cerim
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Chapter 754 - Vessel
🕑 Added 2025-12-10 09:35:45 +0000 UTCThe flash blinds me, and I observe the rest with my other senses. The initial fireball heats up, reaching a temperature I cannot even grasp properly. It quickly grows, surrounding both of us and reaching further. Everything inside of it is set ablaze.
I grab currents of heat from the explosion in between us. It is the hottest I have dealt with until now, and dealt is a strong word. Thankfully, there is no need to deal with a body upgrade if you almost do not have a body.
All of my muscles turn to ash that is then blown off as my skeleton is thrown through the air at high speed.
The fireball from the explosion spreads much further as the two explosions merge into a single burning sphere. My eyes restore just for a moment to see the color of the explosion shift from bright white to yellow with white. Only my absorption of the kinetic energy of the shockwave and the heat of the explosion stops my skeleton from disintegrating right where I am. Everything else around me breaks apart and melts, with the strong winds throwing everything, me included, far into the distance.
There are just two places I am protecting more than the others, my chest cavity with my hearts and my brain. All the while, I absorb as much of that heat as I can and channel it through the only thing that remains, my bones that glow brightly with myriad inscriptions I etched into them before and during the tournament.
My manifested vessel behind me takes over all that pressure. This vessel was created thanks to a part of my mind I named Mapthaniel, which, for months, was using a big part of my mental capacity to map out my body to learn about myself as much as possible. After all, I need all that information for [Manifestation] to work.
The vessel allows me to work with just my mind being the limiting factor. Especially now that I have a low pristine passive, allowing me to push further and further, I realized more and more that it was mostly my body limiting me. All these useful but restricting constructs, these annoying pathways, are all now on the vessel I have manifested, with my mana heart connected to it through [Ley Line], [Manifestation], [Redistribution], and [Mana Manipulation].
The arena turns into a burning hell. All the floating islands are destroyed, blasted away, with the heat feeling like it might burn reality itself. Just a tiny piece of my skin remains, and under it, my passive activates. It combusts under the skin, powered by all the heat I redistributed into thermal energy. More skin regrows, the combustion continues, and my body regenerates in mere heartbeats. Much faster than pre-tournament, and not only thanks to that immense heat. It is thanks to my impressively low Constitution.
Then, as my body restores, it burns again to restore again, in constant cycles as the superheated air melts my flesh, face, eyes, everything, only for my passive to restore it for me to suffer again.
Yet, I am not considered dead.
I am not thrown out of the event.
My restored teeth clack against each other on my face, which is mostly just a skull without any flesh, as I feel like laughing out loud. I use my vessel to grab all that never-ending heat and thermal energy and start turning it into mana.
I reach towards a halo of spinning mana I have put inside of my skull, around my brain, and that I have been feeding mana the entire tournament, when I could.
It is all enough to make my body explode, to break even further than it already is. Yet it does not. My vessel takes on all that strain. It perfectly mirrors my movement, slightly transparent dark blue with bright pale blue glowing scars and a myriad of inscriptions of my constructs. Just like Adrian's half-figure, it stands behind me, only mine is just a head taller than me.
I move my hand, and my vessel copies the movement. Only it has a halo of mana over its head, and that halo turns pitch black. I use it to power [Focus] and slide into thought acceleration, as far as I can.
My body regenerates further, flesh and skin regrowing over bones that seem like they are about to melt apart, and I hold that heat that is around me. The destruction is now far-reaching, even igniting the islands that are several miles away. As my eyes restore again, I can see a bright yellow sphere burning in front of me.
Just three seconds have passed since I entered the event.
My vessel moves according to my will, and it channels all that mana. It then compresses it, and the dark blue of the mana it is made of turns black.
Pitch black, with the light blue scars still mirroring the positions they have on my body, and two points of blue and golden light where my hearts glow inside. Though it is just a shape of me and does not see, two golden circles form where the eyes would be.
I move my hand together with the vessel, and a sphere of black mana surrounds us, fully closing us off from the outside world. All the shockwaves, destruction, and heat disappear as if they never existed. Then I feel an impact that ripples the black liquid like surface, and we are being thrown in an explosion. And I continue to count down.
My body restores fully, though it feels like bones are burning inside of my flesh in a kind of pain I have not felt before. I transfer the rest of the heat into mana that my black vessel absorbs and uses to power the sphere.
Another attack crashes against that sphere, and I shoot like a cannonball into the distance.
Seven seconds.
I allow thermal energy from the Ignition Heart to flood me. I partially lift the last seal, just a little bit, as much as I can handle. Through my connection to the vessel, especially thanks to the ridiculous [Manifestation], that thermal energy or mana does not burn through my body. It does not even seep into it, instead appearing inside the vessel.
In a way, it is as if the vessel is not even outside of me, as if that vessel is inside of my body, part of me, and what I see is just a visualization.
