Chapter 227: Saiyan Training (Patreon)

A few hours late, sorry! Doesn't change anything for the next chapter which is due Sunday 12th! 

We're starting the time ellipsis and the second part of the Elysium arc.

Enjoy!

*

A fire crackled.
As wisps of smoke curled through the air, the bright flames battled against the gentle darkness, casting flickering shadows across the room. Unfazed by this dance, a man performed push-ups with closed eyes. Almost touching the floor, he breathed deeply as he pushed back up.

His bulging muscles and prominent veins proved that the effort was not simulated. Despite his immense attributes, the hypergravity made the exercise challenging. Repetition didn't bother the man. [Focus] banished all unnecessary thoughts while Micro coerced his brain to release endorphins. Despite the daunting difficulty, he sported a grin.

He was free to ascend towards the Zenith.

Like a passionate athlete, Priam compelled his body to move, pushing his body through a series of exercises, targeting every muscle group. The regimen planned by his System took into account attributes nearing the sixth threshold of Tribulation. His strength and agility were far from maximized. 

His absolute sensory memory reminded him of the exact movements learned from Kazuki, and his dexterity, along with Micro, assisted in their execution. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees, pull-ups, dips, handstands, hyperextensions, planks—Priam rotated through exercises, constantly challenging different muscles. When the strain became too much, he lowered the gravity to give his muscles time to develop. His remarkable vitality, boosted by the sap of Log-a-rhythm and Blueberry's protein-rich meals, helped him rapidly develop new muscle fibers.

Only four hours into his training, the extreme intensity coupled with Priam's high attributes yielded results:

Lvl Up: [Revelation Resilience] lvl 27
MEM +3
META (Affinity) +3
META (Authority) +3
Lvl Up: [Gymnastics] lvl 16, 17, 18
AGI +3
Lvl Up : [Gravity Resistance] lvl 16
CONST +3
Lvl Up: [Fitness] lvl 20
STR +1

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

[Calisthenics - Rare] - You have endured numerous high-intensity fitness workouts without equipment. Future upgrades possible. Potential Cost: 10

[Crossfit - Rare] - You have endured numerous high-intensity fitness workouts with equipment. Future upgrades possible. Potential Cost: 10

[Inhuman Workout - Rare] - You have endured numerous high-intensity fitness workouts under gravity exceeding 50G. Impressive. High upgrade potential. Potential Cost: 20

As Priam read the notifications, a smile crept onto his lips. An ordinary human would struggle to unlock high upgrades, but his attributes, Titles, and abilities enabled him to collect them effortlessly.

You have selected the skill [Inhuman Workout - Rare].

POT-20

[Inhuman Workout] - Trained by a legendary hoplite instructor, you master exercises impossible for a human. You seek the pressure of high gravity to sculpt a perfect physique.
This skill allows you to feel when your physical exercises are executed properly. It optimizes synapse creation during high-gravity exercises, enhancing muscle memory development.
Like a renowned Saiyan, you push your body's limits to enhance your power.
STR +3

With a smile, Priam increased the gravity and resumed his push-up routine. Sensing slight discomfort, he subtly adjusted his hand position and opened his lungs further. The sensation vanished, indicating flawless execution. His muscles worked more efficiently, reducing the risk of injury.

Of course, there could be no guarantees when the gravity was so intense. A deeper crack than that of the logs echoed through the room, and Priam furrowed his brow. His left clavicle had just given way.

Managing to finish his push-up, Priam sat cross-legged. His bones, ligaments, and tendons endured strain while his muscles tore slowly. Testing his injury, he felt pain. The hypergravity bore heavily on his left shoulder, exacerbating the injury and causing internal bleeding.

[Thick Blood] began to stem the blood loss, but Priam couldn't risk aggravating the injury by allowing the broken bone to sever other arteries. This would lead to further hemorrhaging, slowing his training. He invoked [Three-Headed Hydra]'s daily heal. The multiple fractures and cracks that crippled his body began to heal as the legendary hydra's vitality temporarily flooded him.

With a sigh of relief, Priam refocused on Micro. The Supremacy allowed him to monitor his vital signs and understand his body better. He sensed [Sun Steel Body] was on the verge of leveling up. He hadn't yet decided on all the eight resistances he would choose as anchors for Heavenly Dragon, but this one was a sure thing.

It wasn't a coincidence his add-on suggested training under high gravity. Of course, it was one of Sphinx's powers, and his friend would appreciate the poetic aspect of the situation. However, besides this homage and his nostalgia for DragonBall, his Assistant deemed gravity ideal for simultaneously strengthening his body's resistance to compression, tension, and bending.

Only Deep Pressure Trap was as comprehensive, but Priam needed to breathe too frequently to consider it. Thus, he had purchased Gravity Trap IV for ninety thousand Sun Points and had no regrets.

