Lyra shook her head sharply No of course not She�s gone from Earth for now She didn�t put the Dungeon in your Path

You just said Randidly began but Lyra pointed to herself

I did I had the information left from when Yystrix and I were in contact There were several such variants that the Creature discovered in her travels she made it her job to study such things Considering your reluctance about our deal I wanted to give you a taste of how dangerous the Nexus and its ilk really are What better way than to put an individual who had been crushed by the System before you

Randidly regarded Lyra for several seconds letting that information slowly percolate through his mind To Randidly�s senses Lyra appeared completely honest He wasn�t sure which was the more intimidating truth that she was deceiving him and the Creature was still around or that she was honest and had been hiding the capability to somehow arrange for him to enter into a very specific Dungeon

Had she manipulated him or had she somehow moved the Dungeon

Scratching the back of his neck Randidly shook his head He had certainly learned a lot from the Dungeon It had given him perspective on a lot of things How under the System people were forced to devour each other to grow in strength or accept their doom at the hands of the System He had seen the truth of the System�s eternal pragmatism in how Chulroon�s world was treated after he had been wounded

But could Randidly trust that it hadn�t all been arranged

Perhaps not but Randidly had immersed himself in the aura of timelessness for quite a long time It was an image that had been created by Chulroon and wasn�t something that could be easily faked And there was no dishonesty in that image Chulroon sincerely believed his own story was real

The deal with Lyra was simple she would provide information about Shal�s result and in exchange Randidly would arrange for her to receive a Class He would receive more information about the System and about Shal while he gave her another lever of influence that she could use to affect Earth

To even affect Earth�s image

It was a worrisome possibility but Randidly�s sharp nose sniffed out that something was very different about Lyra�s and the Creature�s goals

Previously their main goal was simply to find a way to hide from the System Escape from the constant pursuit but now I�m learning that the System�s main goal is a war with Nether If it�s truly putting all of its efforts into fighting this war does the System really have the time and attention to search for a single person Were the memories I obtained from that clone of the Creature lies What am I missing

Randidly looked down at his right hand Despite the System�s healing there was a patch of skin at the center of his hand that was discolored to look as grey as slate It was the spot where his newly evolved Nether�s Caress manifested

What changed As I recall the Creature was grooming my Soulskill to be a bomb And now I�ve been handed a knife Is it just a distraction There�s too much that I don�t know

And it wasn�t like there were many avenues that Randidly had to gain more information But he suspected he would learn a lot soon from his final Judgement but having more information prior to that obvious exposure to danger had quite a bit of value Randidly�s Crown of Upheaval and Gloom buzzed in his chest For the first time Randidly felt his loyalties split

Creating a Class for Lyra might endanger the Earth but it might also give him enough ammo to protect his Alpha Cosmos It would allow him to guard those that followed him Erickson Steel would benefit from that protection

A fraction of tension fell from Randidly�s shoulders Some decisions would echo for quite some time after the fact and every time they needed to be made over and over again or everything you had gained would be lost fine I agree to your terms In two weeks come find me and I�ll make you a Class Make sure you bring a strong image or I�ll just overwhelm your will and make your Class something like Servant of Randidly�

HA Lyra bellowed out a laugh then regarded Randidly with obvious affection I would love that you know Not because of the stupid titles and associated benefits that would come with that role but because it would be a joke Like between between what we used to be to each other

Randidly looked at Lyra Then he turned away We haven�t walked that Path for a long time Lyra And I hope for your sake that the information you give me is worth it Because otherwise

Lyra disappeared without waiting for him to finish with a sigh For several seconds Randidly remained still and waited for anything else to emerge from the surrounding air After five minutes he swept the area with a thick curtain of Aether Truly she was gone Randidly tapped his lips and wondered whether he should do something to address that Aether construct that would observe her after the Class was made

Probably not If she had to deal with her own Judgement that would at least keep her distracted

Sighing Randidly turned back to his own issues Unlike most things under the System image training was a return to a pre System world You continued to work at something barely able to feel the small changes you made every day Sometimes it felt like for every step forward you took you inadvertently took a step back in another area It was like building a sandcastle on a beach with frequent waves where you are too busy frantically digging ditches to view how high you�ve managed to get your towers

Still Randidly enjoyed the daily struggle of savoring his images As he realized the vast space for images inside of himself they had spread slowly out to fill a larger area which in turn let him improve further on the individual details

In addition to images Randidly flexed his hands Need to keep working on the plans and Engraving It�s time to get to work

Chapter 1011

Let me go North to Zone Eleven Helen said with a determined expression

Randidly was honestly rather amused No Let Alana have her own fight with a Dragon how would you feel if someone came barging in to steal your prey

Helen was clearly grinding her teeth but there was nothing she could say to that With a snort she walked away from Randidly�s assembly location muttering something about assisting with the Rider�s training Randidly prayed for his Riders but let Helen go The low clouds drifted in front of the sun covering the surrounding area in a much needed veil of shade

It had been five days since Randidly had returned to Erickson Steel During that time Tatiana had found the initial deeds to the land that Randidly had originally obtained and realized that Erickson Steel had already expanded to a size that was significantly beyond the limit of the land that he owned But no one had made use of the surrounding area so it had never been a problem up to this point

Of course Tatiana took the news like ghost that had been blasted to oblivion by salt She drifted around her office pale and listless But honestly Randidly didn�t seem the problem Since they were already past the limits no need to act shy about it now

Not that he particularly wanted to steal land from anyone but he certainly needed space right now And as talks were already underway with this Halloway character might as well add a couple more demands to the request list If the government of Zone 1 wanted to create an addition on Erickson Steel a request for additional land seemed like an obvious choice

But the Zone 1 government also had some rather annoying inspection demands Which put operation moving city into a time crunch

So Randidly was now handling the thankless task of moving the hundreds of tons of extracted raw materials he had obtained from the Dungeon and storing them in a vast warehouse that had been set up to the South of the Erickson Steel compound Nearby a crew was hastily assembling several workstations that Randidly and the other highly Skilled members of Erickson Steel would use to assemble parts over the next few weeks

While all this was going on there was another group that was responsible for sorting the materials that Randidly produced Already two of the assistants that Tatiana had given him were reduced to blubbering idiots as they inventoried the resources Randidly just hoped they wouldn�t try and tell him how much it was all worth again He was after all only halfway finished

And god save me from the mental strain of moving the completed short legs through Randidly shivered Just the thought of it gave him a sympathy headache for his future self At the very least his Domain Skill was improving at a noticeable pace currently reaching Skill Level 134 By this point even Helen had to begrudgingly acknowledge his progress as she was finally able to utilize something close to her original strength

Even though they were the short legs these metal limbs were still fifteen meters long and as thick as a tree trunk They would handle the bulk of the moving�s cities support and stabilization function so they had been absolutely covered with Engravings done by Randidly or Lucretia personally Due to their mass the prospect of moving them out of the Alpha Cosmos was a daunting one

Each pound that passed from within to without was a drain on Randidly Inanimate objects were definitely easier than animated ones but only by a little Which was why Randidly had transferred a few over earlier then ceased when his vision grew a little hazy

Randidly didn�t exactly hide the finished legs from the clucking assistants but he did store the thirty he had prepared so far underneath a tarp awning behind the warehouse The poor assistants clearly weren�t ready for them yet Which was fine for now but it wasn�t like Randidly was going to slow down the rate of assembly just because it was inconvenient for these fools

These shocks are what we need to reinvent the image that Erickson Steel has for itself Randidly reflected As long as they learn to accept that anything is possible we can make some real progress Which reminds me

Randidly raised his head and looked West Originally this had been a series of rolling hills but one of the first things Randidly had done was level the area with Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil Half of the space went to him for the preparations for the moving city while the other half went to the Order Ducis so they could continue their training

Apparently Naffur took his request to recruit more individuals into the Order Ducis very seriously He had arranged an entire six month long camp in order to determine suitability for the Order and was closely recording the progress of all of the participants

In a way Randidly found that dedication inspiring Rubbing his chin he looked over toward the frantically training individuals Perhaps its time for me to lend them a helping hand

What�s this Vye whispered to Garrett

The tall man shrugged I don�t know but I have a bad feeling about this

Good news everyone We have an exciting surprise that we are pleased to share with you all Naffur said brightly He stood in front of the assembled 36 individuals with his arms folded behind his back Since they had arrived at Erickson Steel several more individuals had trickled into the camp Competition intensified But also the difficulty of their tasks spiked sharply upward leading to a general decrease in optimism in hope across the board

Which was why Vye grew suspicious at Naffur�s tone

Naffur gestured to the three steles that were behind him Our leader Randidly Ghosthound has created three of these Image Stones� so you can familiarize yourself with them Each stone has a unique image that it releases If you proceed closer to the stone you�ll have to endure a greater portion of the image released from it The Ghosthound stated that they are relatively flawed products so he will be forced to strengthen the image within the stones every few days Starting next week we will work these stones heavily into our training methods so we recommend you familiarize yourself with them now

Among the crowd of 36 dirty and exhausted individual most people looked side to side with the same question on their lips You seriously want us to train even more

As if sensing the crowd�s reluctance Naffur smiled slyly Of course these aren�t just ways to torture you After discussing the matter with the Ghosthound there is also a reward for those that can get close enough to the Image Stones to touch them you will be given a day off usable whenever you wish

Silence There was abrupt silence No one amongst the crowd was even breathing

Finally the spell was broken Someone in the crowd gulped down a mouth full of saliva Even Vye couldn�t help but feel her heart begin to pound The past week had been so filled with training and weird exercises and rules that she had forgotten what it was like to make her own decisions

If she touched an Image Stone she could decide for herself to take a break Any time she wanted

Of course the reason that Vye stuck with the training was she could feel how much she had improved after even one week And at her core that dream of being able to seize the freedom to travel the land with impunity was still the engine that drove her forward But even so

Vye�s fingernails drew blood on her palm as she regarded the three Image Stones Having a modicum of control like a break day was definitely the first step she needed to take

This is the first time there has been a reward like this it�s practically an announcement by Randidly Ghosthound that this is the strength that we need to have to reach his level I�ll touch those fucking stones if its the last thing I do

After giving his short speech Naffur walked off to discuss things with Ajax Which meant that the aspirants were free to wander toward the standing stones to investigate

With slow and deliberate motions the aspirants split into groups of two or three and wandered around the outside of the newly renovated area There were three stone steles about the size of a person arranged in a wide triangle Around each was a series of circles that had been carved into the ground The outer distance of the largest circle was twenty meters but there were also circles at ten and five meters

In addition there were also piles of rope with hooks on the end laying about The aspirants regarded each other in confusion They looked back over to Naffur He seemed to be completely content to allow the aspirants to explore so they returned their focus to the image stones and carefully studied them They had learned in the past week that Naffur wouldn�t instruct them when they were meant to find things out on their own So it was up to them to perform their own investigations

That was the way of the Order Ducis It wasn�t just strength that was revered here but also the ability to make confident decisions under less than ideal circumstances

Vye made her first realization as she began to walk at the edge of the twenty meter line around the Image Stones they weren�t kidding about this being a type of training There seemed to be some engravings at the edge of the twenty meter circle that veiled the outside from the image stones but there was still a palpable pressure as they moved through the area

The pressure was something that you barely noticed at first but it rapidly became apparent that although the strain was small it quickly added up Many people began to frown toward the Image Stones

Gritting her teeth Vye turned to Garrett The man�s sour expression didn�t change at all after entering the area so Vye inwardly softened her choice of words about the Image Stones This is certainly one sort of training

I�ve got a bad feeling about this Garrett said again Vye rolled her eyes She supposed she shouldn�t be surprised If there was one thing that was predictable it was Garrett�s gloomy outlook

But then she looked to the side because Valor Rend was rolling up his sleeves and walking directly to the edge of one of the twenty meter circles

Of everyone amongst the aspirants Valor would be the unanimous frontrunner to join the Order Ducis He wasn�t as fast as some other people or as strong or possess ranged Skills that were as overwhelming as some others but he was probably close to the top in every category Like Randidly Ghosthound himself he pursued the Path of an all rounder

His hair was even short like Randidly�s although Valor�s was a golden blond His bronze skin and heavy muscles somehow made the constant film of blood and dirt that covered all of the aspirants look somehow heroic

At the edge of the circle Valor raised his chin The focus of all of the aspirants settled on the golden boy After a breath Valor stepped through the circle into the inner area

Huh Urgk

Immediately Valor grunted in pain His eyes widened and it was obvious even from this distance that his pupils dilated But the man gritted his teeth and took several steps forward Yet that just caused his eyes to widen further

I will not be stopped here My destiny Valor bellowed as he stretched his arms wide Then he took two more firm steps forward

After swaying for a second Valor crumpled to the side His face smashed into the ground with an audible noise It was only a few seconds later that his body slowly rolled to the side

He was foaming at the mouth and clearly unconscious There was no circle in the area he collapsed but from the few steps he had taken he probably hadn�t even made it to the fifteen meter mark around that Image Stone

I suppose that�s what the ropes are there for

Vye turned to look at the speaker the barefooted and bushy eyebrowed Aldo stood next to her regarding the collapsed Valor At her gaze he shrugged and gestured toward the body He faced the full force of the Ghosthound�s image Is this little bit of mental damage a surprise Just be glad he wasn�t eviscerated by roots

The brightest star of the Order Ducis recruitment camp continued to lay on the ground foam studiously bubbling up out of his slack jawed mouth

Chapter 1012

Tatiana�s eyebrows rose That demonstration your images were strong before but now

Heh impressive right Randidly laced his fingers behind his head and grinned at her It was only at these moments that Tatiana could forget all of the things that he had accomplished and recall that he was at most in his late twenties I wasn�t slacking off while I was away that�s for sure In terms of images I feel pretty good about where I�ve gotten I�m a little short of being a Master still but that�s just a matter of time

Nodding slowly Tatiana regarded Randidly It had now been a week since he returned During that time the government had been relatively quiet seemingly content to watch as Randidly made almost a dozen sweeping changes to the structure of Erickson Steel They were confident that their inspection teams that would head over soon would be able to give them the run down that they wanted

Everyone was preparing for something

It�s just unfortunate that it seems like the government�s preparations are going to come to naught Tatiana�s lip curled up Then she focused on the issue at hand

Are you sure a party right now is the best idea She asked slowly After seeing your demonstration I think most of our workers will want to try their hand at using images again This might be the most valuable time for practice

But Randidly just shrugged and walked over to a sink to wash some of the soot and ash the remained on his hands after the demonstration You are probably right but people need breaks too To be mentally healthy even if we are physically fine Besides this party is partially a thank you to a certain individual So I want Erickson Steel to put its best foot forward The more technological wonders that will be present the better

Alright it�s your company I just make sure it all works Also all of the applicants for the internships are here Whenever you are ready you can interview them

Perfect Might as well do it now while I�m in a good mood Randidly cracked his neck Oh and let the government know about this party Call it a festival I�m sure they will take the chance to come into the compound unofficially and inspect what we�ve been doing and I want the chance to examine them as well Figure out how discrete I should be during the stay of the true inspection team they send

Randidly how many goals are you aiming to accomplish at once with this party Tatiana asked with a shake of the head Randidly chuckled and produced a leather glove that he slipped over his metallic left hand It didn�t completely fool a viewer into believing that the arm was still one of flesh and blood but it did seem to restrain the ominous feeling that seeped outward from his left fist

Well certainly several Randidly seemed to ponder the question But isn�t complexity the spice of life And progress won�t happen unless all of the disparate images have an excuse to mix and compete

Complexity in this case is a result of haste Tatiana replied dryly Why are you in such a rush

Because I have nineteen days before I need to face a very dark truth about this world Randidly responded his voice filled with false cheer Besides You are right that this isn�t the neatest way of doing things but I still believe it will be the best No matter what we do we can�t escape our own images of ourselves Tatiana

Randidly�s gaze turned abruptly heavy For a split second Tatiana�s chest was frozen as though she was physically pressed down by his presence And unless we draw out those dangerous images with the proper sort of bait how will we know what sort of people truly believe in Erickson Steel

An emerald fire A Crown of pale metal A tree that was a book penned with bark and golden script A shadow that stared blindly down at its own hands and mourned what it had lost

Then the moment passed The man next to her was just a man and the turbulent waves of images calmed in the surrounding area

Tatiana kept her breath even You�ve Become something of a gambler With throwing so many elements into this party I mean

A sad truth but these are admittedly small stakes in the grand scheme of things Randidly looked up at the sky Then he rubbed his short hair There are two ways to lose in our universe The more obvious one is to gamble and bust But the harder truth is that if the time comes and we don�t have enough capital to our names we lose that way too And what a bitter loss it will be

So we have a party Tatiana said lightly Her hands were clasped behind her back to hide the trembling How dangerous were the foes that Randidly sensed if he was worried enough for her to sense it

Exactly His smile was easy and light

So for the next twelve hours Tatiana made arrangements for a party A party large enough to be a festival for the entire complex Although Randidly hadn�t been specific enough for her to guess who the guest of honor was she took his word about a technological demonstration to heart So Tatiana announced abruptly a sudden competition with a short six hour time limit

Everyone who wanted to compete should make an original material drone machine or Engraving to submit to the different categories The winner would receive personal pointers from Randidly Ghosthound regarding their area of focus Although Randidly hadn�t explicitly given her permission to make that promise Tatiana believed that he wouldn�t be against the prospect At the moment Randidly was extremely concerned with the growth of Erickson Steel

So much so that he was actually willing to listen to progress reports including the recorded minute statistical improvements

Plus with the announcement of a contest so soon after Randidly�s second demonstration everyone threw themselves into the preparation for the resulting festival Honestly the vehemence of the people�s reaction to having a festival surprised Tatiana The idea of taking an entire day to celebrate what Erickson Steel had accomplished caught on quickly

Perhaps it was the constant propaganda from the government or the extreme series of changes over the past few weeks or even the isolation of being so far from any other town but Erickson Steel had been secretly burning for any excuse to explode At some point the planning took on a life of its own All Tatiana had to do was watch

Standing in her office several hours later Tatiana poured three glasses of her last remaining Donnyton single barrel whiskey Which completely depleted her store Inwardly she was somewhat aggrieved but she also knew that this was a time of celebration If she didn�t let loose now when would she

So where is our guest of honor Tatiana asked lightly

Ah I�ll fetch her Randidly said Then he blinked and a ripple of air spread out from him that forced Tatiana to take a step back Suddenly there was an extremely slender and diminutive woman who popped into existence between the two of them

And the first thing the woman did was bend over and spew a mouthful of bile over Tatiana�s imported carpet

When the woman straightened her gaze toward Randidly was waspish You could have warned me

Randidly scratched the back of his head Ah honestly I�d forgotten The only person who has really come to this world is Helen and she�s a bit immune to these sort of things I�m sorry

Ah well The woman muttered It seemed that Tatiana�s three glasses finally entered the small woman�s gaze because the woman�s expression brightened She walked quickly over to Tatiana and extended her hand Ah it seems we will get along quite well I�m Wendy nice to meet you

likewise Tatiana said slowly The woman was literally only a meter tall She appeared more like a doll than a real woman but there weren�t any obvious physical differences that Tatiana could see It was just that the woman was made on a 2/3rd scale compared to most people Her fingers were long and slender and perfectly proportioned to the rest of her body She did however throw back the liquor with all the gusto of a normal woman

Especially of a woman who works for Randidly Tatiana thought with amusement After Wendy finished her cup she gave Randidly�s cup a long look He passed it over to her without comment Tatiana hurriedly finished her own before the woman could set her sights on hers It was after all her favorite liquor It was warmth and honey and satisfaction all rolled into one

Ah that was rather good Wendy burped then looked at Randidly furtively She coughed into her hand Ahem so what business was so important that I needed to leave an entire day open

A festival Randidly said lightly as he walked to the window With a smooth motion he pushed the shuttered open and revealed the streets below As a thank you

Look Wendy I really appreciate everything you�ve done to make the moving city a reality I have barged into your office more times than I can count I even have taken a portion of it for my own use Without asking for permission And I well I want to repay all the debts I owe to you but I know that will take some time But I need to start somewhere So for today I hope you can step back and let me repay you in the tiniest way

Tatiana did her best not to flinch at the phrase moving city

Wendy frowned and walked to the window to stand next to Randidly It was dusk but Erickson Steel was currently more lit up that Tatiana had ever seen it before Drones floated above the streets carrying luminous paper lanterns inscribed with stars and fire and trees They wove between each other leaving faint trails of light in their wake

Below each street was lined with stands each trying to outdo each other with exaggerated neon signs to attract attention People moved in groups up in down the street while street vendors vehemently praised their own inventions and cursed those of the surrounding people Voices drifted upward loud and full of cheer

From this height it was difficult to see the detail of what was occurring below The colors blended together into a rainbow luminescence that gave an otherworldly feel to the festival That combined with the shouts and the sounds of machinery almost made it seem like the festival had transported Erickson Steel a hundred years into the future amongst some cyberpunk skyline

Huu This is your world Wendy asked in wonder

Randidly nodded shortly

For several seconds Wendy looked out the window to the street below Tatiana watched the flashes of aquamarine pink navy and tangerine reflect off the moist surface of her eyes Then Wendy turned to Randidly Well you are welcome I don�t ahem aside from slight ah communication issues I don�t hate working on the projects you suggest I suppose we can take some time looking around here

Ah but first Wendy�s eyes brightened She pointed across the room What is this

Oh the terminal It transfers audio and picture across long distances Basically its a display to see and hear things far away Randidly answered casually Then he gestured for Wendy to go ahead� and the woman gleefully pounced

Tatiana remained silent as Wendy immediately began to dismantle the very expensive terminal that she had installed in her office The way that pieces of metal just popped off underneath Wendy�s attention Tatiana wondered if the woman was magnetic

She also wondered if Wendy would do her the favor of reassembling it

Chapter 1013

Randidly hid a smile with a hand At this point the fearsome Randidly Ghosthound was just marching around with his arms behind his back to look official Although he was very sure of his knowledge in regards to metal forging images and Engraving the technical details of some of the inventions that the participants in the festivals brought were beyond him

During his time working with drones his piss poor knowledge of mechanical engineering had simply been masked by his prodigious Mana pool and his ability to Engrave But since Tatiana had somehow gotten the idea to include his guidance as a reward for participation there needed to be some commentary Therefore he allowed Wendy to do what came naturally to her

After all very few academics especially young ones could resist god given opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge

Fascinating but poorly designed Is this only the first prototype Wendy spun the strange circular module in her hand She barely even seemed to be examining the technology just spinning it In the brightly lit lantern light the silver blur shined and swam before Randidly�s eyes like a fish in water Although she had no combat abilities to speak of that didn�t mean Wendy didn�t have her own methods

But maybe I should have told her that these people had only six hours to make their inventions She�s been quite harsh

but then again compared to some of the timelines I demanded from her six hours

The elderly man who created the module was nervously looking from Wendy to Randidly It was hard to say whether Wendy�s rather dismissive evaluation or her cavalier handling of the module was the source of his worry but it was clear he was inwardly struggling not to speak out Likely he would have had Randidly not been here

Randidly and Wendy had made it almost 3/4ths of the way through the entrants into the contest over the course of two hours Although Randidly had intended to create the chance for other people to take a break with this festival he was beginning to wish that he had a little more time to work on his actual goals during this period of times Right now he was effectively just a rubber stance with whatever advice that Wendy gave

But still he owed this to Wendy So he kept his peace and watched Besides Randidly couldn�t deny that with Wendy�s criticisms and using Aether Detection to peer into the inner workings of the inventions he was learning quite a lot In his mind the final plans for the moving city were coming into sharper relief

Uh Mr Ghosthound actually The old man began as his gaze remained fixed on Wendy�s hands The man licked his lips as he worked himself up to say something But Wendy quickly cut him off

What�s this The object in her hands had stopped spinning Wendy was pointing a series of cramped Engravings that had been added to the back

That what Then the old man paled Ah just a stop gap method for dealing with some of the overflowing energy that the module experiences while it is used In short tests the energy remained under control but I suspect that over time

This will cause energy discharge will it not Not a large amount but certainly painful Wendy sniffed and set the invention down on the stand with an audible clack Maybe a good idea but even good ideas need to be honed before they are released on the market I hope your next iteration will be refined further

Really to have noticed the issue after six hours seems like plenty but I can�t deny that having someone with Wendy�s attention to detail help me is invaluable

Without waiting for the man�s answer Wendy continued on to the next stall Despite the fact they had been going on for almost two hours Wendy only seemed invigorated She marched forward with swinging arms and her eyes were bright and curious

The owner of the next stall was clearly sweating having watched Wendy�s methodical evisceration of the qualifications of every entrant that had come before But the next entrant a woman who had shaved half of her head took a deep breath as Wendy approached With his sensitivity to images he could even feel the thin sensation of emotions when he was this close to the source

Fear and hopelessness surged in the woman�s heart Even though Randidly didn�t know everyone in Erickson Steel he had recognized that the old man that Wendy quickly disregarded was relatively well regarded

He could follow the downhill flow of the woman�s thoughts If his invention isn�t good enough then my own

The woman raised her chin and smiled as brightly as she could manage at the Randidly and Wendy With a very short explanation she explained the purpose of her invention it was a one use battery that would stimulate an individual�s body to cause Stamina to recover at double its previous rate for a short time The two obvious drawbacks were the fact it could only be used one time and that the process was quite painful

Although he kept his emerald eyes unfocused Randidly�s entire attention was focused on the nervous woman and the rather delighted Wendy He had remained largely silent during their meandering path through the brightly lit festival for two reasons The first was that Wendy was a much more precise judge of these things than he would have been The second reason

It was for that moment of nervous fear that the woman had as she watched everyone before her fail to achieve the standards that he set It was for that eyes pressed tightly shut tension right before Randidly and Wendy arrived And it was for that moment that the woman gritted her teeth and forced out a smile despite the bitter fear of failure

Even if everyone else in front of me failed I will still step forward and try my best I can still do it Even if the chance is close to zero I will give it my best �

That was what Randidly was here to create A tight deadline that pushed away thoughts and worries and a tantalizing future to draw people out of their comfort zone An attitude across the whole of Erickson Steel that would encourage attempting the impossible and pushing your own limits

There was some risk that he would crush the dreams of these people with the weight of his expectations but Randidly had no other choice

Honestly with not a moment to spare Randidly thought wryly Because of the problems associated with the final Judgement he wanted to have Erickson Steel ready to get up and walk away in two weeks Therefore the people that were here now on Erickson Steel would be the psychological foundation for any image that would cover the city

Randidly hadn�t seen very much of most of the people who were a part of the compound so he had carried a worry with him in his heart But to see all these people now stepping forward again and again for the sake of advancing their own art Randidly couldn�t help but relax a small amount

I don�t know of any ready made solutions to the flaws Wendy said slowly She handed the item back to the woman But it�s good you know what the flaws are If the numbers you provided are accurate this is an intriguing product With enough time for experimentation I believe that both issues can be addressed

Actually there are already a couple of easy ways to get around the pain The woman pipped up Her voice was high and wavering but she spoke anyway But they all decrease the efficacy so much that the boost wasn�t worth it any longer And I think even if it was painful most people would choose that pain to keep the effect high If anything I have been aiming to increase the output at any cost even if it will result in a more painful usage

Masochist Wendy said lightly But she did offer the woman a soft smile If that�s the path you insist on taking obviously I won�t try and stop you Just don�t let this guy�s ideas infect you too much

At that time Wendy kicked Randidly He endured it stoically as Wendy�s Strength wasn�t anywhere what was needed in order to actually inflict pain on him The woman looked between them seemingly slightly dazed

You you don�t also work for Mr Ghosthound The woman asked

Well Wendy�s face crinkled into a deep frown I�m a consultant I guess But no I don�t work for him It just always feels like I do

Is it really that bad Randidly chuckled Wendy sniffed at him and didn�t bother to answer Instead she turned and walked to the next stall and began her inspection of that invention Above them on the street a humming drone emitted a soft lavender light that soaked the surrounding area and reminded Randidly of Lucretia

He turned back to the woman Even though he kept too much of his focus from gathering and offered her a polite smile Randidly�s high Perception easily picked up her sharp increase in heart rate

So when he spoke he kept his tone even and his voice slow I�m not sure how to solve the single use problem That would be something that would take me quite a while to work out I don�t know much about batteries But if all you are looking for is power

An ember of burning blue condensed around Randidly�s right pointer finger He walked up to the metal stall the woman used to display her device and used his metal left arm to carefully move everything out of the way Then as quick as breathing Randidly traced out a simple curving rune across the surface of the desk

His strokes were quick and even After Engraving Levelable patterns for so long a single use Engraving was almost a relief It took six strokes to finish

The resulting Engraving was a raw and dangerous thing Randidly knew So much so that he felt a twinge of regret after he had put it down against the cool metal It glowed in a shimmering blend of emerald and aquamarine It would produce power and vast quantities of it at the cost of destroying the medium soon afterward

As Randidly pulled his hand away small bolts of static electricity hopped upward and bridged the gap to his hand Even with his relatively high Endurance he felt a few painful twinges from the proximity Then he turned solemnly to the woman A gift So that you can accomplish what you wish

The road will not be any easier The more impossible mountains you climb the more you are able to see before you But if that belief in yourself and in the future you can create never wavers then there is a one and a million chance you can change the world And those are the individuals that Erickson Steel needs

It�s The woman drew closer her hands reached out toward the Engraving that now covered her stand When bolts of energy curled upward and jolted the woman�s limbs she didn�t take a step back She simply lowered her hands and leaned closer to study it

She didn�t flinch as the power crackled and hissed

it�s perfect The woman mumbled

Good luck Randidly said Then he turned away and followed after Wendy But in the back of his mind he held a secret fearful thought

Will you mutilate yourself as I have done

But it wasn�t a question worth vocalizing Randidly was aware that there were no truly positive and negative images the world wasn�t such a simple place Each image no matter how powerful it was had its own downsides For example the image that Donnyton had been heading toward was one of being undefeatable

It was certainly a powerful and towering image But it was rigid to a fault A single defeat would shatter that image once it had evolved to its final form Which was why Randidly had acted to destabilize and alter the image with his Challenge before it had reached that stage With that proof that undefeatable wasn�t the image for them some of the lesser virtues in Donnyton could grow to become its dominant ideology

In terms of Erickson Steel Randidly was pushing toward an image that had to do with making the impossible possible It was an image that was based on the premise that if an individual wanted something enough and dedicated the requisite time to the task they could accomplish anything An image of desire and indomitable Willpower

But there was a long shadow cast by that image

What if the impossible goal that someone wanted to accomplish was something malicious Erickson Steel would accept that desire too Effort and dedication were the two virtues at the core of this image There was no sense of justice that would steer them from a darker Path

But Randidly didn�t look backward toward the woman he had given a power that was far beyond her current understanding And he hadn�t asked why she was willing to endure pain in order to gain Stamina quickly It was enough that she wanted it and had the spirit to make her dream concrete That earned the woman Randidly�s gift in his mind

The control comes later Right now this place needs power more than anything else I can�t protect them forever

Chapter 1014

Vye�s eyes struggled to cope with the sudden change in light Whereas she had just been within the warm caress of an immaculately sunny day now she found herself wading in waist deep mist The brilliant sun was now a weak amber disk screened by layers and layer of deep grey clouds There was no real noise here just a soft howling that didn�t seem to emanate from the wind

Still although the scenery was strange Vye did not waver

Vye took a step forward and instantly she stiffened Although it had previously seemed that she was in an endless sea of mist a single step was enough to draw her even deeper into this strange place The howling grew louder The level of the mist had crept upward until it enveloped her whole body She was swimming in endless darkness

The vague disc of the sun had lost its power here It was completely sealed away by the seething grey mist

But that step also brought a vague outline into Vye�s view Within the mist something waited

Panting Vye stood as still as she could manage and did her best to calm her rising heart rate She also grimaced and rubbed the bridge of her nose This was an unwelcome place devoid of life Vye didn�t know how she had come to be here but that really didn�t matter to her At her core was the voracious desire to travel everywhere

Even in this strange place of shadows and mist even if whatever was at the core of this place didn�t want her here Those truths only made her eventual triumph that much sweeter these denials would not stop her forever

So she took another step forward The blurry figure in front of her became slightly more discernible She seemed to be even deeper in that dusk grey mist approaching the swirling core of this place

It was a man or at least something that had a form similar to a man His limbs seemed twisted and warped but he had a head two legs and two hands But the shadows at the edge of him meant that some portions of his body seemed to evaporate off of him into black mist shrouding the whole of him in additional darkness

Well he had limbs that were close to arms They seemed to twist and rupture before her very eyes Vye blinked It was hard to tell whether those changes were actually occurring or if the strange evaporation that seized his body was simply warping her view

He still was quite some distance away so Vye took another step And immediately she regretted it

It wasn�t pain that hit her but a desolate wave of loneliness that slithered into her chest and took up residence there Poisonous feelers instantly spread out from that feeling in her chest questing toward Vye�s secret fears and insecurities Which honestly weren�t hard to find Immediately after it had aligned itself with those emotions already present in her chest more negative emotions flowed outward in a sludge like deluge

The new feeling was a dim understanding that all effort was meaningless Time inevitably slew all challengers It was a vicious rage at the world that surrounded them and also the strange impulses of instinct that forced them to struggle If nothing has meaning why ingrain the existence of a fake meaning named survival� into their genetic code

Why desire � The dark figure seemed to project out from his defeated stance His limbs were still blurry but Vye could now see the dark shadows surrounding his eyes and mouth Why exist All will become nothing in the end This pain it was forced upon us We don�t need to bear it It is better to just �

Don�t try and stop me Vye hissed in the misty darkness You may have given up on your dream but I have not Nothing will stop me One day my dream I�ll hold this entire world in the palm of my hand And you your fucked up world I REJECT this

Pain roared upward from her hand like hungry flames through a forest on a dry summer day But for a second the sense of ominous pressure that filled the surrounding air parted Her rejection roared in the air The grey mist spun away from her The veil of pressure parted even as the wind roared ever louder

Vye was able to grit her teeth and take a step forward And then another But what awaited her after the second step was a shudder inducing silence Around her the wind had died

Very quickly the details of that sitting figure resolved themselves And just as Vye studied him he moved

In the silence he shifted His neck cracked Vye abruptly realized that he had no true eyes or mouth just deep pits of despair that dotted his face That horrible creature looked up and their eyes met

Vye gasped and sat up Garret was crouching next to her with his familiar dour expression

He pointed to the rope tied around her waist You were right tying it from the beginning is much more efficient And there isn�t any danger of just pulling someone�s shirt off as happened with Valor

Which at the time had been rather fun to watch Valor be humiliated even further But when people realized it would soon be their turn they quickly developed counter measures

Shit Vye sighed and leaned back against the ground Then she brought her left hand to her chest and winced Fiery daggers seemed to be ripping into the flesh of her forearm from the Ritual she left there It seemed that she had activated it subconsciously while she was trying to approach one of Randidly�s image stones And holy fuck she wished she had not

She studied the inflamed skin carefully looking for any sort of deviation that could be causing the pain This was much worse than it had been even after the desperate gamble that had earned her the marred appendage She didn�t find anything wrong with the limb or the Ritual but was it a bit larger than it had been previously

I didn�t know you were talented with Engraving But its probably still a bad idea to use it on your own body Garret said as he followed her gaze to her hand

The corner of Vye�s mouth quirked up It�s not an Engraving it�s a Ritual

When Garrett just raised his eyebrows Vye continued to explain as though naming it would do something to stop the constant agony of her hand My parents weren�t very close to my grandma I always wondered why until I met the woman Sally Ann Holladay She was a little bit crazy Worshipped a pantheon of strange gods I couldn�t find a history on no matter how I researched them and called herself the Priestess Primero

Probably because it made my parents mad but I learned the weird Rituals that she practiced And honestly it wasn�t spiritual but calming To have my grandma there insisting that things be done just so The details the specific rules the careful timing I don�t know I always felt better afterward So I started performing the Rituals to help cope with stress Then after I woke up and the System was here I was struggling to deal with the fact that the world effectively ended and I got a Path for my troubles A Path that made all of those Rituals my grandma made up become real

Garrett chewed on his lip Well it looks a lot like an Engraving

Vye didn�t bother to respond Although it might just be her imagination it did feel like the pain had diminished somewhat She simply looked up at the sky above them and hoped it would recede further It was dusk so she must have been unconscious for a while And now that she had experienced the image stone for herself her confidence in being able to seize that free day shrunk and withered to almost nothing

But there was still a seed of possibility that remained Vye didn�t plan on giving up Part of the problem was how strong the well image was in there I wasn�t ready for it But if I work on it I�m sure that my Willpower is more than enough to overcome one lonely monster

Oh also I�m glad you awakened so quickly Garrett said We were given the night off Naffur waited until most people were passed out from attempting the Image Stones to announce it but we of the Order Ducis are encouraged to participate in Erickson Steel�s festival We are officially required to do no training until dawn tomorrow

Vye leapt to her feet with such force that she immediately had to gasp and fall to one knee as the movement sent a wave of pain through her already agonizing hand It really seemed like using the Skill inside of the Image Stone had some weird effect on her hand Hopefully the pain would fade enough that she could enjoy the festival while they had free time

As she staggered back to her feet Vye paused Ah why hasn�t anyone pulled him out

Vye pointed toward Aldo who had collapsed at about the fifteen meter mark just like everyone else had At this point he was twitching occasionally his fingers and toes spasming as he remained unconscious within the area of the Image Stone Aldo had gone in right before Vye so if she just now recovered he had probably been in there for almost an hour

He said he wanted to submerge himself in the Ghosthound�s image� Garrett said with a smirk So he requested to be left in there for a while after he went unconscious

