Chapter 2: Nexus Seed System
"Child, don’t scare your mother like that! Don’t you recognize me?" The woman’s face immediately twisted in panic.
At that moment, an elderly man entered the room. He didn’t have pointed ears, but his body was covered in black fur, and white fangs protruded from his mouth.
He examined the young man lying on the bed and said, "Mrs. Ylisse, Young Master Priam suffered a blow to the back of the head, so it’s possible he may need some rest to recover his memory. Don’t worry too much; the pill I gave the young master seems to have worked. The effects of the pill haven’t completely faded yet, so let him rest a little longer."
The woman looked worriedly at her son. Reluctantly, she nodded and followed the elderly man out of the room.
James took a deep breath, slowly remembering everything from this new life. His new name was Priam Ylisse. He had truly lived several years without memories, just as a reincarnated person should. But for some strange reason, he had fully awakened.
He heard the elder gently advising the woman in the distance: "Mrs. Ylisse, the fact that the young master managed to come back alive is already infinite luck. Don’t push it too hard."
The woman replied with a trembling voice: "What the alchemist means is that my son will..."
The elder sighed. "The young master’s posterior brain suffered a severe shock. To tell the truth, simply waking up is already an incredible stroke of luck; however, the repercussions will certainly be very serious. Permanently losing his memory is entirely possible in this situation..."
The two gradually walked farther away, to the point where Priam could no longer hear them clearly... but he could still hear the sound of his mother sobbing.
Priam ignored the green windows for a few seconds, then they disappeared.
He stared at the ceiling while feeling intense pain all over his body, especially at the back of his head, which was swollen and throbbing.
At that moment, he felt all the information from his new life that had flooded his mind begin to make sense. It was like remembering a book he had read a very long time ago while still retaining every detail.
A few minutes later, the bedroom door opened softly, and a young family servant entered.
"Young master, it’s time to take your medicine."
"Medicine? What kind of medicine is this?" Priam asked, sniffling lightly.
"Madam paid an enormous price for this. It’s a Yang Bone Pill that can quickly heal your injuries."
The servant replied and opened the small case in his hand, revealing the medicinal pill inside. "This pill came from a Catalyst Mage Acolyte from the Alchemists Guild. Its medicinal power is very strong."
After staring at the object in his hand for a long time, Priam finally remembered another part of this new life. Back then, as Priam, he had felt like an extremely weak, useless person, so he had studied a bit of Alchemy, trying to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Pills could be divided into five categories: low, medium, high, superior, and unmatched. As for the pill in his hand, it didn’t even qualify for any of those five categories.
"Young master, don’t daydream. To obtain this precious pill, Madam sold her own valuable jewelry. Hurry up and swallow it," the servant urged.
Priam couldn’t help but feel a stab of pain in his heart. The impression he had of his mother was that she loved him deeply, to the point where he felt suffocated by so much love. It had reached the point where his mother practically never refused any of his requests.
His mother had done everything for him and had given birth while still young. She had been blessed with great beauty in her youth, but now, despite still being under thirty years old, signs of aging and exhaustion were already visible on her face. Remembering those deep wrinkles, Priam realized she had already sacrificed far too much for him.
After taking the pill, Priam ordered the servant not to spread any news about him, except to his mother, of course.
The servant obediently nodded and left.
Priam sat on the bed and focused. He now possessed the memories of three distinct lives, yet he still knew very little about this new world he lived in.
[Basic system is ready for use]
[Activate?] [Yes / No]
Priam merely thought about the system, and the green screens appeared once again. He knew nobody besides him could see them, because this had already existed in his previous life. But back then, the System had said it was deactivated, requiring him to add celestial power to fully awaken it.
’Yes.’
He muttered mentally, and the window changed.
Suddenly, he felt something emerge within his mind, as if it were a memory that had always been there but that he had forgotten. It was knowledge and information about many things related to the system.
[03 Innate Skills unlocked:]
[Energy Absorption and Control]
[Bloodline Synthesis]
[Power Synthesis]
Priam immediately understood how this system worked, and the first thing he thought about was himself.