Priam resumed push-ups, excited for the next level-up. As gravity punished his body, [Sun Steel Body] finally leveled up:

Lvl Up : [Gravity Resistance] lvl 17
CONST +3
Lvl Up: [Sun Steel Body] lvl 3
CONST +6
META (Endurance) +3

Constitution exceeds 1 000 points. Second milestone reached. Congratulations!

"[Sun Steel Body] just leveled up, and my constitution has surpassed the second milestone!"

"Perfect. It'll help you sense the world's influence on your body," replied the Prince from the campfire in the room's center.

On the gravity trap’s white list, the fire served as an anchor for the phoenix to observe Priam. This was possible due to a portal opening to the Concept Archipelago on the ceiling. Looking up, Priam could see the mini sun of his internal world.

"That's rather disappointing."

"I'd call you an idiot, but I had more or less the same thought back in the day. My teacher quickly changed my mind: close your eyes and focus on Micro."

Priam complied, feeling the Supremacy overlaying his body. With a thought, he could move or overclock his muscles. He sensed the blood flow in his veins, the air entering his lungs—accompanied by a faint smoke from the campfire—and the gravity's effect on his cells. [Sun Steel Body] and [Gravity Resistance] were fighting against the fundamental interaction, fortifying the connection between his cells and adapting their architecture.

"I can feel the gravity," he murmured. Previously, he was aware that it was attacking him because he had purchased the Gravity Trap and had felt the increase in his own weight. What had been a deduction was now a certainty. "I can even feel my resistances fighting the phenomenon! The milestone will help me identify what's attacking me."

"It'll be tough to poison you without you noticing now," confirmed the phoenix. "But remember, it only works if you have a resistance covering the damage you're receiving."

If lightning struck Priam, he'd just feel pain, and his new ability would remain silent because he lacked [Electric Resistance]. Another reason to unlock more resistances.

Priam's smile faltered as he saw his constitution continuing to climb towards twelve hundred. He'd soon have to seal the attribute with his Potential.

"However, I've already gained two levels in [Gravity Resistance]. Maybe I should change my training method..."

The resistance wasn't useless, but Priam didn't plan to incorporate it into Heavenly Dragon, and the constitution boost dangerously neared a sixth Tribulation.

"Hypergravity acts uniformly on your body. It's an excellent way to avoid future blockages."

Priam briefly opened his eyes to cast a bewildered look at the phoenix, who sighed.

"You know the System doesn't reward skill spamming. An active skill evolves in a certain direction based on the tricks and knowledge you acquire; you used [Kinetic Control] to master thermal energy, but another user could have focused on frames of reference."

Priam pondered the possibilities of an ideal Legendary skill like [Reference frames Control]. An object was always in motion relative to another. With Earth swiftly rotating, any stationary object could become a kinetic weapon if immobilized while the planet continued its dance.

"Interesting... So, what you're saying is I should always push the limits of my skills to prevent them from stagnating? Even those I don't aim to get an ideal upgrade for?"

Priam had never suffered blockages in leveling up a skill. Facing enemies much stronger than him forced him to be creative.

"Indeed, and it's the same for resistances: they modify your body, and until it's fully reshaped, don't expect to get a good upgrade."

It was easy to advance [Sun Steel Body], the evolution of [Blunt resistance], by taking hits, but it wouldn't uniformly reshape his organs. Gravity could.

Priam nodded and focused on the fundamental force, feeling its effects and enduring its torture. At rank four, the ritual added at most sixteen times artificial gravity to the already elevated ambient gravity. With his own weight multiplied by seventeen, Priam's body was on the verge of breaking.

It was excellent for his progression.

Priam resumed his exercises, ensuring not to injure himself again. Silence enveloped the room.

*

Lvl Up: [Sun Steel Body] lvl 4, 5
CONST +12
META (Endurance) +6
Lvl Up : [Gravity Resistance] lvl 18, 19
CONST +6
Lvl Up: [Inhuman Workout] lvl 2, 3, 4, 5
STR +12

Meta Endurance exceeds 500 points. First milestone reached. Congratulations!

Ignoring the notification, Priam continued his set of pull-ups. A tree capable of conjuring any simple wooden object was a godsend for any athlete.

Two hours had passed, and nothing had changed in the room except for the new logs fueling the fire and the presence of an almost empty meal tray. Generating new muscle fibers demanded substantial nutritional intake; the two birds prepared by Blueberry had been devoured.

After finishing his exercise, Priam took a moment to assess his body. A smile lit up his face. The first milestone of meta endurance increased the resilience of his meridians. It was good news on its own, but it was made even better by its synergy with the first merit of [Bloodless]: his veins and arteries were even more resilient.

A satisfied smile on his face, Priam refocused on his training. Minutes turned into hours, and his body transformed under the torture. [Homo Elysian Obsession] coupled with [Life is hard; I’m harder] fortified him. Gradually, the punishment became more bearable; his bones grew sturdier, his tendons and ligaments more elastic, and his muscles denser.