That can�t be healthy Vye frowned over toward Aldo�s body Was the body wiggling

Yea well everyone wanted to know how long they could afford to leave themselves in the Image Stone�s area afterward And to see if it would improve their chances the next time So I�m sure someone will remove him in another few hours

Not if everyone just leaves to go enjoy the festival

Garrett�s frown deepened What you want to wait here then and babysit him

Nope just wanted to be sure we were on the same ethical page Vye turned away from Aldo�s twitching body Let�s go I�m dying for a deep fried oreo

Oh didn�t you want to know how far you got Garrett asked as he scrambled to catch up with her

Vye had to use her other hand to steady her left when it was jostled she wanted to walk back into the range of the Image Stone just to knock herself out Nope

I really think you do Garrett insisted You well

Did I even reach the ten meter circle Vye grimaced

Garrett paused and looked back toward the Image Stone Well technically no

Then let�s go Don�t be so fixated on external validation Vye muttered irritably The pain was making it difficult to even concentrate on what Garrett was saying Instead Vye pictured all of the deep fried goodness that she would soon ingest

After the judging Randidly enjoyed the sensation of standing on top of the hastily erected reward stage and savoring the surrounding images of the festival He had clambered up on the metal scaffolding putting himself beyond the edge of the festival�s halo of light As the stage was currently dark the reward ceremony wasn�t for another two hours even if someone stood directly below Randidly and looked up they wouldn�t be able to see him

Which gave him time to think And to examine the people within Erickson Steel

Oh After about fifteen minutes of moving through extremely gratifying images of progress and hope Randidly found an exceedingly strange image One of jealousy and desire Honestly finding the image made Randidly smile he knew such images would be a part of Erickson Steel so he was relieved to finally find examples of them Fears were much more intimidating when you couldn�t find proof of them Now that he found it he could prepare

But the more that Randidly felt the nuances of the image the more amused he became you want to take everything I have created You believe you deserve to control Erickson Steel That you are the leader that this place needs

Randidly couldn�t even help it He began to guffaw leaning forward and holding his stomach to control the bubbling laughter

After a few minutes Randidly was able to ease up on the laughter Have I been making this look so easy that anyone thinks they can do what I do Well I do consistently disappear from the public eye to work on other projects but that�s not because Erickson Steel doesn�t require more work its because other things are even more important

Grasp of the World Seed whirred into action Randidly felt all the tiny micro bacteria on the skin of the man who held this image deeply in his heart He could feel the blades of grass underneath his feet With Aether he could peer in and see the shape of his Soulspace What he found there made Randidly shake his head

There are dreams and then there are obsessions friend Don�t bite off more than you can chew

Chapter 1015

Oh Like I�m so glad I finally found you Ah Mr Ghosthound is that you It�s a little dark ah Oh that�s definitely you

Randidly looked up He had sensed the unfamiliar woman wandering around the stage area for about a half an hour but he hadn�t thought anything of it He had sensed her talking to Tatiana plenty of times from afar so he had just assumed she was an aide here to work on something for the award ceremony Which was why he had paid her no mind and allowed himself to laugh loudly as he examined the greedy man�s images

How was Randidly supposed to know that she was looking for him

Ah Did you have something for me Randidly asked as he scratched his head Perhaps he was spending too much time thinking about broad images and not enough familiarizing himself with the individuals that made up Erickson Steel But it was just a rather daunting task for a naturally introverted individual like Randidly to become acquainted with everyone

It was already bad enough that Randidly would be giving a short speech later

The woman shrugged causing her extremely thin hair to drift outward from her frizzy head like a jellyfish�s tentacles She teetered back and forth haphazardly as she walked across the scaffolding and then plopped down next to Randidly with a relieved poof of air from her mouth I�m Sherry I�ve like heard so much about you Tatiana said you wanted to see me Which considering you are the secretive owner of Erickson Steel inviting me to an isolated location with pretty enough scenery I wasn�t sure you know

Randidly�s expression turned suddenly serious He certainly did not know And he definitively didn�t know why Tatiana would send this woman Sherry

Ah wait I think that Tatiana said her assistant�s name was Sherry and at the time she did seem very surprised that I complimented her assistant did I have the wrong individual Randidly sighed inwardly

While Randidly was reflecting on his own thoughts Sherry continued boldly forward with her own audible train of thought Actually I have a rather consistent online following among people in Zone 1 I like write classy smut Like real classy People call it erotica even That�s how classy it is and since you are just so brooding and mysterious since it�s practically research whatever you need I am here for I�ve prepared Like by showering not by anything weird haha

Let me just stop you right there Randidly said raising up a hand I think there�s been a miscommunication I did ask for you but what I really wanted was for you to help help introducing me for the award speech

Randidly mind thrummed with activity as he carefully considered whether this would be fine Although she might be rather strange she was bold enough to clamber up onto the scaffolding and seek him out And Randidly could clearly see that she had no climbing or balance related Skill her accomplishment was all her own will

Or foolishness disguised by fortune

Either way Randidly continued to speak So you�ll just need to come out before I speak and introduce everyone involved It shouldn�t be difficult but Tatiana wanted to make sure you were rewarded for all of your ah dedication to the company

Let�s let Tatiana sort through the fallout of this this is exactly the sort of thing I don�t want to deal with

Oh Sherry honestly seemed to wilt a bit So then us being up here

Just a coincidental meeting Actually I need to head out With a lithe grace Randidly stood and nodded to Sherry Then he quickly hopped off the edge of the stage�s scaffolding and quickly dropped down to the ground below To keep his impact from shattering the surrounding tiles Randidly created a half dozen thin roots that curled outward from some of the bare dirt and cushioned his fall

After walking several steps away Randidly spared one glance behind him toward the rather shocked form of Sherry among the high framework of metal He could feel images around her more ephemeral and capricious than the images around most people but no less dense

It takes a lot to build a city Randidly reflected as he turned away and moved through the darkened alleys behind the Erickson Steel�s industrial grade furnaces They loomed above him like dozing beasts waiting in silence and shadow for the dawn It takes a lot of hope and a lot of very brave people each letting their own strange dreams out into the open

In his chest Randidly felt the heavy weight of his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom humming softly Perhaps it was because the aura of timelessness from Chulroon�s claw was balancing out his images but he had abruptly felt quite vulnerable while moving around Erickson Steel Something was changing inside of him

Extending through Randidly�s entire body were thin veins of weight and power that stemmed from the growing image that began with the Crown at its center It was a strange growth that had emerged half formed since Randidly began spending more and more time at Erickson Steel In Randidly�s vast Soulspace it had been easy to miss it amongst his other bright images But now it demanded attention

Those thin veins that spread outward from his Crown Skill seemed to resonate with the images that were percolating upward toward the near cloudless night sky above Erickson Steel Randidly had felt the steadily growing ache from that resonance from walking around with Wendy during the festival proper but at the time he had assumed that it would pass That part of that strange feeling in his chest was the result of being so superfluous to the divvying up of the rewards

It�s necessary forging this image for Earth even if it is mainly kept isolated will greatly increase this world�s chances of passing through the trials that are arrayed before us Randidly paused in his trek through the compound and clambered up an exhaust chute to the top of one of the larger warehouses When he flipped himself lightly over to the roof his eyes were immediately drawn to a very yellow and low moon Even if I�m not the perfect man for the job no one else can do it It has to be me Only I can house this image Only I have the composition to bear it and help it grow

But it�s hard Randidly said softly to the moon and only the moon heard his exhausted voice Yet it wasn�t the housing of the images itself that was so tiring It was his own insecurity that interfering with his own peace of mind

It was most likely because of his time in the Dungeon but Randidly had previously rushed forward with an impending sense of necessity That sense had done a lot to pacify his own emotions Randidly simply spent too much time struggling against foes that were greater than him to dwell on how all of his actions made him feel

But in the Dungeon his mentality had broadened For both good and ill Although Randidly had accomplished more than every human had managed so far that felt so distant as he thought about facing future challenges

Housing an entire town�s image within himself That wasn�t something he had managed to before And Randidly wasn�t optimistic about the damage that would be done to the image if he were to fail partway through the process

Sighing Randidly closed his eyes and lied down on the gravelly roof Slowly he isolated his senses letting his sense of touch and smell drift away With his eyes closed what was left was hearing and those vibrating capillaries that extended in branching forks through every nook and cranny of his body

Randidly could hear laughter and the sound of food sizzling and the low hum of the engines of the drones and footsteps and the excited swearing of a teenager and the sound of a tarp flapping in the breeze and the sound of a glass bottle shattering and the low crackle of open flame and the pure ting of a tuning hammer being struck and the labored breathing of a man heaving a crate up onto his stall and the sounds of grass rustling and the small taps of his Legion of the Unavoidable Pivots patrolling the area around Erickson Steel in precise loops

And when Randidly breathed in all of those small noises were drops of water becoming a river sucked in from the tips of his Crown�s weird image network and funneling steadily into the center where the gleaming Crown of baleful metal sat in his chest Those drops that became rivers became a sea at his core pooling and shifting the different sounds and the images present were spliced onto those sounds surging together through Randidly

Again and again they were blended becoming a perfectly distributed mixture

Then Randidly breathed out

Those refined images rushed up away from him like dandelion seeds snatched up by the wind They drifted and settled amongst all of the people disappearing just as a single snowflake landing on bare skin would The resonance in Randidly�s chest increased He whose body was a world acted as a filter and as a guide slowly raising the quality of images in and around Erickson Steel

Randidly�s attention narrowed even further It wasn�t complete yet but Randidly felt something growing in that sea of images that seethed within him If things continued like this it seemed like

A new noise in the surrounding area brought Randidly back to himself Shaking his head he stood slowly and painfully feeling strangely numb after his time on the roof To his shock Randidly discovered from his Absolute Timing Skill that he had laid on the ground for almost fifty minutes

Only a little bit more and he would have been late to give his speech Which while rather predictable for garden variety speech givers was something that would have annoyed Randidly to no end

and it only felt like a single breath Randidly reflected with a frown That�s dangerous It definitely has the effect of aligning the surrounding images with myself or vice versa but going that deeply means it�s easy to lose track of time With only two weeks left before the Judgment it might be good to avoid doing this too often

Tap Tap Tap

The sounds of footsteps came again cutting cleanly through Randidly�s thoughts And when he sent out a questing pulse of Aether he sat bolt upright he recognized one of the individuals The irony of it set Randidly chuckling After a split second of hesitation Randidly hopped over the wall and landed in the two figure�s path Slowly he straightened and considered him

They both started in shock from the sudden arrival and the tall gaunt looking man raised his hand and unleashed a Frost Bolt that cut through the air toward Randidly Immediately the man�s eyes widened in horror at what he had instinctively done

Ah fuck I didn�t mean The man bellowed but he fell silent as Randidly simply reached out and dispersed the Skill with a single tap of his finger

To be honest Randidly used his left arm for this Therefore most of the power came from the Chisel of Chulroon But still he appreciated the sudden and dramatic effect The alley went quiet illuminated only by the slanted light from the moon hitting the tin walls above

You The man looked at Randidly with an extremely strange expression Something close to worship but also near to hatred at the same time You are Randidly Ghosthound I�m Garrett Tysfen applicant to the Order Ducis The the pleasure is all mine

Randidly nodded an easy smile slipping across his face I think it�s fair to excuse the sudden attack then You are part of the group that Naffur brought in Seems like he�s certainly keeping you on your toes Have you enjoyed the Image Stones I provided I�m busy with other things at the moment but I hope you don�t think I�ve forgotten the importance of developing the Order Ducis

Which isn�t exactly true Randidly thought guiltily behind his smile He had been rather focused on Erickson Steel for the last few weeks and only ordered Naffur to come on a whim But now that they were here Randidly made a mental note to spend more time checking in on their training

If Erickson Steel became the base of the image the Order Ducis would therefore be the peak of it It was those individuals who would take up the task of advancing the image They would be the ones who would possess the most power and from whom Randidly would need to ensure no image emerged that would threaten another�s Great Path for Earth

A delicate balance to strike but I suppose that�s a problem for later Randidly turned to the second figure His smile widened And you we meet again Weren�t you previously Tatiana�s assistant

I was in a sense I�ve done a lot around your company My name is Vye Riversen I�m honestly a bit surprised you remember me Vye said with a small bow

Chapter 1016

What was that about Garrett asked a few minutes later after the two had parted from the man who owned everything in the surrounding ten miles While Randidly had been there it had been almost difficult to speak But now that they were alone in the alley again

Vye scratched her cheek I�m not sure what you mean

Garrett rolled his eyes but Vye could tell that something was up with him The edge to his tone had none of the typical stoic acceptance that it usually did Well you can say whatever you want But it�s clear that he wanted something from you Something ah perhaps less than professional

After she had introduced herself Randidly Ghosthound simply stood and looked at Vye for several seconds His eyes were bright in the alley luminous enough to see the rest of the stark lines of his face in the long shadow cast by the warehouse overhead Vye suppressed the urge to shiver It felt like he was using that emerald light of his eyes like a jade knife cutting out her every secret and examining it

Finally Randidly�s eyes settled on Vye�s left hand she flinched almost immediately but Randidly only frowned

His voice was resonant like some part of it originated from Vye�s own chest After my speech come find me There�s something I want to give you

Less than professional Vye felt herself flush and hated the feeling of blood rushing to her face Why was she even embarrassed She stopped and glared at Garrett What�s up with you right now

I�m just saying that�s the man that Randidly Ghosthound is Garrett gave Vye a meaningful look Whatever you do be careful He will hurt anyone who gets close to him I�m just trying to protect you He is closer to a monster than a man these days

Seriously what the fuck are you talking about Vye said her tone colder this time Her left hand began to burn and she gripped her left wrist with her other hand First of all I don�t need your protection I�ve got it handled thanks Second I�ve always found your depression vibe somewhat weird but it�s not half as fucked up as this strange outburst about the Ghosthound Especially when you are trying to join his Order

I need to be in his Order Garrett rumbled He turned away from Vye I need to make sure he fulfills his end of the bargain That�s all But this and that are different You haven�t seen it but he�s a man filled with a terrible darkness He hurts people just by being That�s the consequence of his power

I�m totally not going to have this conversation with you right now Vye snapped She jabbed her finger at Garrett Look I don�t give a shit if you have a weird outlook on Randidly Ghosthound He�s well he�s more rumor than person at this point Is it supposed to be a surprise that he might have made some mistakes With the System he�s the most powerful man in the world and it seems like that the second place person isn�t close But what I do care about is that you would take your fucked up ness and act like it�s my problem

Garrett slowly pivoted back to look at Vye His eyes narrowed into slits You you remind me of someone important to me And Randidly asked you to meet him alone I�m just

Vye raised her hand Rejected

Almost unconsciously Vye felt the heat in her left hand crack through the thin layer of skin and erupt into the air A thin trail of blood dribbled down through her twitching fingers A shimmering barrier appeared between the two of them Although Garrett continued to move his mouth none of his words could pass through the strange barrier Sound between them had been cut off Even so Vye could read his lips She knew what he was saying

trying to protect you

Both of Vye�s hands clenched into fists Her mouth opened to spit out a retort but then she paused She remembered Randidly�s confident smile the first time that they met

Do you have any proof

Confidence as vast and placid as the sea on a calm day

Shaking her head Vye let the energy burning through her hand slowly taper off Sensing the change Garrett stopped speaking His long arms hung uselessly at his sides as he watched the barrier dissolve between them and listened to her Look let�s not have this conversation now And that isn�t a request I�m me Whoever you are stuck on don�t try and make me out to be her I�ll take care of myself thanks

Vye turned and walked slowly away She thought that Garrett would follow but thankfully he did not After taking a couple of sharp turns around the sides of the warehouses and making use of her experience working in Erickson Steel Vye was confident that she had lost him Then she sighed and collapsed against a pile of gleaming metal ingots

That was certainly weird And Vye�s hand hurt too much right now for her to want to find out what was going on behind the scenes

I will control my own destiny I left Erickson Steel to find a way to grow strong and I stayed even though I came back because this does feel like the right path Vye raised her left hand toward the sky The moon was slowly creeping upward into the tapestry of stars receding to become an innocuous pale white orb amongst a thousand small diamonds

But it�s not like Garrett�s worries are unfounded Vye bit her lip She was rather clear about how Randidly�s partnership with Donnyton had ended after several years of amicable relations Would something similar happen with Erickson Steel and the Order Ducis when Randidly didn�t need them any longer

And on a personal level it wasn�t that Vye didn�t find the Ghosthound attractive And it had been something of harmless gossip to talk about why he never was seen on anything close to a date He was always seen either training or working Yet people had a hard time believing that Randidly Ghosthound didn�t also want to satisfy his baser cravings Plenty of people dreams about being on the receiving end of such desires Such was the weird influence of fame

Wincing Vye lowered her hand to cradle it against her chest She kept her breaths short and even and focused on enduring the waves of agony that spread up her arm

After using her hand the pain that from her entrance into the Image Stone was once more scrabbling at Vye�s will with white hot and greedy hands She pressed her lips together To distract herself Vye tried to imagine kissing that confident smile She tried to imagine what his lips felt like and the heat of his skin

Then Vye shook her head Like that would happen

After a few minutes of breathing Vye heaved herself back up to her feet She turned and began to walk back toward the festival Even if her hand made Vye want to curl up and die she would force herself to go and watch the award ceremony It was said that Randidly himself would be giving a short speech at the end of it

Yet as Vye trudged back toward the festival with her hand cradled against her chest one question remained fixed in her mind

What sort of gift does the most powerful man in the world give

Even though Evan Crane knew it was happening he could hardly keep his eyes from glazing over with greed as he looked up from the crowd packed in like sardines in front of him before the stage One day all of this will be mine

After a rather stuttering introduction from a pretty but obviously empty headed girl Randidly had walked onto the lavishly decorated stage with an extremely petite woman at his side There were four individuals standing nervously in a row with their hands in various states of scrunched up Along the back wall of the stage was a series of four trophies shaped to look like the profile of a tree

Each tree had its own glowing rune carved at the center of the trophy defining that category that the reward was given for Even from his spot amongst the thick crowd some distance from the stage Crane could tell the Mana density around the trophies was insane they weren�t just ordinary trophies

After announcing the names of the four winners to enthusiastic applause from the crowd Randidly gave a curt gesture to the woman next to him who stepped forward and began to speak to each individual winner At first the winners seemed rather dissatisfied but then their eyes widened as the woman went through their different innovations step by step and told them the mistakes that they made

You don�t even handle the running of the company Crane chuckled Others might see this as just you flaunting how deep the foundations of Erickson Steel are but they don�t understand what this means as I do It means that your throne is hollow Anyone could sit where you are The only advantage you ever had over the rest of us was being the first to get here Randidly Ghosthound

After the awards the crowd began to murmur in excitement Although some people wanted to see the winning innovations most of what they were here for was what followed a speech from Randidly Ghosthound himself

As he walked up to the podium the crowd fell silent His bare feet made soft noises against the wood of the stage Then Randidly Ghosthound looked out at the crowd and offered them a wide smile Even though he hated the man Evan Crane couldn�t deny his charisma The air seemed to hum with it And as Crane breathed out it seemed to him that the entire crowd was breathing out with him

And that Randidly Ghosthound was breathing all of that ambient energy into his body It immediately set Crane�s teeth on edge

What Randidly Ghosthound did to get here was not as simple as Evan often made it out to be The man was certainly more than lucky He was capable But still Evan barred his teeth buried deeply and safely within the crowd at the man It was a small resistance in response to the strange breathing phenomenon It was Evan Crane assuring himself that he wasn�t like all the others He would not be taken in by Randidly Ghosthound�s tricks

And to Evan�s slack jawed horror it seemed that Randidly�s gaze slid smoothly through the crowd until his emerald eyes landed on him

For a second their gazes locked Evan Crane was trembling There seemed to be a monster standing behind Randidly Ghosthound a forsaken thing wreathed in ash and shadow It didn�t have a mouth just a wide dark hole In a twisted mockery of Evan�s own expression that dark hole leered at him

Randidly�s smile widened

Then Randidly looked away and the strange phantasm was gone Coughing lightly Evan Crane took an involuntary step back Cold drops of sweat slid down his temples and back When he took a step his shoe caught on someone else�s leg and Crane felt a stab of panic

But before Evan Crane could regain his balance there was a hand on his back

Exciting isn�t it seeing him in the flesh A young man helped the swaying Evan Crane stay on his feet I can�t wait to hear what he says

Then Randidly Ghosthound began to speak

Chapter 1017

Erickson Steel I have a simple question that I want you all to answer what do you fear the most

We live in a world that�s been overwhelmed by the strange and impossible Monsters spawn from nothing and threaten us at every waking moment We now have pretty definitive proof that the average Level of monsters has been slowly increasing But this is only our current stage of a two year long litany of crises Raid Bosses Dungeons and now Danger Zones the multitude of threats against humanity seems to grow every day

I know not all of those of you here listening to me was within a Zone to begin with Some were suspended in the strange edge lands that are slowly opening up around us But for those of us who were there from the beginning Don�t you remember that first desperate taste of fear Don�t you still have nightmares about the sounds of your neighbors dying and the silence of civilization being found wanting before the invasion

During those days no one was safe As we struggled to understand the rules of our new world more and more monsters came People died by the thousands So much was new so much was thrown at us at once But we quickly realized Stats were important and that Leveling Skills was possible We trained When our guns failed us we reverted to more primitive methods to fight back And then we started winning those fights

We discovered Villages and the powerful Classes that would give humanity an edge The area of our influence spread outward Even the threat of monster hordes wasn�t enough to cow the bold spirit of humanity But that wasn�t all we had to deal with was it Villages were not the safe havens they promised to be They brought on a Tribulation And almost one fourth of Villages we are aware of fell to those Tribulations

It didn�t stop there did it Then we had a Raid Dungeon and Champions Which brought forth a Nemesis and the Danger Zones

All the while we have been fighting We are growing stronger every day We discover Paths Soulskills and Skillsets Knowledge gets passed down to those who don�t yet have Classes and we slowly perfect the art of growing strong Some of us even touched upon images as a means to accomplish our goals Slowly and surely we have stockpiled our power and built up momentum The monsters around us are beginning to die

Does that then mean we fear nothing Erickson Steel

Randidly inhaled slowly savoring the taste and sound of images from the people in front of him Although they had begun listening with small secret smiles those had faded to solemn attention Now they simply stared and waited for him to continue It was clear from their faces however that these were not people that had nothing to fear

Even with Randidly Ghosthound himself standing before them the most powerful man in the world they could not be without fear Not any longer They had seen too much death in the last few years

Randidly�s fingers tightened on the podium in front of him Then he increased the pressure further until he felt the soft wood of the object begin to creak and groan There he stopped He didn�t apply any further pressure he simply stood there and felt the tension in his fingers and the weakness in the wood within his hands

And he looked out over the group of people present in front of him No matter what they need to face it Our understanding of the System is too shallow for us to ignore our weakness In this case blind ignorance of what we are is dangerous

Of course we are not fearless Randidly kept his voice soft We all feel that same fear The dreadful anxiety as we consider the challenges thrown at us by the System And now we slowly wait while a seventh Zone is struggling to complete its Raid Dungeon and join us in New Earth For that arrival will signal the genesis of a threat that gives us all pause

Perhaps then what we truly fear is change The System has constantly thrown new threats at us since the beginning to sharpen us to force us to grow and change in the way it desires Currently we have the impending threat of the First Calamity to scare our children and keep the adults up at night A threat that could arrive at any time It could arrive in a week or in ten years It could never arrive So we wait as there is nothing else we can do

Does that mean what we truly fear about that threat precisely that it is unknown

Again Randidly paused and breathed His Crown and his core of images hummed Slowly the needle was turning as these people listened to him Which was exactly the point But if Randidly put names to their fears would it help

Or was he making a mistake

Perhaps it is not the unknown that torments us because it has been easy lately to forget these looming threats Randidly�s smile turned sharp Not just you Erickson Steel All of the Zones have grown rapidly in power To the point that the best of humanity can finally boldly raise a torch in the darkness the pinnacle of our strength will not be cowed by the System�s current cycle of threats

As those fears of monsters change and the unknown fade from the foreground of our attention priorities shift The Zones are talking about a world capital There is a struggle for supremacy in arms and in trade The Orders continue to save people from the constantly expanding edges of our lands but as their numbers grow the people at the top will inevitably grow fat They jostle each other aiming to position themselves for the future rather than helping people now

Am I any different Some of you are thinking that I can feel Randidly released the tension in his hands The podium seemed to sag with relief No of course I�m no different I�m aiming to position myself for the impending future I�m as human as every one of you Powerful I may be but there is no true escape from humanity There is no hiding spot from fear Because fear emerges from your own mind

And since you haven�t had the courage to yet answer me honestly I�ll tell you one of my fears Erickson Steel I fear that while we are all focusing on the future while sacrificing some of the present the future that I am preparing for is far from the future that my contemporaries have in mind

With a shake Randidly let his hands drop to his sides He stepped around the podium slowly walking to the edge of the hastily erected stage As he approached a young boy in the front row stood frozen solid His eyes widened until Randidly surely thought that the child wouldn�t have the muscles to pull his eyelids open any further but they kept going

To the point that Randidly saw the perfectly circular and vulnerable flesh of that boy�s eyeball in haunting clarity

Randidly stood at the edge of the stage and looked down at the young boy Then he looked out over the entire crowd and spoke in a voice booming with all the strength of the humming images that swirled around his Crown

Although each cycle of threats grows increasingly powerful they don�t realize by just how much the next tier of threats will grow They don�t understand how far we are from truly facing a Calamity They don�t understand that beyond the tests and the trials is an endless machine that will suck and suck until humanity has been reduced to a husk of itself and the terrible war machine will move on without a care

And as if I were doing its bidding I have given you images Randidly thought sadly I am smelting the exact ore it needs to wage war against the mysterious Nether but I cannot simply let you walk toward that future unarmed can I

For the second time Erickson Steel what do you fear

Randidly�s voice rang out over the crowd and out further than that into the winding streets beyond It echoed past he abandoned and hastily deconstructed stalls that lined the paved streets of the Erickson Steel compound It even wandered out beyond the walls of Erickson Steel to the silent Riders who watched their lord marshaling his forces

Randidly spread his hands I have given you images as some of you are now realizing these are a great weapon It is the will to strike with the essence of Skills without relying on the System It is seizing our own small portion of the vast power that humanity can possibly access It is a small thing one entirely dependant on yourself You each of you individual people of Erickson Steel images give you the chance to control your own fate To pioneer your own Path into the future

No matter how great the threats become with images you possess the capability to surpass the danger No matter their Levels monsters become nothing but fodder to fuel your growth As you sharpen yourself to a point soon you will be able to cut through the thin walls of the System You will become more powerful than you can imagine Even more powerful than I am

Suddenly perhaps someday in the future you will find that you hold the world in your hands In the old world there were limits to individual power Here with the System I am less sure that such limits exist Aether the energy of all life and movement animates us Images are the raw utilization of that energy Perhaps even the creator of the Nexus itself is working with the same Aether that we possess Therefore it�s clear that we are far from the limit of how that energy can be used

We can be so much more than this Before the sort of power that could create the entire System what are monsters What are Levels What meaning do the blind machinations of the politically corrupt have All of these small concerns are insubstantial before capability

And that�s what scares you Erickson Steel Even if you don�t open your mouths to speak I can read that fear in all of you I can see it in your stillness

Licking his lips Randidly allowed the crowd to consider that The resonance in his chest was causing the muscles of his chest to twitch

You fear me All of you You fear what I represent The fact that you could possibly have my strength if only you tried harder

It is the oldest and greatest fear that you aren�t good enough If you had been stronger you wouldn�t have to cower in your friend�s blood and sneak away while a monster was devouring someone else If you would have been smarter you could Level up a Skill faster and you wouldn�t have to watch your family slowly starve while you struggle to provide food for your children

You fear that every death is your own failure That your lack of growth is due to some inner deficiency You fear that your potential is great and your performance is subpar That the reason the world hasn�t been saved is that you haven�t done enough

You fear me because I am you You fear failing to live up to expectations because you are me The resonance almost took on a life of its own traveling through the strange capillaries in Randidly�s vast Soulspace spreading to take up an entire corner of the area The Crown of Upheaval and Gloom was shaking so hard that Randidly couldn�t help but worry that the Skill was going to be damaged by the process But he could not stop now

This is why I gathered you all here You are the best and brightest of Earth You struggle with feelings of inadequacy You fear failure And I have to admit that fear will not leave you As you grow more powerful as you walk further down this Path the abyss of failure only grows more hungry It will nip at your heels constantly There is no escaping it someday you will fail and give credence to those deeply hidden fears

But that�s fine Because to escape fear was never our priority just like we will not be like the other governments and groups active in the Zone Because the universality of that same fear is exactly why we toil Erickson Steel Everyone fears that they will fail Because as long as we torture ourselves with these fears and continue to walk forward others can follow

Because every drop of sweat and blood we put into advancing humanity forward of seeking the limits of our own power mean its that much easier for the generation that will follow us to seek even higher heights We will be the beacon of this world�s potential Erickson Steel We will be the lighthouse to guide them forward

It will be a long and lonely Path We will not be thanked As I have been after my own progress we will be feared and underestimated We will be vilified and ostracized We will be treated as strangers and as nuisances The only gifts we will receive will be threats and rumors

But even so But even so this is a Path that I have chosen Despite my fears I continue forward That�s my choice That�s how I deal with my fear

It�s time for your choice people of Erickson Steel There are three responses to fear The first is to ignore the fear and pretend like it doesn�t exist The second is to run from the fear And the third is to face it

What I�m asking of you is harder still than facing your fear Because you cannot extinguish it You need to harness it Make it your fuel and engine It is the coal and it is the long steel rails toward the horizon It will be the cold sharp iron on your throat and the constant companion that whispers from your shadow It won�t let you sleep It won�t let you stop That�s what we need Your fear will become your compass to rush toward that darkest chasm of impossibility

For the final time Randidly paused in his speech Because Erickson Steel will we ever escape if we don�t surpass impossible I believe that the System will always show us higher and higher threats We cannot escape by following its rules

And ultimately where do your priorities lie In the comfort of an easy life or in the constant grip of a difficult truth Which leads to the Earth in which you want to live

So Erickson Steel one final time what do you fear most of all and what are you going to do about it

Chapter 1018

Randidly sat on the windswept plains among the long shadows of twilight and watched the dawn come

The light splashed like liquid over the horizon and flowed up the low slope to the sporadic bunches of grass below Randidly Gravity had no effect on that light it was simply a hungry expansion up into space

When the light finally touched upon his bare feet it was so incredibly warm that Randidly couldn�t resist a smile The feeling of the sun flowing across his skin was one of the rare pleasures that Randidly often didn�t have time to experience But now a few hours after he had given his speech and immersed himself in the thick image of Erickson Steel Randidly believed he deserved the treat

In about an hour Randidly would meet up with Wendy and they would begin the bulk of the assembly work on the small and intricate parts for the moving city They couldn�t do the actual assembly due to the impending arrival of the government inspection team but honestly the final construction portion of the work would be a walk in the park in comparison to the assembly of all the minute bits

Randidly scratched his head For what felt like the tenth time since he had agreed with Tatiana to make a deal with the government Randidly had second thoughts This was just an added difficulty There wasn�t really any meaning in playing this game with the government Not when Randidly planned on basically ignoring most governmental entities going forward

Yet still Randidly felt like he had no other choice

Perhaps it was his growing sense of responsibility as a leader but Randidly felt like it was important that his word had weight Maybe it would be more accurate to frame the issue in terms of images Randidly wanted to make sure the image of Erickson Steel became powerful And he hesitated to make the first definitive action of the new Erickson Steel a dishonest one when it might have consequences for the image

Especially when the image Randidly was aiming for was tiptoeing along a knife edge�s worth of morality Pushing it toward dishonesty was a recipe for disaster

Randidly pressed his eyes closed and enjoyed the tingling light that flowed up his arms and touched his face The agreement with the Zone 1 government put constraints on the construction timeline but it was nowhere near as problematic as Randidly�s Judgment that would come in thirteen days

That was the real guillotine that loomed above his head Mostly because he wasn�t sure how long it would take until he was able to return Chulroon only warned of the method of the Judgment he could offer no guidance to the timeline And Randidly still hadn�t forgotten about the warning from Octavius

The sound of shouts reached Randidly�s ears pulling him back to his present moment sitting in the sun on the grassy slope Although the future might not be the present moment was idyllic Randidly turned toward the South Then a wry grin spread across his face

The noises were from the Order Ducis training camp The break period offered by Naffur so that the Order Ducis could develop some positive affection toward Erickson Steel had passed they were back to training like dogs on treadmills lined with landmines If Randidly had some free time he planned on heading over and assisting with the training Or rather he had been But now a strange new concern made Randidly hesitate

Vye hadn�t come to meet him as he had requested after his speech

Leaning back Randidly released a sigh Was she not able to find me But I would think with her Skills it would be easy to track me down and I let Tatiana know where I would be maybe I was too vague with my offer I should have just stated that I would remake her Class so it would make use of that strange power in her hand

When he had met Vye what had surprised Randidly the most was how divided her image was Vye was one of the more difficult images to read probably because she didn�t identify strongly enough as part of one of Randidly�s organizations There wasn�t an implicit sympathy between them as Randidly had found with some other individuals But he felt her quiet competence and deep yearning from her action and stance easily enough

From her Randidly felt the sound of pen scribbling on paper the heat of molten metal and the drawn out silence of a mind carefully sifting through a multitude of possibilities In addition her left hand an exacting image of restraint and faith that burned in Randidly�s vision like a bonfire floating in the middle of a lake

The contrast between that bold and burning with her competent calculations had certainly given Randidly pause

Yet there was a rift between Vye�s quiet competence and the strange faith of her left hand It fascinated Randidly Honestly he was the only individual that he had ever encountered that had several very different images housed in the same body For obvious reasons most people simply focused their attention on creating and maintaining a single image

The duality that Vye possessed reminded Randidly of himself Which was why he had decided to give her some assistance in merging those images

And of course she hadn�t shown up

Is that a rejection Should I look into it Do I really have any spare time

Grinning upward toward the sun Randidly wondered when the last time was that he had felt this peculiar brand of hesitation Now Randidly could sense that Vye was over training with the Order Ducis at the moment She hadn�t run away she still remained within his sphere of influence Was she somehow busy with something else Or had she deliberately chosen not to meet him

It wasn�t like he wanted to force her to change her Class It was just rather aggravating not to understand what had happened

Her eyes had been as playful and golden as a cat�s in the dark alley and she had said I�m surprised you remembered me �

Bah I don�t have time for this Randidly grumbled He pressed his hands against the ground and flexed his fingers the force threw him up onto his feet There was a more pressing issue that needed to be considered

After giving the speech Randidly�s Crown of Upheaval and Gloom Skill had a thin crack running through it As the image network Randidly was building inside of himself expanded the violence of its resonance intensified Ultimately the Crown was a static thing it was not designed to serve as a conduit for the images It was just a focal point

With Randidly�s abundant Aether he had plenty of confidence that he would be able to force the destruction to serve as a launching pad to evolve into another Skill But what he currently needed was to decide on the direction that Skill would go What image should Randidly use as the base

Humming to himself Randidly considered the possibilities while he began to walk toward the assembly area For now even if he couldn�t find the perfect answer at the moment he didn�t have time to waste He had a meeting with Wendy and she was always extremely resentful when he arrived late

Is this true Senator Heathridge asked

Evan Crane nodded stoically Yes After the Ghosthound gave his speech it was announced that the Order Ducis had put out a bounty out on all Danger Zones If they are cleared and the option to increase the rate that the entire population gains experience Erickson Steel will provide that individual or group with one ton of the highest quality metal for free Metal that was smelted by the Ghosthound himself In addition the Order Ducis will owe the successful clearer one favor expendable for the good of the Earth �

Does he know about the Cyclops Initiative I wonder Senator Heathridge mused Truly Randidly Ghosthound�s ability to gather information is staggering Perhaps I have completely misunderstood the man The rumors focus on his strength but it is his ability to make connections that�s truly frightening

Crane kept his mouth shut and focused on the terminal�s glossy frame For the first time in longer that Crane would care to admit his fingers were not twitching to grab a cigarette In fact his hands clasped together with such vehemence that his arms were trembling

After listening to Randidly Ghosthound�s speech Crane felt weird And if Senator Heathridge hadn�t insisted upon a debriefing Crane likely would have found some space and solitude in order to examine the jumbled mess of feelings in his chest Of course he couldn�t let the Senator see even the slightest hint of his emotions

To a spider like Heathridge such things were nothing but weakness And weak tools were discarded without a second thought

What is it that you fear the most Senator Heathridge Crane wondered

So Heathridge said cutting back to the reason for the call After listening to Randidly Ghosthound�s speech what can you tell me about the man I have other informants in Erickson Steel but it seems that they are all too busy with the surge of activity afterward in order to give me their findings in a short amount of time

Of course they haven�t reported They are probably dealing with the same thing I am Crane thought bitterly I know it�s just propaganda but I can�t get that image out of my head That Randidly Ghosthound has been walking alone into the darkness toiling away to mine the secrets of the System And now Erickson Steel has been invited to join him in that vast darkness struggling to protect the world even if he will never be thanked for it

Because it needs to be done Because sometimes it is necessary that someone walks directly toward the maw of their fear so that the weaker among us have the image of a reassuring back ahead of them

Shaking his head slightly Crane licked his lips Then his tongue flicked out again as he tried to gather his thoughts into something coherent He it�s a lot of propaganda About the noble Path of Erickson Steel standing on the cutting edge of humanity Of opening the way forward

