Chapter 111: Power and Survival
Flaris, Shione, and Lumiere ran to the center and helped Priam. Under everyone’s penetrating gaze and strange silence, they slowly brought him back to the table.
When they got there, Orlaith’s look toward Priam was indescribable. There was worry, anger, and deep despair mixed together.
"Leader, don’t worry, the Grand Elder is on our side," Priam murmured quietly.
She snorted heavily in response and nodded.
If she could, she would return to her clan immediately, because she would feel safer that way. But for five days, all of them were required to remain on that planet, and she would still have several meetings with the people of the Alliance.
All the young ones would stay on the planet, and that was supposed to be a great opportunity for them to socialize. After all, in the future, they would certainly be the leaders of their respective clans.
But now... what if that terrifying figure went crazy and attacked Priam when everyone was away?
At that moment, the atmosphere of the event was terrible, and none of the young people present had the slightest peace of mind to fight now.
After witnessing Priam’s level, who would still feel like showing off their skills? Any demonstration would only seem childish and boring.
On the other hand, the Grand Elder seemed unexpectedly calm and serene. After taking a cup of wine, he turned to the clan leaders and let out a faint laugh.
"Who would have thought that a friendly exchange of pointers would result in such an outcome? I was truly caught by surprise. But everyone can rest assured; my race is completely stable and united. Nothing will shake our Alliance."
Priam smiled from the corner of his mouth and thought, ’Who would believe that?’
Ladomi continued slowly:
"But the positive side is that, before exchanging blows, the two promised not to investigate the matter if either of them suffered serious injuries. However, if the Supreme General of my race breaks that promise, I hope all the friends present here, who witnessed what happened, will say a few words of justice."
All the leaders sighed and nodded lightly. The Supreme General was, obviously, the title of Hahho’s father, the brother of the Aether-Wood Deer Leader.
After everything, the servants even placed a lot of food on every table, but no one was truly excited.
Everyone remained in the completely silent hall for another forty minutes.
At that moment, Ladomi did not waste time and announced the end of the banquet.
"I thank everyone who came. I promise to honor my new status and properly command all the other Elders, as well as make our alliance prosper."
After his words, everyone stood up and applauded.
After exchanging a few words of praise, everyone began to leave the hall.
No one wanted to talk much, but... no one managed to leave the place without casting one last glance at Priam and everyone at the Ylisse Clan’s table.
The mockery and complete lack of respect from before had now changed completely.
Orlaith should have been feeling full of energy at that moment, if not for the crushing tension that had fallen onto her shoulders.
"Let’s go." She waved, leading the four of them out.
Back in the forest, Orlaith walked in one direction with quick steps. She had no fear of them being attacked. Even the Supreme General of the race could not openly go against the rules. If he wanted revenge, he would have to act without leaving traces.
In a few minutes, another large building appeared before them, near a river of crystal-clear water.
"All clans received temporary residences separated from one another," Orlaith explained, opening the door. "For today, just sleep. Tomorrow, you should head north from here, where you’ll find a large courtyard. All the young ones from the other clans will be present, so you can get to know each other. As for us, the leaders of the alliance clans, we will have meetings during this period."
Everyone entered the luxurious building. There were a dozen rooms there, all extremely spacious.
Orlaith fixed her gaze on Priam, sensing his condition.
"Do you need anything? How are your wounds?"
He smiled faintly.
"I’ll be fine. I only need to use a recovery pill and meditate for a few minutes to gather a minimal amount of Ether. Then, after a good night’s sleep, I’ll be practically healed."
She nodded, sighing in genuine relief. Soon after, her gaze became grave.
"We’ll be here... in the Supreme General’s territory, for five days. It’s completely against the alliance’s rules for him to do anything. But... I can’t guarantee your safety, because I’ll be in meetings with the others."
Priam took a deep breath. "I’ll be as careful as possible. If he really wants to do something, he won’t do it directly or send someone powerful. Besides, the Grand Elder doesn’t want me dead either. So... I’ll survive these five days."
"Don’t worry, Mother. We’ll stay by his side day and night," Shione, beside them, said with a serious expression. "That way, it’ll be much harder for someone to try to attack him discreetly from the shadows."
Flaris puffed out her chest and nodded, full of determination. Lumiere sighed, but agreed too.
Orlaith smiled faintly.
Indeed, those five days, apparently, would be the safest, considering Priam’s abilities and the constant presence of the others by his side. But... when they returned home, nothing would stop the Supreme General from trying something. Sending assassins was the most obvious measure, for example.