I continue to strengthen the barrier further and further, feeling a ridiculous amount of mana crash against it in powerful, but thankfully, mana-based attacks. I am thrown through the arena as someone tries to crack me open like a walnut. It once again makes me realize how ridiculous black mana is and reminds me of Lissandra’s words that there will be no Champion, no mana-based Absolute, not wary of me if I want it.
And it is not just resistance against mana that the black sphere has, as it endures it and even absorbs the attacks to make itself stronger. The sphere of black mana is also durable against the surrounding heat as well as whatever aftereffects of the explosion.
Five seconds.
The black mana continues to try to escape my control, a ridiculous amount of it I have never managed before. My minds are all overclocked, thought accelerated, combining and separating into many parts. It all gives me a feeling that I could last as long as I need, and my confidence rises.
Then a crack appears on the sphere, causing me to stare at it.
What a ridiculous alien bastard.
I lift the seal on the Ignition Heart further, flooding my vessel with thermal energy. Those golden flames surround it before I grab it and turn it to mana, but this time, keeping it inside the vessel for use. I gather as much as I can, lifting the seal more and more. It is like making a hole in a dam.
The crack on the sphere spreads further, and the radiation and heat of the surrounding area start flooding in.
Four seconds.
I take a deep breath, and the world around me seems to slow as transparent red fingers slip through the crack and push it wider, while the black mana draws mana from them and leaves them growing steadily paler.
Before the sphere cracks fully, I move all the mana it consists of, and like currents, it floods around me before being pulled to my vessel.
The elongated arm of the red figure pulls back to where Adrian floats in the air. There is not the slightest mark on his body or his clothes as he floats in front of the fireball, which now burns miles behind him. The colors of that fireball shift from yellow to orange and deep red. From it, a tall mushroom column starts to form. The air itself still feels like it is vibrating, and the heat attacks me again.
I move my vessel, and two javelins of black mana shoot ahead, followed by an [Empyrean Lance] that is longer than a bus. The first black javelin disappears, the second one crashes against the barrier it feeds on, and the lance pierces the same spot, reaching Adrian before that red figure moves and grabs it. The lance breaks in half under its grip.
Adrian's expression is difficult to read, but so are the emotions I have hidden away. Currently, I likely feel like someone wanting to fight, to challenge this man. And he acknowledges it.
The transparent red figure behind him grows in size. At first, it is as tall as a smaller building, then as two. It grows into the shape of a skyscraper and then further, expanding to the size of half a mile.
Three seconds.
One of its arms lifts high in the air, and a staff appears in it. The second one reaches to the side, and a transparent, crystal-like sword forms there, which starts absorbing the heat from the area and trapping it inside. An audible boom expands through the area, and from the tip of the staff, an inscription circle spreads through the sky, multiple miles wide.
I let go of every worry, every useless thought. The seal on the Ignition Heart lifts up fully, and for the shortest moment, thermal energy at the level of a powerful Champion floods my vessel from its center, where the shape of the thermal heart is. All my minds combine into a single one as I do my utmost to turn it all into mana with the aid of the black mana itself that powers the effort, and then takes over all of the mana created.
My vessel grows in size, too, but only until it is two heads taller than me. The golden circles on the black head look like burning wheels.
Two seconds.
The figure behind Christoph swings down with the staff, and the circle activates. All colors in the area turn red, and from the sky, a single beam of mana shoots from the middle where the inscription was. As thick as my arm, it reaches, aiming at the middle of my chest.
All the black mana I have gathered moves in front of me, creating a single, barely wide enough, angled segment barrier that deflects the beam that continues to fall on it in a stream of mana. A huge amount of mana continues to feed into the black mana, causing big, pale blue sparks to shoot around like the kind from grinding metal with an electric tool.
For a few moments, I block it, and Adrian does not do anything else than shoot at that single spot as we push against each other.
The stream of mana then pierces through and drills a hole through the middle of my chest, damaging both of my hearts and piercing through my vessel as well before stretching multiple miles into the distance in an unbroken line.
One second.
From the damaged Ignition heart, flames flood through my body, combusting and closing the wound, but leaving behind damaged hearts. Both of them falter, weakening and slowing down.
I grab hold of all the black mana around me, move it again back into the vessel as I watch the other hand of the figure moving, the one holding the building-sized sword. It moves slowly like a giant of immense weight, but it continues to speed up, the movement cutting through the aftereffects of the explosion and reverberating through the air. It swings the sword, and a bright light explodes toward me. Bright white and yellow.
Yeah, there is no way I will be blocking that. It is not even mana, just the heat from the explosion gathered. Unlike mana, I do not have enough defenses against it.
But do I really need to?
The notification I expected and waited for finally rings.
Congratulations. You have completed all three objectives of your personalized Absolute candidate quest authorized by the system.