Senator Heathridge�s sneer was clear in his voice Oh does he truly believe that he can revolutionize the world by simply having steel that�s a little better than the competition But based on your voice he is a talented orator Ha Let�s see how long the population will remember that little pile of rhetoric

Crane thought about trying to explain that what Randidly had been speaking about wasn�t steel metal and industry had barely come up at all throughout the speech It was about fear and Paths

And Crane also considered explaining that it wasn�t the ringing words that swayed the entire crowd him included It was the image that Randidly projected that was still gleaming and precious within Crane�s chest several hours later

But Crane said nothing He just hoped Senator Heathridge was right about this feeling passing with time Otherwise

Chapter 1019

If we can only do the basic assembly for the next five days before the inspection team arrives even if you somehow manage to pull off the impossible task of assembling everything we won�t finish the moving city before you leave The construction is rather simple but the scale of your plans is prohibitive Wendy said bluntly

She rapped her knuckles against the steel table densely covered in the multitude of plans for the different systems within the moving city to make it feasible Too much of this requires either me or mostly you to do the finishing touches Perhaps just a few seconds at each but that adds up on a project this large Even if we just consider the necessary components I estimate that it will take a week of round the clock work to finish the construction

I can manage that Randidly said as he frowned down at the plans He was doing his own calculations in his head trying to see if he could save some time by forging some portions using Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil rather than doing it by hand I won�t have trouble working for a week straight Plus Lucretia is willing to leave my Soulskill and assist with the final details

She might have more juice to her Engravings than I do and understand the technical details better than you do but she�s not good enough at either to make a big difference in the final assembly Wendy�s face scrunched up into a deep frown as it always did when she spoke about Lucretia She�s been invaluable in making the smaller parts while you are busy with other things but the big Engravings have to come from you

I know Randidly sighed Part of the reason for that was because his Engraving style was beginning to diverge heavily from Lucretia�s but the larger concern was just that to make a huge Engraving a large Mana pool was needed to ensure the finish was even

Even with her current power in his Soulskill Lucretia�s Mana pool was one third of Randidly�s

Rather than one person what would be more useful would be to recruit an army of assistants with some technical knowledge Take the manual labor off of our plates Wendy pointed out You have some talented people working for you just get about three hundred of them to help us for these last two weeks It will be cutting it close but

It might seem dumb but that�s not an option Randidly�s smile was wry For the sake of the image I want them to have it needs to come as a surprise Me accomplishing it needs to seem impossible to the people of Erickson Steel

For several long seconds Wendy just stared at him Her expression was extremely sour So we need to make work for ourselves close enough to impossible that people can�t believe we have done it How fun

That got a burst of laughter from Randidly Don�t lie I know you are enjoying immersing yourself in this just as much as I am

Which might be true but Wendy�s fingertip possessed all the deadly sharpness of a rapier as she jabbed it at him We�ve already been working on this tirelessly for a month I didn�t want to bring this up but I�ve seen how much the large scale Engravings exhaust you And the reason that you need to leave so exactly in two weeks it�s dangerous right

Do you really want to work yourself to the bone to the last minute

That silenced Randidly He couldn�t deny that his uses of All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth left him completely mentally drained So much so that it seemed like a very bad idea to use that Skill too near to the descent of his Judgment

It didn�t knock him out anymore but even depleting his capabilities by 10% for something like the battlefield Chulroon described would be deadly

Yet even though he had experienced a great deal of progress in his understanding of Levelable Engravings by studying the results of the Skill on the tower Randidly still felt like he was missing something He could create a fine outcome with a high degree of confidence but fine wasn�t what he wanted from his moving city

He wanted impossible

But Randidly would need more time to experiment if he wanted to improve the result for his Engraving And he couldn�t spend more time experimenting with Engraving because there were so many minute Engravings that Randidly needed to do on the assembled parts to strengthen the city

Which brought him back to how useful it would be to have an army of assistants able to cover the slack and arrange it so Randidly only had to spend his time doing the activities that were absolutely necessary for him to do but if he didn�t want to spoil the reveal of the city for the sake of the image of Erickson Steel

Then Randidly blinked

Laughing Randidly shook his head Actually I don�t know why I didn�t think of this before I think I have a solution But I�ll probably need three to four hours to handle it Will you be alright for that time

Do you think I lack for work Wendy grumbled She waved him away and walked toward the dome like building they had recently constructed to house the powerplant of the moving city Most of that was technical rather than Engraving focused so Wendy had been rather consumed putting the finishing touches on the mechanical heart of the city

Randidly grinned at her back then rushed away to his own workshop within Erickson Steel After informing everyone that he was to be disturbed for absolutely no reason Randidly settled into the dim light of his workshop and began to work He spread his fingers and summoned his tools

Floating emerald flames sizzled into existence as he began Randidly had two tasks The first was to quickly draw up a very basic design for a certain necessary sort of equipment Although Randidly�s technical knowledge wasn�t as exhaustive as some of the people who were starting to congregate around him the combination of the Skills Spriggit�s Tinkering Engineering Savvy and Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity gave him quite a lot of practical ability

It only took about ten minutes to draw out a rough sketch of what he wanted Then it took about a half an hour for Randidly to create a satisfactory Engraving pattern that would power and animate the small spider assistant that he quickly created

Honestly he could have made the Engraving in less than thirty seconds if he used some of Randidly�s newer Engraving structures but Randidly wanted to outsource the work of creating these miniature assistants Therefore he had to simply the Engraving so someone who was beneath his Skill Level could manage it

Although it was extremely aggravating to oversimplify his Engravings to the extent that someone around Skill Level 80 could manage it quickly Randidly knew that it was the right choice Immediately he walked out of his workroom found Tatiana and asked her to offer quite a bit of money for some of Erickson Steel�s workers to assemble these

Then he returned to his own The emerald fires continued to hang in the air watching his every move From his interspatial ring Randidly removed a very old set of plans

After a single glance Randidly snorted at how clumsy the markings of the Engravings seemed Almost immediately he tossed the plans to aside and began to create from scratch Most of the technical details were the same but the specs of what he envisioned would likely be double of the original plans just by the virtue of the added efficiency Randidly could add with Engravings

This time Randidly had no limitations on the complexity of his Engravings This would be only assembled by him so he didn�t need to hold back at all All of the tricks that Randidly had learned from Levelable Engravings and from creating large Skill Engravings were brought to bear on this project

When Randidly finished he didn�t pause at all He instantly pulled out metal and began to forge this long promised vessel

Emerald fire melted the metal down into gleaming liquid while Randidly used Influence of the Molten Core to shape it as he wished Then he pulled out a heavy darksteel hammer he had obtained from Sam and began to beat each individual sheet of metal into a very exact shape

No sooner had he finished one piece than he went to work on another The sound of his workshop was filled with the ringing of metal slamming against metal When he was prepared to set the metal Randidly extended a sharp claw from Chulroon�s Chisel and opened a deep gash in his right wrist His blood flowed freely down onto the metal quenching its thirst for meaning in a vicious hiss

Randidly pushed the limits of his physical Endurance as time slowly passed The longer he forged the faster he moved He was accelerating through the motions His body became a blur as he freely manipulated the floating metals to drift toward him when he was ready to handle them

Clang clang clang

Somehow the noise of his hammer on metal seemed to sync up with his rising heartbeat The emerald flames danced slowly around Randidly�s blurred form throwing strange shadows on the wall Behind Randidly�s back the blurred forms of Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera appeared watching the strange performance with interest

The air inside the workshop swirled and dance Motes of light drifted around Randidly as though pulled by strange currents

Randidly could feel it too but he didn�t dare spare the attention for the shifts occurring in the Ignition Essence image For now he simply accepted that some of the images from his Alpha Cosmos and from the network created by the Crown of Upheaval and Gloom were filtering toward the Ignition Essence

Randidly trusted the process and didn�t study it too closely His images if nothing else would ensure that the Ignition Essence wasn�t needlessly corrupted From their presence it seemed like they approved of this Therefore Randidly simply continued to forge

When all the metal was finished Randidly cracked the knuckles of his right hand and immediately transitioned into Engraving Sweat dripped off his brow and puddled on the floor Even with his powerful body Randidly had to release several heaving breaths in order to steady himself

It was good to push himself like this But he couldn�t take a break for long There was still more work to accomplish today And hopefully before nightfall

Unfortunately Randidly couldn�t get an even density of Mana to condense on the fingers of Chulroon�s Chisel so it was only with his right hand that he could draw the complicated lines of the Engraving

But on the other hand that meant that the uniformity for the entire construction was immaculate Although Randidly continued to move rapidly it was the rapid movements of an experienced artisan At this point Randidly had spent the greater part of six months doing almost nothing but Engraving This sort of task was something that he could do in his sleep

After finishing Randidly grinned down at his creation The Mana flowed along the metal portions like luminous eels carefully checking the extent of its new shape for weaknesses and flaws Finding none it settled down until it was activated

That�s when you know the Engraving is a good one Randidly thought fondly as he looked down at the metal When it tries to destroy itself to escape All that�s left now is one last deal

Chapter 1020

For Randidly the traveling across Zone 1 was the most obnoxious part of the process And the most time consuming He obviously could beat the Manatech rails in a contest of speed but he wasn�t so much faster than them that it still didn�t take forty five minutes for him to make the trek to his destination

Thank god for Aether Detection Randidly reflected as he sent out a questing pulse of Aether and located his goal Otherwise I would just be wandering around in Zone 1�s heartlands Not exactly the most efficient way to spend my time

Donnyton had proven that teleportation was possible but most Villages weren�t raking in the same amount of points for monsters killed as Donnyton was Therefore most people preferred to rely on Manatech rails as a way to get around Because of how relatively small the edges of New Earth was it was a perfectly efficient decision for the current geography

And it also didn�t afflict the sensitive with acute motion sickness For the average person teleportation was a little bit extreme for their constitution

Of course Randidly knew that the real reason that teleportation didn�t take off across all of the Zones was that the option that would make the most logistical sense was to create a hub city for teleportation All you had to do was have a bunch of cities make teleportation glyphs from their city to some central city And then if you wanted to go somewhere else you could simply teleport from the central hub to your true destination

But none of the political entities were unaware of the value inherent in being the central hub of the network Which would be defrayed by the exponentially growing cost of maintaining so many portals but likely not enough to mean it wasn�t worth it

Randidly wasn�t sure of the exact details but he had heard once from Mrs Hamilton that teleporting a single person cost about as many points as were earned from killing a Level 40 monster And as the strength and therefore the Aether presence of an individual increased that cost went up

Linearly but it still meant that high Level individuals were a drain on resources

Currently only Donnyton with its far flung Squads was raking in enough points to not worry about the cost of teleportation But no other Zone was willing to allow Donnyton to become the hub city even if Donnyton was willing to assume the majority of the point cost for the operation of the portal Donnyton already cast a long shadow as it was Giving it another advantage was not something the other Zones would do easily

So Randidly loped across the countryside heading North and East on his trek to repay a long promised favor And to ask for another favor in return

The whole situation stunk of karma and Randidly did not like it one bit But at this point Randidly had no choice but to accept his debts to Ghost

During his journey Randidly stuck to the uninhabited areas he really had no desire to meet any official representation of Zone 1 He made an extremely large detour to avoid the rather heavy patrols surrounding West Providence before arriving at a small valley situated directly between East and West Providence

Again thank god for Aether Detection

Finally Randidly arrived and looked down at a picturesque valley with a gurgling stream and a copse of trees It was a perfect area So perfect that it Randidly didn�t even need Aether Detection in this world such untouched areas meant that something powerful was laying in wait below

It didn�t take long for him to be hailed even as Randidly was walking down the gentle slope along the stream a mechanical bird landed on a large rock to his left and opened its mouth So you�ve finally come You certainly know how to keep me waiting

Randidly chuckled with false cheer This would go easiest if he didn�t reveal how precarious a situation this was Ghost aren�t you an AI Doesn�t time become meaningless to you once you transcend the human condition

The miniature drone took several hops to keep up with Randidly as he walked down toward the bottom of the valley Hmph you humor remains as haphazard as ever Although I am casually referred to as artificial intelligence and I truly possess capabilities beyond any single individual what I truly am is an approximation of artificial intelligence running through several biological brains

I was created but as humans were used as my building blocks it is hard to say whether my maker truly created intelligent life from nothing or whether he simply did a very poor job of killing the original six bodies that compose me

And your humor is as dark as always Randidly responded wryly It was getting easier to relax Walking into the copse of trees at the center of the valley Randidly�s long limbs swung with the casual ease of a sprinter walking toward the starting line The comparison in his head immediately made Randidly wince but he turned that motion into a headshake as he passed amongst the tree branches

Although he didn�t want to carelessly use Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil and cause the area to burn to the ground his Skill still gave him an almost immediate understanding of the presence and shape of plant matter There were no surprises as he passed through the outer layer and soon Randidly arrived at the inner sanctum of Ghost

Not a leaf had been disturbed by his passage Randidly�s eyes flicked sideways to the fluttering small bird Now that he considered it he pegged it to have been modeled after a sparrow How did you manage to get out from underneath their thumb Based on the patrols they the have in the area I would assume they still believe they can keep you under lock and key It must be reassuring to have such zealous protectors

The mechanical sparrow did its best approximation of a chuckle They might believe that they can bind me with laws and by carefully observing I have access to but they are ultimately human My eyes and hands are everywhere while their attention is not It took a while to shave off small portions of metal during my experiments without arousing suspicion but I was able to create a small drone with some of the Engraving methods you pioneered as a power source Truly you have been a lifesaver Then it was just a matter of digging a tunnel so my vulnerable body could escape

Heh that�s what they get for underestimating you Randidly said slowly His gaze shifted forward and consider the Engraving an unwitting gift from me to you With the System the substance can also be the medium for meaning I was just exploring the bounds of what was possible

Does Ghost understand the delicate threads at play here Randidly wondered Certainly he would have an eye for detail but how well is his existence prepared for karmic connections

In the center of the surrounding trees was a small area with no vegetation There wasn�t even any grass There were only dirt and the buzz of electricity Small mechanical worms seethed together in a rather disgusting pile crawling in an over one another while their miniature gears whirred

Indeed thanks are in order Ghost said easily Randidly barely suppressed a sigh Good if he admitted that he had received something the fallout of the additional favor might not be as dangerous as Randidly had feared But just as Randidly was about to speak the small sparrow opened his mouth once more

In fact I�ve spared no effort to prepare for you some information as payment for all that you have done for me Would you like to hear it

Randidly could only nod

Ghost continued to speak through his small sparrow as the dirt in the central area was cleared away by the buzzing insects The longer he spoke the more Randidly�s hands twisted in claws Based on my observations of you you are preparing to depart from Earth Obviously you have done this before your business is your own However I cannot in good conscious allow you to leave without illuminating the current state of our world

The threats that seek to force our surrender to the System�s trials are more powerful than it would seem from a casual glance There have been stirrings around the ogre gorge I believe that new factions are emerging from that world In addition all drones I send to investigate the Toad Realm are immediately cut off from me someone is screening my gaze Someone who understands your precious Engraving methods and how to cut them off

Let�s not forget that the Nemesai have settled in the Royal Sea but I have been unable to locate them no matter how hard I try In addition we have the addition of the three monsters in the Zone Eleven that are nearing Level 80 I have a feeling allowing any of the three to reach Level 80 would not be a good idea

Randidly bit his lip The sparrow continued to speak

In addition there are two individuals of note that I am having a lot of difficulty tracking directly but the trail of death they leave behind is almost insultingly obvious The first is of course your father Ezekiel Ghosthound It seems he could not keep his hands clean once he parted from Hank Howard

A thrill of shock went through Randidly�s spine Then he forced his eyes closed and spoke even though he knew he should remain silent Why are you telling me this

Ghost ignored him By now a steel panel could be seen in the five meter deep hole that the worms were quickly clearing The last individual I can only assume he has come from Zone Eleven But no matter where I research or interview I can find no trace of him Of who he was He�s heading South directly toward the new Zone at the moment Those he doesn�t kill are left shaken and mentally deranged Those he kills have been drained of blood The only thing I could tear from their lips was a name Straud

Barring his teeth Randidly walked over to the edge of a hole It is generous that you�ve prepared a gift of your own to repay me But let�s stop dancing around the issue you predicted that I didn�t just come to give a gift I need a favor

Favors have costs The sparrow on his shoulder hummed softly It did not escape my awareness you came here in a hurry I do not understand karma so well as you but I have nothing but time right now to consider and plan But I must stress that I have no desire to force the issue of repayment I have no wish to antagonize you I expect to enjoy a long and fruitful partnership with you Randidly Ghosthound

Randidly considered that and nodded slowly Even though the resonance between their images was not very strong Randidly could see the earnest honesty of Ghost through the small tremors in the air around Ghost It was possible that Ghost was deceiving Randidly and would use the karma between them to force Randidly�s hand But it was true that Randidly was no longer dealing with Lucretia or The Spearman

Forcing himself to relax Randidly nodded again with much more vigor understood For this and for everything else that you�ve done I will owe you one favor going forward A favor that I will pay in a timely manner when you bring it to my attention But I would add that I�ve carefully refined my past plans you won�t be disappointed in your new body

Excellent The sparrow hopped twice in place in a visible demonstration of glee Randidly wondered how much of it was a show for his benefit

I just have one last question before I give you the promised gift how well can Earth handle the threats you mentioned

One last test You�ve become increasingly preachy The sparrow fluttered up onto Randidly�s shoulder As Randidly watched the mechanical worms scuttled off one another and revealed the exposed metal canister But fine As I implied I believe it is extremely precarious Most of these threats are ones I don�t understand And that is exactly why I have been behaving so cautiously

Randidly smiled sharply This isn�t me asking for anything I�m just speaking aloud to myself You are right I�m leaving I don�t know when I�ll be back This new body of yours possesses a gleaming sword that can cut through the night I just hope that heroes will step up in my place while I�m gone

The sparrow looked at Randidly for a long time Its eyes were blade and brown But there was a weight there that hadn�t been present previously Ghost�s almost obsessive yearning seemed to set the images in the surrounding area buzzing Randidly could feel how much this trapped and artificial being craved just that

Randidly kept himself from smiling to make light of another�s dream was not something he wanted to do Neither did he want to reveal that he had predicted that Ghost�s reaction would be just this So he stared seriously forward and waited

But Randidly couldn�t deny he would feel a lot better about owing Ghost a favor if he chose the Path of a hero Randidly couldn�t force it but this was just a nudge in that direction

Finally the sparrow tilted its head to the side acknowledge So while you provide me a body tell me what is it that Randidly Ghosthound needs now

Randidly grinned brightly Help me make the impossible possible

Chapter 1021

Ten days before he would need to face his Judgment an exhausted Randidly watched Zone 1 government�s inspection team head North along the Manatech rails back to their cloistered realms of society Their images had been just as sweaty as their hands and Randidly was profoundly gland that the had left

The fat one called me a midget Wendy complained with a pout

Did you hear when the gaunt one whispered to the other she�s a woman worthy of bending over a couch � while looking at me Tatiana�s eyes glittered with suppressed violence They were not good people

But they sold us the mineral rights Randidly said lightly Inwardly Randidly was profoundly glad he hadn�t allowed Helen to accompany the tours All three of them knew that midget was one of the least offensive terms that the group had used It was clear from the very beginning of the tour through the Erickson Steel compound that the sleazy group of five men sent by the Zone 1 government didn�t put anyone in their eyes but Randidly

And even for him they thought he was a brute who had lucked into his position They used airly language and broad hand gestured to describe their grand plan to help him When the details of the agreement they were making finally came up they only showed Randidly the actual paper copy for a split second before they flipped to the back urged him to sign the dotted line

Did they truly underestimate me so much Randidly watched the departing railway with half closed eyes Or was it a test sent to sound me out Not that it really matters These little games are merely diversions for the sake of a solid foundation for Erickson Steel�s image Nothing more

Of course that moment of exposure had been more than enough for Randidly�s Perception to scan and memorize the contents of the deal But there was no respect in their eyes as they had looked at him

As Randidly had watched the blatant disrespect and entitlement of those five men the growing network of images in Randidly�s chest howled for blood So much so that even the image of the Grim Chimera grew interested in exacting a steep price for these people�s disrespect But Randidly had quieted his inner violence It was true after all that he wasn�t subject to even a fraction of the ridicule that both Wendy and Tatiana were If he was mad they were doubly so

Although both of their smiles were razor sharp they were still politely in place Perhaps that was why it was so difficult for Randidly to resist the urge to break the men�s bones over his knee like they were kindling for a campfire

Randidly was honestly pretty low key when he was underestimated or disrespected there was a part of him that preferred it that way He had spent too much time pursuing anonymity to not be used to it Being understood by an opponent was dangerous and somewhat exhausting Even Randidly got slightly tired when he really sat down and thought about all the things that he could accomplish

But to so blatantly disrespect the people to which Randidly extended his protection

Just to be safe Randidly had memorized the names of those five men He briefly considered passing those along to Helen but that would probably be too much Better to wait for his own chance to even the score

Randidly�s emerald gaze sharpened One of the benefits of an extremely high Intelligence Stat was that there was no danger of him forgetting to repay this grudge

But you read the deal right There is a clause that the Zone 1 government can refuse to provide a Village if Erickson Steel�s residential facilities don�t meet their exacting standards Chuckling Randidly cracked his neck and attempted to shift both his own and the two women�s mind away from less pleasant things I think they want us to foot the bills for personal palaces for them What a steaming pile of trashcan lard

Heh I used to have pity for these people that you were going to swindle by stealing a whole city from under their nose Wendy pipped up as she cracked her knuckles aggressively Tatiana gave Randidly a sharp look that indicated his first impression of the motion wasn�t wrong Wendy had learned it from watching him But now that I�ve met them I almost wish that you were doing something even more vicious

You and me both Bah I still need to order more whiskey from Donnyton Tatiana shook her head Then she glanced sympathetically over at Randidly and Wendy No rest for the wicked though eh Are you prepared for the final construction Can Erickson Steel continue to operate while you do it

Yea Randidly nodded Most of the work will be done underground Unless we really fuck something up there shouldn�t be any effect on Erickson Steel As for the construction

When Randidly looked toward Wendy she shook her head Lucretia�s people have finished going through the pieces that you made Around 13% were flagged and about half of those look like they need to be redone before we can move forward You are working too quickly Finishing on time won�t matter if the moving city experiencing mechanical failure after only a week of operation

Randidly puffed out his cheeks and blew out a long stream of air He knew he was rushing But it felt like he didn�t have any choice Then he shook his head Alright give me a list and I�ll go back through And the help I asked for will be arriving in three days That�s when we start in earnest

The three parted each with their own packed schedule The rest of the day for Randidly was a blur of workshops emerald fire and the gleam of Engraved Mana Although Randidly really meant to follow Wendy�s advice he couldn�t help but allow his body to accelerate through its motions Somehow he had the feeling that with the strange change going on through Ignition Essence the problem wasn�t that he was moving too quickly

It was that he was too slow

Yet Randidly couldn�t take the time to explore that budding change in his image Instead he created the parts that Wendy had informed him were defective scanned through his new creations and redid three more parts that also seemed to have suffered based on the speed of their forging

Afterward Randidly did his daily Caress of Nether practice Despite the bone deep ache that resulted he had managed to raise his Nether Resistance by another 11 Skill Levels over the last several days It was agony but the pain didn�t stop him from forging It was one of the few training tasks Randidly allowed himself that didn�t exhaust him mentally Any suffering that he pushed himself through right now would make it that much easier to survive in the future

Randidly was however quite bitter that whatever pain originated from exposure to Nether didn�t seem to earn him any Skill Levels in Pain Resistance It seemed like the existential agony that resulted wasn�t really pain but a deeper sort of Aether based instinct to avoid Nether Which was probably why it was such a bitch to handle

But at least it gives me a chance to sharpen my Willpower on it Randidly thought sourly as he looked down at his trembling hands He spread his fingers open against his wrought iron worktable

From around midnight to dawn Randidly�s training shifted and he struggled with another difficult decision whether to go into a Dungeon for a brief time so he could refine his Levelable Engravings further

Again and again Randidly pushed himself with All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth until he was clenching his jaw so hard it gave him headaches At this point Randidly could use it three times in a row to experiment as long as he kept his requests small Slowly but surely he was refining the Engraving pattern that he wanted An image that would focus on awareness and self recovery

Honestly with Yggdrasil and Ignition Essence as the base those two objectives were pretty easy to accomplish It was only a matter of blending them in the right portions

In addition Randidly�s accomplishments toward evening out the application of images by enlarging the scale of the Engraving were bearing a satisfactory amount of fruit In his most recent series of attempts Randidly created an Engraving that could Level all the way to Level 99 Yet there was a hair of difference between that and Level 100

It wasn�t enough What Randidly could do now just wasn�t enough But if he had another few months of time

Randidly pressed his eyes tightly shut The problem with a Dungeon is maintaining the right sort of tension and image If I go away for a few months only the last week would be where I make the sort of progress that would make any difference And if I go for a month it would be the last few days

It�s the chemical process of the brain that leads to procrastination The sliding scale of when to focus and when to explore I wouldn�t be procrastinating but the effect of being suddenly freed from the onus of the deadline

Randidly furiously rubbed at his head And it�s not like I can�t slip into my Soulspace and stretch out time for a bit the problem is I can�t run any experiments there I can only think And of course the other problem is that there is too much to do in the real world

Shaking his head Randidly forced himself to wipe that question from his mind He could consider it later If he did decide to go into a Dungeon it could happen at any time Once more he returned to work

After experimenting with Engravings Randidly was forced to give himself some time to recover Truly what Wendy pointed out after the festival was correct what Randidly was doing now was pushing him close to his limits Between finishing the moving city and the Judgment Randidly would likely need a full day of rest

But it was unclear whether he would have that time Definitely he could make sure he had a solid six hour block but

Then at 10 AM of the day with nine days left until Randidly had to face his Judgment Nathan finally arrived at the Erickson Steel compound with Tykes

Chapter 1022

Nathan chewed on his lip as he removed his hands from Randidly�s shoulders Yea there is definitely some intense damage done to your Class I�ve never seen anything like it The fabric of your growth was completely derailed all the momentum you built up going toward 50 was destroyed How did this happen again

While he waved his hand to dismiss the question Randidly regarded the slender teenager fondly Despite the serious content of the discussion Randidly�s heart warmed to see how serious Nathan was acting He�s so young Don�t worry about the why What we need to do is figure out a way to fix the issue By the way what do you mean by momentum

While removing a series of brightly colored gemstones from his leather bag Nathan spoke to Randidly over his shoulder If you�re sure well momentum is what I call the sort of image you are developing for your Fate Like looking at your Class you have an insane amount of momentum Well had You probably wouldn�t even need a condensing focus or my help to maintain the perfect shape of your Fate

But now you have the sort of Class that would mean a normal person would just encase themselves in the strange Fate crystal stuff No shape no vessel all bad news Basically it�s suicidal for you to attempt to condense a Fate like this

Randidly mulled that over Although he wasn�t positive Randidly had a feeling that image was to Skills what a Fate was to a Class Facilitated by the System in order to allow individuals to produce something of value for the war effort even if the world�s power was insufficient Therefore it should be possible to forcibly condense one with his strong images and understanding of Aether constructs But as Nathan pointed out the Class was the training wheels

Having one would make things much easier

Besides even if Randidly could condense a satisfactory Fate without the complex and intricate patterns of his Class he likely wouldn�t receive any of the benefits he would have obtained with an unbroken Class Specifically the quality of the Skills that he would receive in the future would take a sharp hit

Not that Randidly needed more Skills but it had seemed recently that only a portion of his compound Class had given him Skills While the darker portions the two layers to his Class added by the Patron of Ash and the Creature had been suspiciously dormant

They had definitely been building to something And although Randidly had plenty of reasons not to trust either of those individuals they had both been extremely strong The weapons they used were quite deadly Which just meant that it was relatively important that he repair his Class and excavate those powerful implements

Nathan carefully laid out his seven gemstones on the ground in a circle emerald ruby beryl sapphire diamond amethyst and onyx Then he pointed to the space within the circle Please move to stand in here

Randidly quirked an eyebrow upward but did as he was bid

Nathan rubbed his hands together These are all Level 75 Elemental Foci that I picked up in the East End You should really visit Sydney has completely transformed the place It won�t ever rival Donnyton but

Sydney Randidly thought sadly He should go visit her They had been so close before the System had arrived And although his feelings for her were complex things should have simplified by now But that made Randidly think of Ace And thinking of Ace made Randidly think of

Just like I should remove one tenacious and malignant tumor from eating away at the health of Earth Dad what are you doing Randidly�s jaw clenched Was Ghost exaggerating or are you truly leaving a trail of corpses in your wake So many threats are piling up but I don�t have time to deal with them individually Better to focus on making Erickson Steel a mobile resource that can provide assistance where it is necessary I can�t solve every problem for the Earth

Yet to leave without doing anything when I have the capability

But that line of thought just depressed Randidly even further Perhaps it is for the best that the Judgment is taking me away for a period of time only by being exposed to these threats can the people here grow

Noticing the way the corner of Randidly�s mouth dipped downward Nathan hurriedly continued to speak well these crystals just make sure some of the energies of the natural world are present to help give an extra push toward a Class that suits you Most people have matured a lot from when they obtained their original Class so there might be new options open to them that they couldn�t imagine originally When I activate my Skill you should feel some resonance with the different crystals

Randidly nodded and rubbed his chin So you think its better to try and repair or empower my Class than just destroying it and starting over

Nathan winced Well obviously Especially with a Class as complex as yours If you destroy it even if you manage to rebuild everything exactly the same a few moments later some of your Skill Levels will suffer And that�s even setting aside the pain of having your Class destroyed

Inwardly Randidly believed that sort of pain was likely a pittance compared to what he dealt with from exposure to Nether but he still nodded Fine then reinforcing the Class it is Are we ready to begin

Nathan nodded I�m not sure how exactly it will interact with my Skill but its probably for the best that you conjure your images It will give us even more guidance for the reinforcement

Randidly wondered what sort of Skill Nathan was about to use but he trusted the teenager Soul Architect was the Class that had been personally crafted for Nathan Although Randidly might understand Aether and images much better than the teenager this was Nathan�s realm of expertise And honestly Randidly could use all the help he could get Due to how busy he had been Randidly hadn�t had the opportunity to dedicate much thought to this rather looming problem of a depleted Class

Releasing a breath Randidly opened up his Soulspace At this point Randidly didn�t even need to call His images were steadily developing a very basic sense of self and a portion of that was a rough understanding of what Randidly desired Even if his images didn�t always agree with Randidly�s methods they were aligned with his goals

So Randidly opened himself up and called After a second of consideration the images came spilling out into the world

The area around them rumbled as the World Tree blinked into shuddering existence only a few meters away Inwardly Randidly was glad that they had chosen to do this a fair distance South of Erickson Steel so that they were closer to Lake Apollo than any of the construction zones for the moving city

The fewer people that look out the window and notice an abrupt addition to the skyline the better

Thick branches covered in dense golden script twined amongst each other as they reached toward the sky Leaves as luminous and radiant as emerald stars gleamed brightly in thick clumps Vigorous roots buried themselves into the ground rapidly burrowing outward and deeper until Yggdrasil was sipping on the life energy of the entire world The vast trunk that appeared so close to their position was so thick that it seemed to be a wall of bark likely several miles in diameter

With much less fanfare the Grim Chimera faded in to stand next to Randidly Its left arm was a bloody claw and its right arm was a spear of bone covered in ash The dark holes of its eyes and mouth were hidden beneath a thin film of pale skin Its bent and twisted legs cracked as it loomed over Nathan seeming to consider this strange interloper with frank curiosity

A dense cluster of emerald flames appeared Unlike the original form these emerald flames were smaller and almost crystalline in their structure And as they clustered together they began to rapidly orbit around each other blurring into a bright ball of humming energy As time passed those moving flames accelerated approaching some catalytic level of motion

Close to a transformation pressing up against the cusp Yet for now the current vessel held

Now that all of his images were present Randidly nodded to Nathan

Raising his hands Nathan looked down at the seven gemstones and muttered to himself Anima Survey

Randidly watched with interest as bridges of Aether suddenly began to form with loose connections to his soul and stretch outward away from him After a certain distance they became invisible but Randidly could sense them continuing outward Seven went to the gemstones in the circle around him but there were almost a dozen more that seemed to stretch outward into thin air running off to some distant target

At first Randidly�s gaze sharpened with grim chagrin worried that these connections would bring him some unwanted attention Especially because the Creature had a hand in the creation of his Class and therefore it seemed likely that one of the connections might lead to any remnant of it that existed in the world

But the more that Randidly studied the sudden connections the more at ease he became Rather than establishing a connection Nathan�s Skill seemed to illuminate past connections If he hadn�t seen them being made even Randidly might have missed the delicate touch of Aether stretching away from him

These connections were old things some of them long dead He couldn�t precisely figure out where each one led but it was enough to know that Nathan hadn�t created anything new

Nathan gestured sharply with his hand pulling Randidly�s focus back to the current task Invigorate Capture

The connections began to tremble with a steadily growing energy Very quickly Randidly felt the resonance travel through the connection and to himself And as he watched his three images moved

Yggdrasil shrank to a seed and then floated easily into the emerald Instantly the emerald cracked and shattered But in its place a walnut covered in dense and intricate golden script appeared

The Grim Chimera raised its head and howled toward the sky Then it stretched out one arm and snatched the diamond while its right arm speared the piece of onyx Both shook for a split second before the Chimera smashed the two gems into one another Bits of sparkling gemstone caught the light as they scattered everywhere radiating outward in a nova of glittering monochrome When the dust settled a plain piece of charcoal sat at the epicenter of the explosion

After a second of hesitation the Ignition Essence floated down into the ruby and forced itself into the crystal Rapidly the color of the ruby shifted toward emerald Then perhaps strangest of all the now emerald ruby twisted Very quickly portions of the gemstone moved to form a small crablike creature It scuttled over on short legs and used its claws to cut off a chunk of the amethyst which it greedily devoured

Then it settled down reverting to an emerald colored stone with a fingertip of violet flame at its core

Although the close connections had finished their meals the dozen connections that led far away began to undulate wildly But Randidly couldn�t relax and let the process continue he noticed that Nathan rapidly began to pale The Skill he was using had drawn too much Mana from him

Randidly couldn�t help directly but he spread his hands and began to force raw Mana out from the fingertips of his right hand and into the air Gleaming motes of light that alternated between aquamarine and navy blue blasted outward to swirl around Nathan As Randidly pumped out more and more Mana some settled on Nathan�s skin and sunk into his body

The boy looked thankfully at Randidly then refocused on the connections The undulations became wild swings as though some force had gripped the other end of the connections that stretched out from Randidly and was ripping wildly at them with all of its strength

Invigorate Nathan�s teeth were chattering as he forced out the words And Capture

There was a swirl of rainbow colored energy thin wisps of it coming from each of the dozen connections that wove themselves together in a tight spiral With a crack they condensed into a small object in front of Randidly

Ugh I feel like crap Nathan collapsed backward so that he was sitting down on the ground with his legs splayed The connections dispersed and the area around them quieted After several breaths Nathan heaved himself up and hobbled up over to the four objects that were on the ground around Randidly Well that certainly was eh

Randidly followed Nathan�s gaze to the final object that had been created from the majority of his connections He cleared his throat awkwardly as he considered the object Is something like this normal

Definitely not Nathan whispered He reached out and picked up the fourth object studying it closely As soon as he touched it Nathan�s eyes widened

Frowning Randidly studied the object without bothering to approach and see the description It was clearly a cloth doll a perfect replica of himself It had his short black hair his metallic left arm and his bare feet sewn in exacting detail But perhaps the most disturbing feature of the doll was that its skin was covered in thin lines of black thread The formation of the thread made it seem like it was a language but it wasn�t one that Randidly recognized

It wasn�t Aether and it wasn�t something that the System was helping to translate at all That tattooed version of Randidly sat in Nathan�s trembling hands Randidly frowned

Chapter 1023

Nathan looked at the doll in his hands

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Will of the People (Incomplete State) Lvl 132 An Animus assembled by the Soul Architect will attempting to repair a Class The wishes and desires of those intimately involved in the fate of Randidly Ghosthound�s Class have helped shape this Animus Due to the high potency of these desires something was created from nothing Due to the insufficient Level of the Soul Architect the Animus was not fully completed but it will serve as an effective blueprint

While being held Skills related to Randidly Ghosthound are easier to learn Warning prolonged exposure to the Animus will result in strange Paths becoming available to the holder While being held all regenerations are increased by 50%

Holy shit Nathan muttered Hastily he set the strange doll back on the ground More than anyone else Nathan understood how powerful a named Animus could be The few that he had seen had completely changed the final Class of the individual But what made Nathan extremely nervous was that even though a Level 132 Animus had been created from nothing it was still in an incomplete state

If I had been a high enough Level just what sort of Animus would have condensed And also Nathan looked over the shattered remnants of his seven gemstones Even more intimidating there are three others

Of the original seven elemental foci only sapphire and beryl remained unbroken Amethyst had been cut in half but it might still be usable And what remained

Nathan walked over and touched the three other Animai on the ground

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Weight of the Crown (Incomplete State) Lvl 172 An animus condensed from the image of Yggdrasil the World Tree Its powerful spirit has infused the emerald but it is limited by the quality of the item and the Level of the Soul Architect who made it

While being held all biological life will listen to the holder Experience gain is increased by 13%

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Mandate of God (Incomplete State) Level 154 An Animus condensed from the image of the Grim Chimera A dark energy fills the Animus Resentment spreads outward at all times Due to the insufficient materials and Level of the Soul architect the result is imperfect

