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

Chapter 44: Micro management and Macro Will

Sphinx had not used her skill and Priam could concentrate on the riddle without risking his life.

The answer was breathing. In the first few seconds, Priam realized that the bubble let in light but not air. The gas inside had been replaced, preventing Priam from taking another breath. He would have to make do with the oxygen already in his system.

The average human takes twelve breaths a minute. Apnea means cutting off the oxygen supply and gradually building up carbon dioxide in the body. Its concentration quickly became toxic, and the brain sent a signal to resume breathing. Out of the water, the average adult male could not faint just by holding his breath - the survival instinct was too strong.

If Sphinx had given him five minutes, it wasn't to find the answer to the riddle. Priam had to hold his breath during this time. He was confident it wasn't attempted murder. Sphinx didn't need this kind of stratagem to defeat him. He closed his eyes to concentrate as Bechar's voice rang out.

"For a normal human, before the Concepts kidnapped you, two biological rhythms were vital and automatic: breath and heartbeat. Your brain constantly sends orders to your body, most of them automatically. To unlock Micro's first stage, you'll need to regain control. You have to control your body consciously," explained Bechar.

During his explanation, the changeling had sat down behind Priam - conjuring up another chair and then a pack of biscuits. The supervisor began to eat, watching Priam. Sphinx squinted at the nonchalant attitude of her chosen trainer.

Bchar soon realized his mistake. Cleverly, he offered the young Lord a giant pack of biscuits. The diversion worked and Sphinx succumbed to the allure of a consumer society. Bechar smiled before turning his attention back to Priam.

"It's more painful than letting your brain take care of everything automatically, but it's also necessary. If you can control all your body's reactions, a whole new world will open up. You'll be able to influence your heart rate, increase the energy allocated to your digestive system to absorb nutrients faster, improve your regeneration speed, use your eyes like binoculars or magnifying glasses, etc.," he enumerated. "In short, you'll be able to make the most of your physical attributes."

Priam, eyes closed and sitting cross-legged, struggled not to let out a breath. Bechar's explanation was tantalizing and he wanted to unlock Micro quickly.

The aim of the exercise was to fight his survival reflexes, spot them and then... What should I do next? With his impressive Vivacity - 148 - it was usually easy for him to understand the meaning of an exercise. But Priam couldn't see the point. The relationship between his survival reflexes and control of his body was confusing.

Soon, another problem appeared. As Priam concentrated on his body and how it felt, he noticed his concentration wavering. This training session was a rare moment since the beginning of the Reunion. It was the first time Priam could genuinely concentrate on himself without using his Potential.

Unfortunately, finding no further clues to pursue his thoughts, they began to wander. His Vivacity searched for answers to different subjects, and [Eidetic Memory] wasn't helping. His talent offered him a thousand and one questions that he had never answered before. With his new abilities, he had a chance to find answers. Unfortunately, none had anything to do with his training.

After a minute, Priam was no longer concentrating on holding his breath and let out a gulp of air. He instantly opened his eyes, realizing his mistake, but it was too late. His empty lungs tried to fill as his survival reflex ordered Priam to breathe.

The gas in the bubble remained static and Priam began to choke, inflating his lungs without any fluid entering them. As he panicked, the bubble disappeared. Priam collapsed to the ground, hyperventilating. His body and brain needed oxygen, and his lungs complied. Of course, he was used to death and danger, but the animal part of his brain remained terrified.

His Vitality took over, and the precious oxygen flowing back into his lungs fed his body. A minute later, as Priam slowly came to his senses, Bechar spoke again.

"Sorry for this painful exercise. You come from a species unknown to me and I had to understand some things. Nevertheless, we've learned a lot. What do you think?" the Overseer asked calmly. Priam turned to him, catching his breath. He didn't blame the changeling. He wanted to survive his Tribulations and knew Bechar was his best chance.

Priam took one last deep breath to calm himself before answering.

"Without Potential, it's hard for me to control my thoughts for long. My brain needs to think. Finding a better way to use my skills, reviewing my previous battles, speculating on my Tribulations... I just can't stay focused," Priam confessed. He was ashamed and disappointed in himself. His characteristics made him a superman, yet he couldn't keep his attention for more than a minute.

Bechar nodded, tossed a cake into his mouth and swallowed before resuming.

"Why's that?" he questioned, smiling.

Priam took a few seconds to think. Now that he had a concrete problem on which to throw his intelligence and logic, his Vivacity was once again a powerful weapon. After two seconds, Priam clapped his hands.