- Raise the skill [Mana Manipulation] to Level 75
- Channel 50,000 stat points worth of mana within one second without any external assistance
- Confront a Champion level being without any of its power diminished, alone, for a duration of ten seconds
Congratulations, you have gained the title of Absolute Candidate!
You can now choose 2 of the five personalized rewards.
- low pristine passive
- low pristine item
- three active skills combination token
- trait evolution token
- 1 day Earth visitor token
Undergoing body upgrade has been detected. Your state of an Absolute Candidate will further aid your Individual Enhancement.
Your Mana Physique becomes greatly integrated into your being.
Your Mana Wavelength Iris becomes greatly integrated into your being.
I read that notification in a split second, and a wave of satisfaction washes over me. I love it when things come together.
Then I forfeit the event and get teleported outside to the common area.
Comments
Vhena
And then he forfeits. I love this guy.
Wallaby Vonwise
Nat: Ludwig Goransson, Can You Hear the Music
Gwalmeich
New personality created: Lichthaniel.
Avedi Musungu
High IQ play here. Bravo!
Asterrahl
"...the only thing that remains, my bones that glow brightly with myriad inscriptions I etched into them..." Congrats on becoming a Lich, Nathaniel! Haha
Tristan
Golden
Mitka
Absolute cinema 🙌🏽
C Smith
Uhh I thought he was trying to go through the up grade and keep all his constructs?? Am I mistaken?
Nerø
Nope? Lioren said that he was a human.
Brian Latta
100%
Riot89
Adrian's original race was Demon, right? Why doesn't he act like most demons?
Raymond
Cerim - thank you for being the bright spot in my day. LOVED this chapter. Cool to see it all come together
Sushitrash
You are confused, they are not going through a Tutorial. They are going through a Pairing which is a war between planets, nothing to do with the Tutorial. Only Earth is going through a tutorial, the planet in the tournament is not Adrian's but some Thylarin's from the Tutorial
Brian Beard
So one thing i dont understand and please excuse if its been answered before but if "Adrian" had use of the system before and was and absolute, why does his planet have people going through a tutorial. I thought that only happened when a planet joins the system?
TBONEMAN
Nobody knows. Savant would never share his level and translating emojis to numbers is almost impossible.
Krish Gupta
Eh, kinda but not really. The fight with Savant and Nat was close as hell, and could've gone either way if Savant had stuck it out. Nat vs Adrian is an impossible, unwinnable fight so badly stacked against Nat it's not even funny. Adrian is effectively a cheater, Someone who is champion level due to reincarnation shenanigans. Nat ain't dumb, if there's zero chance of him winning he's not gonna run face first into a wall.
hunts899
It’s so peak…
Luis Guerrero
Question for you guys .... do we know if the others like Savant and Tacita have gotten passed 350 or is Nat the only one perfecting his 350 evolution? Because this should be the biggest turning point in terms of power and the way he will close the gap with Adrian
Nemesis
So what happens if Adrian dies before the pairing completes? Does it carry on unaffected? Or does this cause the System to notice something odd has happened? (Like Lissliss in the tutorial)
Cole Gittens
Does the vessel mean no more lifespan and physical issues for his body?
Todd
The funny thing is that what Nat did here is very similar to what Savant did to him in the first tournament.
jordicl
He'll definitely evolve his mana physique, then he'll have to choose between the passive and the 3 active skill combination token.
Ansordia
I think low pristine passive is a given if he thinks he can find a replacement for one he currently has... Three active skill combination token is INSANE... But having his trait evolution token seems weird... What even is it?
Morde24
I think a side negative of this is that Adrian will now have his own easy difficulty people doing things for him?
Morde24
Holy fucking epic. I had "Red like roses part 2" from RWBY playing for most of the chapter. Side question, Has he also managed to remove all the constructs as a side benefit?
Audrey WJ
It will have restrictions, you questioned me about mana wavelength iris but I wouldn't even be surprised if he can not even use it on iris, he already uses iris to analyze people skills and abilities to the point he can break them down, disrupt them, take control of them and straight up copy people, just imagine he can instantly understand,break down and copy what someone does after seeing it once or figure how to counter it in a short period of time, and iris that would have allowed him to understand that white lightning quickly and counter it to the point where bro couldn't even adapt his attacks to bypass nate barriers anymore lol. Whatever he does it will be broken unless it makes him use it in mana physique and that is assuming he even chooses the trait token.
Stoney
has he actually done much in the way of the actual events though? He got pulled out of the 1st immediately, the 2nd (?) he didn't even attend, the 3rd was for their minions and he only did the above in the 4th (which whilst awesome doesn't really come under the criteria e.g. # people killed/faced and their level)
Alex O'Connor
In the last chapter he got an extra upgrade to the traits he had
Memelord Steambath
Imagining all the easy level guys watching our Nat boy tank a nuke to the face like that....I think our mc will turn his whole body/mind into mana if allowed, nobody will be able to fight him
Memelord Steambath
Read this chapter while listening to "let the world burn" by Chris Grey.....fire!