While being held all effects that would reduce Health will be increased by 20%

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Heart of an Empire (Incomplete State) Level 153 An Animus condensed from the evolving image of the Ignition Essence From deep within the stone a burning heart of fire beats As it continues to live it approaches its final form Due to the low Level of the Soul Architect this Animus will never achieve the evolution that may occur in the image that inspired it

While being held Skill Levels are slightly easier to gain While being held items produced have a small chance of obtaining bonus effects

After examining all four of the Animai Nathan was speechless Each was a priceless treasure They were the four highest Leveled items that Nathan had ever seen All of them would be used to reinforce Randidly�s Class Nathan couldn�t help but wonder Just what sort of results will occur when so much power is concentrated in one place In one person

You alright Randidly asked

Nathan nodded slowly He had always known that Randidly was different After all Randidly had allowed Nathan to view his Class at the start of this process While most people�s Classes appeared to Nathan�s Soul Architect gaze as ladders leading upward Randidly�s was a towering lighthouse that was wreathed in a maelstrom

What was even more disturbing was the obvious damage that had been inflicted at the top of Randidly�s Class completely dispersing that maelstrom of energy What could have caused such vicious damage

Yet even so the final forms of the Animai

Nathan winced Honestly it�s a bit of a tragedy that these will be consumed to help repair your Class And I can�t wait to see the result But I�ll need some time to recover before I can infuse them into you

Chuckling Randidly nodded and turned away That�s fine I�m going to work on some Engraving just let me know when you are ready

True to his word Randidly conjured a wooden worktable and a bench and sat down With a wave of his hand he produced a half dozen basic copper bracers that he began to Engrave patterns upon The bright azure light of Mana burned traces into Nathan�s eyes as he watched fascinated for several seconds

Relieved to have some time to recover Nathan moved some distance away from the disturbing Animai and sat down in meditation to recover his Mana Which was just in time because Nathan wasn�t sure how much longer he could have remained standing the process of condensing the Animai had completely gassed him

After settling down for a few seconds and settling into his breathing only of Nathan�s eyes fluttered open He regarded Randidly�s back for several seconds before forcing himself to concentrate and stimulate his Mana and Stamina

In the past Nathan had reinforced� almost two dozen people�s Classes in order to provide for them an easier time condensing a Fate Generally the issue he encountered wasn�t one of repairing a Class but of upgrading a Class to a passable Level Generally these people were some of the first to get a Class and had chosen a rather generic option After all those first groups didn�t understand the value in increasing their Skill Levels and taking Paths in preparation for a Class

The Classes they received were almost completely random or based on their prior life

However just like with Randidly�s current situation the issue in these individuals was that Nathan could feel the lack of complexity and purpose in the Classes At the time they had started they had no idea what they were doing By creating Animai Nathan could add some additional focus that would give people a better chance with their Fate

But the previous Animai that Nathan had seen weren�t anything close to this Even setting aside their mind boggling Level no other Animai Nathan had seen possessed an effect other than serving as an Animai Yet all four of these had extremely powerful effects Powerful effects that manifested while they were incomplete products

Randidly can be kinda scary sometimes Nathan thought as he glanced surreptitiously over at Randidly

Definitely these would add the missing momentum back into Randidly�s Class It might be weakened somewhat by the fact Nathan hadn�t brought sufficient materials but it would be more than enough

It had to be Nathan had given out quite a few reinforced Classes and created some tailor made Classes while in East End in order to get Sydney to grudgingly part with the elemental crystals This was the first time he had used such high quality foci and he was looking forward to the result

But thinking about the crystals brought a pang of loss to Nathan�s heart Just like that four are gone and one is cut in half but if it�s for Randidly it will be worth it

It took Nathan almost a full hour even with several Mana potions to restore himself to his peak state The entire time Randidly stood at his worktable and calmly Engraved After each bracer he finished Randidly considered the bracer for almost a full minute His fingers danced across the piece of armor using even his metallic left arm with an almost human grace to delicately weigh his creation

Then inevitably Randidly would store away the finished bracer in his interspatial ring and move on to the next He took no breaks His eyes never wavered The azure light from his fingers never dimmed

Finally Nathan stood Alright I�m ready

Randidly just smiled widely at him

The Soul Architect has used his special Skill Class Evolution on you Your Class responds Your Animai are being consumed in order to evolve your Class

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Will of the People (Incomplete State) is being consumed

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Weight of the Crown (Incomplete State) is being consumed

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Mandate of God (Incomplete State) is being consumed

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Heart of an Empire (Incomplete State) is being consumed

Resonance detected Warning Some Skills are close to evolution Consuming energy in order to evolve Skills may lead to sickness unconsciousness or death Please proceed to the nearest Village Spirit for more information

Although the Animai are incomplete they provide a sufficient blueprint for moving forward

Your Class has not evolved However new meaning surges through your Class Warning It appears your Class was previously damaged Due to previous damage to the Class the next Level you receive will provide no Stat benefits However after that Level all Class benefits will return to normal

Congratulations If you continue to Level you shall eventually receive a hidden benefit from this attempted Class evolution

Randidly smiled wryly It was somewhat frustrating that he would miss out on Class benefits for even a single Level but when he examined his Class it was clear that the something intangible was present that wasn�t there previously It might not have been restored to what it had been prior to the damage but it would be enough

It took a while to explain to Nathan however the kid looked absolutely devastated that there hadn�t been any change to his Class So much so that Randidly didn�t mention the fact that he would miss a Level�s worth of Stats from the damage even with the foci There was no point in torturing him Randidly did feel rather bad about consuming so many of the gems that Nathan had brought

Clapping Nathan on the back Randidly thanked him profusely while he wondered if he would have time to Level to 50 and obtain a Fate before the Judgment While he was considering he returned back to the construction site of the moving city

But soon that question was pushed to the side for more immediate concerns There was simply too much to do

Chapter 1024

It was four days before the arrival of the promised Judgment that Lyra finally returned bearing as innocent smile as she came for her Class She cut through the bustle of construction that surrounding Randidly and appeared within his workshop more quickly than Randidly�s distracted senses could follow

Which of course was not the way to put Randidly in a good mood

You are late Randidly said shortly as he set aside the bracer he had been steadily Engraving over the last hour His tone was sharp but he knew that it wasn�t truly anything to do with Lyra She might have rather flippantly used some of her abilities as a Village Spirit to move but that wasn�t a reason for him to grit his teeth like this

No Randidly was constantly grinding his teeth because he felt so close to figuring out how to manage the Levelable Engraving and yet he couldn�t manage it No matter how much Randidly relied on All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth there was a limit he couldn�t seem to overcome

It had been almost two days of constant Engraving while Ghost and his mechanical spider drones that Randidly had Erickson Steel producing handled the lion�s share of the final construction work Even now the scuttled in the dark tunnels beneath the compound assembling the bones of the being that would soon come into existence Their industriousness was exactly what the project needed to come in within his time limit

Yet in Randidly�s mind his Levelable Engraving had become a keystone of the project Without it there would be little difference between the Erickson Steel compound and the flying city that drifted above the Royal Sea There was still plenty of time to go into a Dungeon if it proved ultimately necessary but Randidly still didn�t wish to rely on more time to brute force the issue

Randidly�s eyes narrowed But what I don�t need right now is a lengthy distraction Hopefully Lyra will be on her best behavior today

Lyra inclined her head and agreed Which was a good start for her So I am But you�ve been busy right I wanted to wait until you had spare time However it seems like you aren�t getting the results you want correct And I knew you would still wish to know what became of Shal so I chose to step forward anyway

Randidly swallowed the previously prepared acidic reply he had been preparing It was obvious that Lyra was making an effort to be civil and he should respond in kind Some of the tight ball of frustration that had been hissing in his chest finally dissipated Sighing Randidly stood Of course it was never about Lyra It was about Shal and learning more about the System This should take long This will be worth it

After sending a message to Nathan Randidly cracked his knuckles Fine then let�s begin immediately I don�t have much time to spare

Lyra kept her smile in place even if Randidly�s words felt like a hammer against her heart

Fine then let�s begin How did things go so wrong

With her ribs as the steel bars of a cage the words I�m sorry � couldn�t manage to escape their tight prison So Lyra did the same thing she had done for almost two years in regards to Randidly She wrapped her role more tightly around herself than ever

Is there anything I need to do to prepare for our connection Lyra the Village Spirit asked in a light voice Through exposure to the inner workings of the System Lyra�s familiarity with Aether had skyrocketed over the past few years Although she was completely bewildered by the complex Engravings that Randidly had inscribed onto the many bracers lay half forgotten around his workshop Lyra was confident that no human understood the shape of the System better than she did

Randidly Ghosthound included

And yet the things that Randidly Ghosthound could accomplish with the Aether Crossroads inside of himself turned everything that Lyra understood on its head That was why his existence had been able to turn all of the hitherto cast in stone rules of the System on their head That was why even the Creature grew fascinated with him

That was why this whole divide started Lyra thought sadly Just like with me you showed Yystrix a magic she had never seen before Is it truly so hard to understand that she lost herself in her excitement

No just come over The connection part is simple Randidly beckoned his irritation clear in the tight line of his mouth

Lyra walked over with light steps wondering how a Village Spirit should walk Being raised from a young age to be the perfect actress Lyra the human had been taught many ways of walking A seductive sway A joyous skip A depressed slouch An elegant glide A business like march An athletic lope

Maybe that was why she had found it so reassuring to become the Village Spirit Suddenly she had a role to play her small emotions quickly drowned in the function that she was currently serving Much easier to bury herself in the expectations of others than to really look at the mess that her ascension to Village Spirit had left in its wake

Easier still when Yystrix had replaced her to become closer to Randidly She had a face and a soul but those things had been cut off she had only been a pretty doll to be posed and played with Just like Lyra remembered from her childhood

It had been so easy too For both of them were endlessly fascinated by what Randidly could accomplish even if their ultimate goals didn�t align

But I can�t be those things any longer Lyra�s heart was pounding If I�m just a Village Spirit he will keep hating me I have to be me I have to stop running Because you Randidly are the reason that I realized I wanted to live Which is exactly why I couldn�t let you doom the Earth And you are also the reason that I have one more mission remaining from the Creature that I will fulfill no matter what

And yet such thoughts were ultimately useless There was only one important thought as Lyra without her role continued forward how should I walk What sort of steps does Lyra the human take

Randidly glanced impatiently up at Lyra Just beyond an arm�s length away from Randidly Lyra stopped her rather awkward gait and looked intently at him I I just want you to know I won�t ever use this connection to hurt you I swear it on my life I swear it on the existence of the Earth

From the bottom of her heart Lyra wished to make things right with Randidly He had shown her magic had transformed the world from a dollhouse to a place of wonder and splendor that was worth cherishing But that transformation also meant that Lyra dearly cherished this world So much so that she had turned her back on Randidly when Yystrix demonstrated how hopeless it was to fight directly against the System

To her solemn vow Randidly replied with a bunched eyebrow look of disgust that someone would give the maggots they found at the bottom of their too old can of trash It was an expression that said he didn�t believe her how could he believe her after all that she had done

Lyra�s smile became increasingly strained and hollow How proud you are Randidly Ghosthound Did you truly expect me to choose to believe in you when there was so much evidence to the contrary When I had experienced first hand how powerful the Yystrix is The fate of your lovely world was at stake IS at stake I just

Randidly reached out and touched her shoulder And Lyra couldn�t breathe for a split second Randidly had reached out to her

Alright it�s done Randidly said simply His arm dropped back to his side After cracking his neck he walked over to a side table and poured himself a glass of water It will take a few minutes for Nathan to get over here Now that you have a source of Aether it should be easy for him to make you a Class After that you owe me an explanation

Lyra pivoted away from Randidly slowly like a weather vane nosed North by a strange wind She wasn�t sure what her face was doing It felt so heavy and stiff There was a buzzing in her ears So she turned her attention inward and felt carefully around the highly organized internal Aether constructs that were her constant state of existence Most of her Soulspace was filled with the dense script of Aether with which the System was built

And there at the corner was the small area where her human self hadn�t been completely consumed by the rules of a Village Spirit It was that strange almost misplaced portion of herself that had given Lyra the idea of giving herself a Class in the first place It was that portion of herself Lyra liked to believe that still believed this world was a beautiful place

It now had a small trickle of Aether dribbling in to congregate in that area Unlike the bright violet color of the System�s Aether this Aether was a much more innocuous thing It was almost translucent but it was filled with motes of gold emerald and black The new Aether spread slowly in constantly shifting shapes through the available area almost exploring

In her Soulspace the Aether flowed toward the small tendril of Lyra will that she had sent out questing toward this strange new energy And it responded instantly swirling around her will and forming a kaleidoscope of light and warmth

A tear rolled down Lyra�s cheek That�s me I have a part that�s me

I I can tell you about Shal now Lyra volunteered without turning around While we wait I trust I trust you won�t back out now that we�ve come this far

I�d appreciate that Randidly said rather gruffly

The tear had rolled down over her cheekbones past her lips to settle on Lyra�s chin It hung there stubbornly sticking to her jaw Desperately Lyra wanted to reach up and wipe the tear away But she simultaneously didn�t want to stop being the girl who was crying and didn�t want Randidly to notice that she was the girl who was crying

It truly is a terribly selfish thing I�ve done isn�t it Lyra wasn�t trembling She was just standing still and looking away from Randidly and listening to the small noises that his bare feet made against the ground And yet that�s what being human means to me I suppose

So she spoke into the air to keep the terrible silence from hanging between them You should have heard about it within the Dungeon but the System is a machine designed for war Overcoming the Second Calamity demonstrates a depth of strength that finally means you might be valuable to the Nexus so you are given the opportunity to prove yourself That is the challenge that Shal attempted

The details are rather simple at least as far as the current rules go You fight the preserved spirit of ten fellow challengers who also failed Such is the cost you pay by attempting it that a portion of you be preserved to test future generations

Shal ultimately failed the test but he was rewarded for what he was accomplished He defeated eight of those that failed previously You can think of this reward as receiving a commission in the army when he eventually is taken to the front lines to fight against Nether he will have subordinates Representatives from other worlds who will fight under his direction

Randidly sighed audibly And when he spoke it was clear that most of his antagonism toward her had been forgotten for the moment That�s a relief Heh so even Shal wasn�t good enough for the System huh That probably means I have my work cut out for me Do you know how they preserve a portion of you for the future

Lyra knew what Randidly was wondering Whether he would be able to attempt the challenge without revealing to the higher ups in the System what he was Unfortunately I do not know

On this one thing at least both Randidly and Yystrix agreed giving the System unfettered access to another Aether Crossroads was not something that could ever be allowed to happen

Which was exactly the last mission that Yystrix had given Lyra before that ancient being had disappeared from Earth Which was at least half of the reason that Lyra had gone to so much trouble for the information about Shal to tempt Randidly Which was the final lie that squirmed in Lyra�s stomach like a suicidal tapeworm

If we are connected like this I can find you no matter where you are Another tear wound its way down from Lyra�s eye to slowly traverse her cheek So that if the System ever discovers you and tries to control what you hold in your chest I can kill you

Even as Lyra tried to put words to this horrifying truth her mouth remained still Because Lyra could see the terrible accusation that would be waiting in his eyes if Lyra revealed this last secret that Lyra was working against Randidly with the Creature

But was that really the case Lyra was just insurance for the worst

there is one more thing Lyra said softly Her mind pushed away that secret and refocused on the information she meant to give Randidly Lead with the good news then follow with the bad There was a change for Shal�s world Unfortunately even I don�t know the details I can only tell what I was able to discern from investigating directly it seems that after the challenge Shal has gone under the wing of someone very powerful within the Nexus And because of that Tellus is proceeding directly to the Fourth Calamity completely skipping the Third

What Randidly asked

Lyra shook her head slightly She felt a slight movement on her chin the tear was still stubbornly hanging there Its twin had bypassed her cheek and was now hurrying to join the first So Lyra didn�t turn around Even I am unaware of the particulars of the Fourth Calamity It is essentially the recruitment as far as I can tell I am I don�t know more But what I did learn was the name of the individual who oversaw Shal�s challenge The same individual who interceded on behalf of Tellus

His name is Illeot Swacc In the Nexus he is referred to as the Duplicator

Chapter 1025

It was Randidly reflected with a frown an ominous name And an individual who was powerful within the Nexus was certainly not someone that could be taken lightly Although Randidly didn�t know how that individual who had existed within an entire continent of solidified Aether and crushed him with a glance fit within the power structure of the Nexus it had impressed upon him how dangerous the truly powerful were

The first thing Randidly did upon receiving the news was attempt to contact Shal Immediately he received a System notification that all messages to the recipient world have been screened In addition the notification recommended that Randidly contact a Village Spirit for more information

Bah useless and what help would a Village Spirit be

For several seconds Randidly regarded Lyra�s slender back As she had aged Lyra had retained her almost unhealthily slender limbs She seemed like such a tiny and fragile thing Then Randidly walked forward roughly grabbed Lyra�s shoulder and spun her around What does that name

Randidly blinked as he looked at Lyra�s lovely face that was shining with the remnant paths of two tears You why are you crying

Lyra�s face split into a thin smile as she almost helplessly shook her head

Narrowing his eyes Randidly gritted his teeth as he looked at Lyra Although Lyra was willing to lie to him that didn�t mean she wasn�t still slightly human If whatever news she held in her chest was so upsetting that she would cry What do you know You said Shal failed the challenge what were the consequences of that

Nothing other than failing to seize all the advantages he could Lyra whispered Her voice was as soft as the crisp sound of dead leaves falling apart Shal should be fine

Then let me ask again Why are you crying Randidly cooled his anger and frowned at Lyra Perhaps it would be a little strange for Lyra to care enough about Shal or Tellus to cry Perhaps it was simply the pain of investigating such distant matters in the Nexus But Randidly couldn�t be sure what exactly a Village Spirit could and couldn�t do

Even now the Aether around Lyra was too dense If she were to claim she was crying from resistance from the System Randidly would only have her word to go on

Lyra�s smile twisted upward driven by bitterness She flippantly gestured to the air between them This this is hard for me alright You you have no idea Randidly the truth is

For several seconds Randidly studied Lyra as she licked her lips For all that she had chosen to side with the Creature and endanger humanity Randidly decided that it would be pointless to assume Lyra was lying about this Perhaps she could somehow turn this around to manipulate him but it felt extremely ungainly to Randidly�s mind

There were much more directly lies that Lyra could tell Besides she had previously bared herself to him in order to prove that the Creature was no longer present on Earth She didn�t need to conceal some terrible fate that Shal suffered In fact Lyra�s argument had always been that Randidly couldn�t defeat the System on his own That was why she had betrayed him and sided with the Creature

Therefore it could be said that Shal�s suffering at the System�s hands would be evidence toward her point

And yet if it was only pain from her System tethers why was she

Ah Randidly�s expression softened as he connected the dots This is hard for me � huh I get it You�ve felt it too

Again Randidly had no sort of context to understand the strength of the individual who had shattered his Class and robbed it of its meaning with but a glance But if this Illeot Swacc was anything close to that level of strength To investigate that tier of strength likely had left some scars

Remembering that split second of agony still sent shivers down Randidly�s spine And Randidly could understand now Lyra�s sudden reticence and distance Although they had set the previous betrayal behind them Lyra had just been exposed to the power of the System The true power those individuals standing near the peak of the Nexus

In her mind it likely reaffirmed all the reasons that the System couldn�t be fought

The miserable looking Lyra lowered her chin rather than speak The silence stretched between them seemingly straining underneath its own weight As Randidly looked down at her wracked by indecision such was the difference in their heights that he could barely see the expression on her face Randidly bit his lips I�m sorry I get it I really do I felt the same way for a while

As Lyra flinched as if struck by a physical blow Randidly continued talking But we will never accomplish something if we don�t put ourselves out there Now isn�t the time to give up

do you truly know how I feel Lyra asked in a small voice I was told to if you were ever

Lyra was cut off as Nathan walked into the room Sorry I hurried over as fast as I could

Then Nathan saw Lyra and the kid blushed crimson in that chemical induced way that only young teenagers could His voice came out unsteady as he spoke Ah ah Lyra What are you um what are you d doing away from Donnyton

looking for a Class Before Randidly�s eyes Lyra�s whole disposition changed She stood straighter and raised her head Her back straightened and her eyes brightened And with one quick brush of her hand all evidence of her tears was erased She smiled charmingly at Nathan I assume you will help with that

Randidly spared Lyra one last glance This is why people find it difficult to trust you you know Did that moment really happen Or was it just a ploy to win my sympathy

What is your plan Lyra What do you intend to do with this power I�m giving you Because if you intend to threaten the growth of the Earth no matter that you were once human no matter what we felt toward each other I will end you

As Randidly stood beside Lyra a heavy weight settled in his chest Almost unconsciously he pulled his lips back to reveal his teeth Damnit even if we aren�t on the same side being here like this knowing I might need to kill you later is a bit

but that�s just how it is That�s what it means to have a Crown

Ah oh Nathan blinked rapidly It was clear that he was not a little smitten with Lyra His expression flashed between so many expressions so quickly that even Randidly�s grim mood couldn�t help but lift the tiniest bit Of course I can do that Umm I have some thought exercises written down If you want to go through them we can

No need I already have made suitable preparations for my Class Lyra said with an easy smile

Nathan looked from Lyra to Randidly and back again That�s are you sure If you make a mistake remaking the Class will be difficult

Don�t worry I am very sure that I will be able to manage this Lyra�s smile was sharp as she gestured toward Randidly without looking at him Besides Mr Ghosthound is a very busy man I think I�ve already taken too much of his time

Randidly just looked at Lyra Truthfully he had wished they could hurry through the process There was still so much more he wanted to try in regards to Engraving But as he watched Lyra Randidly felt his chest tightened He remembered the two paths those tears had traced down her cheek He opened his mouth but he couldn�t figure out what to say After all he agreed that he needed to get back to work

After all Randidly had just realistically considered the possibility of killing her So why

Then let�s begin Nathan said brightly Then he blushed again Ah Randidly can you make a chair And Miss Lyra I�ll need to touch your shoulders for this so

Randidly made a curt gesture and roots sprung out of the ground to weave a chair for Lyra She sat down gracefully leaning back and looking up at the ceiling like all these trappings of Randidly�s cluttered workshop were beneath her After a few seconds of hesitation Nathan walked to stand behind Lyra His hands were trembling as he pressed them against her slim shoulders

So just as I begin concentrate as hard as you can on what you want If you truly believe enough a Class should appear But Nathan stuttered to a stop because Lyra pressed her eyes closed and was clearly concentrating

So Nathan closed his eyes as well and focused on the task at hand Randidly kept his eyes open but his Aether Detection swirled around the two individuals to see the mechanical apparati that were in operation here

With his newfound connection to Lyra Randidly had a greater sense of how much of her Soulspace was packed with byzantine Aether devices associated with her role as a Village Spirit It was immediately clear that her Soulspace was likely purposefully cluttered It seemed that whoever had designed the role did not wish it to be possible to also possess a Class

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the Village Spirit was constructed to be built on top of a Class It was hard to puncture through the dense fluctuations of Aether from the Village Spirit but Randidly could sense a small hollow space in the middle Honestly he wouldn�t have noticed if not for realizing that the portion of the System that did its monitoring wasn�t present in Lyra

Likely because it had assumed that it would already be there And the original more limited version of that Aether construct that everyone possessed seemed to be completely absent likely it had been lost during the transition Lyra made to Village Spirit Or it had been suffocated and destroyed by the dense Aether of a Village Spirit because it didn�t have the protection of a Class around it

Randidly�s eyes widened imperceptibly Not possessing any sort of monitoring device is extremely useful With Lyra�s help I would be able to focus my research on the System without Octavius Shrike becoming aware

But just as fast Randidly stopped his imagination cold To do so Randidly would need to work with Lyra very closely And if he couldn�t truly trust Lyra then violating the terms that Octavius had laid out was nothing short of a death wish Now more than ever Randidly understood that he wasn�t ready to face the true power of the System

At least not yet

But one day it will definitely be possible Randidly clenched his fists In his chest the images of the World Tree and the Grim Chimera resonated with that wish filling him with determination No matter what I have to do

Besides Randidly had so many things on his plate already He was about to deal with the ramifications of his Judgment which possessed an indeterminate timelimit It was better to let such fanciful ideas go

Shaking his head Randidly let his attention wane for a second to gather himself once more Which was why he was so surprised when Nathan spoke

Wow you were right You certainly were well prepared I can sorta sense it but what�s the final name for your Class

Randidly opened his eyes Lyra stood and turned to look Randidly full in the face Her expression was confrontational My new Class is the Violet Moon of Yearning

Chapter 1026

Nathan smiled brightly at Lyra while sparing a speculative glance for Randidly Even now his expressions shifted like mercury Your Class is a whole moon huh That�s powerful Honestly aside from Randidly your Class is the most powerful one that I�ve ever seen

Is the moon really that powerful Lyra said quietly She was still staring at Randidly whose mind was slowly computing the name of Lyra�s Class He reached out and felt around with Aether Detection very quickly confirming that Lyra hadn�t lied He could feel the shape of the Aether slowly blooming in her Soulspace in that small corner available to it

Meanwhile Lyra continued to speak Honestly the moon seems like quite a pitiful existence Imagine to have thousands looking at you and complimenting your beauty and romance but what those people truly see is light reflected off of you from another source altogether The moon is nothing but a stand in for the sun All the good and ill that people know about the moon is simply misattribution Isn�t it tragic Aren�t those viewers cruel Do they think the moon feels nothing just because she appears distant

At the end of her final question Lyra�s voice turned shrill Nathan�s smile slowly faded away

Meanwhile Randidly�s eyes narrowed I can understand how difficult a time you�ve been having You are an impossible existence No one understands that better than me But you earned this Lyra You can�t escape the Creature�s shadow because you chose the Creature There is no tragedy in this justice

You are speaking to me about justice Lyra said scathingly I�ll be honest I have watched you almost obsessively for your year in the Dungeon after all I have to don�t I And can you guess what I saw Was what I did any different than what you did to the people of Ki Kunot

Randidly blinked and looked at Lyra Despite the fact that he had made his peace with that decision all the feelings he had been plagued by in the wake of that blunder surged upward

Lyra continued to speak I bet you thought you knew so much better than them I bet you thought their dreams were a mistake And yet what do you know Randidly Ghosthound You cannot beat the System alone You can�t even triumph against the Creature So why are you being so fucking stubborn

�I made a mistake but I can�t just spend eternity torturing myself � Randidly felt that strange helplessness again that same feeling that had been planted in his chest by that strange tears on Lyra�s face That helplessness wanted him to back down and apologize To weep for the innocents that Randidly had allowed to die due to their ignorance and his own preoccupation

Yet she admitted that she had been watching A small flame of anger ignited in Randidly�s chest She had this dagger and was just waiting for the opportunity to use it I don�t know what she�s trying to accomplish now but

Randidly�s suspicion she had shed that tear purposefully hardened into certainty around his heart like plaque in an artery �That�s exactly why I need to fight for Earth now Making that mistake once is enough �

�Yet I need to be perpetually punished for my mistake � Lyra�s voice was rising in a scathing flood now �You get your second chance at virtue and mine is forever lost I hope this isn�t because I�m a fucking woman Randidly because I will seriously �

�It�s BECAUSE you don�t regret what you did You would make the same choice now as you did then you believe that the correct choice is to use the System to hide so we don�t get churned to nothing by this grand war machine And if you still think that�s the right answer how can I trust that you aren�t going to just sell out the Earth once more �

Lyra released a low chuckle �So you get rewarded for making a dumb fucking decision to begin with and I get punished for making the one borne out by facts �

�Lyra I�m warning you � Randidly growled There was a tumbling roar in Randidly�s ears like the sound of a slowly building avalanche �We are connected now We cannot escape one another Don�t say something you will regret �

Don�t push your fucked up agenda too far I won�t let you

�And so the helpless ruler defaults to threats � Lyra�s expression was mocking Randidly was distantly aware that Nathan was backing slowly away from the two of them both from Lyra and Randidly Despite the fact that he knew that was a bad sign he couldn�t see past the fury that was burning in his veins

I thought we were past this Randidly seethed

But Randidly was equally determined to not give Lyra the satisfaction of being right So he forced himself to calm down and spoke to her in a low voice �We are getting off topic But the fact of the matter is you believe the Creature�s methods are the right ones You agree with it even knowing the Creature would happily sacrifice millions of lives Even knowing the experiments that the Creature supported in Zone 1 Even then you take its side over mine �

�Her side Are you really so small minded that you cannot even concede that she�s a person As to why Your side is a dream Randidly � Lyra said quietly �And you sound so sure of the results but how can you back up these promises

Was there ever a moment where you asked for my opinion Where you explained your plans and asked for input Of course not You would barely even talk to me back when we were Lyra gritted her teeth and shook her head How dare you claim to know what I would choose if I was really asked to help Do you think you know me at all �

Randidly barely resisted the urge to pull a handful of his hair out �You JUST admitted you don�t regret your decision �

�AND HOW CAN YOU BLAME ME � Lyra thundered She gulped down several breaths of air before she could continue in a normal volume �Despite all the evil that the Yystrix has done she sat down with me and explained her side Don�t you dare claim you�ve done the same If you had enough human decency to sit down and talk with me rather than just assuming maybe things would be different �

�You would excuse all the crimes she�s committed because she talked with you � Randidly shook his head slowly �You are a sociopath Lyra Besides what more proof do I need that you would choose the Creature than your Class The remnant of the Creature within my body manifests as the sub Class Longing of the Banished Wind And you the Violet Moon of Yearning Is that resemblance really just light reflecting off the moon �

Lyra just looked at him Randidly�s hands clenched into fists �Both you and the Creature are driven by some hole in yourselves that makes you crave and take from those around you And that�s why �

�Is wanting something such a crime Randidly � What Randidly heard in Lyra�s tone made him freeze

Even Nathan who was slowly backing away from the escalating shouting match was seized by that tremor in Lyra�s question As Randidly looked at Lyra he saw that she was crying again Her expression was as devastated as a rabbit warren that had been run over by a lawnmower All slack flesh and terrible silence

�It�s not the wanting that damns you � Randidly managed to spit out through gritted teeth but he couldn�t continue to speak In his chest the World Tree stirred

Listen it said to Randidly Truly listen In this I fear you have erred mightily

�It must be hard for you to understand it Perhaps that�s why I�m damned � Lyra�s voice was wide and empty �I�ve been waiting for so long for you to treat me like I was I was anything Like I wasn�t just a kid who didn�t know what she wanted or had the autonomy to reach for it For you to treat me �

Lyra shook her head sadly �But you can�t can you You are just the perfect little soldier who has been instinctively fighting in battles The enemies get badder and your weapons get bigger and you keep stepping forward It�s all you know And now you found a Crown has been placed on your head People rely on you for protection They need you And you certainly understand need don�t you

Was that the difference between the mollusks you so capriciously raised into little engineers and the people of Ki Kunot That one group needed you and the other wanted something on its own

Patterns shift but the mindless instinct does not Constantly protecting constantly changing to face new threats never bothering to stop and think what lies at the end of this Path And now you truly believe you are capable of making a place where your people will be safe

Strangely Randidly heard Azriel�s words from that small courtyard coming back to him

The sort of world that you can create by being good at fighting isn�t that what we have already earned

Randidly felt exhausted He looked at Lyra and just shrugged He refused to admit that he didn�t know the answer to her question But no matter how much Randidly wished he could he wasn�t able to simply answer in the affirmative

Lyra�s violet eyes flickered You need to stop acting from instinct Randidly what do you want Not to survive not to help the Earth survive Nothing related to survival I don�t want to hear about your struggle I want to see you be fucking vulnerable Be a real person Be someone that reaches for something that you don�t need to possess in order to survive

Spreading her arms wide Lyra seemed to be begging him to say something with her eyes Then she brought her hands together and offered them to Randidly Reach for something you might not be able to get Something that will hurt not to have but that you can live without That�s what being human is You think it�s hard to trust ME How do you think it feels to interact with someone who is only nominally human

�If there is something you truly desire I can be there for you Just ask for my help Tell me your dreams and I can �

Lyra trailed off Randidly stared at her

What I want

It was a dumb question especially now Time slowly ticked past as the two looked at each other But that helplessness was back Gritting his teeth Randidly took a step toward Lyra He didn�t have time for this He wasn�t in the Dungeon anymore He couldn�t indulge in these pointless thought experiments Right now he needed

As Randidly opened his mouth to ask something Lyra cut in before he could speak �If you don�t yearn for something you are just a tool And no matter how convincing it may be to other people being a tool isn�t being alive No one was ever saved by a tool Just by the person using it �

Then Lyra was gone vanished in a whisper of fabric After several seconds of silence Nathan muttered something and hurried out of Randidly�s workroom

Which left Randidly alone in the dark Obviously he could have snapped his fingers and filled the room with the emerald light of the Ignition Essence but he didn�t Hell he could probably generate enough friction with a snap of his fingers to start a real flame

But he didn�t He just stood in the dark of the workshop with only the dim ambient light from failed Engravings to keep himself company

�Why can�t our fights ever make sense � Randidly muttered darkly In the aftermath all his frustrations about the Engraving were tightly entwined with his anger and embarrassment toward Lyra Because some part of Randidly knew that she was right about one thing he couldn�t have it both ways If Lyra was damned by her decision to side with the Creature Randidly was damned for his decision to kill Ki Kunot

But Randidly knew it wasn�t about being damned or not even he could admit that he still had to bear the guilt of that decision every day Even thinking about it now a tremor ran through his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom Skill Which now that there was a fracture within the Skill was actually quite painful A small bit of karma that constantly nagged at him

Scars from an emotional wound that hadn�t been able to heal right

No the issue came back to trust It was easy for Randidly to consider his own feeling and conclude that he could trust himself Yet when it came to Lyra the issue was nearly impossible to resolve

I walked into the meeting with Chulroon knowing it could be a trap but trusting the image I sensed around the place Randidly reflected But the image around Lyra it is so similar to the Creature�s I can�t just

�Fuck me � Randidly muttered Idly he picked up one of his failed attempts at Engraving and spun it in his hand He shouldn�t be this affected by this He had already resigned himself to staying distant from Lyra He had accepted in his heart that despite her methods she at least was trying to help the Earth That was supposed to be the new normal for their relationship Independent sometimes at odds but ultimately both fighting for the good of Earth

And now as for her second argument that had completely taken them off of the rails

�What do I want huh � Randidly sighed �Obviously I just want �

But Randidly couldn�t answer the question Not with anything more meaningful than protecting Earth from the System And why wasn�t that enough

Just as he had found in the Dungeon after he had spent almost eight months there without the constant demands of necessity Randidly lost something precious While he was within the Dungeon he had done his best to incorporate persistence in the absence of necessity into his images But Randidly had been so long shaped by need that it was difficult to put a name to his emotions without it

Perhaps that why Lyra�s words had so stilled him Randidly reflected Because what he heard in her trembling voice was genuine concern She was worried about him Which was infuriating Which was confusing

No matter how convincing it is being a tool isn�t being alive

�Bah � Randidly threw his bracer sidearm against the wall With a clang it rebounded off the wall and skittered across the floor to spin slowly to a stop t his feet Strangely Randidly was incredibly incensed by this unconscious act of defiance by the bracer A vein in his temple throbbed

�You are just a tool � Randidly hissed He raised his foot to stomp down and destroy the offending object But then Randidly paused

�Being a tool isn�t being alive � Randidly said aloud feeling the shape of the words in his mouth Licking his lips Randidly crouched down and picked the bracer up with a trembling right hand

� if to Level is to live � Randidly said wonderingly �Then it�s not enough to just give the Engraving a powerful image to give it shape Even if it can grow there is a limit to its growth because it�s practically random �

Randidly�s eyes were emerald fire even as he knew he was distracting himself from an important issue � because it needs a why Because to create something living it can�t just serve a purpose It also must want �

It also must yearn Randidly thought sadly But he quickly banished that thought And he got back to work

Chapter 1027

The final shape of the Engraving that Randidly settled on was a closed eye surrounded by a series of simple waves The final details of the process him took him several hours after all Randidly would be repeating the one pattern thousands of times across his moving city He needed to know the pattern so well there wouldn�t be any variance

While it was true that one of the main goals Randidly had for the Engraving was to give the city itself a way to identify threats but a pattern that included an eye started to have some troublesome images When there were no threats present that open eye would not be the perfect shield that Randidly envisioned With no distractions the eye would turn inward toward the city itself

And an unblinking eye was a very harsh judge

Obviously I don�t want any corruption to take root on the Erickson Steel compound but that kind of intense observation As Randidly followed the logical progression of the image he couldn�t help but wince

So Randidly had to scratch the option of the all seeing eye for the city Which was all for the best considering some of the rather sinister analogs that sprung to mind for that sort of image It was chosen for its power and clarity but those only carried the Engraving so hard Randidly needed something that would work without dangerous side effects

If he had to lower the power in order to make it so it was worth it for the consistency

Once Randidly had applied the lesson that Lyra was trying to give him to the Engraving the process had suddenly become much easier It was like a switch had been flipped With an included goal in the image pieces began to click together The process came more easily to him Which in turn freed up a lot of Randidly�s time to experiment with different patterns

Although his drawing wasn�t the most anatomically faithful Randidly tried to develop Engraving patterns based on the other senses hearing touch taste and smell

Honestly the results were comically bad Randidly found himself guffawing in the dim light of his workshop as he tried to imagine how the city would protect itself if the weapon at its disposal was an insightful sense of taste Would he need to design some sort of tongue mechanism that would allow the city to function

