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

The grinding of massive gears reverberated through Priam’s skull, rattling his eardrums. Some unseen mechanism was lifting a heavy iron gate. At least, it looked like iron. Having seen it withstand Pyro, Priam knew it was something else—or perhaps powerful enchantments fortified the gate that concealed his next opponent.

The boss of the fifty-fifth wave was an apex Earl. During their first encounter at the Reunion’s end, Priam had needed a Breath attack to finish the fight. He grinned, eager to test just how far he had come since then.

As the centaur’s hooves rumbled across the arena’s barren stone, Priam fell into a defensive stance. No war cry heralded the boss’s charge. The young warrior nimbly sidestepped to his right, positioning his spear in the path of the charging beast, which stumbled over it. Riding the mist, Priam reappeared above its head, his weapon wreathed in aether. [Tribulation Piercing Spear].

The energy drill obliterated the creature’s skull. The fight hadn’t lasted more than five seconds.

"I’ve come a long way, haven’t I?"

Incinerating the gore that had splattered onto him, Priam advanced to the fifty-sixth wave.

The boss of the sixtieth wave was a rabid giant rat—the first Marquess-level opponent. With its bloodshot eyes, filthy fur, and foaming mouth, it was a sight that could haunt nightmares. Priam made a mental note to revisit this fight later to acquire [Disease Resistance]. Unwilling to let such a vile creature touch him, he summoned the full might of Pyro, reducing his adversary to cinders and bone.

For his victory, the Colosseum granted him a five percent affinity increase for a Concept—a phenomenal reward for anyone other than Priam. The spoiled child inside him grumbled, his expression only shifting when he noticed that his current Concepts weren’t grayed out. He chose Pyro, a Concept already maxed out, and fell to his knees as his soul left his body, entering a realm of flame.

At the heart of this glowing red world, a colossal star awaited. It seemed to be made of countless different flames, each more intense and alien than the last, encompassing life and death, time and space. The Fire Champion marveled at the spectacle until a solar flare hurled him back to reality.

"Argh!" Priam spat out a few grains of sand as he regained consciousness. Face down on the ground, he struggled to recall why he was there. The intensity of the spiritual journey had left him disoriented, and the sight of that familiar star had shaken him. He was almost certain it was the same star that burned brightly over Elysium. More than just a celestial body, it was the physical form of the first Phoenix King, creator of Pyro and a candidate who had failed to ascend the Eighth Throne.

Turning his palm upward, Priam summoned Pyro and watched the flames dance in his hand. His perfect affinity with the Concept couldn’t fully explain the sense of familiarity that stirred within him. The epiphany had whispered truths to his soul, and he now stood on the brink of Unity.

“No… I’m already one foot in,” he corrected himself, rising to his feet. All it would take was his will to fully merge with Pyro. Remembering the madness that had seized him when he first achieved Unity with Fire, Priam resolved not to repeat that mistake. This time, he would take precautions—but that could wait, as the gates were opening again.

The werebear of wave sixty-five was exceptionally strong and agile. Its martial prowess was terrifying when combined with its massive claws. Yet, it too eventually fell to the devastating synergy of [Kinetic Control] and [Adaptive Golden Meridians]. Priam absorbed most of the kinetic energy from each attack, deflecting the rest. Once the enemy was defeated, the System presented him with a choice.

Reward: Tier 0 Token (Legendary).

• Save (yourself)

• Resurrection (others)

• Reborn (reset your biological lifespan)

• Reborn (reset your spiritual lifespan)

• Reborn (reset both your biological and spiritual lifespan)

Had he not been advised, Priam might have chosen the last option—a tempting way to be reborn as a memory-less infant, according to the phoenix. Some despicable parents used this Token on children they deemed poorly raised, but among gladiators, it was widely regarded as a trap. Instead, Priam selected the option to reset his biological lifespan; he had a plan.

The next wave featured a fire imp, a demonic bat-like creature capable of wielding black flames. [Fire Champion Physique]rendered the subsequent waves trivial until wave seventy. The boss, likely the parent of the earlier imps, hadn’t taken kindly to the massacre of its offspring.

Priam wondered whether he was dealing with the father or the mother as he dodged fireballs that could sear him. He had learned this the hard way, taking the boss’s first attack head-on. Why dodge if you’re flameproof? His arrogance nearly cost him the fight. The burn had caught him off guard; he hadn’t expected to feel that kind of pain again until he hugged another nuke.