[Name: Priam Ylisse]
[Race: Vanculari]
[Magic Title: None]
[Karmic Title: Invader from Another World]
[Bloodline: 01]
[Anima: Transcendental (Partially Sealed)]
[Wheel of Destiny: Transcendental (Partially Sealed)]
[System Assimilation Level: 01]
Priam read through his own status, and his mind slowly began to understand every detail. His Magic Title didn’t exist because he still couldn’t be considered a Mage.
He needed to create a Jade Core, the power core of Mages. He remembered that in this life, before his memories awakened, Priam tried to create one. However, when trying to choose one of the six mage classes... he displayed an unprecedented ’talent,’ and the core failed to stabilize even after years of attempts.
As for the Karmic Title, Priam had already heard the six stars accusing him of being an invader. So it made sense. It seemed this was something every person carried with them, possibly from another life.
As for Bloodlines, there were no ordinary humans or ordinary non-magical races in this new world. Everyone possessed a mutant bloodline with their own powers and unique magical affinities.
Priam’s father was a member of the greatest clan on the planet, and it was from that bloodline that he inherited his blood. But... within that clan, all powerful members were hybrids with other races, because the natural powers of the Vancularis were not that strong.
In short, his father possessed two bloodlines, while his mother had one.
The children of Mages inherited their parents’ bloodlines randomly, being born with one, two, or all of them at the same time. But... Priam inherited only the main and weakest one, originating from the Vancularis.
As for Anima, it represented each person’s individual talent. Its values revealed magical learning potential, the capacity for quick and accurate thinking, as well as ease in fighting and acting.
The Wheel of Destiny was basically what people on Earth called Luck or Divine Fate. However, Priam understood that those things were not random, because they were something intrinsic to a living being from birth.
Bloodline, Anima, and the Wheel of Destiny were fixed attributes for all Mages, determined the moment they were born. Extremely complex and inaccurate methods existed to evaluate those traits in a Mage, but the world’s greatest powers used those evaluations to train only the best talents.
In the Status Window, Priam noticed that the system evaluated those things with values from 0 to 100. However, his Anima and Wheel of Destiny contained no numbers. The term Transcendental meant that both were above the maximum limit.
’Partially sealed... I understand that’s exactly what caused those six to discover and capture me. Now it’s sealed, so I can’t be found easily. But partially means I can still use part of it, and in the future, I’ll be able to use 100% again.’
Well, he had no idea how to unlock them or how they would influence his life, though. He conveniently decided to ignore that thought. Out of sight, out of mind, or so they say.
Lastly, the System Assimilation Level represented the system’s ability to provide him with things. As he used it and became stronger, the level would rise, and he would gain access to more options.
Priam took a deep breath, and then another screen appeared.
[Germination Points: 00]
These were the points he would earn in the system to unlock and use various functions. To obtain points, the system would alert him whenever he completed certain objectives and achievements. Besides that...
[03 Daily Missions Received:]
[05 GP] [Daily Muscle Training] [Progress: 0%]
[05 GP] [Daily Study and Learning] [Progress: 0%]
[05 GP] [Daily Humanity Check] [Progress: 0%]
He also possessed daily missions to continuously obtain points.
’Muscle Training’ and ’Study and Learning’ were pretty self-explanatory. But the Humanity Check made Priam swallow nervously.
’Do I really have to interact positively with people?’
During his first life, he had lived on Earth as a sick person and died at twenty years old. His only friend was his cousin, and even his family avoided much contact because they knew he was going to die. Then, after being reborn, he lived as a slave in a cell, almost without any contact with other people.
Priam definitely didn’t know how to have positive interactions with anyone.
’Well... I’ll see what I can do. For now, let’s analyze my innate skills.’
[Warning: All Nexus Seed functions are currently unable to be used due to two impediments:]
[01: A second Core exists within your body]
[02: The Nexus Seed is currently full of energy]
’?’
Priam was surprised. First, he focused on his Dantian, a region located slightly below the navel. That was exactly where the Jade Core he had tried to solidify in order to become a Mage existed.