Stoney
Holy shit! TFTC!
Gavriel
I still find it great how well Nat is milking this event, and the final prizes are gonna be SWEET
Gavriel
Nate now needs to somehow remove the constructs OR perfect them enough that they stop causing problems.
Gwiddion
The question is, if earth is awakened and the dungeon is open. if not it would be a massive waste.
Jonathan Nading
What is this max number of Traits? He gets his last one (3rd, I'm assuming?) at Level 400?
Melih
Don’t you realize that the trait Nat will get at level 400 is absolutely going to be better than Mana Wavelength Iris? How can you even compare Nat’s achievements at level 250 with what he’s accomplished now, and how could the system ever offer him a worse trait at level 400?
jobe matula
damn ok
Audrey WJ
Some of you forget how OP mana wavelength iris is and it shows. I swear the only reason he would not pick trait evolution and use it in iris is because it would be too strong for the stories current power scale or maybe just too strong for his body at this point. Using it on his mana physique would still be great, if I remember correctly it's a pretty common trait and nothing special but he would probably get more from a unique pristine passive, assuming it is a unique rarity. The benefits of iris are insane though and has many times been the only reason he lived, his biggest cheats that are not skills is his healing passive and mana wavelength trait. They carry Nat he'd be dead if he didn't have one of them.
Ivan Jelenić
Lichtaniel
Melih
Regarding the trait evolution token, what really matters is that there are absolutely no restrictions. Because of that, if he uses this token on a high-grade trait he’ll acquire at level 400, one that’s far superior to his current traits, it could let him obtain an absurdly powerful trait
Ivan Jelenić
What do you mean? They fight every time they meet. Didn't you see those vicious bites on Nat's fingers?
James
Absolutely phenomenal chapter!❤️🎊🎊🫡
Luis Guerrero
I know this is a joke but you do realize he was trying to establish himself as the strongest by destroying the previous winner of the tournament right?
Snuckytoes
The Parralax Eyes are unique to Kyralon’s bloodline, but Nat might manage to create something similar in time.
Ivan Jelenić
He might get the 1 day Earth stay token so he can finish the World Dungeon to become the Absolute. Not necessarily for the title/power, but to force Adrian to fight him. Of course, he would use it later, when he's stronger, and Earth isn't too strong yet. Otherwise I don't see him taking it just to visit.
Poutine Au Syrop d'érable
But cheating the system isn't the way. The system isn't absolute. So cheating it makes it also cheat yourself. And he'll need to fight rulers as absolute so... Fighting absolute as champions will be needed.
PigNebula
I think it's gotta be trait evolution and three active skills token. Pristine Passive is nice but he can just buy that given enough shards plus on the last floor he had all those skill combinations he tried out that were great. 1-day Earth Token is bait, Nat trust Channeler enough to deal with Earth for now.
Balsamic ThunderThighs
That 1 Day Earth visitor token is too juicy to pass up. Depending on when and what he uses it for.
Poutine Au Syrop d'érable
While the black mana draws *manar*-> *mana*
Moonfrost
when Greed negotiated Nat's rewards with Diligence for the Fragment of the First Star, Diligence's words hinted that the Earth visitor token is immensely valuable for some reason unknown to us
Poutine Au Syrop d'érable
2 -> 7 -> 5? Seconds count. Ah, it's been 2. Then there's 10-3 = 7 seconds left...
Moonfrost
it is implied Nat tricked Fraudrian into thinking he wanted to actually fight by having a sub-mind hide his emotions would make sense as that's the best way to get Fraudrian to willingly cooperate in going all-out for 10s
Moonfrost
it will evolve his trait, like Mana Circuit > Mana Physique trait upgrade tokens are called that, not trait evolution tokens; they also can omly be used to upgrade a trait at a specific upgrade stage (eg. trait upgrade token (2nd stage))
TBONEMAN
With the earth stay token he could become a champion in the tutorial then become an absolute before the end of a tutorial if he completes the world dungeon within 24 hours
Andrew Miller
Look how nice Adrian is helping Nat get his candidacy! Y'all a bunch o'haters!
Hylleberg DK
Ohhh damn, there are so many POVs i want to read
Mark Bullock
Might Nat get the parallax eye from evolving his eye trait???
Mister Cakers
Shoot people pointed out how good the earth stay token is for the potential absolute status. Thing is I don’t see how Nathaniel could realistically tackle such a dungeon before the end of the tutorial, but I guess there’s still a lot of time left so who knows.
Mister Cakers
Alright awesome, definitely snagging the trait evolution and the 3 skill combo. But does he use the trait evolution now, where he can engrave the changes deeper into his spirit. Or after he gets his third trait, so it can be better? And what three skills will he combine? Will we see it used within in the next 100 chapters, or will it stay in the background just waiting to be used like the last one.