Lvl Up: [Fire Champion Physique] lvl 24

VIT +3

CONST +3

META (Endurance) +3

[Homo Elysian Obsession] synergized with [Life is Hard; I’m Harder] and his Merits to adapt his body to the hellfire. The imp’s attacks gradually slowed as it watched its adversary bask in its flames. Being countered so thoroughly broke its spirit, and Priam mercifully ended its suffering. For his efforts, he earned ten skill levels to distribute, which he allocated to [Tribulation Hunter]. The skill was notoriously difficult to level up, but Priam knew it would be pivotal for his future growth. The System won’t alter it, but it can grant it experience, he noted.

Lvl Up: [Tribulation Hunter] lvl 10, …, 19

META (Chance) +90

Wave seventy-five featured a water elemental that vexed Priam for two grueling hours. As a being composed of liquid, it could shrug off most physical assaults, and even Spear Mastery and Conquest Aura failed to cause any significant damage. Though the apex Marquess boasted an impressive defense, its offense wasn’t to be underestimated either, launching high-pressure jets of water enhanced by a Concept that carved holes into the arena’s reinforced stone.

To overcome it, Priam wielded Pyro to evaporate the water. As steam filled the room, the Marquess and Duke vied for control over the mist. Water and Mist clashed until Priam emerged victorious. Although his Concept wasn’t at Unity like the elemental’s, it was better suited, and his meta-authority was terrifying for a Tier 0. This attribute allowed him to dominate aether and Concepts, and he exploited it relentlessly until the boss was reduced to a puddle. Plunging his hand into the water, [Tribulation Hunter] enabled Priam to extract a Concept fragment, ending the battle.

Reward: Upgrade one of the following Talents.

• Promesse (Bronze)

• Spectral Familiarity (Bronze)

• Aether Citizen (Silver)

• Chimera (Silver)

• Hoplite Warpath (Gold)

“Chimera.”

[Chimera - Gold] - Your body and mind can cope better with the simultaneous presence of opposing elements. Your biological and spiritual systems will adapt to many changes.

The Prince Phoenix hadn’t been able to say much about this upgrade, except that it was highly sought after for its impact on resistances… and body tempering. Priam clenched his fist, thoughtful. Despite the addition of the word “spiritual,” he felt no immediate change. Clearly, the Gold Talent was reactive and adaptation-focused. Without external stimuli, it would be difficult to measure its effects.

“Well, as long as it boosts my cockroach build!”

A trumpet blast snapped him out of his thoughts.

Zone Announcement - Moon:

Kazuki Arashi has triumphed over the 80th wave of the Colosseum (Tier 0).

A legendary feat!

“... You’ve got to be kidding me,” Priam chuckled. Kazuki had limited the announcement of his legendary Achievement to the Moon just to provoke his rivals without alerting the entire Sector. The hoplite was undoubtedly proud to have beaten Priam to the punch, even if his rival had been held up chatting with the overseer. “If I beat him to wave ninety, that ought to shut him up!”

Fueled by competitive fire, Priam charged into the next wave.

Jasmine glanced at the notification and nearly paid for it with her life. A gigantic greatsword was descending on her, packing the kinetic force of a meteor. She rolled out of the way, her shadow-cloak absorbing the shards of stone that flew in all directions.

Using Micro to overclock her body, she dashed toward the swordmaster. Her legendary daggers slashed at both Achilles tendons, drawing a roar of rage and pain from the beastman. Tightening her grip on her weapons, Jasmine prepared to capitalize on any weakness. As her opponent’s legs buckled, her instincts screamed at her to retreat. It was a wise move, as the boss used his fall to unleash a whirlwind attack.

The tempered steel missed her head by mere centimeters as she landed a few meters away. Without her quick reaction, she would have been dead. Swallowing hard, Jasmine sank back into the shadows.

“RAAAARGH!” bellowed the warrior, crawling on his knees, sniffing the ground like a bloodhound, trying to catch her scent.

Jasmine stayed hidden. The poison on her blades was preventing his wounds from clotting, and the bleeding would eventually take him down. It would be a slow death, but she wasn’t in a hurry. Some might call it an ugly victory. She couldn’t care less.

An assassin had no honor, only a target.

Wave eighty was different. Not just because it granted an Achievement to whoever conquered it, but because its boss was a Duke. The last rank of Nobility before royalty marked the chasm separating prodigies from legends. How many geniuses had failed to cross that threshold? The statistics were brutal: according to Béchar, no Prince had emerged from Sector Hope in over a century.

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Priam was nearly certain he and his rivals would change that. Perhaps we are the Concepts' answer to a Sector stuck in stagnation...