Some were so bad that he burned them to ashes directly with the Ignition Essence The last thing he needed was for Wendy to stumble across some of his early sketches and mock him relentlessly for it After Randidly had taken her to the festival Wendy had mellowed out a lot Which also meant she felt very comfortable criticizing him

For every pro there�s a con

Despite the lack of early result Randidly had continued to experiment He tried combinations of the senses He tried more senses adjacent patterns like lighthouse and tuning forks to get at the senses without having to depict the rather awkward looking human body part If anything these were even worse

Truly Randidly didn�t have a single artistic bone in his body But he didn�t let that rather inconvenient truth stop him

All the while Randidly honed his skill in applying desire into the images that he was creating

Even if you won�t acknowledge it Lyra Randidly thought without venom as his azure glowing finger traced the runes across a practice bracer The desire to protect is an important part of me And it�s what this image needs to understand its role in the world Even if you want more from me this is what I�m pouring all my effort toward

For a second Randidly paused in his Engraving as a tremor ran through his hands His eyes closed for a split second You�ll thank me later

His work did yield some functioning results The final Engravings weren�t satisfactory in their effects and the Skills that would grow as they did but they could grow past Level 100 At least in theory Obviously Randidly wasn�t willing to spend the time to Level any of the Engravings to prove the point But while the previous System messages indicated that his Engravings were barred at Level 100 there was no longer any indication that they would stop there

In fact there was no indication at all that there was a limit Which meant that there wasn�t a hard limit on the Engraving�s growth any longer So it would continue until Randidly�s craftmanship proved insufficient

That made Randidly grimace He didn�t want to know what would happen to the moving city when the Engraving grew to such a point that it destabilized And perhaps imploded destroying all the careful machines that Wendy had slaved away to design

I wonder if there is a way to forcefully limit the growth of the Engraving Randidly thought idly But as he consulted his Absolute Timing Skill he only had two and a half days until he needed to experience his Judgment And it wasn�t an issue important enough that Randidly would head over to a Dungeon to experiment

Plus there was always a chance that it was impossible Which would mean pursuing it was a complete waste of time

So Randidly continued to try strange and unusual Engravings When he ran out of ideas he drew shapes and then was inspired by what he drew Ultimately it was the connection with desire that gave Randidly the clue that caused his focus to shift After all what do people generally desire more than anything else

That which they couldn�t have

So Randidly took away the Engraving�s sight and imbued the Engraving pattern with every ounce of his vehement urge to protect these people for whom Randidly was responsible That same furious desire that drove Randidly to torture himself for a year in a Dungeon without any real break In his heart Randidly knew that even if he didn�t have his eyes he would still find a way to serve his state purpose

Because it was never in his nature to stop because someone said it wasn�t possible Because from weakness came empathy and from empathy could come discretion An eye that was not an eye to look out for threats that might not seem like threats

Or at least that�s what Randidly hoped

Setting down the bracer containing the final version of the Engraving pattern Randidly cracked his knuckles and then his neck All that�s left is to implement it over an entire city

It was with a rather depressing expression that Randidly wandered out of his workshop and headed toward the network of tunnels that was the current construction area Over the past few days Ghost�s assembly ability had rapidly accelerated as he could finally earn Skill Levels by being near the tasks his drones finished

Which meant that while some of that time up front was used to expand the tunnels to accommodate Ghost�s new body that investment paid dividends after only a short amount of time Although everything wasn�t entirely finished Randidly believed that he could safely start at one end of the city and Ghost would be able to handle the construction in specific areas to ensure that Randidly didn�t need to pause

It didn�t take long for Randidly to locate Ghost with Randidly�s Perception it was easy for him to follow the distinctive sound of the anti gravity Engravings that gave Ghost�s new body such wonderful mobility So Randidly approached Ghost on the Western edge of the tunnel system Ghost�s sensors also received quite the boost in his new form so as Randidly approached he sensed Ghost ceasing his work and preparing to greet him

Truly Ghost�s mechanical voice boomed out when Randidly neared This Wendy individual is a genius What she has managed to accomplish with your Engraving patterns and energy conservation principles it has given me much inspiration I cannot wait to construct my own personal workshop

She�s a treasure Randidly grunted Perhaps out of habit he scanned the flow of energy running through Ghost�s body After all he had thought deeply about the shape and function but now was its first real test run

Ghost�s new body was currently in its basic and rather blunt looking new form There was a rather thin band of metal in the shape of a disc that was covered in runes hovering some distance from the bottom with a glowing sphere floating in the middle of the disc The sphere supplied the power for the antigravity while the disc handled the rather demanding task of applying the energy in the right minute amounts so Ghost�s body would neither scrape on the ground or float awkwardly up into the air

Which was manipulated directly by Ghost of course Because he could make those calculations on the fly

Above the sphere and disc was a heavy squat bundle of metal about the size of a mobile home Tools Engravings stored drones valuable materials and Ghost�s six biological bodies filled that densely packed area Honestly the only portion of its body that Ghost had given opinions on was the interior where his AI�s computational power had easily optimized the space

Basically this mobile home sized space was every bit as capable of holding precious cargo as an entire warehouse

Rising up from the main body were two limbs made of layered triangles of metal There were no hands at the ends of the limbs with which to grip but the triangles could be easily compressed into either a shovel or a blade in order to handle materials Which was of course a design that Randidly had entirely stolen from Wendy�s own scale mail design for his arm

For any work that required more delicacy than those two limbs could provide the many spider drones that were skittering across Ghost�s main body could jump into action without Ghost missing a beat

Of course this was only the standard form But due to the limits on space here in the tunnels

Only after he was satisfied that it was running perfectly did Randidly refocus his attention Don�t go getting any ideas to steal one of the Providences for your own I�m sure your liberty will be alarming enough for Zone 1 when they discover it Let alone the theft of an entire workshop

Relax I will do nothing hastily But I don�t it will matter Heh I have no doubt that I will become the subject of many laws once they discover the truth Ghost hummed But despite the serious subject matter Randidly was surprised to hear a thin thread of satisfaction in Ghost�s voice Randidly shook his head helplessly at the smug satisfaction of the AI

Well it�s not like I can give you any good advice on not antagonizing a whole Zone Randidly shrugged his track record on that front spoke for itself But be careful I�ll be taking Zone 1 by surprise but that�s only because they don�t understand how to deal with me I bet the second being to surprise this government will be dealt with much more harshly

I have watched them carefully these past months Ghost intoned They have in fact hidden much of their own secret research from my eyes But I have no doubt that they have been furiously developing a blunt instrument with you in mind Rest assured with the sword you have given me I will make sure they don�t destroy any innocent lies

Randidly�s gaze sharpened what sort of secret research are they pursuing

Instantly Randidly vividly recalled the atrocities committed on humans and Raid Bosses repeated before his very eyes during his first months spent within the Zone Despite the fact that Randidly had killed the original perpetrator the events still left a bitter taste in his mouth

Ghost chuckled Even if your suspicions were correct do you have time to address them before you are departing

That stopped Randidly dead I can see so many seeds being planted but I know I need to leave I just hope when I return I won�t find chaos Erickson Steel and the Order Ducis Donnyton possessing images Ghost and Neveah they need to be enough There isn�t anything else I can do Earth for as long as I will be away will be on its own

you�re right Randidly sighed Then he shook his head I just came to tell you that I�m going to start the final phase of the construction I�ll start Engraving from the core and work outwards so I hope you can handle the finishing touches in all the places that I�ll be going initially while the rest of the work is finished

Ghost�s anti gravity disc buzzed as he considered this Understood It is recommended that you give me one hour and thirty six minutes of time as preparation That way I can eliminate the possibility of you being disturbed during the process

That�s fine Waving his hand Randidly turned away and began to walk back to the surface He chewed on his lip and muttered to himself Plus there is something I wanted to check on anyway

Chapter 1028

When that dark being that was sitting amongst the roiling clouds of ash looked upward Vye flinched Her body jolted like she was jabbed with a cattle prod She couldn�t help it No matter how many times she met its gaze the desolate loneliness within its eyes hit her like a physical weight

And the longer that gaze remained fixed upon her the heavier that weight became

But although she swayed Vye did not fall Her body was trembling The muscles of her legs spasmed There was a line of sweat dripping down the back of her knee Vye was barely able to stay standing underneath the weight of that consideration but barely was enough to stay on her feet

Vye�s left hand burned not with pain but with gathering energy It was a maliciously self righteous thing savoring the sweet anticipation of release With its power Vye could buy herself a few more seconds to move forward Yet Vye forced the urge to activate Reject back down

Using it now was a mistake Even if this was close to her limit she needed to press up against her limits on her own power Otherwise her dream of being able to explore the entire world would be meaningless A tool would become a crutch and then she would be crippled for the rest of her life

Vye herself needed to be strong She couldn�t rely on the rituals of her crazy grandmother forever

Time stretched out in this grey nowhere so that as Vye blinked she couldn�t help but wonder how much time had passed in that split second of darkness as her eye was completely shut Was it possible that she had spent days simply standing here waiting to grow used to this pressure to take another step forward At least they had proof from Aldo that extended exposure didn�t cause any lingering harm

But it also didn�t help you progress further

So Vye gritted her teeth and took another step forward The twin pits of darkness that were this being�s eyes seemed to expand into two wide tunnels and Vye�s step carried her down into the inky black depths

Why was it suddenly smiling

With a gasp Vye sat sharply upward She released too humid breaths Then her mouth twisted into a grimace as the reality of her situation hit her Slimy fucking balls

Edith one of the other participants in the Order Ducis training camp smiled down at her After checking Vye�s pulse Edith brushed off the knees of her jeans and stood Now now no need to be so upset If this sort of result is unsatisfactory you�ll make the rest of us blush Besides we have company

Blinking rapidly Vye attempted to refocus her gaze Then she groaned and leveraged herself to her feet She swayed and twisted around by relying on a herculean effort Only to find her standing face to face with Naffur Suite

Oh you�re up Good That�s the last of you all Alright everyone gather in closer Naffur said gesturing lazily for the surrounding people to approach

Abruptly Vye became aware that outside of the polite bubble that people had left around her while she was unconscious almost forty bodies were standing around in the surrounding dozen meters At Naffur�s gesture everyone moved closer to listen to the acting leader of the Order Ducis

Sorry for holding you all up Vye thought sourly It was not a good feeling to picture all of these people just waiting around her unconscious body But she forced herself to focus on Naffur�s short speech

I�m sure you�ve all heard by now but very soon our training camp will be entering into its second stage For that we will begin to travel between the different Zones Naffur�s eyes swept through the crowd weighing each and every individual there Despite her exhaustion Vye found herself straightening her spine and raising her chin as his gaze slid over her

There were modes to Naffur Everyone in the Order Ducis agreed Sometimes he simply seemed like a normal teenager Then other times

Naffur seemed to consider for a second then he continued to address the group There are two reasons for the travel The first is that we have almost reached capacity Of the fifty applicant slots of our camp forty six have been filled It seems that word has gotten around that were are accepting resumes So one purpose the movement will serve will be to make it more difficult for these applicants to join up with us I�m sure you all now understand how much we at the Order Ducis appreciate making things more difficult

No one smiled at that small joke But as Vye looked at Naffur she couldn�t help but suspect that his own expression was infected with a brief shade of bitterness But then he continued to talk as he slowly rotated in place to look at the surrounding individuals

To that end the rewards for locating our group will be that much greater If any one individual finds us and requests to be a part of the training camp they will get a spot with no questions asked If we are currently at capacity then the current individual ranked the lowest within the camp will be ejected That individual can reapply in a week and kick someone else out but by then we may have moved on without notice

Naffur offered a shy smile To make the possibility of being kicked out of the camp more transparent we will now maintain a public ranking for the individuals within the camp These are composite scores from personal combat and image evaluations In addition to the amount of independent merit you have accumulated through missions Which will be an option open to you once we are on the move

Which brings me to the second reason that we are moving the borderlands are growing faster than ever

That drew a sharp release of breath from the gathering of people who circled up around Naffur Partly because many of them had fought to save people newly liberated from that strange frozen time of the borderlands or had been those people themselves And partly because of what such a change meant

Valor Rend took a sharp step forward Does that mean all seven Zones

No Naffur�s sharp answer took at least some of the building tension out of the crowd People loosened their grips on their weapons Although there were plenty of rumors and half truths about what would happen when seven Zones connected to New Earth everyone agreed it wouldn�t be good But we have received word that the sixth Zone has connected Southwest of Zone 1 actually And it will likely be the first direction we proceed

Per the orders of Randidly Ghosthound the Order Ducis has a new mission to become the levee that protects the fragile lives of budding humanity We will be the first defense softening and easing the transition into the System and new Earth We will travel to the edges of the world and end the most dangerous threats we find so the heartlands of our world can flourish We will do this simply because someone needs to otherwise thousands will die

We will be a lighthouse guiding the uninitiated toward civilization We will be wanderers treading the lost and warped ways so that we can leave behind maps for those that come after us That is our Order Ducis That is why we put you all through hell so we can find ten individuals who can give their lives to this cause Ten individuals who can walk into the unknown without fear

Despite herself Vye felt her heart burning as she listened to Naffur�s words This is exactly what she wanted the opportunity to see the edges of the world and walk away unscathed More than ever before she craved those untouched vistas and the empty wildernesses If she could go there and fine people freed from the borderlands all the better

I don�t want to alarm you but we have a theory about why the borderlands are expanding so quickly Naffur�s mouth was pressed into a thin line For reference the speed of expansion has quadrupled And reports continue to flood in from all directions that this is a universal phenomenon across the edge of New Earth

Most people don�t think about the details but there has been a distinct pattern to the arrival of Zones to a New Earth After all this world of ours is still supposed to be a planet Yet according to the best estimates the area that we currently have access to is only about 5 percent of the Earth�s original total surface area

Scratching his head Naffur�s expression turned sad Also keep in mind that Zones connecting have liberated new borderlands for us to explore but they have never occurred in an area already occupied by borderlands What then does it mean that the borderlands expansion accelerated suddenly

The crowd was quiet But Vye drew in a sharp breath Because because the seventh Zone is going to be far away It�s not just going to be clustered around each other as the previous six have been

Exactly that�s the most popular theory at this point Naffur smiled at Vye then spread his arms wide We don�t know when that will be But if its arrival reveals 10% of the original surface area of Earth That is the equivalent of three landmasses the size of Russia So we need to be out there now We need to have the areas that we can control now under control Because otherwise

The silence that followed Naffur�s words was a heavy one No one needed to understand what would happen if a country that had been frozen for the past two years suddenly reappeared with a healthy infestation of monsters The Levels of monsters in newly freed up areas started low but they rapidly skyrocketed to match the already freed areas

And it had recently been scientifically proved that the farther those monsters were from the origin point� of New Earth a spot sitting between Zones 1 and 32 the faster that rise proceeded A report had emerged from East Providence that stated its research indicated a monster located at the current edge of the borderlands would proceed to grow from Level 1 to Level 50 in twenty four hours

A monster could go from a helpless goblin to a lich in a single day Which was barely enough time for a human if they chose to rush things to get a Class and gain their first Level

There were obviously stronger and weaker groups of monsters that emerged in halos around specific Mana dense areas but the average of the Levels for those groups was around 50 Very rarely were groups of monsters weaker than Level 30 seen in borderland areas

Naffur clapped his hands sharply shaking the crowd from his thoughts That�s why you are fighting That�s why we are pushing you to your limits All those lives we will be the ones to save them We will be the ones pushing outward to prepare for their arrival So without further ado back to your training

Vye rubbed her hands together Nearby she could see Valor clenching his fists while his determined gaze bored a hole into the ground Then he noticed her glance and looked up Their eyes met

Ah One more thing Naffur said He pointed over toward the mess hall tent For now a temporary board has been placed near the canteen We are working on a more permanent solution but for now check your rank Those at the top the details of your score aren�t listed but the person at the top received 305 out of a total 500 The median score is 281 So don�t think you have the space to slacken even for a second

As for the people at the bottom if our stated goals don�t align with your own leave Don�t waste our time

Then Naffur was gone and as one the crowd hurried over toward the canteen area Vye stood on her tiptoes and looked at the careful list of forty six names that had been scorched into the wooden board Her first thought was that it was rather hasty to physically burn the list into the wood when it would likely change frequently

But then Vye pinched herself and refocused on the contents of the list Of course the individual at the top wasn�t a surprise to anyone in the camp

Vye spared Valor a glance wondering how he had earned 305 points Valor was currently suppressing a smirk Shaking her head Vye turned back to the board What a douche I wonder what I

Vye blinked She actually found her own name quite easily

Chapter 1029

After their afternoon sparring session Vye lied on the packed dirt of the arena and distantly considered the sensation of blood drying on her face It itched as the moisture was sucked out of the crimson liquid by the low hanging sun Which left Vye with only the scent of iron and her thoughts

Number three huh it definitely must not be from sparring I�m average at best in the fights I lose as much as I win And I might have worked for Erickson Steel but that was only for a short time So then my points probably come from

Image evaluations From walking stupidly toward that strange being that lives within the cloud of ash

When she had first seen her ranking Vye had been rather dubious She had a very anxiety inducing worry that perhaps Garret had been right about Randidly�s motivations for inviting her somewhere alone And now he was putting his thumb to assist her more directly perhaps

Of course she didn�t think that was true at all but in a paranoia induced frenzy of thoughts she didn�t think it was impossible She likely would have continued on that downward spiral if she hadn�t the presence of mind to notice that no one else seemed shocked by her ranking Several people even offered her congratulations So Vye began to consider

Scraps of conversations floated back to her A few complaints that she had overheard about how difficult the image stones were to approach that were then abruptly cut off as she had walked closer and the speaker had noticed her At the time Vye had thought it was just people trying to prevent her from overhearing their secrets Vye didn�t mind that After all there were several cliques appearing in the Order Ducis training camp

Part of it was natural friendships but part of it was that Naffur had mentioned offhandedly once that each new initiate into the Order would be able to have two direct assistants that were acknowledged by the Order Ducis Therefore the groupings took on a rather political edge as some of the less successful applicants tried to curry favor

Still Vye didn�t plan on getting involved in that She had considered herself a work in progress in terms of results in the training camp She had improved certainly but so had everyone else She wasn�t mesmerizing anyone with her combat ability

But at rank 3

In addition to the strange conversations she had overheard Vye remembered the expression on Garrett�s face when she had stated she didn�t want to know how far she had proceeded toward the Image Stone Also the words Edith spoke as she had regained consciousness lingered in her mind

Now now no need to be so upset If this sort of result is unsatisfactory you�ll make the rest of us blush

So that�s it huh Vye said softly I guess images are something that I�m good at

Vye

The sharp shout had Vye scrambling up to her feet on instinct beaten into her over the last month Ajax their instructor for the combat sparring was striding over toward her Although Vye had gotten over the fact that he was an anthropomorphic cockroach the repeated beatings that Vye and all of the other members of the Order Ducis training group suffered at his hands was enough to keep the fear she held toward him very real

He stopped only an arm�s length away and considered her

Vye clenched her jaw I refuse to flinch He may have mouth mandibles but he�s still a normal person

Oh good Ajax said lightly I was worried I had beaten you unconscious Good effort today you are improving But you�ve been requested As the current leader in the Image Evaluations you will receive a small reward Proceed to the command tent immediately You won�t be given a break before the Raid today so be quick about it

Around her several previously boneless bodies propped themselves up on their elbows to watch Vye hurriedly limp away Vye could practically see how their ears perked up at the mention of a reward The memory of the ultimate reward that could be reached by touching one of the Image Stones was still fresh in their minds Now as a minor reward was mentioned they wondered what it could mean

It wouldn�t be a break day but if it was even just a meal they didn�t have to inhale on their way to another battle

As Vye walked out from the arena she could practically hear the small gears in their heads turning If touching the stone is worth a break day what will she receive by being the closest

Perhaps Vye shouldn�t get too comfortable on top of the Image Evaluations If the reward was good enough she knew that most people would throw themselves at the Image Stones with renewed vigor

By the time Vye arrived at the command tent she had imagined dozens of possible awards that she might be receiving Obviously it wouldn�t be a full day but if she would get even a little bit of the day to spend just by herself

Well I�d just sleep But still The prospect had Vye salivating Non necessary resting felt like something from a day dream

Which was why she hastily wiped her mouth when she walked into the tent and saw Randidly Ghosthound sitting there She froze like a groundhog caught rustling in the bushes by a bear

Randidly looked up sharply and then smiled Ah you�re the one with the strongest images I should have guessed with your

I�m so sorry Vye blurted out bowing at a 90 degree angle to Randidly She had assumed that Naffur would be the one to award her the reward But for Randidly to have made the trip out to the Order Ducis base himself

Vye peaked up at him then resumed her downward stare toward the ground Not that she owed him anything but as her boss both in Erickson Steel and the Order Ducis it was simultaneously tue that she owed him absolutely everything It was exactly because Randidly took a proactive attitude toward the borderlands that she had been rescued and was brought to Erickson Steel

If Randidly hadn�t worked together with teams working out of the Orchard to help with the expanding borderlands thousands of people including Vye would be dead

Vye bit her lips as she looked at the thin green carpet that had been laid out to cover the packed dirt ground I you asked me to come to meet you after your speech but I simply wasn�t able to So I�m sorry if you waited for me

really it�s fine No need to bow I�ve found that these things have a way of working out for the best Choices have a way of panning out so that things happen at the right time

Hearing that Randidly�s tone was relatively cool and civil Vye straightened and looked at the man who was an engine that made all of her experiences with the System possible Currently he was sitting in a canvas chair while idly making a small knife dance across the fingers of his metallic arm In the low candlelight of the tent interior both the knife and the gleaming ridges of Randidly�s arm reflected small glints of light

And Randidly was smiling at her seemingly somewhat bemused Whether it was at her bowing or what she said Vye didn�t know but her secret paranoias had some ideas

Vye purposefully repressed her urge to flush with embarrassment Ugh of course he wasn�t just WAITING for you that night He�s the busiest man in the world He was probably spending the entire night working on that new training facility that the Order Ducis leadership keeps whispering about and it must really be something if they aren�t even willing to tell us the details

So Randidly said lightly If you don�t mind me asking why couldn�t you make it If you don�t want to answer that�s fine I�ll just give you the reward for having the best response to images and then I�ll be on my way

Ah I don�t mind telling you It�s just more strange than anything else Vye shrugged Reflexively her left hand clenched My hand hurt Quite badly There is a weird scarring from one of my Skills and it aches now when I use it But after I met you I remembered something my grandmother told me She was the one who taught me about the Skill that damaged my hand

And she always said that everything has a price So after performing the ritual there should be an offering to even our debt to the world I thought I would have time to head back to my tent and do the offering while the festival was dying down but I just spaced out during the offering When I came to four hours had passed and by that time I needed to go back to training

Tapping his cheek with a finger Randidly studied Vye Huh Interesting You lost track of time while you were doing the offering And let me guess when you came to the pain was gone and you had gained several Skill Levels

Vye�s eyes widened yea I�m not sure where that instinct came from but it felt right Feels right And I was rewarded for following so I cannot say I regret missing our meeting There�s still so much I don�t know about the System so every time I learn something new it�s valuable

No I understand I would encourage you to follow those feelings in the future Randidly cracked his neck Vye�s mouth twisted she always got the chills when someone so casually cracked their neck like that It got under her skin somehow

It would certainly be an anticlimactic end for Randidly Ghosthound to pinch a nerve and die

Then Randidly chewed his lip in thought for several seconds before saying Before I give you the gift can I see your hand Specifically the scarred place where the Skill marked you

Immediately Vye wanted to say no Mostly because her hand looked like a leper�s and no matter how progressive and self aware Randidly Ghosthound was it would be hard for him to set aside the sight of her warped and feverish flesh whenever he thought about her in the future And then another part of Vye snidely asked why she cared at all how he would think about her in the future and a third part of Vye interrupted by pointing out that there was no harm in the gesture

So she slowly unwound the bandages she had wrapped around her left hand and offered her limb to Randidly To her surprise he didn�t touch it immediately Instead he leaned over and looked at the inflamed ridges and deep scaring very carefully His emerald eyes were only a few inches from her hand but he squinted and studied it with a powerful intensity

Then Randidly leaned back and rubbed the back of his head With his human arm he reached out and brushed his fingers across the scar left by the Ritual Vye flinched instinctively but Randidly�s hands were surprisingly soft It was hard to believe these were the calloused hands of a warrior After he had traced the entirety of the Ritual with his fingers Vye felt a flood of warmth to her hand

At first she was rather alarmed at the prospect that the touch had caused her to activate the Ritual subconsciously The last thing she needed right now was to blast Randidly backward with a Reject

Although if it�s him will he notice my Skill hitting him at all

But as Vye focused on the spot where their hands were touching she realized that it wasn�t her Ritual that was activating Randidly�s hand was wreathed in emerald fire

I could heal this if you want Randidly said softly And as he spoke Vye felt the cleansing warmth drifting down into her ruined hand However you would lose a lot of the power you have now This ritual created a space in your hand Something isolated from the rest of you That�s why it�s so painful But it�s possible to heal it if that�s what you want

Chapter 1030

Vye shook her head It wasn�t even that difficult of a decision No I�ll keep it It might be painful but its also powerful I recently got the Pain Endurance Skill as well so I�ll be able to Level that up while using it

Randidly chuckled and Vye frowned at him

Shaking his head Randidly said Sorry you just reminded me of me Of a crazy sort of masochism that I learned from someone very precious to me And you are right What you have here is extremely special And because of that powerful Even I haven�t seen anything like this before

The emerald flames dancing across his hand died out but for another minute Randidly continued to poke and prod at Vye�s hand It wasn�t painful but Vye found the whole procedure rather awkward Rather than an individual brought to a manager�s office to be rewarded for her work Vye felt more like a patient in a clinical trial that Randidly was running

Finally Randidly took a step back and let both of his hands fall to his sides His expression turned rather stern as he looked at her Still Pain Endurance will help but it�s a Skill that raises your capability to handle pain without really dulling it at all Don�t push yourself too hard before you are ready

Vye gave Randidly a look that she hoped wasn�t as incredulous as she felt at the moment With all due respect Would you have heeded that advice if it was given to you early in your experience with the System

Smiling wanly Randidly shook his head Of course not But won�t I seem like a heartless boss if so casually expect you to endure pain for my sake I have to tell you not to do it in order to keep up appearances

Vye didn�t have an answer to wry humor so she smiled politely and then asked a question that she had been thinking of after listening to Naffur speak about the looming problem of the borderlands By the way I wanted to ask why are you only accepting ten people into the Order Ducis If the borderlands were expanding that quickly won�t it be helpful to recruit more people

Randidly snorted and shook his head Well obviously more powerful individuals would be better for us But there are two problems The first is maintaining the integrity of the spirit of the Order Ducis Frankly that�s more Naffur and Ajax than me but they raise a good point Image is important and since we are part of an organization each of us is doing our part to shape the direction that image is taking Therefore taking in too many people at once would dilute that image Plus rapid expansion lowers our ability to screen the undesirable elements who want to come into the Order

Which brings us to the second problem who the hell is going to train all of you Randidly grinned at Vye Naffur and Ajax are running themselves ragged arranging all of the training for just 50 people But that�s really just a method of identifying 10 that they will take the time and effort to genuinely assist in growing Plus it�s not like they�ve stopped training themselves

Being an instructor especially with the sort of harrowing pace they�ve taken with you all is a full time job I�ve arranged for someone to take over some of the more physically demanding tasks but there is a limit to how many people we can give targeted attention to

And you What about you Vye asked quietly They don�t talk about it much but it seems like you are going to be leaving again soon Is the Order Ducis not high on your priorities Ah I don�t mean it as an insult I�m just worried about something so important that it will pull you away from saving people freed from the borderlands

That dropped Randidly�s cheery expression into a frozen tundra After a long sigh he shook his head sadly It�s not that I�m choosing to address an issue that�s more important than that It�s just well What I leave to do is unavoidable Because I�ve taken shortcuts in the System I�m being punished for it It�s a Judgment I cannot escape

Then an extremely strange smile wandered out across Randidly�s face His eyes began to sparkle But maybe you are right I should take a more direct approach to this Before I go I should take some time to get to know the cute applicants to my Order It�s worth touching the image of all of you directly before I go

Strangely Vye had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that reminded her of the times in university that someone inadvertently reminded a professor to assign homework And Randidly�s expression contained a bit too much sadistic joy for Vye�s taste

Before she could figure out what the feeling meant Randidly extended his hand toward her Well that�s enough chit chat First the reward for being the best with images And then if you want I can still give you that gift I mentioned before if you are willing Now that I know about your hand it will take a different form but it will definitely be a powerful addition

Yea I want the power to travel this world with impunity If your gift will provide that by all means Nodding Vye reached out and offered her hand once more

As he held her hand Randidly started muttering to himself First the connection easy Hmm And if your Skill really formed its own Soulspace then it should be possible to

Vye�s left hand twisted as the warmth hidden inside of it began to spiral into a tight seed in the palm of her left hand Of course as that warmth focused into a smaller point the heat of it rose sharply upward So much so that Vye winced as Randidly�s grip tightened on her hand

And then System notifications appeared before her eyes

Congratulations Due to your deviant Skills you have achieved a great benefit You have unlocked the ability to Dual Class You have obtained the sub Class Alfen Priestess

Due to limitations in your Soulspace benefits acquired from your sub Class are diminished Due to the high Level of your main Class you will only acquire experience for Alfen Priestess until the Level of your sub Class equals your main one

Warning Possessing two Classes will consume a great deal of energy Please see your Village Spirit for details

Warning Please note that illness and death may result from your Dual Class

Congratulations You have received the class of Alfen Priestess You have gained the Prayer to Nature (Un) Lvl 1 You have received the skill Ritual Consume Lvl 1 +1 Health per Level +4 Mana Per Level +1 Stamina per level +1 Perception per level +2 Wisdom per level +1 Free Stats per Level

Uh Vye blinked as she looked at the notifications It says that I received a Dual Class and that illness and death may result

Randidly was staring almost fanatically at Vye�s hand but he looked up and waved off her concerns airily Relax Although it sounds rather intense the issue is a relatively minor one The reward I gave you to start should solve it

Okay and as someone who has lived with this System for a few years I respect your knowledge of these things Vye said slowly She drew in a long breath But didn�t you say that you are about to be punished for taking short cuts in the System Is there any chance that this is related to that

Randidly chuckled with too much nervousness to assuage Vye�s worries Probably not

After Vye left Randidly was still thinking about how she had obtained the Dual Class

That hand of hers functioned in a similar way to the architecture that the Creature had assembled in the Raid Dungeon Randidly frowned down at his own hands It isolated the energy somehow Luckily it didn�t completely bar the System�s gaze In this case it had stolen a portion of Vye�s Soulspace and place it in her hand

The effect was extremely strange Whatever Skill Vye had used had set up an independent space and tied it to her hand As far as Randidly could tell Soulspaces weren�t actually physically present anywhere in the body they existed in another dimension altogether So to see the Aether of the Soulspace actually spiraling around Vye�s hand

Which was probably why the activation was painful Those Skills had housed themselves in her physical hand so her hand was enduring the rapid movement and resonance of Aether every time she used that Skill Hopefully she would develop a Skill related to the body that would make her physically capable of handling that flow of energy rather quickly

Destroying the isolated space and restoring Vye�s Soulspace to its original appearance wouldn�t have been especially difficult but it would have taken some time for Randidly to either figure out the reason the Skill shaped Aether in this manner or simply use brute force to crush the isolation Without harming Vye of course

But that would have missed out on all the benefits that such a strange arrangement could provide So Randidly had offered Vye his assistance Originally he wanted to remake her Class but to make a smaller Class in the miniature Soulspace wasn�t difficult Besides Randidly had wanted to see what would happen if he stabilized the space

the only unfortunate thing is that the benefit she received from it was so small 6 Attributes and 4 Stats Honestly my Class basically has five of those sub Classes all rolled into one Giving more to myself would be superfluous Plus the sorta Aether utilization methods that accomplished it are exactly the sort of thing that Octavius was warning me away from screening the System�s view of me is a no go

But even if I can�t use it for myself this might be exactly the sort of thing the Order Ducis needs in order to get an edge

Humming softly to himself Randidly sent a message to Naffur He didn�t mention the Dual Classing yet but he did ask that Naffur bring all of the Order Ducis applicants to a nearby Dungeon at noon tomorrow to receive personal training from Randidly Randidly figured they could stay in the Dungeon for two weeks or so pretty easily which would be plenty of time for him to get a firm grip on their personalities and images

It would also mean that the Order Ducis would have time to prepare for the departure of the city scheduled for tomorrow evening Barring no setbacks during the Engraving process today might be the last night spent here in Zone 1 for quite some time

Plus mindlessly thrashing the applicants would be a refreshing break after a night spent Engraving an entire city

After that thought sprung up Randidly couldn�t help but grin Shal it really seems like your teaching style has rubbed off on me but no one can deny that it�s effective I just wish it was a bit less intense sometimes

Randidly looked sharply up at a noise from the front of the tent but he quickly eased up Wow I�m actually surprised that you managed to get this close without me noticing

I can�t do it for long but one of my new Skills lets me swim through the air Helen said as she pushed the tent flap aside To demonstrate she spun mid air seeming to drift into the center of the tent on capricious winds You rely too much on the plants for information If I don�t touch the grass you won�t find me

I�ll keep that in mind Randidly said drily Although he knew that Helen took protecting him very seriously sometimes she focused her attention in the wrong areas But Randidly could admit easy enough that hubris was a problem even for him so he made a note to think about refining his threat detection process So what�s their standard like

Helen folded her arms Worse than Donnyton by a lot but probably about as good or better than anywhere else I�ve seen Plus you can definitely fucking tell these are your followers there a bunch of weirdos here Someone is copying your habit of refusing to wear boots

Weirdo followers includes you you know Randidly said with a soft smile

But Helen glared at him These are trainees Randidly I have no problem with raising them of course Often teaching is one of the best ways to learn the way of the spear But what I do have a problem with is that I cannot come with you to face this next challenge Especially when I see how nervous you are about the Judgment

Do I look nervous Randidly asked in surprise

Helen pressed her lips together Even if you are pretty good at keeping yourself under control that ash monster image you have inside of you isn�t I can feel flashes of it sometimes Leaking out of the edges of your body All violence and frustration and darkness

Randidly could only shrug at that Hopefully Helen�s insight was only due to her experience with images The last thing Randidly wanted was to shake the spirit of Erickson Steel or the Order Ducis before he left by having the Grim Chimera float gloomily behind him

I can help you Helen said in a low voice If you are going to the battlefield there�s no one better to have at your side than I Tellus was all the preparation I need

And what happens if war comes to Earth while we are both away Randidly replied in a voice just as soft It�s my home planet Helen Based on what I heard I�m unsure how long I�ll be gone A month Three But that will definitively be a time where I cannot help the people of this world I have the Riders but they can only do so much That�s why I need you here pioneering the borderlands

I don�t like it Helen grumbled

Randidly smiled but didn�t respond out loud Do you think I like it But I don�t have any choice It�s time to face the accusation of being a Heretic head on Even if I�m not guilty of the crime of which I�m accused it�s much better than the System finding out the truth of what I am

Chapter 1031

Senator Cliff Heathridge poured himself a cup of coffee and then added a single sugar and a spoonful of cream in a single concise motion With his teaspoon he then stirred the cup counter clockwise four times The pure white of the cream swirled in the chestnut of the coffee to make caramel

After he lifted the spoon out of the mixture Senator Heathridge watched the liquid continuing to rotate for a few seconds before stopping He felt the heat of the coffee through the cup in his hand Then he set the spoon down on his napkin and lifted the coffee to his lips

He didn�t drink but took a deep whiff of the thick steam that wafted upward from the coffee A smile spread slowly across his face as his nose parsed apart the different scents presented to it Then he sat the porcelain cup down on its saucer Truly even though Senator Heathridge hadn�t taken a drink the quality of the beans was immediately obvious But the fact that he could tell the quality without a taste wasn�t the point

When Senator Heathridge�s assistant heard the distinctive tinkling of the porcelain on the saucer she looked up at him and smiled Enjoying the coffee Senator

Of course Margaret Senator Heathridge said with a smile as he turned his attention back to the documents on his desk His assistant smiled shyly back at him and then returned to her own work Of course

The point was that it didn�t matter whether or not he actually took a sip of the coffee the only thing that mattered was whether his assistant believed that he did That was a lesson that he learned from the knee of Randidly Ghosthound That was the power of image It was the power to make the impossible possible

That�s how I can finally reach Randidly Ghosthound That�s how I can slow him down

After moving his cup to the side the Senator stood and walked to the window Outside a gardener was trimming the hedges of a manicured courtyard All on the taxpayer�s dime of course When he moved his assistant looked up and made a pained face at him

Senator your plumber called again I believe he wants to set up a meeting to talk about your piping

Evan Crane called again eh It seems like he has noticed that Randidly will move soon as well but he still could be useful

See what his schedule looks like If he can move today tell him to meet me at my summer home Hopefully I can get the problem fixed before I need to entertain or I�ll be the laughing stock of Congress

His assistant nodded and turned back to type away at her terminal But the senator remained at the window watching the workmanlike movements of the gardener

Senator Heathridge had been fifty six when the System arrived Depending on who you asked Senator Heathridge possessed the good luck to have been transported into a Zone He hadn�t been senior enough in the Senate at the time to have received word of the System�s impending arrival beforehand but that didn�t bother him much

In actual fact at most 5% of the individuals who knew what was coming lived through the initial month of chaos and bloodshed Meanwhile later statistical analysis indicated that the average individual had about an 8% chance of surviving through the first month It seemed that foreknowledge was one thing but that very knowledge had made people underestimate the threat that was to come

