Priscus barely registered what the system was saying to him. The pain had become so intense it felt like his body was turning to ash.
Icarus had rushed to the side of his master after hearing a piercing scream echo throughout the facility. Catching Priscus just before his head smashed into the metallic floor.
*Measuring gene activity, Potential rating being generated*
The system was carefully keeping track of what was happening in Priscus' body. It knew beyond a doubt that the potential of its host was peerless, but that very potential also presented a danger.
If there wasn't enough nutrients within a body when its potential was ignited, the body would devour itself.
Nutrients and supplements were required to fuel the fires of potential, and allow it it rebuild the body. There was a reason true gladiators were stronger than normal people, and it wasn't just because of their higher stats.
Even if a normal person had 1 as their vitality stat, they would still not be as strong as a true gladiator with 1 in their stat. The fires of potential unlock some of the latent power of the body, causing muscles, bones, skin, and all other parts of the body to be refined and strengthened.
Normally it was said that a vitality of 1 would allow you to pick up 100lbs and such, but that is misleading.
What it really means is that your able to generate that amount of force with your bare-knuckled blows. Additionally, it means your body is capable of perfectly withstanding that amount of force without damage, and that is probably the more important aspect of these stats.
A normal person could still rather easily generate 100lbs of force in a punch, but they will be injured in the doing.
A true gladiator can throw bare-knuckle punches of 100lbs of force without injury, the only limiting factor is their stamina.
So now with Priscus' potential being ignited the greatest risk was that there was no overabundance of nutrients in his system to sustain the fire, and the first refining was always the most important as it set a basis for the future of the body.
The greater the fire the easier it would be to unlock gene locks in the future, and to a greater degree it determined how much of your true potential you could use.
So to mitigate any unforeseen problems the system decided to take out a one-time loan of 100,000 denarii to purchase 1 A-class gene supplement. Injecting it directly into Priscus' body without waiting for permission, not that Priscus had the presence of mind to even notice.
*Nutrients provided, refining of the body's structure has begun. Estimated wait time is 1 hour 43mins. Note please do not lose consciousness as the refining may be canceled early. Good luck!*
Priscus felt like cursing, 'Screw your good luck! Why didn't you warn me that this could happen!?'
Priscus was only half serious, the pain was mounting and making it difficult to keep a coherent thought together for more than a few seconds.
The only thing he could do to try and maintain consciousness was repeatedly recall the image of his father's corpse.
The fear that something similar could happen to him, and the rage at those responsible were like a buoy in a storm.
They allowed him to cling to a small sliver of his sanity as he waited for the raging fires to subside.
Meanwhile, Icarus was staring dumbfoundedly upon the body of his master.
He could see before his very eyes the muscles writhing like pythons as they repeated a cycle of shrinking and growing. The body sometimes as thin as a twig, and others looking like a freak of nature chiseled from granite.
This continued while Priscus' skin cracked and flaked away revealing new pink flesh, baby smooth but tough as leather. Not to mention the black blood that was streaming out of his eyes, nose, and mouth.
Icarus remembered his own refining and it was nothing like this, he had been in pain for sure, and he had even shed his skin twice, while his muscles did the marimba dance for 20 minutes.
But by 15 minutes in Priscus had shed his skin 7 times, bled out a full 2 quarts, and his muscles had never once ceased to squirm and shake.
Icarus was truly worried, and if it wasn't for the system interfacing with the facilities AI to tell Icarus to wait, He would have called the hospital and gotten an ambulance, or a coroner, already.
For Priscus the agony was unending, he could say nothing, do nothing, but hang on desperatly and pray he would survive it.
And in spite of the enormous nutritional value contained in an A-class gene supplement, the system was almost forced to purchase another one. But thankfully the refining fire began to die out on its own after only 47 minutes.
The system had originally estimated more than twice that amount as he was comparing Priscus to S-class potential gladiators.
The problem was S-class was so far below him it wasn't even funny.
*Refining complete, total cycles: 77. Base stats adjusted. Warning explosive growth in vitality may cause injuries to self or others without proper control. Training AI adjusted to focus on control until a suitable state is reached.*
As the fire slowly subsided Priscus was able to get a better and better sense of his body.
The more he sensed the more scared he became, he felt like a stranger in his own skin. His complexion was a perfect shade of cream without blemish.