"My mental attributes are not balanced!" he exclaimed in understanding. Bechar smiled and motioned for him to continue his thought. "If I had a thousand points in Strength and Agility, but only a hundred points in Constitution, I'd just maim myself by moving too fast. Mentally, it's the same. Vivacity gives me enormous computing power, but without Memory to store my deductions and Willpower to focus, I can't fully exploit my attributes," Priam concluded.

His brain had so much energy that he always wanted to think. Priam couldn't concentrate on the same subject because his Vivacity was twice as great as his Willpower. Bechar applauded politely.

"Give or take a few details, you're right. Except with geniuses, this kind of imbalance is normal. Fortunately, there are solutions. For example, you overcame this difficulty by choosing [Eidetic Memory] as your reward on wave 20 of the Coliseum. Your Memory attribute is so low that it pains me, but it doesn't bother you right now."

Bechar stood up and walked over to a window. Priam could see the ducal garden, but behind its walls lay the Dome and its inhabitants. Bechar pointed to the wall.

"Some people look for skills, traits, or Titles to compensate for their shortcomings. However, with your current talent and resources, you can and should rapidly increase your attributes. Some, like Charisma, are not yet important but are a weakness. If a Tribulation exploited this weakness, you'd die," says Bechar before turning back to Priam, snacks in hand.

Priam nodded to show he understood. He couldn't be the best everywhere but had unleashed a triple Tribulation. If Bechar, Mercury and Maya were correct - which seemed likely - every weakness would cost him a life. Unacceptable.

"Which brings me to Micro."

A heavy pressure appeared and Priam's eyes widened in astonishment. Bechar was simply looking at Priam, breathing. It seemed harmless, but Priam immediately understood that the changeling was revealing some part of his power.

A current of air was created under the powerful suction of Bechar's lungs. The flow increased and Priam soon began to have difficulty breathing. All the air in the room seemed to be sucked into Bechar's single breath, and Priam had no time to seek refuge behind Sphinx before Bechar opened his mouth. He clicked his tongue and a white marble instantly flew across the room.

A fraction of a second later, the marble reached the back of the training room before striking a pane of glass. The glass shook on impact and the fluid in the marble was released. A gust of wind worthy of the greatest hurricanes struck Priam in the back before he could brace himself, throwing him violently forward. Sphinx caught him just before he hit the glass.

Stunned, Priam took a few seconds to get up before thanking Sphinx.

"You're so light," Sphinx giggled before swallowing a new pack of biscuits. Packaging included.

Priam almost explained to Sphinx that swallowing the package was unnecessary but changed his mind. There was no nearby garbage can, and it was unlikely to provoke stomachaches to a monster capable of withstanding the fall of a million tons of rock.

Shaking his head, he refocused on Bechar. The changeling hadn't even attacked him. What a monster. Priam swallowed, thinking about the Overseer who had created a terrifying attack just by inhaling.

Seeing Priam concentrating without getting upset, Bechar smiled and explained. "I just used Micro to breathe. I partially inflated my lungs, otherwise the attack would have destroyed the castle. Voluntarily I deactivated my passive skills and Titles. You've just seen the effect of thousands of Force points put to good use. In concrete terms, the first Micro Stage will at least double the effectiveness of all your abilities."

Bechar pointed to his head. "I'm not just talking about your physical abilities. Micro will help you perfectly control every nerve, muscle, and tendon. But above all, it will help you control your head," he stressed.

Bechar walked over to Priam and placed a hand on his abdomen. "Your heart rate is erratic and the shockwave has frightened you," he announced. "When you felt my aura increase, you released adrenaline to focus on the danger. It's useful for forgetting pain and fear, but it disturbs your thoughts. You're letting yourself be manipulated by the drugs distilled by your brain. I'll leave you to imagine what could happen against an opponent who would take advantage of this weakness," warned Bechar.

Priam pondered the changeling's words. He wasn't lacking in imagination.

"Mental manipulation," Priam murmured. Bechar nodded. "An enemy with a skill that enables me to produce adrenalin might induce me to attack him without thinking. Worse, if someone could convince my brain to produce oxytocin, I'd fall in love. In the long run, this would be devastating for my mental health and ambitions."

"It's indeed a possibility," confirmed the changeform. "Micro is unlocked by stage. Its third stage will help you control this kind of thing better and synergize with your resistances. For now, you need to reach the first stage. Mastery of your nerve impulses to control your muscles. Look at your hands," Bechar said, dipping into his packet of sweets.

Priam looked at his hands briefly, then closed and reopened them. Evolution has given man great control over the different parts of his body. Now that Priam had to relearn how to control his body, he felt a new respect for life and its miracles. In his hand alone, three main nerves subdivided to control it.