As the gong resonated, a thick fog flooded the arena, swallowing the Colosseum from view. The spectators were no longer welcome; the System protected the secrets of its elites. Priam’s brow furrowed as he realized the gloomy mist did not answer to him. Deprived of his senses, he wondered if he was still on the Moon.

“Rrrrrrh…”

A growl drew Priam’s attention. Before him, a whirlwind of smoke revealed a towering giant, four meters tall, wielding a sword as long as he was. Clad in beast hides and ancient leather armor, his head drew all eyes. The beastman had a human body, but his face was that of an ossified ram, crowned with two massive horns.

Priam hurled a fireball to test the waters, eyes widening as the flames skated off the creature's skin like water on oiled cloth. Instantly, he knew this fight would be different. The Duke was a monster.

[Identification]

[Zelgius the Apocryphal - Tier 0 - Duke]

A clone of a great warrior at the beginning of his journey.

Abandoned in the woods, Zelgius was raised by a bear. He found Aaion, his bound weapon, on an unmarked grave. The spirit within taught him the art of combat.

At eight years old, the future Duke emerged from the forest and returned to his parents’ village. A few hours later, he was orphaned once more.

This is his clone at the time of those events.

“Apocryphal…?” Priam murmured, reading the description. An aberrant soul, capable of defying the laws of the world by its mere existence. Such beings were so dangerous that the System crushed them mercilessly, pitting all its users against them. Was the beastman before him a historical figure? If so...

Zelgius’s muscles rippled, veins bulging as he raised his greatsword. The weapon sliced through the air, and Priam snapped his focus back to the fight, barely blocking in time with his spear.

[Analysis: Effective Strength exceeds 3 000, presence of Greatsword Mastery I, Domain I, and Micro II.

Recommendation: Avoid physical contact.]

The advice came too late. Priam's eyes widened as he stared at the two fragments of Promesse in his hands. The Duke's strike had severed the shaft, leaving him with a bare blade and a splintered pole. His trusted companion since the beginning of his journey lay broken, and he thought he could almost hear a mental wail that clenched his hearts.

Zelgius showed no sympathy for his opponent’s despair, swinging his sword in a lateral slash. The air thundered as the blade broke the sound barrier.

Priam looked up a fraction of a second before impact. He tried to merge with his mist, but the boss’s eyes glowed with an ominous light. A primal fear paralyzed the Champion. A Concept! By the time Priam’s formidable will pierced through the terror, it was too late to dodge. He braced for the hit, contracting every muscle.

[Kinetic Control] absorbed three-quarters of the blow, igniting his golden meridians. Despite the shock, his spiritual pathways held up better than his body. The greatsword shredded his abdominal muscles, tore through his colon and intestines, and was finally halted by his spine. The impact sent Priam flying like a rag doll.

Lvl Up: [Shear Resistance] lvl 2

CONST +3

He crashed seventy meters away, the breath knocked out of him for a second. Thanks to his newfound resistance, he was alive. His latest Concept helped him quickly regain his senses, while [Three-Headed Hydra] burned through his lifespan to heal him. It was a shame, but he couldn’t afford to die now.

The silence worried him, and Priam glanced skyward. The dark fog seemed strange… The mist was suddenly torn apart as the boss descended upon him like a meteor, greatsword raised high.

Suppressing the fear that threatened to seize him again, Priam leapt to the side, narrowly dodging the downward strike. The colossal weapon shook the arena upon impact. A glance at the crater left by the blow told him it would have killed him if it had connected.

Wave eighty was deadly. The Duke’s build focused solely on raw power, but beyond a certain threshold, who needed finesse? Overwhelming strength could crush everything in its path. If Priam didn’t get serious, he would die.

“As if!”

His mantle of mist descended, soon covering the arena in a thin sheet of water. Stealing its kinetic energy, Priam quickly transformed the battlefield into an icy expanse. Then, he thickened the surrounding fog and conjured a dozen, then a hundred, then a thousand ice spears. It was time to see if the giant could defend as well as he attacked.

The first spear, mere degrees above absolute zero, was fired with the force of a railgun. Blind in the opaque fog, the boss only detected it with his Domain—far too late. The spear pierced his navel, spraying the arena with black blood. Priam grinned.

It was time for a comeback.

The beastman collapsed. A less cautious opponent might have approached, but Priam could still hear his breathing. It took two more spears before his new Concept and the gong signaled the end of the battle.

Sighing, he dispelled the mist and picked up the two fragments of his spear.

“You really need an upgrade, don’t you?”

Promesse offered no response. Priam grimaced, realizing his bound weapon was now less durable than his bones. He found the fact unsettling, even if he recently acquired an ideal resistance to slashing attacks.