There was not a single hair to be found on his chest, arms, or legs. And the hair he did have was now silky smooth and glossy like he had just put conditioner in it.
His muscles were shaped to perfection, an exquisite show of the pinnacle of human body building, but instead of bulky he maintained his compact shape.
He attempted to sit up but instead leaped so high his head smashed into the ceiling. It caused him nothing more than a dull headache, but the obvious lack of control frightened him.
'How am I supposed to train like this?' He thought worriedly, 'I can't even walk normally let alone wield a sword properly.'
*No need to worry your grace.* Came the timely interruption from the system. *All you need to do is have Icarus assist you in wearing one of the restriction suits. Adjusting the percentage until you feel like yourself again.*
'Genius!'
"Icarus." Priscus said calmly, trying to not let the young man see exactly how scared he was. Would you please bring me one of the restriction suits and help me wear it? I am afraid that I am not in very good control of myself."
"Dominus." Was all Icarus said before sprinting to the other end of the facility to retrieve what was asked of him.
Once Priscus had succeeded in donning the suit, which was no small feat by the way. He dialed it up to 10% just like last time.
Only this time he didn't feel it, it was as though nothing changed at all for him. The suit felt as weightless as a regular set of clothing insomuch that Priscus checked the gauge several times to make sure it was actually working.
'What exactly happened to me?' It was truly perplexing, how had he gone from wheezing and struggling to walk, to feeling like the suit wasn't even there.
Deciding to ask the system about it later he continued to dial up the pressure until he reached 45%
It was only at that point that he felt like he was back to normal, he could walk around, swing a sword, and do all the other activities at a normal pace without hurting himself.
'phew!' Priscus wiped away the sweat from his brow as a broad smile spread across his face.
"Thank you Icarus for helping me with that, it would have been an enormous struggle for me without your help."
"My pleasure Dominus." Icarus was happy to help, and even more happy that his master seemed to be just fine despite the ordeal.
In fact, if Icarus didn't know better he would swear that his master was stronger than him now. But having just barely ignited his potential it was unlikely.
Unfortunately for Icarus...He was right. Priscus was stronger than him now, the only problem was a severe lack of control. But the suit and the training would solve that problem in short order.
"You may retire for the day Icarus, we will begin the training program tomorrow at 7."
"Yes Dominus." Saluting Priscus Icarus quickly turned on his heel and retired to his quarters to rest. It was only about 1pm but Icarus knew he was in for a rough ride the next day and wanted to be prepared.
Waiting a few minutes to be sure that Icarus had gone Priscus began to once again communicate with the system.
It wasn't that Priscus didn't trust Icarus, just the opposite. In the unlikely event that someone caught wind of Priscus' system ability, he wanted to ensure that Icarus couldn't be held liable for knowing about it and not telling anyone.
Gods only knew what those greedy bastiches would do to Icarus should they find out.
"System could you please give me a summarized view of my current changes? I don't need the whole rundown of my system panel, just the view of my potential and attributes."
*Acknowledged. Calculating final results, Presenting condensed panel view.*
*Potential: X-Class(A unique potential class for those beings whose genes are unparalleled. 15.0 growth per level in Vitality and Spirit, 5.0 growth in control. Training speed and efficiency increased by 200%. Maximum attributes are 200.0 for each attribute before gene lock. Gene locks are 30% softer, meaning they will break more easily. 100% chance to awaken an SS-class talent or above. Of all the trillions of beings who have ever been in the universe, only a handful have ever been blessed with this kind of potential. Once such being was Zeus, no more needs to be said.)
Vitality: 15.95
Control: 5.95
Spirit: 15.88*
'...'
'.....'
'...What the FRACK!!'
Priscus had gone instantly from less than 1.0 in any stat to suddenly over 15 in two of them.
No wonder he was trying to jump through the ceiling, he had a third of the control he needed for his current strength.
But more surprising was the fact that his potential stated such a huge number for maximum attributes without a gene lock being opened.
Not only that but his gene locks would be far easier to break as well.
As Priscus was struggling to come to grips with his newfound power, and the potential that his body now held, the system was having its own meltdown.
*EX-class...ha....haha...HAHAHAHA! Finally! The King has Awakened!!*