"Now, who drinks water? Who owns the zebra? You've got thirty seconds."
Priam's body ca to a complete stop and the debris covering Sphinx stopped shaking. Sphinx's power worked both ways. Seconds began to tick away as Sphinx searched for the solution to the riddle.
Before the apocalypse, Priam had succeeded in solving the riddle. The trick was to create a picture. For example, the Norwegian lived in the first house, next to the blue house. Hence, the second house was blue. Writing down the answers as you went along made it easy to find the solution.
However, Priam was betting that Sphinx would be paralyzed and, therefore, unable to use a table. The mythological creature's physical capabilities were titanic, so logically, her ntal abilities, such as Vivacity and mory, must have been relatively weak. Finally, the riddle was designed to take a long ti to solve - thirty seconds wasn’t enough.
"The Norwegian drinks water and the Japanese owns the Zebra," announced Sphinx.
Priam opened his eyes wide, mouth agape. It couldn't be! No more than six seconds had passed.
Sphinx smiled as she saw Priam's face.
"Riddles are my specialty. Even so, it took almost seven seconds to solve it. It's an excellent riddle and I'm glad I heard it," she says.
Priam's body began to tremble. The price of defeat showed: an invisible vise was closing in on him. Sphinx continued.
"You're going to die, Priam, but I want to thank you. That masterful fight made realize I shouldn't underestimate my opponents. Concluding on a riddle is very pleasant. I'll rember my promise. May we beco friends in the next life." Sphinx said before pausing. "Any last words?"
The vise stopped crushing Priam. Despair disappeared along with it. He had lost and this news almost soothed him. After all the pressure he'd built up over the last few days, he'd still lost. There was a kind of relief in defeat. He no longer had to be perfect - he never was.
He rembered a phrase his Dad repeated when he was a little boy."The important thing is not to win, son. The important thing is never to give up and always to progress." He would do better tomorrow than today. He had to survive to do that, which was undoubtedly his specialty.
The ball of stress he had been harboring in the pit of his stomach since the start of the Reunion disappeared. Priam decided he would do his best. His family wouldn't ask any more of him.
"I don't have much to say, Sphinx. You've learned from this fight and so have I. You underestimated and I made the mistake of underestimating you too. I knew it was a trap, but I believed modern knowledge would be enough to defeat you. You specialize in riddles, and I was a fool to fight on your turf. It's a good lesson..." declared Priam. His brain was already thinking about what to do next. After a defeat, it was better to get up quickly. For him, death wasn’t the end. "I hope you keep your promise. I could use a friend like you in my next lives."
Sphinx nodded and returned Priam's smile. Now that the fight was over and he was going to die, there was no need for her to be so solemn. The majestic veneer was gone and her honest smile was bright. "Wise words, Priam. A creature like is not ant to have friends in this world, but I'll be happy to be yours in the next. May your next life be epic," she wished. Priam nodded.
The vise tightened again as Priam closed his eyes. The pain was coming fast, but he refused to scream. Sphinx's friendship could be crucial in the next few days, and every friendship had a dose of respect. If there was a noble way to die, Priam wanted to find it.
The pain increased slowly but surely. Priam's bones ached, his muscles compressed and his eyes squeezed back into their sockets. Soon, his eardrums burst, then his brain began to be compressed. His various organs were oppressed and his heart struggled to beat.
Priam tried to think of sothing else to keep from screaming, but death was never more pleasant the ninth ti than the eight tis before. I really need to find gentle ways to die...
Without [Brainless], Priam would already have lost consciousness; for once, he wouldn't have minded as the pain was unbearable. The force pressing down on him seed omnidirectional. It brought every cell in his body closer to his center of mass as if a black hole had appeared in his abdon.
You have gained the skill: [Gravity Resistance - Rare].
[Gravity Resistance] - Gravity is one of the fundantal interactions responsible for the attraction of massive bodies. That's probably why your massive ego attracts so much trouble. Stop triggering Tribulations.
The architecture of your cells changes to better resist the effects of strong gravity. Your body becos more elastic.
Be careful, too much gravity may lead to the grave.
CONST 3
New Title: [Veteran - Bronze].
[Veteran - Bronze] - You have acquired ten different types of resistance. You've fought many enemies. The elents, weapons, magic and even the laws of the universe have left their mark on you. You have bled and hardened. Your path is full of suffering, but you persevere.
Your resistances now increase in levels more rapidly. You can acquire new resistances more easily.
CONST 10%
The notification was the last thing Priam saw before his mind sank into darkness.
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