Sir Supports Alot
Though, he can just kill nat and take the spark
Daniel Golding
Adrian would last how long?
Daniel Golding
LOL, this is made of awesome. Chekov's Gun were nukes.
Oskar Malim
Can't help but imagine Nat as one of those metal skeletons riding a motorcycle welding a scythe and flipping the bird this chapter
Ivan Jelenić
Holy fuk!
Krish Gupta
It's possible, but unlikely, as he knows that Adrian would kill him for it, and despite all his growth he's still not at champion level yet. Second, the world dungeon likely has absolute level threats, which he cannot handle.
frozzi
Yes. He can buy passives and items with shards, he can't buy other stuff
seth
The whole deal with lowering how constitution so far was to make his passives more incorporated with his body. A second pristine is just as good as how improving the quality by being an absolute candidate
Obie
Am I the only one who thinks he’ll pick the low pristine passive and Trait Evo?
Abomb1723
I can definitely see Nat learning, on the time loop floor, from the trait guy that pushing your first two traits further will get you a more broken one at lvl 400.
Abomb1723
I think the three skill merge could be powerful, especially if Nat can do any of the ones he learned on the time loop floor.
Subliminary
It’s not just a theory, it’s obvious. Diligence wouldn’t even give him one previously. Trait strengthening + Earth token is assured
Ralph
Biscuit Vs Adrian let's goooo!!
dk10238
I feel like everyone is forgetting how Nat just figured out how one becomes an Absolute and got the option of a token to visit Earth early....
Subliminary
Izzy is going to use DROP THE BOMBSEHLL - Powerman 5000 for her YouTube montage isn’t she?
Malestan
"I love it when things come together" All the readers feelings for this chapter resumed in one sentence by Nath
Melih
For Nat, who literally tears himself apart to grow stronger, choosing the Earth visitor token as a reward would be completely out of character because it does not contribute to his strength at all. He would also be giving up a perfect reward. This is of course unless the theories in the comments turn out to be true
Jake Atwood
Can’t tell what the best second option would be here the first should definitely be trait strengthening token but idk if the skill combination would be better or the low pristine passive but I also feel like he might choose the 1 day earth stay token
Kirin
Thank you for the chappie!
Peter Toninato
Knowing Ruby she knew the rewards would be like this and that’s why she “proposed” Nat get the Earth visit token from Diligence as compensation. Now Nat knows how valuable it is, even if he doesn’t know why. One thing I’m unclear on is the trait token, will that fundamentally change the trait to something more potent or will it advance one of them from 2/4-3/4. If it’s the former it seems like the obvious choice. If it’s the latter then I think the skill combination makes more sense.
Holden Linke
Thanks for the chapter
Ders
Cinema
Lance Beam
TFTC Cerim, I couldn't keep the mad grin off of my face as a was reading the chapter. "My restored teeth clack against each other on my face, which is mostly just a skull without any flesh, as I feel like laughing out loud. I use my vessel to grab all that never-ending heat and thermal energy and start turning it into mana." Peak Manathaniel.
Audrey WJ
He's going to take trait evolution token, mana wavelength iris has carried him hard since he obtained it and it was already so strong that using it back when he first got could kill him, traits have been talked about too much in regards to how hard it is to get a better one than you already have once obtained and I feel like everything else being offered he can get again and this is a unique reward that would be hard to get a second time. He's going to take it, he can buy passives and combination tokens but we have never heard of this.
William Johnson
Nate's like "thanks for the buff, idiot!"
Audrey WJ
Sure but so would the trait evolution and considering he did everything he just did to get his passives to influence his body during the upgrade. His traits have become so integral to his fighting style that you could argue he would be nothing without mana wavelength iris (ok not nothing but you know what I'm saying) plus traits are super hard to change or in some cases impossible and yet here is something to evelove a trait to even greater heights, he has an insane trait already and now he can evolve it, he's going to take that, he can just get another Passive from the shop, he has plenty of time to earn more shards and buy one or more than one. He always takes the unique rewards he can't get from somewhere else.
Wallaby Vonwise
I wonder if Christoph knows what's up or is just another person completely baffled by Nat's pride
Schmidt
Everyone’s saying it won’t be the passive but one low pristine passive is what gave him the power to handle the body upgrade. Getting a second instantly without having to save for another year would slingshot his power forward
Schmidt
*Chefs kiss*
Andrew
Lets be honest the best rewards are the three active skills combination token and the trait evolution token. The fact that the active skills can level make them way better than any passive, and the traits are just better versions of passive skills. But who knows he may want to visit his mother, that'll be fun to read about.
Nemesis
Which skills combined to make Ur Line? Does he even still have all 3?
Andrew
Thank you!
I Is Patron
I think when Fraudrian notices that Nat is happy with how the fight turned out that he will get a bit grumpy. Ideally this fight should have shown Nat where he belongs but it actually filled him with satisfaction.