After all who would have truly believed what was coming would change everything as it did

Surprise brought with it the added benefit of caution So many of the powerful men who thought they understood would the System was had been butchered because of their arrogance Their deaths served as the first lesson Senator Heathridge had learned on his path to power

Despite the fact he was getting on in years Senator Heathridge had was motivated by ample ambition and an exacting practicality that saw him steadily rising in the ranks of the Senate while his more robust fellows left the board rooms and carried weapons to protect their families A necessary task but one that left a power vacuum in an already extremely depleted field Politics after all was an old man�s game When the System decimated and confused most of his peers Senator Heathridge�s mind had seen it for what it truly was

An opportunity

As society struggled to stem the tide of monsters Senator Heathridge had surged into action He had almost beggared himself to send aid to the military the research industrial complex of East Providence and also the police forces across the Zone He had shipped out weapons and bullets by the tons But his contributions to the Zone didn�t stop there

Through some less than ethical experiments on his underlings Senator Heathridge had quickly determined some of the more efficient avenues to Skills and Paths This he used to lead himself to his modest current Level of 41 but it was really the elites that Senator Heathridge nurtured that had shined for the longest time His first response team was the rock Zone 1 needed while they struggled against their Tribulation

The memory of that bloody fight had even a seasoned politician like Heathridge grimacing He turned away from the window and returned to his desk For several seconds he sat and pressed his eyes closed remembering the torn limbs and sobbing at the site of the confrontation

But they had one and most people in the know understood that Senator Heathridge had been instrumental in that success Theirs had been the first Village in the Zone and the good Senator had seen it successfully protected

For himself Senator Heathridge took some of the fertile lands South of East Providence as his estate in the aftermath The population wasn�t high in that area at the time but the Senator had believed that the growing demand for food would quickly pull people into his agricultural ventures in the area In addition he spent quite a sum of money to build the only exo suit factories in all of Zone 1 He completely dominated that corner of the market

It had seemed like a golden goose that would never stop laying eggs

On the expedition into the Raid Dungeon every individual wore one of his exo suits And to the public Senator Heathridge seemed like the main power broker in Congress He only had a few dozen votes that he could control directly but he largely sat between the liberal and conservatives on most issues holding the deciding vote for himself In addition he was staunchly in support of businesses and had passed law after law to deregulate the entrance into industry after the System�s arrival

He had seemed to be the most powerful man in Zone 1 And rather than savoring his success the Senator had pushed all of his money back into research to create an even more unassailable foundation for himself

But Senator Heathridge had made two mistakes that would ruin him Or at least bring him to his current precarious position

The first mistake was assuming that the current agricultural needs would be the same as they had been in the old Earth This had pretty obviously not been the case Even at the beginning there had been signs that the money that Senator Heathridge poured into industrial grade farming equipment was a mistake But he had reassured himself that even if the equipment turned out to have been a bad move the land would hold its value

The fertile land was supposed to have been his long term insurance But it had become almost immediately worthless

Senator Heathridge looked up from his desk Margaret did any mail come in for me

Yes of course Margaret got up and brought Senator Heathridge a manilla folder Should I open it

No it�s fine This is a personal matter Senator Heathridge said with an easy smile Plus he had no desire for either of their DNA to be tied to the parcel Better to have Randidly Ghosthound open it directly with no other interference With great care the Senator lay the parcel down on the far side of his desk and returned to his bitter musings

With the System food could be grown practically anywhere in only a week�s time Fertile no longer held any real meaning Plus all of the labor intensive cultivation and care that a farm used to require was no longer necessary When it took about ten minutes a day to maintain a farm sizable enough to support an entire family all of Senator Heathridge�s agricultural investments quickly became sunk costs

His second mistake was in failing to predict the almost inevitable plateau of the effectiveness of exosuits Which Senator Heathridge privately believed could have been postponed somewhat if not for the direct interference of one individual Randidly Ghosthound

How long has he known about my efforts Senator Heathridge wondered as he leaned back in his chair How long has he schemed against me

Exosuits while individuals were low Level were extremely useful in boosting someone�s combat capability They required a high level of technical knowledge to create and maintain but the boost they gave to people from Level 20 40 was very real and useful The small number of sales that continued to trickle in was exactly individuals around that Level trying to boost their Leveling speed

Unfortunately around Level 40 people�s bodies became just as powerful if not more so depending on an individual�s Class than an exosuit that could be made with average materials There were exosuits made with high quality materials of course but they were precipitously expensive to make due to the many almost microscopic components that also needed to be made from difficult to work with materials

So they had considered scrapping the delicate components altogether But without the microscopic components that added the various functions an exo suit was just a suit of armor

Which Donnyton could make so much more cheaply and quickly

In addition the series of runic Engraving methods spread by Randidly Ghosthound quickly highlighted another weakness of exo suits if the components were destroyed suddenly they were reduced to suits of armor that required you to practically buy another exosuit in order to replace the broken part

The energy transference runes revolutionized the industry by making those sturdy shielding metals that usually protected the inner workings also function as a redundant method to code instructions into a machine Simple Engravings on the surfaces could vastly increase performance and also ensure that each piece of the suit would continue to function even if all the Engravings around it failed

Senator Heathridge�s people had made several mock ups of exo suits that were just armor with Engravings but he had quickly intervened personally and put a stop to that line of research If Senator Heathridge had gone that route he had no doubt that copycats would spring up like lice on a beggar to capitalize on the very cheap turn around of that method

As it was it hadn�t yet occurred to anyone other than Donnyton�s elite forges that such a thing could be done To Senator Heathridge�s relief Engravings were currently seen as something relatively expensive for drones or high end armor So there was still a market for the exosuits into which he had invested so much time and capital

But it was like building a huge shopping center and only having teenagers come to spend money Money was money but no one with any real money bothered to come They could get higher quality products elsewhere

Of course the true killing blow to Senator Heathridge�s influence came from Senator Firefly�s rapid rise to power Although they had never really stood at odds with one another the mass rush of people to the Orchard quickly made Senator Firefly�s constituency count for one tenth of the total population of Zone 1

When Senator Firefly spoke people listened

Worse Senator Firefly had moved very quickly to the liberal voting block and dragged quite a few of some of Senator Heathridge�s old allies with him With the votes at his disposal almost halved and the strength of the liberals growing Senator Heathridge had to choose either throwing his lot in with the conservatives or risk being written off as irrelevant

He had chosen irrelevancy After all he was quite deep in debt at this point and needed to first address the problem of funds before he could return to the zenith of his power

So Senator Heathridge had spent the last year struggling to maintain his reputation and desperately building up goodwill with some very key Senators in the various blocks While he truly had no real resources or support to give he maintained a facade of having his finger in a dozen different pots He regularly visited and spoke with the higher ranking individuals in Zone 1�s military and industry to maintain an illusion of influence

For now it seemed to work But very soon the principle on his loans would come due he could only make interest payments for so long

So Senator Heathridge had found himself in a strange limbo It was true many individuals owed him favors And Senator Heathridge could utilize those favors at any time to get an edge in business and political dealings Yet it was a matter of leverage at this point

Because he had tied up so much of his money in the agricultural and exo suit projects that had practically turned to ash in his hands he had basically no money remaining to sink into other ventures to make back what he had lost Sure he could learn about buy outs and deals ahead of time by relying on his network He could probably even make as much as 50% profit in a few short months by being savvy about it

Yet what would his allies think when he was only able to spare a few thousand dollars toward projects that they each had sunk millions into They would undoubtedly wonder what motivation could Senator Heathridge have for offering such token support

At best they would assume it was done for political reasons to show outward support but the small monetary amount had been chosen to send a sharp sort of message to the recipient of how Senator Heathridge really felt about an issue At worst his contemporaries would sense something was amiss and might begin to investigate what was going on with him

And that is exactly what I cannot afford an investigation

Senator Heathridge could only stay the course He cultivated an insightful and circumspect persona to explain why he so rarely acted these days He became a passive force that traded on information Although his influence waned Senator Heathridge was able to maintain the long and intimidating shadow he had cast in the past

Behind the scenes Senator Heathridge had sent what little money he could to East Providence It was from that small amount he could spare that the happy discovery of the Cyclops Initiative originated but that would never be a source of revenue It was a weapon on the same scale of a nuclear bomb built on the System�s principles But it didn�t help him in the slightest re establish his credit

All the while he had been desperately looking for a cheap way to take control of a venture and develop a legitimate revenue stream that would breath life into the Senator�s financials That was why he had fixated on Erickson Steel Even while Randidly Ghosthound was away the company had a core group of technicians and engineers that produced an extremely high quality steel

Despite Senator Heathridge�s initial reluctance to involve himself in the workings of Randidly Ghosthound he couldn�t deny the draw of the company Through some very meticulous research he was confident that he had been able to estimate the amount of revenue the business generated

The amount was staggering So much so that Senator Heathridge had checked his estimations several times before he believed it Sometimes it was easy to overlook the volume of steel that the company shipped out If he was able to take a controlling interest it would solve all of his problems at once So he had gotten involved with Evan Crane to act as his hands and began making life difficult for Erickson Steel

His initial nudged hadn�t slowed the company down at all It had already built up too much momentum to be swayed by individuals Eventually Senator Heathridge was forced to reluctantly use some of his political connections to pass a few laws that would have severe repercussions for Erickson Steel while appearing to be about a completely different issue

At the time Senator Heathridge had considered it his nuclear option It was embarrassing to need to rely on law in order to curtail their activities In a way he had felt extremely bad for Erickson Steel

Yet even with those laws restricting them the company stoically endured For the first time the Senator was able to see why Evan Crane was so obsessed with the place So they went back to the drawing board and created an even more intricate plan to exert pressure on several fronts at once

And then Randidly Ghosthound had come back to foil every one of Senator Heathridge�s plots

Shaking his head slightly Senator Heathridge moved his untouched cup of coffee to the side and began to steadily sort through the papers he had gathered on his desk Present before him was all the information that could be gathered about Randidly Ghosthound Interviews news reports military briefings about his exploits signed business documents it was all there

Senator Heathridge had been studying it for days trying to predict how the man would respond when he used his prepared leverage against Randidly Ghosthound Would he get angry Would he grin and bear it and get revenge later

By now it was clear to Senator Heathridge that Randidly Ghosthound�s goal was to make Erickson Steel the world capital of New Earth Honestly that outcome was extremely desirable for Zone 1 If it happened Senator Heathridge would find a dozen of ways to profit modestly So it wasn�t as though the Senator wanted to prevent it

It was just that now that the Senator truly understood what Randidly wanted he could make the man pay for it To do any less would just be bad politics Knowledge was king in this world and Senator Heathridge finally had the edge of having nothing left to lose

But for some reason the Senator�s instincts were warning him of something So he had studied Randidly�s files again and again He had made several plans and back up plans to deal with the fallout He had even provided Evan Crane with an experimental exo suit that should make him the next best thing to invincible

Senator Heathridge hadn�t known what he was looking for but he sure as hell knew what it was when he found it And honestly it was staring him in the face a request by Randidly Ghosthound himself to alter the wording regarding the legality of mineral extraction in their lease contract

Randidly Ghosthound planned on naming a world capital and then stealing it later

To what end Senator Heathridge didn�t know But it was enough to know that the generous and charitable exterior that was shown to the public was not the true Randidly Ghosthound

So underneath what you seem to be what sort of man are you truly Senator Heathridge grinned at his files Then he made a call to his exo suit factory and prepared to make a trip to the Erickson Steel compound personally

Chapter 1032

Vye frowned down at the motes of green light that were floating out of the ground As though drawn by a weak magnet they began to drift toward her Why isn�t anyone more worried about these Does anyone know what these are

Aldo the man who mimicked Randidly Ghosthound in all of the weird ways that didn�t seem that important opened his mouth and bit down on one of the floating green lights After chewing thoughtfully for a second he said hesitantly It certainly seems to taste like the Ghosthound but I�m not sure about the origin

You sir are an idiot Vye thought with a sigh She glanced around at the surrounding people who regarded the lights with little more than bemusement as the floated upward Although I guess its not like we haven�t seen plenty of strange things but really To have no reaction at all If this was poison the entire Order would be fucked

The entire Order Ducis had been standing around at the East gate of the Erickson Steel compound for about five minutes when the motes of light began to float upward from the ground in unsteady waves These bits of soft light seemed to seep directly up out of the ground and drift through the air like motes of dust riding the air Even though it was almost noon the lights were bright enough to catch the eye Certainly they weren�t natural

But when green lights started to rise out of the ground it was pretty clear that most people assumed it had something to do with Randidly Ghosthound Perhaps because of that Vye was torn between curiosity and a strange dread toward the many motes of light that floated upward around their group�s feet

After she had received her sub Class from Randidly Ghosthound she felt different Mostly in good ways but her growth had suddenly accelerated so much that she didn�t trust the sensation Some part of her worried that she couldn�t accomplish her dream if she relied on someone else�s help like this

But finding something like this is exactly why I applied to join the Order right Vye grimaced at two motes of light that floated upward and merged into one larger bit of light before rising another meter and slowly dispersing into nothing Don�t sabotage yourself now that it�s actually happening

When she used the Rituals the resulting pain in her hand was now much less pronounced In addition it felt like the shape and extent of the Rituals was much easier to control Plus she already had the new Ritual Consume and had gained two Levels in the sub Class It was immediately clear that this would be of tremendous benefit to her growth

Relax and don�t worry about avoiding the lights Naffur said lightly Although he had frowned just as much as everyone else when they had emerged from the ground his face eased up after a few minutes I�d heard that Randidly was working on the final touches for the training area this morning and this is related to that No need to avoid them any longer those of you who have some extra energy Don�t worry you�ll need it later Randidly Ghosthound will be arriving soon

That made everyone among the applicants for the Order Ducis share a worried glance Vye coughed into her hand and hoped that whatever Randidly Ghosthound had cooked up for them wouldn�t be so brutal that she would feel guilty for what she had caused Yet somehow Vye sensed that it was a fool�s hope she held in her chest

Now that Naffur had given the affirmation that the strange phenomenon wasn�t dangerous Vye stretched out her hand and allowed several motes to soak into her fingers The motes of light themselves were similar in appearance to fireflies but were a slightly darker shade of green than the yellow green of the insects They were in fact almost forest green

As the motes touched Vye�s hand she felt a sudden rush of warmth fill her fingers And that warmth

It�s the same feeling as his fire Vye muttered to herself as she stretched out her bandaged left hand and allowed some of the small motes to drift upward into her hand Although most of the pain had gone there was still a rather constant dull ache Very quickly that warmth began to wash away the lingering pain in her hand

Although admittedly part of that persistent pain might be because she had become more comfortable using the Rituals through her hand after the resulting pain had diminished and had overdone practicing a bit

For the next two minutes most of the Order Ducis participated in their own private experiments with the motes of light As it turned out the lights began to dim and dissipated after rising about three meters off of the ground so rather than a natural phenomenon many people began to suspect that it was radiation from something else

If individuals were near the motes drifted over toward them But otherwise they simply rose off the ground and dimmed to the point of invisibility Whatever energy had created them quickly ran out

The mood took on an even more relaxed tone after Naffur�s statement indicated that the lights were related to the construction of Randidly Ghosthound�s new project So although the phenomenon was strange everyone quickly accepted it as par for the course for Randidly Ghosthound

As his followers they simply needed to accept this sort of thing would happen quite a bit around him

Besides for the Order Ducis applicants this lull between training was a time where they didn�t need to do anything It was a long awaited period of rest Combined with the rejuvenating properties of the motes of forest green light many people began to doze and ignore the lights continued mild attraction to their bodies

Which Vye believed was a mistake Because those people therefore didn�t notice that the number of motes of light that was seeping out of the ground was gradually increasing

But just as Vye was noticing the shift in density among the lights Randidly Ghosthound appeared His eyes were somewhat hollowed and he seemed profoundly exhausted but he seemed to step out of the very ground and arrive before the grouping of them For several seconds the Order Ducis applicants who were paying attention seemed frozen in surprise Many people continued to doze without even noticing his arrival

Ahem Then with a deliberately soft noise Ajax coughed That familiar nudge had everyone who had endured his training leaping to their feet and preparing for the next threat

When they noticed that Randidly Ghosthound stood before them no one dared relax entirely

Despite his obvious exhaustion Randidly grinned at the assembled people Good everyone�s here For about a week of Dungeon time I�m going to be personally accompanying you and overseeing your training so I hope you�ll be sure to show me your own strengths I will be passing on my thoughts on every individual to Naffur as my input for the remainder of the training camp So believe me now is not the time to slack off

Randidly scanned the group which was gulping as one at his words Vye included Her left hand clenched into a fist She thought for a second that their eyes met but Randidly seemed to be inspecting the entirety of the assembled individuals Despite the bags under his eyes there was a dense heaviness to his gaze that made Vye realize that this man truly was the source of the Image Stones

Even though he�s just standing there why is there such a dense aura of images coming out from him Vye gritted her teeth And if she was feeling the vague sense of pressure from him she had no doubt that the rest of the applicants were struggling with the same thing

Ah one last thing Randidly said as he chewed on his lip Has everyone allowed some of the moss spirits to soak into their bodies Those green lights coming out of the ground Part of the new base will be a recognition system based on being touched by those light so be sure that plenty has soaked into you But if you�ve been standing here it should be sufficient by now

Then Randidly clapped his hands Alright follow me

True to his promise Randidly quickly led the group from the Order Ducis across the Western plains to a Dungeon that was only a thirty minute jog from the Erickson Steel compound Very quickly Randidly guided the entirety of the group into his party and entered into the Dungeon which was Level 29

Within Vye found herself standing in the middle of a warm golden field that looked very similar to the one that she just left Aside from the vegetation which possessed a strangely uniform and crystalline structure Reaching out Vye brushed the edge of the tall golden grass Rather than crystal it felt more like stone But it was definitely extremely cool and smooth

Vye looked around in wonder at the strangely perfect environment It was night in the Dungeon and the strange golden grass gleamed dully in the bright light from this world�s three moons overhead Vye wondered inwardly if they would be forced to break apart the delicate seeming ecosystem here in their training

But Randidly was already moving and Vye hurriedly joined the Order Ducis in following him away from the entrance to the Dungeon They encountered a few groups of monsters but Naffur Ajax and Madelyn ripped them to pieces without missing a beat Randidly didn�t even acknowledge the attacks

Eventually the group arrived at a placid silver lake Randidly stopped and smiled at his reflection in the water then turned and faced the people who had followed him Rather than speaking however he shook his arm A looping band around his right arm that Vye had originally taken to be some sort of tribal jewelry straightened out and became a long and deadly looking spear

Immediately the air around Randidly became even heavier It was like some huge beast released a long and humid breath down over the assembled talent of the Order Ducis applicants

So we will start with some light sparing Randidly Ghosthound said easily No need to worry about fairness with my Stats I�ll have an advantage no matter how many people come at me at once But I suppose for demonstration�s sake let�s start with you three

Randidly Ghosthound gestured to Naffur Ajax and Madelyn Each of them had different responses Naffur paled but bit his lips Ajax bowed deeply And Madelyn hopped from foot to scaled foot clearly overwhelmed with excitement Vye had her suspicions after overhearing Madelyn talk but it was clear that the lizard woman worshipped Randidly

Each of the three took a few seconds to ready themselves and then spread out around Randidly The Order Ducis applicants backed away to create a circle of space As if from some unspoken signal the air around each of the three began to ripple

Everyone watched with wide eyes It was clearly weaker than the images that Randidly could create they were all astounded to see that each could manifest a phenomenon in the air with just their will Naffur�s was the strongest but both Ajax and Madelyn created a distinct feel in the air that seemed to indicate they were all on the right track

Ajax moved first With a roar he dashed forward toward Randidly with a long knife in each of his four hands Naffur seemed to become a ghost flitting side to side and rapidly closing the distance Madelyn raised her hands and condensed a spear of black light that she tossed toward Randidly

As the fight started Vye had the presence of mind to start counting Without relying on anything but his body and his spear Randidly Ghosthound began his counterattack

Two minutes and ten seconds later the bloody and unconscious bodies of those three were left to recover next to the placid lake as Randidly walked toward the rest of the ground and rubbed his neck Each body had been left in its own small crater after Randidly had forcefully caught up with them and smashed them into the ground

Ah looks like I�m a little more mentally drained than I thought my images are all over the place Randidly shook his head and gestured sharply with his left hand Out of the ground hundreds of vines exploded upward and wove themselves together Vye blinked rapidly as a few seconds later seven human looking puppets made of woven roots stood holding roots in front of the people of the Order Ducis

Seriously don�t stress too much about the results here I would be very impressed if you were able to beat me This initial spar is just to push you closer to your edge Randidly said easily But each word was heavy and ominous in this strange crystalline Dungeon Because this is what you will face in the future if you follow me Impossible odds in exotic locals This is where you will need to fight to save lives So show me how brightly your spirit can burn Let me see how much blood you can lose before you stop moving How much do you want this applicants to the Order Ducis Demonstrate your resolve to me and I�ll teach you how to become strong

As Randidly barred his teeth in overt threat at them the seven beings of vines began to stalk forward The applicants to the Order Ducis shivered

But one by one they raised their weapons and struck toward the root beings

What followed made Vye miss Ajax�s training sessions

Chapter 1033

Randidly hummed in pleasure as he walked back toward the exit of the Dungeon with the limping group of the Order Ducis behind him They drifted behind him like silent listless ghosts Currently he was suppressing the strong urge to smile fondly back over them because they reminded him so much of how shell shocked and unresponsive he had been after some of Shal�s more intense training sessions To see them now like this it certainly brought back memories of simpler times

But recalling those same simpler times made Randidly�s good mood diminish somewhat I did bear quite a few scars from those rough experiences but I should have been a gentler hand than Shal had been But also now the entirety of Tellus is moving to face the Fourth Calamity There�s no telling what that means So Shal

We both knew that him stepping through the portal to face the System�s challenge was dangerous but if that ends up being the last time we speak to each other

After leaving the Dungeon the empty and soulless bodies of the Order Ducis applicants were blown away by a stiff breeze Yet as they fled back toward their training compound for their meal Randidly�s eyes crinkled up at the corner You might think that compound is a safe haven now but how long will it be until you fondly remember your time with me in the Dungeon I wonder

Randidly spoke briefly to Naffur to inform him that Helen should be waiting back at the training compound In addition he provided a brief explanation about the areas that Wendy predicted would be definitely safe� as the area became mobile and the areas that Wendy thought should be safe� based on the geological information they had obtained Although the System definitely made individuals more powerful the whole of the Erickson Steel compound weighed thousands of tons

It would be a bit of a buzz kill if a portion cracked and fell off leaving the people who had been present on it reduced to a paste

After all the plan for the moving city called for a series of heavy steel girders underneath the area woven into a basket like shape because it was too difficult to make an entire solid surface underneath the area without affecting the buildings that were already situated above Honestly even Randidly was nervous for the initial movements of the project he had spent so much time working on over the past year of Dungeon time

In terms of image Engraving and materials he had exhausted himself for this And now it was finally coming together

But once the compound was finally lifted off the ground they would know rather quickly whether their preparations had been sufficient to handle the weight Wendy had driven herself half mad with calculations and simulations but still

I hadn�t realized just how big of a thing I was doing by just imagining it working on the images and gathering the resources Randidly reflected as he moved off into the wild and untamed land that lay to the West of Erickson Steel But then when I went through the hassle of actually Engraving something that big

The Engraving itself hadn�t been too difficult Randidly had refined and perfected both the pattern and the image in the prior few days But the actual work of going across all of the steel beams the different facilities the engine room the innumerable smaller legs the four larger legs

Over the course of the morning Randidly had spent six and a half hours just tracing the pattern over and over again maintaining a very exact amount of image in mind while he worked evenly across the entire sleeping behemoth Luckily he had scaled up the size of the pattern significantly so each individual portion was about the size of a dinner plate or else the work might have taken an entire week to finish

Even so Randidly was forced to alternate between the fingers of his right hand and even then each finger had been sore and twitching in the aftermath It was with an extremely bleary eyed visage that he had shown up to train with the Order Ducis applicants a week ago Perhaps that was why some of his initial trials with them were rather heavy handed

He just didn�t have enough mental strength to wrangle his attacks to be anything other than won�t kill them probably� levels

But that week of training gave Randidly almost everything he needed to prepare for his departure due to the Judgment For one he now understood generally the images and traits of the applicants to the Order Ducis From that Randidly had a pretty good idea of who about half of the finalists were likely to be All he needed to do now is make a few quick notes to give to Naffur explaining what he had found

In addition he felt refreshed after the rather relaxing level of exertion required to fight against these applicants to the Order Ducis They weren�t necessarily weak but there was simply a huge difference in capabilities between him and the applicants even setting aside Stats Randidly�s Skill Levels had reached pretty ridiculous heights And the training had been reassuringly direct and simple after wresting with so many problems concerned with image and design for so long

It basically required no thinking it was glorious

Finally it had also given Randidly some time to talk to Naffur more concretely about what Randidly had in mind for the purpose of the Order Ducis And to be frank Naffur�s studious seriousness had also cemented Neveah�s choice of putting Naffur in charge of the Order as a stroke of genius Although Naffur lacked quite a bit of polish and pure physical ability he definitely possessed a burning desire to better the world and that had steered the Order right thus far

After arriving in a vast area of waving grass Randidly sighed and sat down Hopefully that determination endures as the threats become more difficult And as help becomes scant Ah I definitely need to wish him good luck before I actually leave

Then Randidly focused his attention inward and took stock of the Skill Levels he had managed to gather since spending most of the PP three fourths of the way through his time in the year long Dungeon With all the improvements to his images spells and production Skills Randidly had gained a little over 400 PP Which was in fact just enough to finish his Physique of the Grim Chimera Path

Congratulations You have completed the Physique of the Grim Chimera Path Some Paths leave in their wake a light effect on the body but others leave you irrevocably changed Such is the grim Path that you have walked that your body has been warped by the harrowing journey Although your shape is still human the roiling images inside of you have slowly begun to reinforce your very flesh They sap your humanity and replace it with steel and ash Your eyes glow with the inner fire of the furnace that now fuels you

It is unclear how much similarities you now share with those you once called fellow humans

Your Physical Statistics have reached the cusp of something great Although your humanity was sacrificed you have grown strong All Physical Stats +10 You have learned the Skill Catalyst of Agony Lvl 1

Catalyst of Agony By experiencing pain desire is crystalized Increases sensitivity to pain and Stamina costs for Skills in order to increase the effectiveness of those same Skills For every Skill Level sensitivity and Stamina costs increase by 2% Effectiveness increases by 5%

In addition please select one Physical Stat that will experience a mysterious evolution Warning choose wisely as this cannot be undone

Randidly released a long breath and offered the ground with a fragile smile I mean I cannot deny that I�ve moved pretty far away from the normal experience of people but to see that transformation addressed so directly it�s sad I feel sad Lonely too I wanted power sure but I never wanted to be

But as the System notification had indicated Randidly wasn�t sure what he was any longer He was trending a Path so that others could follow but the trick of this Path was he had to tread it first without any assistance

Shaking his head Randidly forced the air in his lungs out through his nose Despite the strange trepidation Randidly felt to see his own worries mirrored by the System notification now wasn�t the time to dwell on his own existential problems Rather than that he needed to focus on the opportunity presented by finishing this Path

The Stat boosts were unimpressive but both the Skill and the notification about choosing one Stat held his attention Despite the rather annoying side effect of increasing his own sensitivity to pain Randidly didn�t need to worry about Stamina costs at all these days His regeneration was so monstrous that even his very expensive to utilize Skills barely made a dent in it

If he could start forcibly increasing his power by spending more Stamina that was a trade he would gladly make

As for the mysterious evolution it seemed to imply that one of his Stats would be pushed to a higher Rarity form Yet the fact that it hadn�t stated that directly gave Randidly pause In terms of his Physical Stats currently Agility was Randidly�s highest sitting just below one thousand It seemed logical that he should improve Agility then and experience the greatest benefit as each point in the Stat became more valuable

Yet Randidly frowned down at the ground

Rather than Agility he felt much more drawn toward upgrading his Preception In terms of the reason that he had been able to get this far it seemed to Randidly that Perception and his ability to understand a situation had served him much more valuable than his speed In addition his Skills already leaned toward speed Improving that further would transform Randidly into a force to be reckoned with but Randidly didn�t think that was the Path that felt most natural to him

No to keep up with his monstrous Control he needed Perception

Of course none of it would have mattered if he didn�t have the capability to keep up with the information if the amount of information his brain received was enough to reduce him to a vegetable the upgrade would be a moot point And if he upgraded his Preception there was a very real possibility that he would exacerbate the growing difference between Perception and Reaction to the point that it was dangerous

But Randidly trusted his instincts And if he was going to face his Judgment Randidly truly believed that what he would need was the increased Perception to identify the threats of Nether rather than simply upgrading his Agility

Congratulations Your Perception is undergoing a mysterious transformation

Synchronicity detected Images resonating with the transformation the effect improves Isolating the highest resonance

The Grim Chimera raises its head and roars to the overcast sky The Maelstrom of Ash shudders beneath the force of its longing The weight of timeless persecution has greatly increased the effectiveness of the transformation

Congratulations Your Stat Perception has evolved into Grim Intuition Your ability to sense threats surrounding you has stretched beyond the limits of the physical realm With practice it is possible to discern the intent of others nearby just from their aura The sphere of detection around you greatly increases The power of the Grim Chimera settles into your body

Chapter 1034

The effect was immediate The air around Randidly suddenly felt thin and transparent His awareness blasted outward swirling around him like a maelstrom of invisible currents that swam and spiraled erratically as they dragged against monsters and landmarks that surrounded him

Randidly�s eyes flashed emerald Even though he wasn�t relying on either Aether Detection or Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil to sense in the surrounding area he still now possessed a very detailed picture of the environment in the surrounding hundred meters So detailed in fact that Randidly couldn�t help but shake his head wryly

Honestly it�s good that I made this decision to pair it with my extremely high Control Otherwise it would be extremely difficult to manage all the information that is being fed into me from this new Perception I probably should also make sure to put some more points into Intelligence as well so I can parse apart all the signals that I�m receiving

It became apparent very quickly that his new Grim Intuition was so good that it was somewhat overwhelming to be on the receiving end of it constantly But there didn�t seem to be any way of diminishing it so Randidly would need to get used to it Taking long breaths Randidly stopped trying to handle each bit of information that flowed into him and simply rode the wave of sights and sounds

Some of the tension left his shoulders What is within without What is without within And now I can finally see both sides at the same time

The monsters seemed to be wreathed in bloody light The normal animals had the distinctive taste of dirt and plants hanging around them There were no people but Randidly anticipated that the aura he sensed from them would be the most complex of all

And this was just the normal examination When he would focus on people it was undoubtedly going to be even more difficult to maintain his focus Perhaps heading to a battlefield was exactly what he needed There wouldn�t be any complicated layers of intentions for Randidly to peel apart there most people would just want to kill him

And what a relief it will be to not need to worry about all these forces conspiring against me Not even against me but against my company and the people I�m trying to protect Randidly pressed his eyes closed and sighed All I will need to do is battle just like the training with the Order Ducis it will be a mental break that�s definitely needed I�ve been so focused on Engraving and images to strengthen myself for too long

Randidly�s temple twitched as an image sprung unbidden to the forefront of his mind

Lyra her violet eyes flashing her small fists clenched and pressed to her sides Her glare burning a hole in his forehead Demanding that he stop using the screen of necessity to avoid thinking about the things that he wanted

Yet sitting alone on the vast grasslands with his Grim Intuition swirling around him Randidly found an answer in his heart A heavy answer that he found in the Grim Chimera�s defiant roar to the overcast sky

After licking his lips Randidly spoke to the air with a lifted chin so his eyes were on the clouds as though he didn�t want to see the words after they left his mouth I want to make sure no one has to become a monster as I�ve done to seize control of their own destiny I want to build a world where people will be safe

With a heavy sort of reluctance Randidly looked down at his own calloused hands Although he made some grand and self righteous statements about knowing how many lives he had ended or destroyed with his own hands that was hubris Randidly didn�t know any longer how many beings he killed And he couldn�t avoid the knowledge that those many slain monsters were just desperate and starved individuals from worlds that had been consumed by the System

To grow as strong as he had he had feasted on the flesh of the dead He had consumed the corpses of heroes and even Patrons He had piled their bodies into a pyramid that he was now using to ascend toward the Nexus to demand the long owed blood soaked vengeance

Randidly blinked He reached up in wonder to touch his cheek When he pulled his hand away a glistening tear sat fat and useless on his finger Smiling bitterly Randidly flicked his hand away and discarded the tear it�s not like I didn�t know where I was heading even at the beginning Shal made sure I was very aware of what I was becoming But to look back at it all now No matter how many graves I dug along the Hallat it was nowhere near enough to hold all the lives that I�ve ended to get here

The Grim Chimera condensed next to Randidly in that field its limbs warped and twisted It�s one arm was a spear of bone and the other was a claw covered in dried blood Proud and defiant it roared to the sky Dark clouds began to gather overhead As Randidly stared intently at his images a crack of thunder and fork of lightning lit up the afternoon sky above them

Randidly reached out and touched the parchment like skin stretched over his image�s skull I told myself when you were formed that your physical appearance was because of the lingering touch of the Patron of Ash but that wasn�t true was it

ooWaahh

Another bolt of lightning split the sky so close that the thunder arrived at the same time

You you look this way because this is what I think about myself About what I�ve become You are the monster I�m afraid to see in the mirror

Shhaa

The thin skin around the skull of the Grim Chimera ripped underneath Randidly�s probing fingers A cool wind blew and pulled away the flaking skin in large chunks After thirty seconds enough skin had been removed that features began to come into focus But still more and more skin flaked and was pulled away

After a couple more gusts of wind a dark smudge of hair could be seen Then the clear shape of a nose Next was a sharp and prominent jaw covered by a short layer of stubble

Randidly reached up and gripped the flaking skin and simply tore the rest off sending dead cells flurrying outward like a sudden snowstorm Then he released a breath until his lungs were so empty they trembled

He looked at his own face staring stoically back at him The only difference between them was that the eyes were pure black like coal and the deep dark places hidden within the bowels of the Earth The Grim Chimera used Randidly�s face to smile viciously at him The teeth were gleaming and white and filled with hunger and violence

Randidly shivered Suddenly he was tired Far more tired than he had even been even after spending half a dozen hours Engraving over the whole of the moving city But this was not exhaustion that stemmed from his effort No this was something that originated from a truth that Randidly had spent quite a long time avoiding To face it after so long was a relief in a way but it also made all the distractions and justifications that Randidly had used to avoid facing this truth seem pointless

And nothing was more exhausting than futility

What do I want Lyra

I want to not have to do this Randidly said softly I don�t want to be the one who needs to sacrifice himself in order to protect the Earth I don�t Goddamnit But there�s just no one else

There was a ripple in the air and suddenly Neveah was there standing next to Randidly For a split second he froze horrified that she had come here now and seen the Grim Chimera for what it was not an imagined creature designed for power but the own true state of Randidly�s soul

But then Randidly brittlely smiled From Neveah hiding something like this was almost impossible Although they had both been too occupied by their individual tasks over the past several months each could read the other�s emotions So she had known Randidly had no doubt And now she was likely here to comfort him

Neveah kicked Randidly in the chest He was so surprised that after he was knocked to the ground Randidly spent several seconds staring up at the sky rather than getting back up

Neveah came and crouched next to him Her bone teeth clicked together as she shook her head It�s a hard truth what violence has done to you But don�t go getting all mopey when I was born like this Neveah pointed to her skull of stark bone with a maw lined with razor sharp teeth that she had inherited from the Bone Wyrm Ever since I came into the world this is the only face that has been truly mine does that mean I�m a monster

Sighing Randidly got to his feet and rubbed the back of his head I suppose it�s too much to expect that you came here to comfort me I�m sorry you�re right I�ve been hiding this truth from myself but you

No that is exactly why I�m here Neveah took a step forward For a second Randidly thought he was going to receive another kick but instead Neveah spread her bony and horned arms and pulled him into an embrace When he gasped in surprise he smelled the scent of peat and rot wafting up from her it seemed her work in the Toad world hadn�t ceased

Neveah pulled back to an arm�s length away and regarded Randidly steadily Know that you will never be alone again when you face your demons We are bound Randidly Ghosthound Never forget that And because we are bound remember this that girl child Lyra was more insightful than you give her credit for Because no matter how monstrous you look it is not our forms that define us It is our desires

Randidly clenched his hands so hard that his metallic limb began to emit groaning complaints And what does it say about me that my deepest desire is to cast aside all the momentum I�ve built up and shirk the responsibility I bear

That was your fear talking Neveah leaned forward and butted her head sharply against Randidly�s Randidly was rather annoyed by how much it hurt When you hide away your internal fears so long is it any wonder they warp your desires Do not take it to heart I know your desires just as well as you do And it is not to run away from the monsters that rule this fucked up System

Randidly felt it too at that moment Even when he had faced that image of his own monstrous actions in the past he had not cried or mourned Perhaps that made it even worse but what he had pictured was himself using those broken and rotten bodies to build something

Something that would let him strike back

For several seconds they stood like that with their heads resting against each other Randidly closed his eyes I don�t know what I would do without you you know We don�t interact much but when I need you

You would have died without me Many times Neveah said bluntly She leaned back so their foreheads were no longer touching A strangely guilty expression came across her face Of course I cannot deny that I�ve uh also caused you a fair share of problems

Randidly grinned at her as he recalled her using his own body to become engaged to a pop singer I�m glad that I didn�t need to be the one to bring it up It�s good to see you have grown enough to own your mistakes

