Perk obtained!
[Mirror of the Soul]
Priam stopped. He hadn't received a perk in a long ti. The first was a race perk, [Humanity adapts], which all humans received. The second was his reward for finishing the Tutorial first out of all the new civilizations captured by the Concepts. [He Who Eludes Death] was extrely powerful, but he had done an incredible feat to get it.
Perks were on the borderline of passive skills and titles. They did not give attributes, Potential, or Trees of rit. They also did not gain levels, but they could evolve. They were rare, and Priam did not know that Potential could create them. If that's the case, I must rethink my future skills. A good perk can be so much more helpful... How useful is this one?
[Mirror of the Soul - Bronze] - In the center of your ntal space is now a pond, and its water purifies your soul. As you approach the shore, you contemplate your naked reflection. The pond does not reflect lies.
Who are you? Lean in and look at the truth. Sweet or hurtful, don't be Narcissus or Dorian Gray. To accept your identity is to move forward.
Priam closed his eyes and called his perk. The seat of his imagination was a floating island in the middle of a sea of clouds. Each of them was one of his dreams. The clear pond in the middle of the island caught his eye. He approached it in thought and, without thinking further, leaned over. He saw himself unshaven, smiling, and in chains.
The reflection did not lie. It was a taphor for the soul. Priam instinctively understood his vision. He was unshaven because he was less sociable than before. He was smiling because he was proud of his actions and his record. He could have done better and knew it, but he hadn't crumbled or run away from adversity. He had faced mutant spiders and champions. Today, he was stronger than ever and proud of himself. But he was chained. A golden chain, linking his limbs, represented the Concepts. It seed impossible to break, and Priam knew it would certainly still be there a hundred years from now. Fortunately, it didn't hinder his movents.
But two other chains existed. An iron chain around his neck represented his own thoughts. He felt he was not free, so he was not free.
More ominously, a silver chain was connected to the back of his skull. It seed half ethereal, and Priam imdiately knew he had been manipulated. It's barely tangible at the mont. It must be from Elysium. Is one of my rivals controlling ? A local, maybe? I'll have to be careful and find a way to resist.
Priam had goosebumps. The perk was already showing its usefulness. Without it, he would never have noticed a third party manipulating him until he was in a terrible place. Now that he knew that, he could find a solution. At worst, I'll spend so Potential to beco resistant to this kind of manipulation... I'll think about it before I go back to Elysium.
Priam opened his eyes again. He was pleased with his new ability. Sacrificing 80 points of Potential seed like a lot, but now he could make sure that his ntal state was optimal and that he wasn't being manipulated. For a man who craved freedom, this was invaluable.
"Resource plundering seems to make you smile."
Priam's gaze lingered on Claire. She was already wearing her clothes, and with her wet hair, she looked pretty.
"I'd say more like I've got this hot spring secured." he joked.
"Let guess, you used to work in a Western museum?" retorted Claire.
"I... No, I was a science student. But this pond doesn't belong to anyone that I know of. There are no inhabitants on the moon."
"Tell that to Neil Armstrong. Or to the previous owner, who you turned into bacon."
"I love bacon, what can I say? I'll share with Neil if he's disappointed he can't find his favorite hot spring." Priam stood up, "Enough with the jokes, let's go find so more nice humans to question!"
Claire laughed. "Sure, but a word of advice anyway: you'd be more believable if you wore boxers, you know?"
Priam looked down. He had removed his loincloth before diving into the water. He was now naked, and his loincloth was ruined. He began to blush.
"Um, give two minutes to cover with two or three leaves." Priam didn't want to be simply naked under his new cape. That would have given him an exhibitionist look...
Priam turned sharply to hide his sha - and everything else. Looking up at the trees, he let out an expletive as Claire threatened to fall to the ground laughing.
The grove surrounding them was made of conifer. I wonder if my constitution will prevent from pricking my buttocks with these needles...
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