Nemesis
Do you reckon Adrian is going to be mad, or grudgingly impressed that Nat used him like that?
Krzychu0304
-low Pristine passive skill, it's good, but Nathaniel already got one and there's no reason he shouldn't do it again. -low Pristine item, once he has armor at this level, two it's boring, and Nathaniel doesn't like to rely on items. -Active skill combination token, it's not bad, but Nathaniel already got one, plus he literally combined a couple of active skills five minutes ago. -Trait evolution token, it's really good, especially since the [Mana Physique] upgrade worked well with the body upgrade. -1-day stay on Earth token, at first glance it might seem useless, because what can you do with it? Go for coffee with the President of the United States? Channeler can (and should) deal with such nonsense. What makes this so worthwhile (so much so that the ruler of diligence refused to agree to it and instead gave him a token for a year of stay in Beyond) is the world dungeon, which, once conquered, becomes the absolute of Earth. It's currently in the development phase, so it should be significantly weaker than when Earth finishes integrating with the system. And gaining the absolute title just to enhance one's body upgrade is a perfectly normal thing, something only the most normal person on Earth would do. +the look on Fraudrian's face when he sees Nat with the absolute title is priceless.
Fdrugc
I feel like you would've gotten more rewards if he stayed for that last split second
Thomas Bell
That's a wild theory. Going one step further, Nat manifests himself backwards in time, so he's the OG and pride is his future manifestation! Then after sending himself back in time pride remains him and he becomes true pride.
Fdrugc
I think he's going to try getting a mid passive instead of 2 rewards
Liam Zay
Adrian isn't a standard champion level opponent though. He has the knowledge and skill of an absolute. Nat is also underleveled compared to what he could be because of the body upgrade preparations. I think if he puts his mind to it he'll level fast and get a big increase in power
Blaumandele
Dammmm Badassthanial !!!!
Wasim Petersen
It will definitely be the earth token. That is really really valuable. Even diligence that ant fucker refused to let him get one last time. It’s likely to do with the world dungeon and claiming the right to absolutehood. I can see a world where he uses it just before the end of the 5 year tutorial period or just before Chris clears beyond somehow, but I do think that is super unlikely. It’s more likely that he’ll wait until a day or 2 before the tutorial ends to quickly snipe the position of absolute and then run the fuck back to beyond with his 1 year token once Chris makes it out of the tutorial and back to earth. He won’t be beating him anytime soon unfortunately. He is gonna have to become absolute and then start tackling other planets’ dungeons and beating their absolutes to power up while Chris rules earth for a while.
Gutz
That's what i thought, UNLESS he goes there to clear the World Dungeon before ANYBODY else (Adrian).
Gutz
At least now he knows how weak he is. He couldn't last more than 10 seconds vs a champion level enemy. but Nat gets an encouragement mark for the effort. At first, i thought that the 1 day earth token was a complete waste, UNLESS he does the World Dungeon within Earth before anybody could get it, Mouhahahahahahaha
Venno
Baller
Arnon Parenti
So Nat and his faithful canine companion go to earth, use their summon minion tokens to bring in some help to conquer the world dungeon, a certain corgy becomes Earth's absolute just to spite Fraudrian, and then the minions stay behind for another few days while Nat and Biscuit go back to Beyond to start a reign of Absolute Terror on the puny guilds challenging Primordial Maniacs?
Arnon Parenti
I'm sure Channeler will love a visit from Mana Daddy.
Al
A lot of people saying the earth token, which would be fun. But… [ley line] played a big role in what he just did. And he used to have a skill even better with [ur line]. I wonder if we’re getting a mana physique upgrade and a new [ur line] to play with
Augustus
Could he not just use the best remaining 3 skill combination he learned from the time loop? Sorry 2 skills and mana manipulation.
Sergei Hartwig
I love the Details of the fights! I have read a lot of books, but this is Peak Quality. No boring or confusing fights. The Pictures in my head, coupled with an amazing Story🤯! Thank for the chap Cerim!
Terri Harris
Nat is such a baller! Great chapter! Love it!
frozzi
I bet on trait and Earth token. No way its pristine item/passive, and while three combination is a good opportunity and chance to get insane skill aka [Manifestation], I doubt Nat gonna risk it now without time loop to abuse for best skill. Maybe later on when he has more knowledge how skills combine, but not now. Traits are always useful, and he can do a lot of stuff on Earth like saving Lily's cat, buy tons of snacks, and bring 500 phones with full Spotify downloaded to chill with group 4 while pretending he doesn't like them Btw its not even tournament rewards, I wonder what he'll get there
Edmund Dillon
Tftc!!! Left just in time haha
Isaac Lung
Is the end of book 9 cliff going to be Nat returning to earth?
agentjongon
The GOAT! THEEE GOOOATTT
Daf High-Voltage
Tftc!