’So I have to destroy this? Okay, whatever, this shit looks defective anyway.’
Priam didn’t care because, based on his memories, he must have created the Jade Core incorrectly, which was why it had never solidified.
He closed his eyes and focused on that region.
With a single thought, he could sense it perfectly, as if it were another arm of his body. Without hesitation, he made the whole thing collapse completely. Any mage could do that, and some could even resort to that method to simply explode and bring an enemy down with them if done in the right way. Of course, those who truly resorted to it were rare. One would always cling to life even if death looked certain.
[Second Core removed!]
[The Nexus Seed has now connected properly]
After reading that, he focused on the center of his chest, more specifically that point inside his soul... There existed a small, round core: the Nexus Seed.
’Could it be that I really can’t create a Jade Core? So this Nexus Seed will be my only core?’
He had a few doubts, but focused on what truly mattered.
The small space inside the Nexus Seed was completely full. So when he tried to sense its contents... his eyes widened.
’It’s the curse from before!’
At first, he was shocked, but he quickly took a deep breath and calmed down.
The Nexus Seed was like a cauldron, capable of storing every kind of existing power and energy.
His first innate skill was ’Energy Absorption and Control.’ Once any energy was absorbed into it, no matter how wild or powerful it was, everything became calm and obedient.
’Even the curse from those six was easily conquered...’
Priam muttered tensely. He had no idea how, where, or why the Nexus Seed existed inside him. But now he was certain that whoever gave him this was an unbelievably powerful being.
He needed to remove that thing in order to use his powers. It was like trying to cook in an oven that was already completely full.
He turned around and saw, beside the bed, a slender gray branch with a length and shape comparable to a sword.
Its appearance was rough, with subtle knots and tiny offshoots along its length. A few vibrant, fresh green leaves sprouted from the upper end, contrasting with the neutral color and elegant structure.
’A branch from the Bodhi Tree of Primordial Chaos.’
He remembered that his family possessed a single tree like that. It wasn’t something absurdly incredible, but that tree was known as the greatest treasure in the city. It could absorb energies and was used to remove low-level poisons or harmful substances. His mother had probably tried to use it on him to aid his recovery.
Without hesitation, Priam grabbed the branch.
’This entire curse lost contact with the divinities and was controlled by the Nexus Seed. Since this special branch absorbs everything and stores it inside itself, it should work for now.’
He took a deep breath while holding the branch in his hands, then made the Nexus Seed calmly release everything, allowing the energy to flow into his hand.
Priam’s hand trembled, and a smile appeared on his face. The branch really absorbed everything into itself!
But...
Its color changed into a deep black. The green leaves also took on the same shade, and the whole thing gained a sinister and frightening appearance. Then...
[Congratulations on your achievement!]
[Transcendental-Level Natural Weapon successfully created!]
[+500 GP]
"!"
Priam’s eyes widened in surprise. He grabbed the black branch, and his eyes shone with excitement.
Then, a moment later, his attention turned to another part of his system that was available: the System’s Points Exchange.
[02 Unlockable Skills:]
[500 GP] [Potential Vision and Complete Status]
[900 GP] [Premonitory Senses of the Sovereign Synthesis]
Priam didn’t hesitate and bought his first skill.
Within seconds, he already knew exactly how to use it. He only needed to look at whatever he wanted to analyze and think about the skill’s name.
He focused on the branch.
[Durability: Similar to a branch]
[Skills: 02]
[Sovereigns’ Curse:]
[When touching an enemy, a trace of the curse is marked onto their body, negatively influencing their Wheel of Destiny and Anima.]
[Supreme Cursed Regeneration:]
[Passively, the branch recovers from any damage, returning to its original state.]
[Potential in your hands: Transcendental]
"WOW!"
Priam felt his heart race. Countless ideas appeared in his mind, and he stored the branch away.
"To use my other skills, I need to get more things. Besides that, I need to complete the daily missions. As ridiculous as it seems, it’s time to go out and finally start living!"