Hmph Well I have learned by watching you to be fair Then Neveah shook her head Also I wanted to be here in person just to say goodbye I do not know what this Judgment will mean but I�m worried If something were to happen to you

I know Same with me Randidly punched Neveah�s arm lightly So be careful with the Toad world while I�m gone Whatever exists in there its control of Aether is sublime Even for you who has such an instinctive understanding of Aether it will undoubtedly be dangerous

Heh I�ve actually learned much by studying the Aether of that realm Neveah said smugly You may be able to create letters with the Aether to cause your will to persist but in terms of shaping raw Aether none can match me Not even this shadowy toad

Randidly smiled but didn�t bother to call Neveah out on her boast There didn�t really seem to be any point Instead Randidly began to stretch So for old times sake since I�ll be heading away soon maybe a little light exercise

Truly while I�ve been gone you�ve become cocky I�ve learned many Skills in the Toad World I�m no longer simply a powerful juggernaut Watch as I run circles around you with my finesse Neveah cracked her bony knuckles

Barring his teeth Randidly said That�s exactly why I want to fight you Show me what you�ve learned Do you think I haven�t grown I�ve spent a year in a Dungeon It�s time to teach you a lesson for relying on your raw Stats to bully me in the past

Perhaps because she had inherited the body of a Raid Boss Neveah had always had Stats that were truly mind boggling Even though Randidly�s growth in that area was monstrous she was likely four hundred or so Stat points ahead of him in Strength Vitality Endurance and Resistance Attacking her felt like a normal person using his barefoot to try and cut down a tree

But with the completion of his Physique of the Grim Chimera Randidly wanted to test how his new body and Grim Intuition felt in battle Plus his new Skill Catalyst of Agony would slowly help Randidly narrow the gap between their physical capabilities if he could gain some Skill Levels

With an almost regal sort of pride the long and bare wings of bone spread out from Neveah�s broad back Fine then Let me remind you of the difference between us

Randidly shook his head You�ve spent too much fucking time pretending to be a Demon King

Then they both moved and the ground around them shuddered and buckled like a collapsing building

Chapter 1035

Tatiana blinked at Randidly�s rather disheveled appearance as he stumbled into her office After setting down the fork with a perfectly portioned bite that featured selections of her medium rare steak onions and baked potato Tatiana pushed her chair back and stood She walked hesitantly over toward him

At her behest Randidly had worn something close to a suit to go train the Order Ducis recruits Tatiana had given a persuasive speech to him about the power of the image and how people would more readily believe he could accomplish the impossible if he looked put together So rather bemusedly Randidly had worn an expensive set of leather armor Tatiana had recommended over his personal equipment

Now that armor looked like a pinata in the wake of a six year old lumberjack�s birthday party

While seeing Randidly so covered in mud and gore was rather off putting that wasn�t the reason why Tatiana felt the sudden need to set her dinner aside No what immediately grabbed her attention was a strange heaviness that came into the room when Randidly had arrived Something was off Ah is something wrong

Turns out Neveah is a sore loser Randidly chuckled and the heaviness immediately lessened Drips of blood fell from a long gash across his shoulder and landed on Tatiana�s carpet He raised his right hand awkwardly toward his right shoulder while emerald fire began to dance across his fingers His own flesh mirrored Randidly�s mouth in hissing as he pressed his flaming hand to the wound but when he pulled his hand away the gash was gone

With a great sigh Randidly collapsed onto Tatiana�s impossibly expensive werewolf leather couch Some of that strange moodiness returned This time Tatiana was sure it wasn�t her imagination she could actually see the lights in the room dim as Randidly�s mood turned sour

I see Tatiana resigned herself to having the couch professionally cleaned later More important issues to focus on right now So are you alright It looks like someone dropped a mountain on you

Like I said sore loser After a brief smirk Randidly�s expression transformed to become extremely serious How was the reaction to the moss spirits

Moss spirits that�s what they were Tatiana reminded herself She cleared her throat Well quite positive considering the rather sudden arrival of them Per your instructions the workers for the government�s lodgings were escorted away from the affected areas The guards we used to keep tabs on them were rotated so they were each touched by the moss spirits Plus when people realized that the spirits healed wounds they took to gathering as many as possible It became something of a game

Heh that will have interesting effects Suddenly Randidly�s good cheer was back He straightened leaving dried blood and dirt smeared on the couch After a long stretch he asked Tatiana another question that gave her pause

By the way what do people think of me

Due to the strange tremor in Randidly�s tone Tatiana considered her response carefully She looked at his shoulders as he faced the wall ostensibly to examine the impressionist painting of a horse on the salt flats Tatiana had recently added to her office What do you mean

The people The workers I�ve pushed them and pushed them and I�ve done things for them that might be impossible I�ve been trying to impress them on purpose to keep them motivated but I can�t help but wonder what that makes these people think Especially with my images Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera those are things of fantasy I can easily imagine that people would begin to doubt if I�m even human

For several seconds Tatiana stared at Randidly�s back Strips of leather armor and flesh had been flayed away and hung limply from his back For several seconds she couldn�t find an answer The heavy air pressed against her chest keeping even her from sucking in a breath to speak Gritting her teeth Tatiana forced the words out Fame�s a weird thing isn�t it Sometimes it can feel like your life isn�t really your own

Yea I suppose that�s right Randidly replied lightly And to Tatiana�s relief some of the pressure around her dissipated

She took several breaths struggling to remain as quiet as possible so he didn�t notice Even if you stay the same people start to treat you differently Because you are a famous actor a rock star a CEO and now a monster slayer That�s just the sort of culture we live in People love to put someone up on a pedestal And toward you they think you are a hero To many you are They found homes and lives working for you so

Honestly its not the fact that people have begun treating me different that bothers me Randidly replied quietly while still facing the painting I�m just starting to wonder at how much I�ve really changed over the past five years

Five years Is that how much time has passed for him since the System arrived Tatiana wondered With Dungeons it is a little hard to keep track but the fact that the time he spent is close to double the actual time it�s no wonder he�s so far ahead of us How does he avoid Aether Sickness

Randidly if you ever need to talk I�m perfectly willing to listen Tatiana began but Randidly waved his hand and turned around Abruptly all the pressure in the room was gone

No it�s nothing like that In fact I�m actually in a good mood Sparring against Neveah really cleared my mind I was just curious I guess Randidly said with a beaming grin His emerald eyes were as luminous and clear as a moss lined pond in a rainforest But I�m going to head to the engine room Have everyone prepare for some light growing pains as we get everything started

Of course Tatiana replied dutifully Then she bit her lip She wanted to press again about that strange weight that had hung around Randidly but some part of her hesitated But as Randidly�s friend and subordinate she needed to do this So she opened her mouth

And the words that came out completely missed the issue altogether so what are we going to call it This new facility you�ve been building

Ah about that I�m glad you asked It�s not just the facility we will be an entire city now Randidly scratched his cheek It�s a little on the nose but we will be Kharon

Tatiana narrowed her eyes Kharon That sounds familiar

Randidly walked toward the door and waved his hand Kharon who grants passage across the River Styx in Greek mythology The ferrier between worlds The bridge to impossibility Be prepared Tatiana because that�s what we need to be

And then he was gone Leaving Tatiana with her regrets and her cooling dinner

Sighing Tatiana walked over to the wall and pulled down the impressionist painting After a guilty glance around she cracked the frame and shredded the painting within

Seeing Randidly spend so long looking at it she had abruptly become aware of how tacky it was But it did bring her quite a bit of pleasure to destroy something on which she had spent quite a bit of money

At the core of Kharon was the powerplant that made all of the facilities possible on a mobile platform It was the masterwork of an extremely overworked Wendy who sat with a rather numb and blank expression as she stared at Randidly What do you mean I need to go back before you turn it on It�s my engine

They were standing on a steel walkway around the cylindrical column that was the core of the reactor Around them was a vast chamber designed to house the powerful ambient energy that the impressive engine Wendy designed would throw off Even though the walkway they used to arrive here was lined with dim lights so they didn�t fall off into the depths of the spherical energy housing chamber the vast darkness was incredibly oppressive

For now the heart of Kharon had yet to experience its first beats And Wendy had been positively tingling with excitement to see those moments

Sighing Randidly shrugged rather helplessly I have some guests who are coming this way Some very confused and foolish people I expect things will get violent So it�s better if you return to the Alpha Cosmos for now

I will seriously burn this all down Wendy fumed She fumbled in her pocket for several seconds and produced a miniature blow torch A bright blue triangle of flame flickered to life in front of the nozzle as Wendy looked defiantly at Randidly

He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender Wendy there�s no need for that And we both know that it�s pointless Kharon is built of stone and steel anyway what will you burn down

Your fucking ego Wendy fumed She waved her torch back and forth to demonstrate how seriously she took this issue Then I guess I�ll melt the inner wall of the reactor

You would burn down something you spent so long to build Before you even turn it on

I�m staying Wendy said aloud through gritted teeth forcing her voice an octave downward so she sounded more authoritative

Their eyes were locked for almost thirty seconds Randidly�s expression softened fine But don�t say I didn�t warn you

Wendy kept her blow torch lit for several more seconds to make sure he was serious about the capitulation Then she directed a surly grimace his way and deactivated the torch As she did so she grumbled at him If these guests are so dangerous why do we need to wait for them to arrive Just start the damn thing up now and the whole city will run away from them

Isn�t there something cathartic about the first action this city takes being an exorcism of the demons that covet its image Randidly said with a smile Then he patted one of the steel walls Isn�t that right buddy

vvmm

A pattern of light in the shape of a closed eye danced across the walls as the entire room rumbled Where there was once vast darkness for a split second they seemed to be standing at the center of a vast sphere of forest green light Wendy paled and took several steps backward T that is what you spent so much time working on

Yup Wendy despised how smug Randidly�s expression was but she couldn�t deny that her first sighting of this mysterious project that consumed him was certainly impressive But she wouldn�t put it past him to have made it extremely showy in order to demonstrably outdo her own contribution to the city

Randidly continued to speak while Wendy�s thoughts simmered dangerously Plus they snuck into the Erickson Steel compound when there was supposed to be a complete blockade someone let them in It won�t get rid of the problem of them tracking the city completely but kicking those couple of people who helped them out will be a good start

Ah so it�s a trap You have people watching them Wendy asked disinterestedly Instead she walked over the wall and knocked experimentally against it To her deep satisfaction no impressive phenomena manifested As I thought Randidly is crafiter than I thought

Actually no but my area of observation grew quite a bit recently Randidly replied Plus like calls to like their greed will resonate with the people who are supporting them With that it will be pretty easy to sweep out all of the low hanging rotten fruit

Wendy opened her mouth to ask how that worked but Randidly raised a finger to his lips and pointed toward the end of the hallway Along a suspended catwalk that connected the main core of the engine to the outside world three people were approaching

They came cautiously at first hesitantly moving through the darkness where only their path forward was visible But when they neared the bright white light that was shining from the terminal screen of the reactor core their steps lengthened with purpose

I believe introductions are in order Randidly said in a booming voice The reverberations echoed out the wide inner chamber designed to capture and harness the radiation from the core with such efficacy that wondered how many joules of energy Randidly�s voice contained The three figures stopped in their approach

Wendy shivered Standing next to Randidly Ghosthound she suddenly felt extremely hot Sweat trickled down her back He seemed to be burning more energy than even her reactor could produce

Evan Crane Just a fan of your work Mr Ghosthound The right figure said It was difficult to distinguish his features through the strange suit of armor that he was wearing But a casual glance was enough for Wendy to distinguish that there were strange components functioning behind the scenes Her fingers itched for the chance to dismantle it

Chuck Ballard head inspections officer for the area in which Erickson Steel operates The gruff man on the left said He folded his arms and stared off toward the intricate runes and mechanisms that covered the wall of the outer reactor chamber It seemed that one had a vision Skill of some sort

And I�m Senator Cliff Heathridge Truly what a pleasure to meet you here Randidly The middle figure said warmly

Wendy winced as the heat whirling around Randidly intensified I�m sorry gentleman but it appears that you are lost This is for authorized personnel only Please let me escort you out of here

That won�t be necessary Mr Ghosthound The man who introduced himself as Senator Heathridge said with a sad smile Or at least we must simply insist that you accompany us in leaving You are wanted on suspicion of illegally importing underpriced Zone Seven materials and passing it off as ore you�ve managed to extract with your mineral rights� in the area Considering all the recent excavation work you�ve done

Senator Heathridge idly examined the gleaming steel reactor in which they stood we have quite a few questions for you

Chapter 1036

Randidly blinked Well that�s certainly not what I was expecting

I�ve gone over your shipping manifests for the last several weeks Item by item and certainly the confusion because of the peculiar status of Erickson Steel�s import and export process makes it quite the hassle to track everything flowing into and out of your company but did you really think you would be able to explain away the sudden surge in production by hastily adding a provision about mineral extraction to our deal

The extra volume of materials was extracted from a Dungeon I assure you Randidly said rather dryly After his own internal crisis about how other people viewed him this accusation of interzone trade violations felt rather surreal Although he could understand the Senator�s confusion Randidly had spent a year within the Dungeon harvesting with his Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil and even then he wouldn�t have been half as effective without his Riders

Randidly had come back to Earth with hundreds of tons of metal and rare wood For someone who wasn�t aware of the mind boggling amount of Skills that Randidly possessed it made sense that they would assume foul play

But what Randidly couldn�t understand he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Senator Cliff Heathridge The man�s silver hair and almost apologetic smile were invalidated almost completely by the sinister aura that was wafting away from him To Randidly�s Grim Intuition it was clear that this man wasn�t here to peacefully arrest him for violating an import law He stunk like trash left in the sun for a week

So why are you really here

Randidly�s eyes flicked sideways to Evan Crane This one he knew This was that peculiar individual who coveted Erickson Steel But already Randidly could tell that being present while he unleashed his focused image for the future of this city had deeply affected the man Honestly if he hadn�t come to confront him with such a sinister figure Randidly would consider allowing the man to stay

Because it was clear that if the rot was removed from Evan Crane�s heart what he possessed was a genuine appreciation and admiration for Erickson Steel

As for the third person

Randidly didn�t recognize him at all although based on his title it seemed he was involved in Erickson Steel�s business Briefly Randidly considered sending Tatiana a message to ask about him but it really didn�t seem like it was worth it This wouldn�t take long

It was a small diversion to draw out the flaws in Erickson Steel Nothing more

Mr Ghosthound if I may Chuck Ballard drawled I�ve enjoyed my time working with Tatiana immensely She�s a good enough girl to handle business while you are away but really business like this should be done between equals like us Let�s not think about this as an arrest just a chance to share a meal and work out the finer details of where your materials are coming from

Even through the complex exosuit he was wearing Evan Crane�s smile was vicious Believe me no matter how staunchly you believe your customers will remain their mood will shift very rapidly when the entire company is disgraced You will be ruined

Chewing his lip Randidly considered Evan for several seconds When Randidly�s attention was focused on him the man�s shoulders bent like he was enduring a great weight But then Randidly turned back to the central figure I don�t have much time to play what is it that you want

Mr Ghosthound Senator Heathridge�s teeth were pearly white as he beamed at Randidly I�m only doing this because I admire you all I want is to be partners

Senator Heathridge took a step forward along the metal catwalk The closer he was able to get to Randidly Ghosthound the easier his fallback plan would go His eyes briefly focused on the small woman next to Randidly Not a threat His focus pivoted back to the young man with burning emerald eyes Fine then let�s bare our hands The trick you pulled with the mineral extraction� clause was a work of genius Two goals accomplished simultaneously by an innocuous and understandable request Were you inspired by the floating city of the Royal Sea Don�t try and play coy I know exactly what your plan was

Over the past several months you�ve been making connections with various political factions Bargains with Zone Seven to act as an intermediary to fence their raw materials is just the tip of the iceberg All to leverage your connections at the World Summit in a few weeks and nominate Erickson Steel as the new world capital

And when people complain about its location you will have the perfect response that it can become mobile I know that your mineral rights wasn�t just a method to fudge the numbers on your imports it was also a justification for when you will eventually take away the entire city and break the deal with the Zone 1 government But at that point what could they do You would house the world capital They will be nothing for you

Senator Heathridge took several more steps forward along the dimly lit catwalk measuring Randidly Ghosthound with his eyes Before the System arrived the Senator had always prided himself on being able to tell what sort of person someone was with just a glance It was his secret ability that saw him rise from an aide to a Senator himself

Yet now when he looked at Randidly Ghosthound

Nothing He feels nothing

The smile on Senator Heathridge�s face grew forced He raised his voice as he continued to walk forward Such a large ambition you have Mr Ghosthound Truly do you think you can keep it all to yourself All we want is a piece of the pie To relocate some of our own business interests to Erickson Steel and obtain shares in the city For that we will ignore your import transgressions and even throw our support behind you at the summit

We all desire the same thing Mr Ghosthound Let�s do this civilly Trust and partnership are the foundations of any great venture So what do you say Senator Heathridge barred his teeth Behind him he could hear Evan Crane�s extremely loud breaths echoing in the vast chamber around them

The question hung in the air for almost a minute Senator Heathridge�s eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to press the issue but he found that he couldn�t Blinking rapidly the Senator also realized that he couldn�t even move let alone breath He was frozen in place by Randidly�s emerald gaze

It�s not that Crane is a hapless mouthbreather Senator Heathridge realized in horror He�s struggling to breathe even with the help of the exosuit

Then Randidly Ghosthound laughed abruptly breaking all of the tension in the room Senator Heathridge gasped and staggered backward Swaying on his feet his face flushed with blood Fine then we do it the hard way

If you refuse to go peacefully we will force your hand No one wants that Senator Heathridge spat out Least of all you

You have no idea what I want Cliff Randidly grinned at him The flush on Senator Heathridge�s face deepened

Everyone else may think you are an invulnerable warrior and a masterful inventor Senator Heathridge�s chest heaved But I�ve been too long in politics not to recognize what you are a charlatan A little bit of illusion magic from Zone 32 the right sort of timing and tone to your persuasive speeches and suddenly you can make people believe anything But although the world has changed one thing remains the same people are still people They are WEAK

Senator Heathridge balled his hands into fists GREASY

He took a step forward and jabbed his finger toward Randidly Ghosthound who continued to watch the trio in amusement dancing through his emerald eyes and FLAWED You are no different You aren�t better than any of us In fact I expect to find some very sordid secrets when we finally pry away the glamour with which you�ve shrouded yourself

Randidly didn�t respond at all His eyes seemed to gleam as he continued to watch Senator Heathridge

Senator Heathridge opened his mouth before Randidly could conjure that strange weight again Evan Crane It�s time to demonstrate that we mean business

The servos on Crane�s exosuit hummed to life Moving with purpose Evan Crane shouldered past the other two men and strode toward Randidly Ghosthound The extremely small and slight woman next to Randidly took a step forward looking toward Crane with interest But Randidly Ghosthound damn him simply laughed again

Actually this is perfect I�ve wanted to have a test run of this You�ll be my guinea pigs Time to wake up the heart

Senator Heathridge was trembling in fury as Randidly turned away and pressed a few buttons on the terminal A low yellow glow began to shine out from some of the glass windows to whatever was within that tall cylinder

Although most of his outward expression of emotion was a front to cause Randidly to underestimate them at its core was a thread of truth Because Heathridge always instinctively knew when one of his accusations had hit the mark No matter how good of an actor someone was there was always a flinch when something struck too close to home

But since they had arrived nothing had phased Randidly It was like this was a fucking game to him

Roaring Evan Crane sped up to a dash With all the grace and momentum of a freight train he careened down the metal walkway toward the core area where the two figures were standing But as Crane began to accelerate the entire building shuddered The yellow light grew brighter and then turned white And when Senator Heathridge looked around he realized that strange lines were flickering to life along every surface

Senator Heathridge paled Those are Engravings But the size

Crane Stop It�s a trap Heathridge yelled but it was too late Crane had built up too much momentum And what was even more aggravating was that it appeared his shouted line set Randidly to laughing so hard that he slapped his knee in amusement

After the Engravings surged to life motes of forest green light began to shoot out from every surface and gather in a huge ball directly in Evan Crane�s path Rather than slow down Evan Crane activated the Meteor Impact function that was the culmination of two year�s work for Senator Heathridge�s design team The entire exosuit began to glow cherry red and radiate waves of ghostly flames

Those motes of light congealed into a two meter tall golem that seemed to be made entirely of moss It released a deep trumpet noise and took a step forward to meet Crane

Senator Heathridge felt a strange flash of fear All of this was happening too fast If Evan Crane was defeated now while he still had the documents on his person

But when the exosuit hit the golem the golem was blasted into motes of light ones more In fact it was so sudden that Evan Crane decelerated as he almost tripped in shock Then the man straightened and raised his fist

Ha Did you think you could stop me Crane bellowed He leapt up into the air and raised his hands over his head

Yet Senator Heathridge could only pale as he realized that the motes of light weren�t dispersing More and more were congregating As Crane arced through the air the motes swirled up faster than the eye could follow and formed four more moss golems around Crane�s flying form With their large hands they quickly latched onto the exosuit

Get the fuck off me Evan Crane roared With sharp movements he began to systematically lash out and rip away the limbs that had seized upon him in his travels Which meant that he was distracted by the fireflies buzzing around him while missing the moon of forest green energy that was forming above Randidly�s head

That moon rippled and spread becoming an arm as long as a skyscraper was tall It�s comically large fingers clenched into a fist So when Crane had finished dealing with the moss golems around him he turned to face forward and was smashed in the nose by an enormous fist Even with the exosuit the impact was enough to cause his bones cracked and send blood gushing out of his mouth

Chuck Ballard rushed forward to hastily catch Crane�s broken form Some of Crane�s blood spattered all over the man but it was at least clear that Crane was still alive

You really dare resist arrest We aren�t just uniformed cops We represent the will of Zone 1 Do you really have what it takes Senator Heathridge said quietly His mind was rapidly calculating That sort of Engraving if it was over the whole of the area Randidly Ghosthound could have the entire world capital under his complete control if he accomplished his scheme

A vision of this one man ruling the Earth came to Senator Heathridge Those emerald eyes seemed to rip right through the Senator and see that future Heathridge bit his lip so hard that it bled

I don�t think a relationship with Zone 1 is very healthy any longer Randidly said lightly If someone like you is respected here I fear that the rot is a little too deep to be easily dealt with

Fine then Time to shift to Plan B Senator Heathridge looked sharply behind him Crane Do you have the papers

Of course Crane managed to mumble From his interspatial watch he produced a manila folder and weakly gave it to Chuck Ballard The foolish man blinked

What�s this

Open it Senator Heathridge urged as he produced an object from his own interspatial watch We don�t have much time

I fine Chuck Ballard nervous and shaky from having his hands slick with someone else�s blood did as he was bid He pulled out the papers and covered them with his bloody fingerprints His eyes unfocused as he scanned through the front page Suddenly he frowned This

Senator Heathridge�s Mana reinforced bullet took the man between the eyes He was dead before he hit the perforated metal of the catwalk Releasing a smile Senator Heathridge allowed him a satisfied smile of victory Yet when he turned around to regard Randidly Ghosthound the other man was simply puzzled

You�ll soon come to regret remaining so passive Now I�ve got you right where I want you

Senator Heathridge barred his teeth You won�t be able to maintain that expression for long Mr Ghosthound Especially considering the fact that the contract in his dead hands outlines a deal that includes the signatures of you our newly deceased Chuck Ballard and agents from Zone Seven

And now his brain matter is spattered across the deal Was Chuck Ballard having seconds thoughts about betraying his nation for money Is that why he came to you to renegotiate his involvement and you had to kill him Truly you are a man whose thirst for power knows no bounds

Senator Heathridge laughed long and loud And the only way to hide your sordid deeds would be to kill both Crane and I Was that why you used your superweapon to strike him down But I�m a Senator I�ve made it known that I was coming here tonight Not only would you need to endure the investigation that would follow my death but do you think your dream of having this place become the World Capital can live through an extremely high profile unsolved murder So you can kiss

A heavy moss golem hand settled on Senator Heathridge�s shoulder silencing him As had happened before Senator Heathridge couldn�t move at all

You Randidly said simply Are an idiot Goodbye Cliff I hope we won�t meet again But I will give you one last gift The name of this city it�s Kharon I have a feeling that you will be one of the ones that cannot stop chasing it

Then Randidly Ghosthound turned away from him and began to touch the strange pillar of engravings behind him

Finally I was getting pretty bored No more initialization let�s go at full power The cheery voice of the woman next to Randidly struck Senator Heathridge dumb Why why doesn�t he even care His image the public perception

But before Senator Heathridge could do or see anything else he was pulled up by one of the moss golems Two more grabbed Crane and Chuck Ballard�s corpse and spirited them away through the maze of tunnels underneath the Erickson Steel compound All the while the hum of an engine grew louder and louder behind them

After about five minutes they were carried out of a secret door and into the nearby forest Without any warning they were unceremoniously deposited on the ground The moss golems took a step back but remained nearby with folded arms To Senator Heathridge�s horror when he looked around to get his bearings all of his agents were also present and looking miserably at each other Even some of his agents that he hadn�t activated to sneak into Erickson Steel today How

A dull rumbling interrupted him When he twisted around the ground a few meters behind the moss golems was buckling Trees beyond that line trembled and swayed Like a piece of cake being lifted the edges ripped as the area around Erickson Steel lifted higher and higher away from the ground First a few inches then a dozen then a full meter

Dirt by the handful fell away as the ground lifted away revealing a strange brass disc that had been buried just below the surface from the ground As Senator Heathridge watched with wide eyes the continued rise revealed that every few meters from that upper ring thick bars of steel stretched downward even deeper into the ground

The only problem was the fucking scale of the portion being lifted up and away To Senator Heathridge�s eyes it was a flat line it was so wide he couldn�t grasp the edge of the curve

And then a gleaming steel talon slithered up out of the ripped portion of ground and grasped onto the solid ground that was being left behind Very quickly it became taut with tension as it helped pry the huge piece out of the ground Stones rattled and fell as bits of soil were dislodged and left behind Thin roots poked out of the exposed ground ripped out of the soil that wasn�t currently being moved

It�s not just the Erickson Steel compound Senator Heathridge thought in horror How much land are they planning on taking

Hundreds of more legs surged out and assisted until the ground being removed seemed to be only partially land and partially a vast metallic spider Very quickly the height of the rising land increased from one meter to three The moss golems dissipated into motes of light and returned to the compound sinking right into the soil exposed between the steel support beams and brass discs

Almost a zombie Senator Heathridge swayed and stepped up to the edge of the rising land He hesitantly reached out and to touch one of the metal legs but as soon as he came near it pulled away Then as one they all retracted back into a thin steel ring that became visible as the land was pushed higher and higher Senator Heathridge leaned back and looked upward By now it must have reached almost five meters

The ground in front of Senator cracked and disintegrated forcing him to take several steps backward before he could get a more accurate grasp The wall of soil and stone in front of him continued to ascend More and more silt and loose earth tumbled down Then there was a noise like a giant releasing a gasp and the ground lifting up out of the ground began to taper inward

And in that moment Senator Heathridge could look down into the huge crater in front of them while the huge shadow cast by this rising city began to swim around the abandoned people who watched the city Kharon move Always the city was rising moving farther and farther away

And then Senator Heathridge could see underneath the bottom to the other side of the crater where the sun illuminated a messy slope of shattered stone and gravel Even now it was difficult to grasp what was happening Because the amount of space

And at the center pushing the city higher were four huge spider limbs With the original ones that the Senator had seen were about three meters long these were easily three meters thick and almost fifty meters long As the ground cracked and groaned those huge metal legs began to shift and move

One stretched outward ponderously slow and stretched up to the edge of the crater left by the city departing It pressed downward That side of the crater collapsed almost immediately sending stones the size of houses tumbling downward Still the enormous leg pressed grinding stone until it settled to a shuddering stop on something that was capable of bearing its weight

The back two legs flexed pushing it forward in the direction of the first question leg Then a second leg stretched outward curling up to slide out of the crater and then pushing down even further away from the crater This time the ground cracked in a spiderweb pattern but held

Humming with the sounds of whirring machinery the Erickson Steel compound leveraged itself up and out of its crater The speed of its ascent tripled at that moment Suddenly it loomed high above them like something that existed in a different realm than the people left behind

Then with earthquake inducing steps it began its shuddering march to the Southwest

Kharon huh Senator Heathridge muttered to himself He had a vicious headache He wondered what he had missed Why was I so wrong Is he just walking away after all he has done to foil my plans What does Randidly Ghosthound truly want

Chapter 1037

Randidly scratched the back of his head awkwardly

Tatiana was glaring daggers at him across the scattered papers that she had been sifting through when he walked into her office I must have misheard you Because I almost thought for a second that you just told me that this city Kharon has no controls That it moves on its own volition But that�s impossible Because you�ve seen the reports you understand the logistical nightmare I�m wading through You wouldn�t do something like this to me

It�s not so bad as you think it will not simply start and stop without any warning It will use the Moss Golems to communicate its direction prior to any movement And you have a fair amount of the moss spirits clinging to you so you should be one of the first ones to know Randidly explained patiently Not that he had intended for the Levelable Engraving he created to control the movement of Kharon but when it had happened it made a certain amount of sense Although the energy stemmed from the engine core every leg was covered with the Engraving

Those were the heart and soul of the movement And the focus of the Skill within the Engraving

Trust it Kharon will know better than even you when to move on to the next area Randidly added when Tatiana seemed to be completely unconvinced For whatever reason that didn�t seem to help her grim scowl at all He cast his mind back to the notification he received when he had finished the Engraving

Congratulations You have created a great wonder Kharon the Bridge to Impossibility has become a locus for images

Kharon the Bridge to Impossibility (Locus) A moving city created by Randidly Ghosthound�s yearning to protect a world from inevitability and Wendy�s genius innovations While in the city all residents will experience a small increase in Health Regeneration and Skill Level growth If the city is attacked defenders will experience +1000 Health Protection of the Moss Spirits IV Instinct of the Verdant Artery (Levelable)

Protection of the Moss Spirits IV Due to the heavy influence of the World Tree�s image on the city Kharon has become home to numerous Moss Spirits that will obey the will of the city Can condense multiple Moss Golems with Stats equal to four hundred As Kharon proceeds further down the Verdant Artery the golems may grow more powerful

Instinct of the Verdant Artery (Levelable) Lvl 1 A powerful Skill that connects the will of the city to an natural instinct regarding threats and opportunities By observing the flow of energies in the surrounding area Kharon is able to approximate the correct route forward The instinct is especially sensitive toward forces of the natural world Effect grows with Skill Level Range grows with Skill Level Bonuses applied to Protection of the Moss Spirits grow with Skill Level

Warning As Kharon the Bridge to Impossibility is a locus of meaning the spirit held within the city may begin to change the effects of the Skill as the image develops

Currently Kharon had lowered itself onto its thousands of miniature legs and was rumbling West by Southwest across the grasslands toward some of the revealed areas North of the new Zone With the larger legs folded beneath it into a small recess their speed was slightly reduced but also they didn�t leave large gashes in the ground that anyone with a single eye could follow

In addition Randidly had covered the miniature legs with stabilizing and gravity reduction Engravings to make signs of their passage relatively nonexistent Well only nonexistent when there isn�t any brush taller than a bush for us to steamroll but luckily the vegetation here is pretty short We should be able to disappear to the West

And if we are halfway through harvesting a mineral deposit when it decides it is time to move Or the Order Ducis is still out clearing monsters in the surrounding area Tatiana asked sharply Is there any way to delay the departure until we�ve made sufficient preparations

If those things happened it means that Kharon knows moving is more important than remaining in that spot Trust it Tatiana Randidly shrugged Then rather than speaking aloud Randidly sent Tatiana a message Remember that the spirit of the city is growing and shaping itself as we speak Think of it as a child I know it is frustrating now that you don�t have any control over it but your image of it moving forward will shape how it acts Please keep that in mind

From Tatiana�s bitter expression it wasn�t an easy thing for her But she nodded shortly and said aloud So we will receive notice before it happens

I believe so yes Randidly chuckled

After finishing a few more small matters that he had to arrange Randidly stroud out into the sunlit street in front of the Erickson Steel headquarters and grinned up at the sun For all that Tatiana didn�t take the news well Randidly felt a tingling sense of anticipation He had done it the moving city was moving Just that accomplishment alone was worthy of celebration

Then he checked his Absolute Timing Skill Four hours until the Judgment comes huh

Even with Randidly�s crazy drive toward training and pushing his limits Randidly understood that it would be difficult to accomplish anything meaningful in four hours So rather than training Randidly simply produced a cloak a pulled up a hood to cover his face Randidly considered wearing boots to hide his other distinguishing feature but his toes flexed in aggravation at even the thought of being hemmed in

So a cloaked Randidly shrugged and began to wander through Kharon He had considered a party as a celebration but he much preferred a return to anonymity With wide open eyes he slipped into people�s lives and observed

He saw two men haggling over the price of raw chicken as one pointed out that now that they were mobile who knew when the next batch of meat would come in

He saw children clamoring to climb up to the edge of the wall around Erickson Steel and look over the edge of Kharon to see the grasslands flowing by below them in endless waves of grass

He saw a woman ineffectively using her hands to keep moss spirits away from bullying her frightened pit bull who whined as the curious spirits circled

He saw a young woman dancing alone behind a warehouse every inch of her limb drenched in cheerful moss spirits She was laughing and laughing as the spirits tried to mimic her movements so it looked like a forest green copy of her followed her every movement a half second too late like an afterimage

He saw an old woman wipe sweat from her brow as she labored in one of the refineries closest to Wendy�s reactor Again and again she hammered bits of metal into a rough approximation of the shape of Randidly�s self made Levelable Engraving for Kharon Time after time she inspected the result and her shoulders slumped in failure but every time she didn�t cease in her labor Instead she wiped the sweat from her brow and began again

Randidly�s Grim Intuition swirled outward

He saw two male guards whispering to each other as they peered out over the Erickson Steel walls to the Order Ducis area where Helen was ruthlessly putting the applicants through their paces

He saw Naffur meditating alone in his tent a heavy frown making the kid look ten years older than he actually was

He saw Tatiana urging two men to be careful as they carried the couch that had been in her office down the stairs to the ground floor

He saw birds circling overhead bemused but willing to follow the strange moving city on its pilgrimage across the land

And for every single thing Randidly saw he felt five more

Images hopes dreams fears desires it all swirled together into a dense mixture that left Randidly�s head buzzing More and more and more his Grim Intuition connected him to all of the emotions that flowed through the people of Kharon as they struggled to find their footing on this strange mobile city

Randidly�s Crown of Upheaval and Gloom hummed painfully making it even more difficult to handle the flow of information that crashed against his psyche The last thing he needed right now was another distraction But Randidly didn�t turn away or close his eyes He kept his breathing even and just immersed himself in the wild flow The pain slowly spiraled upward but he felt ever priceless moment of it

Without even being consciously aware of what he was doing Randidly had climbed up on top of the Erickson Steel headquarters Grinning he swung like a monkey up the radio tower to reach the very tip of Kharon Randidly opened his mouth and let his tongue hang out tasting the sweet scent of the air that swirled above this turbulent city

It was hard to get to this point But I�m so glad I did it Randidly reflected Even if the people are unsure even if I�ve gotten this far by killing they trust me

They really trust me

A long held tension that Randidly hadn�t even noticed finally eased in his chest Randidly released a long breath dispelling that tightness completely Then as though that breath had been the only thing keeping the Skill together the Crown of Upheaval and Gloom split in half without a sound Then with all of the subtleness of a bull the remnants of that Skill and all of the feelings and sights Randidly encountered today smashed together into a smoldering ball of energy

Congratulations Your Skill Crown of Upheaval and Gloom has evolved into the Reign of the Eidolon Crucible All Skill Levels will be maintained

Reign of the Eidolon Crucible The bonds of fealty between you and those who follow you have created a connection based on the mutual exchange of images Phantasms and fantasy dog your steps swirling around you in a maelstrom of possibility That connection between you and your followers cannot be broken When the Skill is active the user�s strength will increase in proportion to the quality and quantity of people subordinate to your image Effect increases with Skill Level In addition both the user and the subordinates will experience periodic mental trials that will test them based on the other�s images Speed of refining image during that trial will be vastly increased

Randidly released another breath The Crown was gone Much of the extra Perception that came with it was gone too But Randidly felt something else A dense weight of images that now spun slowly around his shoulders like the thin threads of a cloak being steadily woven together At the moment it wasn�t anything impressive But in the future

Randidly barred his teeth at the sky

Chapter 1038

Randidly stood completely still as Kharon continued on without him heading to the West The air was warm from the late evening sun but Randidly had a suspicion that would soon change It was almost time

5

Cracking his knuckles Randidly cast his mind around for anything that he had forgotten It would likely be too late to do anything about it now but nothing came to mind He had said his goodbyes and left instructions with Helen Naffur and Tatiana He had a long talk with Nathan about Classes and images He had even been in contact with Ghost

4

All that remained was to face his Judgment

3

Randidly couldn�t stop a grin from creeping across his face

2

Goosebumps danced across Randidly�s arms It was almost a nostalgic feeling

With a flick of the wrist Acri stretched out into a peerlessly straight position Sulfur hummed against his chest Both had been relatively bored in the long months that Randidly spent focusing rather completely on his Engraving so they were eager now to see action Randidly licked his lips And I have a feeling that this will be fun

0

The sky cracked open and a world of snow and cold breathed down a column of sleet onto the Earth The temperature dropped below the point of water freezing almost immediately as rolling grey clouds spread into the surrounding area Soon the sun was dimmed and the wind was chilling With wide wings made of ice the Wendigo Judgment floated down out of that hole in the sky toward Randidly In both hands he held golden hammers covered in complex Engraving