"Opposable thumbs have allowed humanity to conquer your planet using tools. But one of the first tools you have is your body. You must control it. You must dominate it. You must be its Master. Supremacy over your body, that's what Micro is all about," explained Bechar.

Priam nodded. "I understand the point of this Supremacy. But how I can unlock this kind of thing? If all it took to unlock Micro was apnea, the Olympic swimmers would have dominated the world...

"Sorry, your civilization indeed comes from a very aether-poor region. I should have considered that," Bechar apologized. "Without significant mental attributes, it's almost impossible to unlock Micro. When your mental attributes exceed a hundred, certain qualitative changes occur. Dexterity allows you to take control of your brain, and Vivacity will enable you to simultaneously control the forty-three pairs of nerves your body houses," Bechar explained. "The higher stages of Micro exist thanks to the aether, but we're not there yet."

Thoughtful, Priam stepped forward to pick a candy but Bechar put the package out of his reach with a smile. "These are winner's sweets. Youll have to earn them!" Bechar winked.

Priam was speechless for an instant before refocusing.

"Okay, but practically speaking?" he asked.

"To understand how your brain orders your body, it's best to immerse yourself in a stressful situation and force your brain to send out strong commands. Apply yourself to feeling and sensing your body. When your brain panics because of the lack of oxygen, it will send commands to force you to breathe. Block it. Then trace this command back to its source: your primal instinct. If you can identify your primal consciousness, you can try to dominate it. From there, we can work," Bechar encouraged.

"What about my will?" asked Priam.

Bechar laughed. "That's the second objective of this training. Your will is a muscle. You must use it, polish it, tame it. It's yours to use. You need Will to use Micro and Micro will help you control that Will by fusing it with aether. It becomes a virtuous circle once you unlock this Supremacy. The hard part is getting there," Bechar explained. Suddenly, his voice changed and Priam once again felt an aura crushing him.

"If you don't have enough Will, give up your quest for freedom right now and wait for the Tribulations. You have enough attributes to do what needs to be done. The only thing holding you back is yourself," he says.

Bechar's voice had changed. It was harsher and Priam understood that the changeling was helping him because he had seen something in Priam. If that something blossomed, then he would help him again. If Priam failed, Bechar would go back to eat his treats in the Colosseum.

Priam gritted his teeth and returned to his seat. The bubble appeared again and Priam took a final breath. His Will was a sword, and Priam would seize it to slice through his imperfections. If Micro existed, he'd get it today. It's my brain and my body. They will obey me, he decided.

Otherwise, he would die.

Bechar had finished his packet of sweets but made no pretense of opening a new one. The old shape-shifter was normally a fanatic for sweets, but he loved to see new stars shining even more.

"Hmm," Sphinx coughed behind him. "I shall accept another offering of treats," she announced in an adorably haughty voice.

Bechar laughed and mechanically grabbed a packet of kibble for Hevlu, which he handed to Sphinx. One of his grandchildren loved those pets, and Bechar had borrowed a few packs from him. If Sphinx found out she was happily eating the equivalent of giant cat kibble, she'd probably be embarrassed and angry. Well, she'll never find out, decided Bechar.

He refocused on Priam, who remained motionless, sitting cross-legged in an asphyxiating bubble.

"It's been over five minutes," complained Sphinx. "I hope he unlocks the first Micro stage before his Tribulations," she murmured worriedly.

Bechar laughed softly and Sphinx turned to him, intrigued.

"He'll get there. He found the source of his primal instinct on the second try and without Potential. His encounters with Death helped, but it's still a feat. He's already experimenting. His heartbeat is becoming erratic. He's already trying to manipulate his brain. He'll have unlocked the first stage by tonight, and alone," smiled Bechar.

"It's still a long time," Sphinx complained, swallowing a kibble.

Bechar laughed.

"You were born in possession of the three Supremacies so it may seem easy. But for most species, they're incredibly complicated to obtain. It took me two days to achieve what he's doing and I'm a genius. He must have found a technique. I can feel his attributes increasing..."

The seconds ticked by and Bechar whispered.

"If I'm here, it's to see a miracle. I hope you'll show me that Priam"

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

PHYSICAL:

Strength 107

Constitution 194

Agility 131

Vitality 203

Perception 217

MENTAL:

Vivacity 148

Dexterity 132

Memory 36

Willpower 76

Charisma 101

META:

Meta-affinity 92

Meta-focus 80

Meta-endurance 55

Meta-chance 46

Potential: 278

Tier 0

[He Who Eludes Death] charge: OFF. Reloaded in 18 hours 34 minutes 25 seconds.

[Tribulation]: Tribulations are coming.

Time: 47 hours 4 minutes 19 seconds.