Fortunately, Priam would leave for the Divine Plane in less than a month.
They only needed to focus on protecting him until then, and after that, he would be safer... of course, as long as he managed to enter a divine sect. But considering his talent, that did not seem like a concern.
"We still have time to sleep. So, I’ll watch over him now while he meditates," Orlaith said lightly, then turned to the other young ones. "In the building’s kitchen, the food is stored and waiting for us."
"We’ll prepare everything in the meantime," Lumiere said, nodding.
The three of them left quickly. Priam took a deep breath, turning toward a nearby sofa.
He sat down and took out a recovery pill. Without delay, he swallowed the pill and closed his eyes. Meanwhile, Orlaith stayed nearby, just watching.
All Mages learned to meditate easily, and Priam had discovered this even before traveling to the main clan.
It was very simple; he only needed to focus completely on his meridians and then force his body to absorb the Ether in the environment more quickly. Using recovery pills made this process easier.
But in deep meditation, a Mage entered a completely vulnerable state. Even more vulnerable than when sleeping, because their senses were automatically sealed completely.
Of course, that only applied to others.
The moment Priam closed his eyes and focused on recovering faster, because of his frightening Anima, he could feel everything around him and even focus on something else.
That was exactly what he did.
In the state of deep meditation, it was as if he were in a completely dark place. When he thought of the System...
[Special Mission completed!]
[Calculated Total: +5,465 GP]
Priam could see the green screens and read them perfectly. Seeing the excellent amount of points, he became emotional.
But it did not end there, because another screen appeared.
[New high increase in "Morale" with a relevant audience identified]
[+1,000 GP]
He felt even more satisfied. After defeating the invincible Young Master, it was predictable that his morale would rise even further.
[Total: 12,000 Germination Points]
’Finally, I have points to buy what I want. But now...’
He snorted internally. Life was not easy, and for him to get this amount of points, he had to put himself in a complex situation.
Now, he had to think wisely about what he would truly buy.
[04 Purchasable Abilities:]
[4,000 GP] [Power Rune Storage +1]
[5,000 GP] [Training Amplifier EX]
[5,000 GP] [Divine Sense for Treasures]
[6,000 GP] [Divine Concealment]
’I really wanted Divine Sense for Treasures, because getting treasures would be very useful. Of course, I also wanted to use the Amplifier to the maximum. But... besides having an extra Power Rune... this Divine Concealment seems perfect for escaping dangerous situations, as well as infiltrating places.’
He reflected deeply for a while. His priority now was having more power and getting methods to survive. Acquiring treasures would only become his focus later.
After sighing, he made his decision. But he would have 2,000 points left.
[06 Transcendental Knowledges Available:]
[2,000 GP] [Complete Ancestral Art of one of your Bloodlines]
[3,000 GP] [Combat Mastery] [Level: Intermediate]
[4,000 GP] [Magic and Energies] [Level: Intermediate]
[4,000 GP] [Natural Elements] [Level: Intermediate]
[6,000 GP] [Synthesis] [Level: Intermediate]
[7,000 GP] [Catalyst] [Level: Basic]
’Great, I can take this as a bonus.’
[2,000 GP] [Complete Ancestral Art of one of your Bloodlines]
[4,000 GP] [Power Rune Storage +1]
[6,000 GP] [Divine Concealment]
[Total: -12,000 GP]
[Accept?] [Yes / No]
He accepted without hesitation. At that moment, another screen appeared.
[01] [Complete Ancestral Art of one of your Bloodlines]
[Decide mentally which Ancestral Art you wish to receive and confirm.]
Priam read that and reflected only a little.
’I have two options... having the complete power of the Eyes of the Wind Bloodline isn’t that useful anymore. My Earth-class Magic Art and the other incomplete one are already good enough for now. Maybe in the short term, the greatest gain would be in my clan’s Bloodline.’
He had already heard that the Vanculari possessed an affinity for controlling the power of the soul. Something very rare, but low-level Mages of the Mortal Plane, without incredible Magic Arts, did not have enough strength to use it. So this affinity had become something useless.
But maybe this problem happened because they did not have the complete Ancestral Art of the Race. Buying it now could give him another important weapon.
Gaining only one extra wind power, if he chose the other option, would not change that much for him.
[Ancestral Art: Vanculari Race]
[Accept?] [Yes / No]
Priam made his decision and accepted.
At that moment, the knowledge of everything he had bought flooded his mind.