Y.V_661
I think so too
Rico Caceres
Based on how the manifestation work, it seems that The ruler of pride is Nat. I am thinking that at high level, the manifestation can work like a time travel or travel through reality, where you manifest something or a version of you into other dimension/reality. Maybe he manifested a version of himself without the memories and all the abilities, basically back to zero to a world that is not integrated with the system, that's why we got Nat. For what reason? Just to have fun? Just doing experiment to further ones power? To have someone at the same level of power to fight some powerful outsiders? I also remember that Ruler of Pride said something to Lissandra in Beyond Floor 12 and It might be connected to this theory. Also, Nat kept on mentioning throughout the story that he will beat Lissandra's ass when he get stronger, and it was mentioned that Pride is the one who killed Lissandra. It seems that it is all connected.
Blooper
This actually sounds cooler than just using it at the first opportunity. Though, maybe he uses it to resolve some stuff back on Earth, and later gets ANOTHER token before the tutorial ends, for thr purpose of preparation?
Ethereal Sky Daddy
So anyone else think he’s going to take the trait evolution and immediately use it on Mana physique before his body upgrade is finished to even further bring his physical form in line with his mana?
Nathan Holliday
To be fair he was fighting an absolute so… yea the fact he even had time to forfeit is impressive.
ChildConsumerServices
Definitely wont be an item and I dont think itd be a passive cause he can already get those from the shop, so its between active skills token, the evo token and the Earth token. I reckon he's gonna pick the earth token cause it just seems like something he'd do, so the choice is between that and the other two...
Adrian Lee
Wow the rewards are insanely variable in the amount of shards that they are worth. Definitely trait evolution and I assume passive. No way he takes the item, the three skill combination token is not that rare since he’s had one previously, and they already got normal people to go back to Earth for them even if that’s worth the most. Thanks for the chapter!
Nathan Holliday
I don’t think he could have beaten Christoph since the guy survived two nuclear blasts to the face but I will agree with you that he wasn’t even trying to fight him but just complete his quest. He’s a ludicrous existence that will only become more ludicrous when the body upgrade is complete. But I’ here for it and ready for him to kick Chris’s ass.
Jalaxe
That was so good!!! It's absolutely going to be trait evolution and earth. He can combine on his own, he can buy passives, he doesn't need items. Going to earth for one day allows the story to develop even further by setting up future wild card events. -beat the dungeon and claim absolute of earth -flood earth with mana -Personal character growth -terrifying all the leaders of earth and current returnees into behaving
John
Would be cool, but also crazy to become an absolute before the tutorial ends.... so unlikely?
Budgie
No shot he won't chose the earth token even if others could be better.
Konrad Pagacz
I don't think Nat went full out, not to mention he was dealing with the body upgrade at the same time. Where's that tyrannical passive that takes over mana, where's eclipse, etc. His performance here was focused solely on containing the guys for as long as possible and then just dipping.
Irithyll
Can he use the earth token to snipe the absolute position before fraudrian gets out of the tutorial ?
Oliver Martens
And the bombs were improved by himselfe. Brings up the question, how many „normal“ nukes he could take. POV Earthling will be amazing, when he appears first.
John
how about the trait evolution token?
Rico Caceres
I'd rather want him to choose 1 day earth token and acquire the earth world dungeon first and be considered as the earth's absolute(down graded version) and get its reward. The other one should be the the trait upgrade token.
caeven
that stupid xeno was used as a prop for Nats development😭
Rad
It’s a champion level being required, not a champion.
Rad
I think Nat will take the one day earth visitor token and try to become an absolute before Adrian. Otherwise I I think any of the rest are good options besides the low pristine item.
anakin hanson
Nathan will likely take the 1 day token to Earth and sniper the absolute title
MrFixit
TFTC great to see nats plan paying off
Rene Duvall
Love the thumbnail lmao
Predyca
I really want to see the best dogo fight him. His power scaling is really strange/unclear to me. He is better at mana then Nat but can he ceep Fraudrian in check if he decides to do something stupid?
Val the mysterious Jedi
I love these thumbnails
TDMC
Holy shit I actually called it that Adrian would count towards his quest in chapter 745. Awesome
John
I agree with your choice, rationally: - three active skills combination token - trait evolution token Are the best choices, but maybe for story reasons he will pick the Earth visit token.
Predyca
So Nat goes the way of the most cowardly person in his tutorial. How the tables turn hehe. So we finally gor a scale of how quick fights are. Thanks a lot Cerim :>. I hope Nat chooses the earth stay token. The world needs to be flooded with mana. Put it through an accelerated crucible. Trait evolution sounds cute as well
AL
For the rewards I am hoping for three active skills combination token + trait evolution. The 1 day visit on Earth seems useless but I feel this could be chosen by Nat to conquer the world dongeon before Adrian and be recognized as Earth' absolute. It could also be used a bargaining chip with Adrian to leave him amd his friends alone
Dune Black
The spider's dead
ForwardArrow
God damn what a cool fight. All the rewards are amazing, though I honestly think the pristine passives and items are probably easier to get than the last three choices if he farms enough shards. Personally would go with the trait token and three skill combination, but I get the appeal of the Earth token.
