A Novel Concept - He Who Eludes Death Chapter 253: In the Zone

Ideal upgrade available for [Focus - Rare].

Prerequisites t:

Remain focused in the face of severe pain.Remain focused in the face of certain death.Actively use [Focus] to resist a Tier 4 fake-world illusion for one hour.Channel emotions to enhance [Focus].Score in the 99th percentile on the trait of concentration.Ideal Upgrade unlocked:

[In the Zone - Epic] - Elevate yourself to a state of laser focus and enter the Zone. Once inside, there's only one thing left to do: annihilate the obstacles in your path. Ideal upgrade potential. Potential Cost: 320

You have selected the skill [In the Zone - Epic].

POT -320

[In the Zone - Epic] - The Zone is a ntal construct that channels your emotions, filters distractions, and isolates you from irrelevant aspects of your environnt. With unnecessary data stripped away, the situation becos clearer, allowing you to find solutions more easily.

Your purpose becos a guiding fla... but it can also burn you.

PERC 3

VIVA 3

DEXT 3

Priam opened his eyes as the System upgraded his skill. With the transformation of [Focus] into [In the Zone], everything gained clarity. The illusion dissipated on its own, and the ritual ceased, having achieved its purpose. The runes composing it were interesting as references, and the add-on began copying them.

Several things happened simultaneously. Mama Apo and Gabrielle's conversation had been recorded by the System even as Priam's senses were disrupted by the illusion. He absorbed the information in monts. A parallel thought, influenced by [In the Zone], observed the two Gaeserts watching him.

“You were quick,” said the grandmother.

Replying was a waste of ti. He needed more ideal upgrades before facing Sumstreh to maximize the use of Back in Ti. His next step was to talk to Gryphe. Eager to move on, Priam set off.

“Kids…” Mama Apo waved a hand, and Priam nearly stumbled as he passed her. The clarity brought by his new skill shattered, and he blinked, as if waking from a lucid dream.

“What the—”

“[Focus] is less disorienting than [Berserk], but it can still severely affect its user.”

With his vivacity, Priam needed only a second to regain his composure and realize he had let the skill control him. The upgrade had boosted both its strengths and its hazards. I'll need to be careful with the influence of ntal skills...

“You knew this might happen.”

The shaman shrugged. “I don’t have access to your full status, but it was a possibility.”

“I see. Well, thank you for your help.” Priam rubbed his left eye. A phantom pain bothered him, and Micro couldn't alleviate it. In the fake world, the last arrow had pierced his eye socket, and the illusion felt so real that his mind struggled to accept it had been deceived. [Focus] had kept the pain at bay while active, but now, Priam had to endure it.

“The pain will fade soon,” Mama Apo reassured him.

Priam hoped so. He was accustod to pain and accepted it when it ca with growth. This torture was more excruciating because it offered no positive change.

“You were super fast!” Gabrielle exclaid, seizing a lull in the conversation.

“I guess so.” Priam had shattered Braato's record, the Gaeserts' chief, but he had advantages Braato didn’t. Besides his innate talent for concentration and his familiarity with pain and death, he used his two parallel thought streams to understand the skill from different angles. As usual, dragons cheated. “Once again, thanks for your help. I won't bother you any longer.”

His ideal upgrade checklist was far from complete.

“Wait. You're not obliged to answer, but could you tell the prerequisites that unlocked [Ideal Focus - Epic]?” asked the shaman. “Most warriors need to go through multiple illusions to get it, and you did it on the first try.”

“I didn’t get [Ideal Focus], but [In the Zone],” Priam corrected.

“The System loves giving complicated nas to its skills,” Gabrielle explained, hearing her ntor grunt. “In the tribe, we prefer to rena skills as the original na helps to understand what they do. So add High or Ideal in front to flaunt their power.”

“It also prevents giving away information to strangers. For an epic skill, it’s less critical, but knowing the full na of a mythical skill could reveal the path of a Tier 1.”

“Makes sense,” Priam admitted, grimacing. His eye still hurt. “I’ll share my prerequisites if you tell what a Smiling Juggernaut is.”

Mama Apo squinted before nodding. “The founder of our tribe was a Champion. In his moirs—which you won’t read—he wrote that rivals always have an archetype. The Juggernaut is one. To differentiate between generations of rivals, Gaesert added an adjective. I thought Smiling Juggernaut suited you well, but it's not official. At least, the adjective isn’t.”

A Juggernaut, an unstoppable force crushing all obstacles in its path. I guess that fits in so ways.

“Why smiling?”

“The Impossible difficulty of the Tutorial only appears to those who seek change. Hence, Champions are naturally inclined to the System's arrival.” Priam’s eyes widened slightly. “You, however, seem particularly happy to pursue the Zenith.”