While part of his attention was on the exercise, a parallel thought explored his own capabilities. The combination of Micro, his absolute sensory memory, and the second milestone of constitution allowed him to feel his body's progress. Knowing precisely the difficulty felt during each exercise with his resistances’ feedback, Priam could compare the past and present to gauge his progression.

Even without seeing his attributes increase through the System's notifications, he felt his body toughen.

This sense of progression enabled him to tolerate the torment he inflicted upon himself. Beyond that, he was also aware that tough times called for tough men. It was a physical law: carbon could be both a pencil lead and a diamond, but only the extreme conditions deep within the Earth allowed the gemstone to form.

Priam wanted to shine and was ready to endure the pain for it.

Lvl Up : [Gravity Resistance] lvl 20
CONST +3

"If this keeps up, I'll surpass the next Tribulation threshold before I've made [Sun Steel Body] Legendary," grumbled Priam.

"Because of the level-ups of [Gravity Resistance]?"

Priam merely nodded. Speaking was difficult, and he preferred not to waste his breath.

"It could be a good thing. System descriptions almost always contain clues. Sun steel is a metal forged at the core of certain extremely massive stars, where gravity is extreme. My clan cultivates one of these stars to harvest this metal." Priam's eyes widened at this revelation. "Moreover, these two resistances strengthen you against the same internal forces—compression, tension, bending. I wouldn't be surprised if their fusion is one of the prerequisites for the ideal upgrade of [Sun Steel Body]."

The argument was solid and resonated with Priam. The young warrior closed his eyes and smiled as he imagined a new ideal Legendary skill supporting his temperance.

*

Lvl Up: [Revelation Resilience] lvl 28
MEM +3
META (Affinity) +3
META (Authority) +3
Lvl Up: [Sun Steel Body] lvl 6, 7
CONST +12
META (Endurance) +6
Lvl Up : [Gravity Resistance] lvl 21, 22
CONST +6
Lvl Up: [Inhuman Workout] lvl 6, 7, 8, 9
STR +12
Lvl Up: [Gymnastics] lvl 19
AGI +1

Five hours later, Priam was on his fourth meal of the day. He had briefly deactivated the Gravity Trap after his first dish turned into mush. With his attributes, he still managed to enjoy to enjoy the crunchy paste of the pulverized meat and splintered bone bits.

"Exercises have become a habit; I don't really need to fully focus on them anymore," he said between bites. He had no intention of stopping because an intimate knowledge of his body was necessary to temper it. "I’ll use my second parallel thought to work on my aether proficiency."

"What exercise will you practice?" replied the phoenix through the portal leading to his internal world. 

Priam tapped the ground, causing it to ripple before giving birth to a small wooden bead. Thanks Log.

About the size of a finger phalanx, the orb was perfectly smooth. "According to Esmée, a fairly common training is to levitate this kind of bead. It seems pretty simple, but by increasing their number and under hypergravity, I think it'll make a good exercise."

Priam felt he was close to the high upgrade for [Aether Manipulation]. Once obtained, he would finally begin his tempering.

"How do you plan to make them levitate?"

"By injecting my aether inside. Do you have a better idea?"

The phoenix remained silent for a few moments before adopting a neutral tone. "You could also surround the bead with a layer of aether."

"That would be much harder; my aether naturally takes the form of mist. I can condense it to make it liquid, but..." Priam paused. The phoenix hadn't suggested that for nothing. Lifting these beads was an exercise aimed at improving his aether proficiency. Going against his natural inclinations was necessary to progress.

Counterintuitively, an optimized way of lifting the orb wouldn't optimize his training.

"I'll try to create an aether shell to lift it," declared Priam. The phoenix remained silent, likely bound by its oaths. The exercise seemed simple, but perhaps it was a secret of the great clans.

Pushing aside the half-finished meal tray, Priam coated the small sphere with a layer of aether and attempted to lift it. The primordial fluid slid over the sphere and soared away, leaving a motionless bead in his hand.

"The goal of the exercise is to make the bead levitate, not to caress it," mocked the firebird.

Despite his failure, Priam smiled. Moving matter was harder than expected, but his instinct whispered to him that solidifying his aether would qualify him for the high upgrade.

"Very funny. How long did it take you to solidify your aether?"

"Two days," confessed the phoenix.

Priam's smile widened. "Watch me demonstrate the power of my obsession." 

*

Status:

PHYSICAL:
Strength 662 (+42)
Constitution 1 057 (+66)
Agility 614 (+6)
Vitality 932
Perception 760

MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 552
Dexterity 622
Memory 727 (+11)
Willpower 1 134
Charisma 661

META:
Meta-affinity 689 (+8)
Meta-focus 393
Meta-endurance 515 (+21)
Meta-perception 321
Meta-chance 274
Meta-authority 156 (+6)

Potential: 13 765 (+38)
Tier 0

Sun points: 765 738 (+1 784)

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED

[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 159 days 17 hours 50 minutes 40 seconds.

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