he made his way towards the lapping water a few meters away and accomplished both objectives.

A few minutes later, fully awake, Priam headed towards the highest point of the island. The sky was beginning to paint itself with colors, but the sun had yet to deign to rise. Priam gathered some colorful berries and popped them in his mouth with a smile. The best ones were these pinkish blackberries. They were also highly toxic, according to [Poison Body]. Nice.

The perfect breakfast after a night of almost ten hours. Priam hadn't slept so much since the Tutorial.

While waiting for dawn, Priam gazed out at the ocean. It never failed to calm him. Eventually, he consulted the information about Heavenly Dragon. Despite his exceptional memory, Priam winced.

The amount of information was staggering. [Eidetic Memory] struggled to process all the data, and Priam eventually gave up. The method was highly comprehensive, mapping out his body in excruciating detail. It was a massive volume of data, but Priam could have handled it.

The issue was that the die had gone further than that. It had downloaded the information necessary for the method's progression based on Priam's evolution. Instead of a simple instruction manual, the die had created thousands of manuals tailored to all his future choices. Heavenly Dragon required elements and trophies to temper his body. It was up to Priam to choose them, and the method diverged based on his selection.

So Priam had thousands of different manuals, certainly useful for future reference. Too bad all the information was shuffled around by his memory.

Priam tried to sort through this information for several minutes before cursing. Despite his mental attributes, the human brain wasn't built to handle this volume of data. This wasn't just a few books; it was terabytes of data.

Did I do this all for nothing? he worried. He furrowed his brow, thinking about Kazuki. How could the hoplite use his reward if even Priam couldn't?

"Maybe with his helmet? He would have let the artificial intelligence do the work for him," Priam realized. The die was Kazuki's reward, and the System hadn't bothered to adapt it to Priam any more than necessary.

Would Kazuki be willing to lend him his mecha? Not sure. Even if he did, some data was strictly confidential. Heavenly Dragon utilized the fact that he could relive to temper his body to the maximum.

"So how..."

Priam froze. If Kazuki could use an external means to sort his data, could he too? He didn't have a mecha, but he had enough Potential to create a powerful skill. A kind of add-on that would assist him in using Heavenly Dragon.

But if I do this, why stop there?

The Concepts themselves had created the System. Could Priam draw inspiration from it to create a plug-in? A kind of aid he could program. The idea took root, and Priam began to consider the possibilities. This skill could be useful in a thousand aspects of his life. For example, scanning his surroundings through his Domain continuously, even while he slept. Or monitoring his reserves and aether regeneration during a fight.

Maybe he could use it to farm multiple skills at once, point out his mistakes during training, or learn a language faster. Finally, he could program an alarm to check if his behavior was logical - and thus ensure he wasn't being manipulated.

The possibilities were endless!

But not his time. Priam wanted to practice Heavenly Dragon without delay. After all, every manual ended with the same sentence.

The user possessing a Heavenly Dragons fulcrum can try a rank up to Tier 1.

Priam wasn't yet sure of the prerequisites for advancing to Tier 1. He didn't know the difference between Tier 0 and Tier 1. But for the first time, he had a lead to move forward.

"I need this skill," he decided. "But first, let's reassure Mirscella."

Before opening the portal, Priam took five minutes to go fishing. Bringing a gift to Mirscella seemed like the least he could do after taking her aboard a new world. Satisfied with his offering, he opened a portal to Concepts Archipelago. I'll have to come up with a name for this world...

As soon as the portal opened, a figure leaped out. An old lady stopped to look around before turning to Priam.

"You took your time," Mirscella cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Priam apologized. "Welcome to Valaryth, another world."

"... How did we go from a spider's lair to another world?"

"I had to dive into a spatio-temporal rift after a homunculus tried to kill me."

Mirscella stared at him in silence.

"I'll explain in detail later. We're stuck here for another fifteen hours. I thought you might want to get out a bit."

Mirscella sighed, looking around. "Indeed. Are we on an island?"

"Yeah. Don't wander too far; the mainland isn't safe. But theres some fish," he said as he presented her with his gift.

"Thanks. I wasn't planning on swimming in an unknown sea. I'll train here," the thief announced, heading towards a bush.

"I'll be going then. By the way, the pink berries are poisonous."

Mouth still open, Mirscella let the toxic berry fall to the ground. "Choose a slightly more peaceful world next time, will you?"

"I'll try," Priam laughed, entering his world. He felt safer there than outside. The portal closed behind him, and he wondered for a moment. What can be seen from the outside when I'm in this world?

Smiling, Priam knelt under the Phoenix's sun and connected to his Potential.

Potential - Skill Creation

Please think about the skill you want to create. The Concepts will help you in its design.

Current potential: 1107

Divine inspiration hit him like a tidal wave. Exultant, Priam tried to remember everything he knew about computing. [Eidetic Memory] activated, and for the thousandth time, Priam was grateful he had chosen this Talent.

All the hours he'd spent coding in HTML, C++, and Python resurfaced. The grand theories behind artificial intelligence and the famous algorithms he'd briefly heard of became more explicit. Priam's sharpness, logic, memory, and Potential worked together to refine his knowledge.

Finally, after several minutes, Priam had a good idea of his request. He didn't want to create an artificial intelligence - at least not for now - but instead use this skill to help him think in a computer manner. Compared to a human, a computer took less time and energy to calculate because the structure of its processor was different. If Priam had to process terabytes of data, he might as well use a program.

Satisfied, he finalized his request.

A system integrated into my mind that I can program.

Potential required: 187

Priam smiled at the number. The skill was less impressive than [Kinetic Control] but cost more. It was indicative of Priam's knowledge. Even with [Eidetic Memory], he was a physicist, not a programmer.

Create competence?

Yes.

Priam loved the Concepts' System. It was a wonderful, if limited, tool. Time for System modding!

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

PHYSICAL:

Strength 345

Constitution 599

Agility 344

Vitality 493

Perception 554

MENTAL:

Vivacity 300

Dexterity 374

Memory 100

Willpower 598

Charisma 418

META:

Meta-affinity 295

Meta-focus 225

Meta-endurance 167

Meta-perception 84

Meta-chance 216

Meta-authority 12

Potential: 920 (-187)

Tier 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED.

[Tribulation]: Two Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until:

Time: 177 days 14 hours 33 minutes 33 seconds.

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