[Shear Resistance] was born from the fusion of [Atomos], formerly [Cutting Resistance], and [Kevlar Tissue], formerly [Penetration Resistance]. At some point during the last two weeks, he had used one of his Skill Fusion Tokens to create an ideal resistance.

Prerequisites met:

• You have faced dimensional blades.

• Your organs have all been pierced by shards of your own bones.

• [Life is Hard; I’m Harder].

• Your soul has been cleaved.

• You were bisected during a Tribulation.

Ideal Upgrade unlocked :

[Blade Nemesis - Rare] - Most sane people fear blades. Blades fear you. Potential Cost: 40.

The System’s naming conventions were cool, but Priam opted for something more understated. [Shear Resistance] was minimalist, fitting for a rare skill.

You have selected the skill [Shear Resistance - Rare].

POT -40

[Shear Resistance - Rare] - In engineering, stresses represent forces that deform a material. Shear is one of the five physical stresses that can damage an object. Resisting shear means resisting the blade seeking to eviscerate you and the edge trying to slice you apart.

The aether and molecules comprising your body and soul now tend to repel objects or skills trying to pierce or cut them. Your tissues gain flexibility, hardness, and resilience.

Fun fact: Nearly all possessors of this skill are sheep. As a result, shepherds are a respected profession.

CONST +3

A skill that had certainly just saved his life and could have progressed further if his constitution wasn't so close to the next Tribulation threshold.

Priam glanced upward briefly, but no Achievement came to break the arena’s silence. The System awaited his choice of reward. It was likely standard procedure, but the Champion suspected the System was aware of his plan.

“Bring it on.”

Reward: Choose one.

• Temper your Body.

• Refine your Meridians.

• Cleanse your Soul.

“Meridians,” Priam decided, despite the deep connection between his body and soul. The last reward was redundant with [He Who Eludes Death], and the first paled in comparison to what he was about to achieve.

The first step of the Heavenly Dragon technique required reorganizing his meridians. These spiritual pathways allowed aether to flow through the body, connecting this primordial energy to the soul. To temper his physique, their natural arrangement had to be altered to mimic those of a dragon. Kazuki might have hesitated to change his nature, but Priam had no such reservations. If dragons were one of the three supreme races, then he would emulate them.

After unlocking [Ideal Aether Perception] and [High Aether Manipulation], Priam had spent several days restructuring his meridians according to his add-on’s instructions. All that was missing was a treasure or a reward to cement his efforts—one he had just earned.

The System descended, parting the fog to reveal a divine light. Priam’s body began to levitate, becoming translucent. Had a spectator been present, they would have seen the Champion's organs, blood vessels, and bones. As his physical form grew immaterial, the spiritual became tangible. A golden network as intricate as his veins and arteries emerged, pulsing with primordial fluid. The light summoned by the System suffused these pathways, infusing them. For a brief moment, the white-gold meridians resembled crystalline roots.

Lvl Up: [Adaptive Golden Meridians] lvl 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

META (Focus) +15

META (Endurance) +30

Then the light faded, and Priam’s soul roared. A powerful surge coursed through each meridian, setting the accumulated energy in motion. His refined pathways were now ready to accommodate a seraphic tempering method.

Everything was in place, and the System reappeared.

Achievement - Legendary: As a Tier 0, you have pushed your limits within the Colosseum.

Gladiator, continue to spill blood, and the System will continue to reward you.

Message for Humanity and Sector Hope:

Priam Azura has triumphed over the 80th wave of the Colosseum (Tier 0).

The Seven Concepts congratulate you.

Potential +5000. Colosseum VIP Token.

Instantly, Priam felt a million, then a billion gazes upon him. Many more followed. Without Elysium’s protection, every voyeur and diviner across the Sector believed themselves free to observe him. The Champion wasn’t an exhibitionist, but he grinned as he sensed the attention. It was exactly what he needed.

Pausing his Colosseum run, Priam revealed the item he had retrieved from his inner world just before the announcement of his Achievement. A pearl rested in his palm—the core of the second Terror, a Prince capable of eluding all attempts at divination.

It’s now or never.

Priam had a draconic trophy, a legendary ideal resistance, and the focus of an entire Sector to fuel the growth of [Ciphered Record]. It was time to forge the first gate of the Heavenly Dragon.

With his eyes closed, sitting cross-legged on the stone, Priam began his body tempering.

[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.

Future Tribulations delayed until:

Time: 137 days 1 hour 44 minutes 58 seconds.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attributes > 900 / 1 attribute > 1 200

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