V
This is hype. Why is Wednesday already? Looking forward to seeing how this aid to Individual Enhancement will nearly kill Nat. TFTC.
Rodmin
Haha, I loved it!
Compendium
Trait strengthening and earth token surely. Greed has told him twice now I think to go for it
V
I'd hope so for a restarting absolute.
Mason Jones
Epic
Oaktree
Idk about the earth token, but there is currently a pest where nats future moon base is so, i could see him challenging the spider in the future.
Sondadir
Nath got to be the most unreliable narrator ever, I love him 😆 And Absolute candidate during the body upgrade ? I was so disappointed that Nath couldn't get it, but he did ! Congrats to the wordsmith
Val the mysterious Jedi
Na fudge that, going to earth is the biggest cheese
Danny
This imposter is actually a champion, wow, and he brags about defeating an opposing champion while impersonating a champion. I really don't like him at all; he's a very good villain
Enigmaniac
why would he even need to go to earth? he should know channeler has it locked down for him.
Sushitrash
LET'S GOOOO. I think he'll choose the pristine passive and 3 active skill combination token. Making space for more skills is mandatory and another pristine passive is just way too good to pass up. Using that bum like a whetstone RAAAHHH
Alexander
I'd say the passive and the trait token are the best options.
Chase
Mana physique would be prefect one to evolve right away
ChildConsumerServices
Eating pizza almost half the size of me and having my mind blown reading my fav novel, life aint so bad
Austin Dominguez
I can't wait until earth sees him tanking two nuclear bombs
Rocotrap
Thank goodness tomorrow isn't Friday
Rocotrap
I'd actually go with Earth and the trait, he showed he could combine skills on his own, so I'm guessing he'll try that again
Emmanuel Martinez
Seeing that Earth visitor token NOW makes me get Mother of Learning finale vibes ngl. Having a day in preparation is PRICELESS when the Tutorial ends and the Absolute dungeon opens.
Themo Grulld
But thanks for this cool story.We see your dedication.Thanks for an early advent .
firte
Tftc!
firte
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN ABSOLUTE CANDIDATE NATHANIEL GYWN!!!!!!!
Themo Grulld
You wrote manar in the third paragraph.
LawBear2005
I would say the trait evolution token and three active skills combination token. The pristine item and passive can both be bought with shards and he will get back to earth eventually anyway. The three skills token could possibly get him another skill as broken as manifestation and a trait evolution token is so busted I don’t even think I need to explain why it is so good.
Adrian Rake
Brilliant 🙂 I am so happy that Nat became an Absolute Candidate so soon 👍
Austin Dominguez
Lich Nat clacking his teeth is a blessing to behold
Gardor
Take the trait evolution, use it immediately while still going through the body upgrade, super charge his Mana Physique or Eyes. Not that...that would really make sense, but the general mechanics of this story are that the harder something is, the greater benefits it'll have.
John
NO, dont waste this opportunit! he should choose: - three active skills combination token - trait evolution token
Daniel Francis
Nice!
James Lavender
I love how his solution to his entire body breaking down is just to create his own stand
Emilia Kosteila
Lissliss: at least he is as good as the nobel lady’s pets
MrTheFantastic
Man. Maybe even blacker mana incoming
Gwiddion
If he doesn't pick passive and the combination token or the evolution token is be disappointed by Nat. Screw earth
John
LETS GOO! - things fall in line, and fuck that cheating Adrian guy!
Jacob Oswalt
FUCKING VISITING EARTH MY DUDE.
Marco Tertulliani
I think this is the only story that I ever read in royal road/patreon/kindle that doesn't ever get boring. Every single chapter leaves you wanting more. Really well done cerim.
James Skinner
Thanks for the chapter!
frankie doerr
How petty is Nat he’s not even fighting to win he’s just fighting to further his goal Adrian was just conveniently placed it’s like nats playing checkers when everyone else is playing chess and making up rules as he goes to win
quiet
Ahahahah so fucking awesome
Joe Woodhouse
Lissandra might be genuinely impressed.
RadiantSpren
Fuck yeah
Orion
Peak
Ken Horne
Forfeit, petty, so he doesn't get beat. Nice.
Nylyx
Low Pristine Passive and Trait Evolution Token, fuck earth it can wait for another couple of years
Gravitea
Yusssssssssssss!
Student of Asacoco University
Damn Adrian is a champion level huh
Chase
Mad lad
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
Claro reyes
Tftc!!!
jax rammus
<3
Niclas Elmers
Tftc lets goo
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!!