Randidly�s hands were tingling as he watched the Judgment drift downward Shifting in excitement from one foot to the other Randidly called up to the Judgment Haven�t I already fought and beat you three times Is there any meaning for you to come out once more

The Judgment snorted Is there any meaning to this display You know that you have passed my tests You have proven your power All that remains

The Judgment touched to the ground in front of Randidly Frost crept outward from the place its feet touched the ground Randidly continued to grin up at the monster who was about double his size and probably four times his weight Snapping its fingers the Judgment opened a glimmering blue portal behind it and gestured toward it Is for you to accept your fate You have flaunted the rules of the System fine But you cannot escape conscription in the great war

And if I refuse Randidly said lightly

Even knowing how much he had been warped by the violence of the System Even having made the mistake of killing Ki Kunot and then struggling with his guilt for months Even though it was likely a pointless gesture that would only bring him hardship

Randidly had learned a lot from Shal but one of the first things he internalized was the pure glory of fighting The violence the struggle it called to him And after almost a year of simply relying on the Riders to expand his influence

Randidly wanted to fight As an individual who wanted to test his edge To clash with this known quantity now would be the perfect sort of warm up before actually proceeding to the dangerous battlegrounds against Nether

The Judgment sighed I suppose it won�t sway you to say that you will not just be fighting against myself the entire weight of the System is behind me

If anything Randidly�s grin widened even further Shaking his head the Judgment raised his hammers Fine then let us get this over with Domain of the Long Chill

Randidly felt the image coming before he felt the physical change in cold but it was more than enough to make him abruptly serious Seems like the System isn�t hampering his uses of images any longer Ignition of the Emerald Essence erupted around him bringing light and inspiration to smash against the horrifying greediness of the cold that slithered out to seize Randidly

But then the physical cold caught up to the image and Randidly�s expression twisted in a grimace of pain The cold seemed to stab at him with bony fingers Frost immediately began to condense just on his skin Although Randidly could barely handle the refined image that the Judgment smashed him with he was taken by surprise by the actual effect it had on the world Or rather Randidly abruptly realized that the Judgment hadn�t been lying his Skills were being fueled by the System sitting behind it

And this is only a Domain Narrowing his eyes Randidly lowered his spear and pointed it toward the Judgment�s Heart Man is Proud but the Chimera Craves

The icy ground around Randidly�s feet cracked and shattered Long splinters of ice shot upward in a nova as Randidly and Acri became a blur of violent toward the Judgment The weight of all his momentum concentrated to the tip of his spear in a terribly destructive attack But of course the Judgment wasn�t slowed down at all by his own Domain and jumped to counter

It stepped to the side and then brought one of its glowing golden hammers around in a heavy swing Freezing Detonation

With Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality Randidly was able to twist mid air and cause a minute adjustment to his charge His spear slid upward to follow the Judgment�s torso while his left hand activated Molten Fang of the Pariah and shot out to intercept the hammer strike

Acri skidded off of the layer of ice armor the Judgment hurriedly condensed around itself And then Molten Fang of the Pariah struck Freezing Detonation Once more an overwhelming wave of cold blasted outward from the Judgment�s Skill In fact the cold was so intense and abrupt that Randidly felt like even his thoughts stuttered to a stop for the briefest of moments

Grim Intuition unhelpfully pointed out that the cold was very dangerous and this individual bore him a significant amount of ill will

Heh you are starting to feel it now huh The Judgment loomed closer as it brought its other hammer around to strike in a horizontal blow So why don�t you just Eh

Randidly relied on Chimeric Avoidance to endure the blast of cold and then ripped holes in the Judgment�s armor with several rapid strikes by using the Chimera Weeps but Man Mourns Then he lowered his spear and prepared for another Man is Proud but the Chimera Craves from point blank

The Judgment�s dark eyes blinked as it considered its shattered armor You why aren�t you frozen

I avoided it Randidly said lightly Then all his weight and momentum blasted forward in a piercing strike

Despite how quickly the attack traveled forward the Judgment somehow had the wherewithal to let go of one of his hammers and simply bring around one of its paws to try to seize Acri out of the air Chilling Grasp

But of course Acri was not a normal spear it easily flexed out of the way and avoided the Judgment�s hasty grasp Although Acri�s strike was now out of the picture Randidly still possessed the overwhelming forward momentum to strike at the Judgment and he wasn�t about to waste this chance His emerald eyes blazed with the thrill of the fight

For a split second Randidly�s left hand flexed to reveal a thin triangle of darkness that had been previously hidden there But then Randidly�s hand closed as he forcefully dismissed the Skill No better to not reveal it now in case someone is watching My usage of Nether should be saved for an emergency

Instead Randidly unleashed a Talon Strike empowered by Catalyst of Agony while simultaneously casting Reach of the Jade Slag behind the Judgement Randidly�s palm slammed against the Judgment�s face even as he was forced to rely once more on Chimeric Avoidance to not get turned into an ice statue just by touching the damn thing�s furr The fucking boost the System was giving the Judgement was no joke It seemed like the Judgment had some passive defensive Skill that was similarly empowered

Then the Reach of the Jade Slag ripped into the Judgment�s back staggering it further Randidly followed up with several sharp thrusts with Acri

But the Judgment had seen these strikes before and wove its body back and forth to avoid the worst of the attacks When it pulled back its torso only had three shallow gashes that were rapidly freezing over Then it raised its hand and pointed at Randidly Flash Freeze

Howling Randidly spun away and clutched his right hand Acri covered in a layer of ice almost a foot thick clunked to the ground Randidly hopped backward to open up some distance while he tried to restore feeling to his right hand But the Judgment lowered its shoulders and dashed forward with the intention to take advantage of his weakness

You know my Skill Level for that Skill is barely a hundred Yet with the System�s support heh this might be more enjoyable than thought Let�s see how long you can manage to avoid� me

Randidly gestured sharply Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil

If one root froze in the Judgment�s obnoxious Domain a second shot up to take its place If a dozen froze a hundred would come surging upward If that wasn�t enough Randidly threw a thousand jagged and thorn covered roots upward His Mana hummed with activity as he spared no expense to buy himself some time to recover Tingling spikes of sensation were only now coming back to his right hand as the blood flow sluggishly continued to move through his veins

White Out

Thousands of roots were frozen into crystalline statues in a single moment Even Randidly standing behind them all released a shuddering breath as Chimeric Avoidance barely managed to weasel his body out form being physically frozen solid Snow began to heavily fall around them Winds whipped up at the sudden drop in temperature

Randidly grinned darkly down at his bare toes Hopefully I don�t get frostbite

The Judgment strode up to Randidly Briefly Randidly considered trying to open up some distance again but that would likely draw another blast of an overpowered Skill Instead he stood still and let the Judgment approach

You really won�t go peacefully

Randidly just smiled

After shaking his head the Judgment pointed at Randidly Flash Freeze

All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth

For a split second Randidly was another version of himself one that burned with an internal fire The image in his chest was the molten core of the world a thing of industry and ash and avarice that could never be satisfied

Roaring that version of Randidly forcefully endured the Flash Freeze and took a step forward

But in the next moment Randidly was back to himself and the Judgement was blinking in surprise and opening his mouth to speak White

Randidly smashed his Willpower against the Judgments activating Eternal Cravings of the Wraith to suck away Stamina Mana and breath from the Judgment Of course stopping it from calling out the Skill wouldn�t do anything But the forceful taking was enough to distract it into canceling the Skill

Which left Randidly time to run the Judgment through with Acri who immediately trilled in pleasure It was at that point that the Judgement ignored its wound and brought both of its hands smashing toward Randidly�s temples One hand held a golden hammer but the other simply twisted into a claw and ripped upward

Randidly flexed his previously numb hand and used it to launch a Molten Fang of the Pariah toward the Judgment�s hand His attack destroyed his opponent�s momentum but it also left his right hand encased in ice And Randidly�s left hand

Looking over Randidly could see the energy in the Engravings of his shoulder failing as the cold grew too intense He could only watch as the golden hammer shot closer to his temple

Grinning Randidly twisted and spat out blood than immediately froze into a small pebble sized bit of red snow that smacked against the Judgment�s nose His body was still trembling from the first activation of All Things Succumb and Randidly didn�t want to push things too far All he wanted to do was have a bit of fun before he was sent to the battlefield

And if he also learned a bit about how the System could empower Skills that was a convenient bonus

The hammer struck the side of Randidly�s head and brought with it ice submerging Randidly into the wide darkness of unconsciousness

Chapter 1039

The Grim Chimera rubbed the side of his head feeling decidedly strange His vision swam as the space around him shifted and stretched before snapping back into place The ground beneath him seemed to be trembling and stretching like taffy only to snap back into place This continued for about a minute before the Grim Chimera realized that it wasn�t just him the environment was actually moving

Breathing heavily the Grim Chimera fell to his knees and touched the ground His claws left deep gouges in the dirt as he tried to figure out what was going on around him

After watching for a few minutes it seemed that the ground was and wasn�t moving at the same time Or at least it wasn�t moving but it looked like it was moving constantly It was as though there were two layers to reality that something was struggling to press them together into one layer but some other force was presenting it So there were constantly two visions that the Grim Chimera could see The first was the actual reality the other was an overlayer that swayed and slid away distracting the eye with its movements

But one thing the Grim Chimera did notice while it was digging its claws into the ground was that there were moments that the two layers appeared perfectly in line with one another And during those short moments the ground was abruptly a great deal more difficult to cut into with his claws than it was normally

What you are seeing is the destabilization effect A low voice said It�s the price this place pays for hosting the battle against those bastards

The Grim Chimera looked up Abruptly his awareness spread out from just the ground in front of him to the surrounding area But the suddenness of that expansion and the flood of information that resulted once more sent a wave of dizziness through the Grim Chimera Because everything he could see had its own spazzing second layer that continued to feed his gaze false information

Worse still each object had its own second layer that moved independently of all the other objects second layers So the world was a kaleidoscope of shifting objects and lights that made it impossible to tell what was real and fake

Narrowing his eyes the Grim Chimera was able to focus on the speaker A slender man with a salt and pepper beard stood behind a desk His face rippled and shifted jerking to the left and then drifting downward Then it was back as if nothing had changed The ground around him was covered with a spiraling sort of Engraving array and behind the man

The Grim Chimera had to press his eyes closed It was too much too fast

Take your time you�ll have a few days to get used to it before I ask you to do battle The Grim Chimera could hear the smile in the bearded man�s voice and was immediately suspicious of it I know you must be confused but just know that an old friend of mine donated his images to the war effort that�s you you�re those images But I hope we can become comrades in the future after all we will be relying on each other for the next year

An old friend donated images We were are images

We were

Randidly Ghosthound�s

Ah The Grim Chimera gasped falling to his knees His black eyes trembled and he pressed his eyelids shut The older man stopped talking regarding the fallen image with an easy smile

like I said don�t push yourself It�s truly a hard thing to grow used the environment here But still I like to meet with you and check in with the new arrivals Before I allow my subordinate to escort you away do you have any questions

I no When the Grim Chimera�s eyes opened the irises were now a luminous emerald Randidly Ghosthound�s eyes flashed with cold fury but he kept careful control over his facial features Luckily the Grim Chimera�s rather humongous claw was already wrapped around his face and obscuring most of his features

Pretty easy to hide my features with this body Randidly thought with dark amusement That fucking Judgment what sort of messed up situation did it throw me into I�ll kill it the next time I catch it without the System giving its dumbass Skills juice

The man nodded softly Then he turned to regard another figure standing next to Randidly And you two I can sense that you are both handling this better and worse than your friend here Do either of you have any questions

Randidly�s eyes flicked to the side His eyes widened Standing next to him was a tall and majestic tree covered in golden script And cradled in the trees outstretched branches was a flickering tongue of emerald flame

No I believe we simply need rest Yggdrasil said slowly

Fine Zagnal take them to their tent The salt and pepper bearded man said sharply A strange man with the head of a red dragon gave a sharp salute and gestured for the three to follow Before they left there was a single moment where Randidly�s eyes met Zagnal�s

As Randidly turned back for one last look his eyes scanned the ground and the area behind the bearded man Compared to the Grim Chimera�s nascent consciousness Randidly had a much easier time parsing apart what he saw Although he didn�t want to reveal the return of his clarity yet he still wanted to determine something Sure enough on the wall behind the man were a series of heavily Engraved pods Within one Randidly spotted his own short dark hair and familiar face with closed eyes

It looked like his body was sleeping He had been sealed away

Tsk looks like the Heretics get extra special treatment maybe because we�ve already proven that we can avoid the System rules they extract the images and keep us unconscious Probably without the connection from Reign of Eidolon Crucible my images would have been on their own out here which would not have been good As it is

Randidly looked with not a little amusement at his clawed left hand and the bone spear that was sticking out of his right arm At least fighting with this body would still be enjoyable Then he tried to reach his Soulskill and felt nothing In fact Randidly couldn�t touch any of his Skills Chewing his lip Randidly kept his head down as they left the tent

Rather than possessing an image with Reign of the Eidolon Crucible it might be better to say that something woke up my consciousness in the Grim Chimera Which would make me a reflection of myself rather than myself It does make a certain amount of sense images are ultimately just portions of my personality given shape And the Grim Chimera always was the closest to reaching the Master tier

Randidly glanced upward and wondered whether he was actually him or just figment conjured in the Grim Chimera It would also explain why Randidly felt oddly detached and unconcerned about the fact that he could reach either Neveah or the denizens of his Soulskill In fact Randidly felt oddly relieved to be alone That was the way it had always been in the beginning after all

Randidly sighed Hard to tell whether normal me would have that thought or not maybe it�s best not to think about it too closely Instead of dwelling on the issue further he opened up his senses and observed the surrounding area

The sky above was a light orange and covered with scattered maroon clouds Strange streaks of undulating gold flowed across the sky periodically but it didn�t match any meteorological phenomenon that Randidly could recognize It was also too large and even for a close shooting star Honestly it just looked like some giant golden beast that drifted across their sky quickly and then departed

Shaking his head Randidly�s focus turned to the ground The ground was dirt and aside from the constant visual instability looked relatively normal They were currently following the dragon headed man down an aisle between rows of brown tents Some tent flaps were open and Randidly had a tingling intuition that powerful images were within several A few times he caught eyes flashing in wariness as the group trooped past

But although he sensed their presence Randidly couldn�t get a fix on who or what they learned Or what their intentions were

Which was when Randidly stumbled on a new realization

After all that effort to upgrade my Perception being removed from my physical body means that I don�t even get to use it here Fucking shit Better kill that bastard who has me locked away as quickly as possible to free myself

Randidly blinked He reached and found nothing when he grasped at Nether�s Caress Or Nether Resistance AFTER ALL THE FUCKING AGONY I WENT THROUGH TO LEVEL UP THOSE SKILLS

Randidly forced the air out through his teeth incensed at this strange state of affairs Hearing the noise the dragon headed man turned and glanced back at Randidly

Controlling his emotions Randidly asked innocuously Your name is Zagnal right What are those black stars hanging around you

For a split second there was a hitch in Zagnal�s stride He spared Randidly another glance over his shoulder and during their eye contact Randidly could once more see the three black stars that were floating above Zagnal Then Zagnal turned to face forward and continued to walk Randidly stared at Zagnal�s back with his eyes alight with curiosity Why did the stars disappear when they weren�t looking at each other

But to Randidly�s relief Zagnal spoke as they continued to walk amongst the tents Ah you must be a strong image to see clearly so quickly Did you notice when our eyes met earlier

Yes Randidly replied shortly

Zagnal continued to walk forward Huh very strong then Usually it takes about a day for someone to notice Those are the scars I bear But also the Pride I�ve accumulated Every time you fight the Nether you come away changed Scarred It leaves its mark on you that will never truly heal But there is a grand formation on this place that helps channel that lingering Nether to benefit you Each star you see when meeting my gaze is a Pride that that strengthens me

Strengthens you Randidly wondered aloud

Zagnal nodded Like a small amount of poison introduced into someone�s body to slowly cause immunity to form But that doesn�t mean it is not dangerous Once that developed immunity is breached an outside force of Nether can cause the Prides to rupture wounding you at a critical moment But that is still far away for images of your level

That sharpened Randidly�s gaze with ferocity but Zagnal turned on his heel and gestured to an open tent You�ll be staying here You have three days to acclimate yourself to this realm After that time you�ll be taken to the front lines Good luck

Chapter 1040

Randidly who might just be the Grim Chimera spent two days in quiet meditation as he got used to his current surroundings Even though he could manage the strange visuals of this place he still had a lot of investigations to do in regards to his own status and capabilities This place was a warzone one of the most dangerous mistakes he could make was to forget that

What is within without What is without within If I don�t even understand my self it will be that much more difficult to survive here

So Randidly approached the problem of what he could do very seriously For now he decided that it was for the best if he set aside the question of what exactly he was He also would have liked to speak with the incarnation of Yggdrasil and Ignition of the Emerald Essence but both immediately collapsed into a deep sleep upon arriving in their assigned tent Randidly also had a secret fear that they would soon wake up and transform into versions of Randidly thereby proving that the current Randidly was nothing but the Grim Chimera wearing Randidly�s face

Following this line of thought Randidly tried to image his own face made of the bark on Yggdrasil�s trunk Then he tried to picture his face floating above an emerald flame Certainly a bit more off putting than intimidating But until the images woke up those issues would need to wait

Therefore Randidly was on his own for now

What he discovered in his experiments was that while he couldn�t access his Soulspace he could still train all of the Grim Chimera specific Skills Rather than having any sort of ability to detect Aether of directly examine his Soulspace Randidly seemed to have returned to the days of earning a rather bland notification when he had gathered enough experience for his Skills to grow Randidly shook his head the first time it happened

Congratulations Your Skill Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 93

Clicking his tongue Randidly closed his eyes and continued to get a feel for the way that the Grim Chimera Skills flowed through his body Because they certainly felt natural in a way that they hadn�t previously Which made a certain amount of sense this body was constructed to use the Grim Chimera�s Skills All the movements and energy expressions that Randidly had to painstaking learn in his human body were completely natural to this body

In addition to checking in on his capabilities mentally Randidly also wanted to spend some time actually getting used to the movements of this body His mind responded instinctively when he wished for a certain movement but that didn�t change the fact that a lot of the actual mechanics of this body were different It was mostly human but the joints of Randidly�s new knees were revered so that they bent backward

In addition one of his arms was an oversized claw and the other was simply a bone spear covered in dried blood

It shouldn�t be a problem to fight but Randidly would rather not discover that he was wrong while he was standing in front of a monster of the Nether

The real reason that Randidly hadn�t gone out to get a feel for the body yet was that even with Randidly�s now limited senses he was quite sure that practically none of the surrounding spirits that he had sensed within the nearby tents had moved since Zagnal had led them here The aisles between the tents had remained completely clear none of the other spirits had seen any reason to wander out of their temporary resting places

Rather than a camp for mustering an army this place seemed more like a graveyard done in grey canvas

In addition Randidly was mindful of the fact that if not for whatever process had brought Randidly conscious in the Grim Chimera he would likely be as completely insensible as both Yggdrasil and Ignition Essence currently were in the wake of being torn away from his body Randidly didn�t believe that they would investigate the image too closely now that his real body was isolated in that chamber but that didn�t mean he was willing to take that risk of alerting them to the fact something wasn�t going as it should

The System really seemed determined to fuck Heretics over Randidly sudden felt like it might be the most desirable option to simply serve out his sentence peacefully and leave without the System noticing the change in his images

Assuming of course that the System truly planned on honoring the time limit of the punishment Which because Randidly was considered to be ignorant of the actual reason for his presence hadn�t been given to him

Honestly the situation doesn�t look good

Without Randidly even being able to witness how they had accomplished it Randidly already had a deep respect for their ability to shape Aether He couldn�t even imagine what sort of Aether constructs would be used to extract and manifest images like this Without being given a chance to examine the relevant Aether constructs Randidly probably wouldn�t be able to figure it out on his own even if he had one hundred years

And really it was exactly Aether Detection that Randidly sorely missed as he sat in his small tent and focused on exploring his current capabilities All that information that he obtained by using Aether Detection was now suddenly gone He felt incredibly limited

Still there was a silver lining to the fact he had been torn from his body and didn�t have access to most of his Skills this body wasn�t completely numb to Aether

Perhaps it was because the Grim Chimera was such a creature of paranoia and survival but its body had an instinctive sense of the presence of Aether in the surrounding area Not anything specific but it was certainly useful It felt somewhat similar to the ambient heat that radiated outward from an open flame So while Randidly couldn�t figure out what sort of Aether hijinks were occurring he did eventually discover that the tent itself in which they were currently located was heavily covered in Aether constructs

If he sat near to the edges of the tent for too long a strange anxiety began to creep into his heart Which reinforced his unwillingness to attempt to leave the tent when he could sense no others doing so

So he continued to meditate while sitting in the exact middle of the tent And likely would have done so until he was called to the front lines by Zagnal if he hadn�t been rather suddenly struck with wariness on the third morning Cotton and fuzz seemed to press down over Randidly from every direction Such was the intensity of the sleepiness that Randidly could only grit his teeth and then slump to the side

Did I reveal myself somehow Was the Aether in the tent some sort of observation based construct All the things that Randidly didn�t know became prickly balls of frustration in his chest as sleep swept him away

Yet there was nothing he could do he was currently only in the body of an image

Yet strangely after Randidly felt sleep devour his body his mind remained completely clear He sank into blackness and then through a layer of clouds Then he drifted slowly downward until his bare feet pressed against the ground Even more surprising was the fact that he found himself in a very familiar situation He stood alone on the small manmade dueling platform that had previously sat in the middle of Donnyton�s quarry

In front of him were the stands completely devoid of people Shivering Randidly blinked rapidly faced with such a strange an ominously empty sight

Randidly slowly spun on his heel The blue water that filled the quarry was impossibly clear and tranquil without even a hint of a ripple It was more aqua mirror than water The cliffs and low hills in the surrounding area were clear and faithfully reproduced from Randidly�s memory but anything beyond about a mile away was covered in a thick blanket of fog It was like this small snapshot of a location had been clipped away from the world and isolated here And somehow Randidly�s sudden sleep had dragged him to this place

Randidly supposed that it was the least of his worries that this whole area had collapsed to become a sinkhole Could this be some sort of mental attack Truly my feelings about what happened in the Donnyton�s Challenge are complex

Then Randidly�s expression abruptly brightened But this does mean I get another chance at this And this time I won�t be nearly as gentle with the lessons I teach them

The air here was also completely still But Randidly didn�t have to wait long before a change arrived Slowly figures began to walk out of the surrounding fog They had no true faces but Randidly could immediately sense they were not here for a surprise birthday party They were beings of shadow and violence Even before they approached Randidly had the strangest sense that he could predict how these beings would move And that sudden certainty that emerged in his heart gave them pause

As these figures drifted closer from every direction some simply hopped off the cliff and splashed into the quarry Within a second the ripples on the surface of the water were gone But they swam silently through the depths of the quarry continuing to approach Others were on the low slopes that connected to the stone bridge to the dueling platform so they marched and waded forward toward Randidly

When the first batch began to climb up onto the dueling platform Randidly felt the first hints of Aether wafting off of them His eyes narrowed and flashed with emerald fire

Whatever this army was it clearly was not sent by a friendly force Even though this appeared to be some sort of mental Skill or dream Randidly still possessed the body of the Grim Chimera Therefore he settled into a low pounce and prepared to lash out at the nearing shadow beings The first bubblings of excitement trickled up from his pounding heart

But as the feeling of Aether around him grew stronger Randidly realized that he recognized that Aether it was from his new Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Most of the gleeful bubbles of anticipation that Randidly felt toward the fight were completely obliterated by a shocked sort of indignation

you�ve got to be fucking kidding me Randidly spat out as his brain whirred into action If his senses weren�t deceiving him this wasn�t some terrible test arranged by that man with a salt and pepper beard or some sort of unexpected attack launched by the Nether against the beings of Aether

No it seemed this was one of the promised periodic image trials that Randidly had to endure due to his Skill And based on the density of Aether that the instincts of the Grim Chimera were picking up in the surrounding air he was bearing all of the weight of the trial even though Randidly currently only possessed the Grim Chimera�s image

I JUST fucking earned this Skill and already I�ve getting screwed over by it A disbelieving laugh escaped Randidly�s lips He wanted to flex his fingers and painfully squeeze a spear shaft but Randidly settled for whipping his right arm sideways and leaving a deep gouge in the ground

But hopefully that means that Yggdrasil and Ignition Essence will be spared this trial Randidly�s eyes narrowed into slits as he let out a guttural growl that echoed menacingly throughout the quarry Considering their current condition I would rather give them more of a chance to rest

Besides if that is all this is Randidly slowly raised his left hand and flexed his wickedly sharp talons This will be the perfect opportunity to test the limits of this body

Randidly�s legs exploded with force throwing him across the dueling arena toward the first shadow figures to drag themselves up onto the arena proper His spear of bone that protruded from his right arm glowed cherry red as he activated Molten Fang of the Pariah and skewered a shadow that seemed like an image sent by an older man The sharp weapon of bone ripped through his skin and burst out through his back

The image staggered underneath the assault but refused to fall As it raised its hand a flickering image of an ax appeared

Randidly ripped the spear out of the side of the image�s chest and raised his mouth to suck in a huge breath Eternal Cravings of a Wraith pulled at the substance of all of the surrounding images dragging a fraction of their strength toward Randidly Unfortunately it was only a very small fraction And rather than Stamina or Mana it was something akin to Willpower After all these images had no real body What Randidly was pulling from them was a bit of what they were there were no attributes to steal

Sorry friend Randidly leered down at the dissipating image of the old man and laughed I don�t have the luxury to treat you gently Not when you brought so many friends

Randidly activated the Chimera Weeps but Man Mourns three times in a row to fill the surrounding area with dozens of quick thrusts The attacks themselves were relatively light but these images ignored damage anyway It was only when Randidly forcefully brought his image to bear against them that they faltered and dissipated

Although the images nearby had been defeated more were climbing out of the quarry and up onto the arena on the far side of the platform And of course the stream of staggering images into this strange isolated area hadn�t ceased

More and more flooded in aiming to destroy Randidly

The Grim Chimera raised its head and cackled in reckless glee Then Randidly clenched his left claw and began to cut the images of these fools down Not willing to wait your turn Fine then Those who follow me let�s see how much I�ve managed to teach you about images

Chapter 1041

Randidly woke up with a wicked smile plastered across his face and a headache that drummed against his frontal cortex more violently than even the vilest hangover he had ever experienced as an undergraduate With a groan he rolled onto his back and attempted to sit up The world began immediately to spin His stomach gurgled unpleasantly

Randidly obediently leaned back against the ground and stared at the ceiling of the tent After the rotating world slowly settled back to only the normal amount of extra motion Randidly raised his fingers to his temples and tried to massage away some of the pain But of course his bone spear simply smacked against his head and the claws of his left hand drew blood as he pressed them against his temple

Groaning Randidly rolled over onto his stomach and pressed his eyes shut They weren�t wrong about image growth being rapid during those trials I feel like the Grim Chimera really took a step forward after that I even gained almost 20 Skill Levels but the difficulty is a bit

Here let me

Randidly jolted upward as his instincts screamed that there should be no inside the tent with him That terrible paranoia that the Grim Chimera held roared to life with a vengeance His spear was already blurring forward when several thin vines twisted upward and pulled his reflexive attack off of its previous course toward the being�s heart

For a split second Randidly was lulled into a shocked numbness as a golden and emerald treant stood in front of him It didn�t have a face but Randidly could sense form it a kind sort of patience toward his violent response And of course he was intimately familiar with the details of the treant�s body

Then Randidly�s eyes caught up with his movement and the world began to spin And then the two misbehaving layers of the world once more demanded his attention heightening the wild movements of the world to an even more nauseating degree

Randidly returned once more to the ground and took several deep breaths to steady himself The cool feeling of dirt against his back was like his only anchor preventing him from willingly letting his mind drift away from this miserable moment and settle into oblivion It grounded Randidly

The golden treant who Randidly now recognized as the personification of Yggdrasil leaned over him I didn�t mean to startle you Let me assist with the healing It�s the least I can do after your bore the weight of the Eidolon Crucible for all three of us

Randidly�s eyelids flickered Thanks I m glad you woke up I was beginning to wonder whether something had been done to the tents that suppressed images within it

Although he could not see them Randidly sensed roots curling out of the ground to surround his head in a complex pattern Tiny immaculate leaves grew out from the roots and began to glow Almost immediately a cool sort of relief began to worm its way into the inner workings of his mind It was like someone was pouring a bucket of chilled aloe directly over his overheated brain stem

No it wasn�t the tent When we the three of us I mean were ripped out of Randidly I rapidly felt the connections between us deteriorating We don�t have much in common after all I worried that without the presence of Randidly Ghosthound we wouldn�t be able to work together well enough to escape this strange predicament So I used every bit of my strength to forcefully remove the bits of Randidly�s personality that were present in myself and Ignition Essence and pour them into you That�s why I was so exhausted I needed to sleep And Ignition

Yggdrasil seemed to wilt a little I worry that I did something that I shouldn�t have done The wounds I left might be a bit too deep for it to recover from in the short term

Randidly�s mind buzzed faintly as he processed that news But very quickly he realized that the much more important task was to recover from his own wounds So he let those thoughts fall away and simply enjoyed the sensation of that cleansing energy and didn�t worry about what it all meant

Randidly floated He breathed Other than that Randidly bothered to do absolutely nothing

Of course such a reprieve couldn�t last forever Or even for very long After only two hours Randidly leveraged himself back up to a sitting position and sighed The one benefit that had come with experiencing that image trial from his Skill was that Randidly was briefly teleported to a location where the two fabrics of reality weren�t constantly spazzing away from each other and creating headache inducing visuals

But considering the fact that he was so swiftly brought back to this damned tent it might be more of a torture device than a reprieve Already Randidly felt the seeds of irritation at this damned place burrowing into his mood

Still Randidly felt much better than he had earlier In addition he could cope with the visuals without any difficulty once more So he turned to Yggdrasil and said So I�m not actually Randidly

Yggdrasil shrugged Who is to say Certainly in terms of similarities to Randidly you are the closest being in the universe

Randidly who might still just be a weird amalgamation of personality quirks thrown onto the Grim Chimera scratched his cheek Yggdrasil�s answer was rather unhelpful but he took the point in addition that wasn�t the most important issue to address

Randidly crawled over to the corner where Yggdrasil was standing and pointed at the curled form of the Ignition Essence in its gnarled hands Perhaps because Randidly had already accepted this body was of an image as well Randidly felt somewhat shaken by the inert form in Yggdrasil�s hands So is there anything that I can do If you need to take back the part that you gave me

The emerald color of your eyes came from Ignition Yggdrasil said sadly Its roots continued to undulate around the flickering tongue of emerald flame each root covered in dense golden script But then Yggdrasil shook his foliage No I believe something fundamentally changed in you when all the traits I could gather came together For now I wouldn�t even have the slightest idea how to go about helping Ignition The best thing we can do is wait

Yggdrasil turned its trunk and Randidly was abruptly struck with the realization that it was looking intently at him Which means we will need to survive here for a while The fastest way to make sure Ignition recovers would be to recover our true body but I am unsure how easy such a process would be Although the language of Engraving is a pat of me I cannot read Aether as our true body can For now we should be cautious and come to understand this place before we begin making plans to escape

Randidly�s lips slid backward to reveal his teeth If there is one thing I�m confident of it�s fighting Leave that to me

After that the two beings who were limited by their images compared their findings regarding the capability they currently possessed By and large Yggdrasil had discovered the same limits that Randidly himself had regarding the Skills that it could access The only meaningful difference was that Yggdrasil had some capability of manipulating Aether The problem with that discovery was it didn�t possess any real ability to see what sort of effects its manipulation caused

In effect Yggdrasil using Aether was like a blind man swinging something he thought was probably an ax but might also be a broom with a heavy brush Certainly it might have an effect when swung at the right time but only as a surprise attack once the opponent saw the strike Yggdrasil didn�t stand a chance

Once the discussion was over Randidly returned to focusing on his own recovery Even if Emerald Leaves of Yggdrasil could do a lot to gather clarity to his mind he was still deeply exhausted by the image trial Yet as soon as he closed his eyes Randidly couldn�t stop seeing his claws ripping through the flesh of a woman holding two swords his bone spear sliding into a skull his legs smashing an image�s knee with enough force to shatter the bones

It was an intoxicating sort of violence that Randidly found in his head after the image refinement Some part of himself whispered that giving into the violence wasn�t always the best answer but Randidly ignored that For the short term Randidly would be fighting on the front lines He couldn�t afford to be distracted or hesitate

After all the Grim Chimera was a creature that was the ultimate survivor It fought and struggled in order to exist The great gift that the image refining of the Eidolon Crucible had given to him through that trial was to make that struggle for survival seem concrete The endless fighting the intimidating odds the constant presence of danger

Randidly could feel the depth of his image slowly increasing And part of him wondered if the methodology of the trial would change as the needs for his image changed It was probably an area that would be worth considering for the future

But unfortunately he only had another few hours to prepare Because after the three days had passed Zagnal once more turned up outside the tent As Randidly suspected he could also sense that many other images in the surrounding area were stirring and leaving their tents to head off in long lines toward the South

Randidly left the tent and straightened to look at the dragon headed man my fellow images are still recuperating Would it be alright if only I go to the frontlines to battle

Behind him Randidly could feel Yggdrasil�s unwillingness to allow him to fight alone even while Yggdrasil begrudgingly accepted the knowledge that its current role was to remain and protect Ignition Essence They hadn�t talked about it explicitly but Randidly expected that they wouldn�t have to Yggdrasil would understand what needed to be done

In the darkness of the tent Yggdrasil remained completely still while Zagnal�s gaze slid to examine the depths of the tent From the rather tired expression on Zagnal�s face it wasn�t that he disbelieved Randidly It only seemed like Zagnal didn�t approve of Randidly�s choice

Then Zagnal�s gaze back to Randidly it is not impossible Although your first battle is easy it is still a battle against the cursed abominations from Nether If you choose this Path it is open to you But you risk a crippling wound if you go alone Are you willing to take that risk

Randidly nodded Of course it barely matters to you at all what I choose does it We images we are just fodder If we die there will always be more worlds to suck life from so the System can grow

For several seconds Zagnel looked at Randidly He considered every inch of him His gaze was extremely heavy with pity But ultimately he said nothing to dissuade Randidly further Turning away Zagnal said Follow me then It�s time you see the Great Rift

Chapter 1042

Randidly followed Zagnal through the dirt paths between the grey tents and listened to the staccato beat of footsteps running parallel to their own Although Randidly controlled himself some part of him wanted to hurry forward and catch up to the flow of bodies that were passing through the tents around them Their presence tugged at his attention from the corner of his eyes pulling his curiosity over toward their silent and flickering forms

Are all the individuals here like I am Images extracted from people That thought caused Randidly to frown Perhaps it�s not just a measure targeting Heretics then but a new development for the Frontlines Which would at least mean that I�m not being targeted but it would also mean getting my body back while I�m here would be a bit difficult

Zagnal spoke in a low tone pulling Randidly�s attention back toward him while they continued through the tents There are two types of battles that happen at the edge of the Great Rift The first type is a defensive battle Defensive battles are the rough kind because the attacker holds the initiative In a defensive battle you will rush to an area that is being destabilized by the fiendish Nether and will try to defeat the attacker and forcefully stabilize the area Even if you defeat the Nether if you are so exhausted that you are unable to stabilize the land we will still consider it a loss

Meanwhile an offensive battle is much easier You simply must go into an area taken over by Nether and forcefully stabilize the energy An Aether Key will be provided for the task of stabilization Just as we beings of Aether have a difficult time with defense some monster of Nether will be set to the unenviable task of stoping your activation of the Aether Key But you will have an edge of arriving first and already accomplishing a portion of your objective before the opposition is able to stop you

Is defense really so much more difficult than offense Why are most of the battles fought defensive ones then Randidly asked

Zagnal spat to the side Unfortunately this front is in such a precarious situation because our main base�s coordinates are discovered Unless we could similarly locate the area that the Nether abominations use to attack us defense takes precedence And finding their base impossible After all the area of space that both sides are attempting to monopolize are simply too vast

Frowning Randidly continued to follow Zagnal as he proceeded forward with his explanation

For our area we are unfortunately giving up ground to the Nether even with a focus on defense their forces have overpowered us quite a bit in the last few years Zagnal said gloomily As the momentum is in their favor we can�t afford to launch many low yield offensive missions We need to stabilize in the face of their brutal assaults first Therefore only every three successful defensive missions can we launch an offensive one Of course your first mission will be offensive so that you can get a taste of fighting the Nether Enjoy it while it lasts

Finally they broke out of the tents and arrived at a low slope Above them towered an ominous stone outcropping IT seemed more like a huge pile of stone shards than any natural geological formation But that might be the constant visual variation stretching the ridges and crevasses Without offering any explanation Zagnal began to stride up the twisting path toward the peak of the outcropping

At the beginning as they began to climb upward Randidly expected it would be relatively easy to get to the top Yet as they approached the outcropping grew increasingly large It loomed higher and higher above and although Randidly felt like they should be nearing it the distance to the summit hadn�t appeared to have shortened at all

And then they reached the edge of the long shadow cast by the stone Randidly sucked in a small breath With his hand Randidly wiped several beads of sweat from his brow and continued to follow Zagnal

Noticing Randidly�s brief stutter Zagnal sneered From the bluffs it is possible to see the entirety of our combat sphere Come it is something you should understand Before you get any ideas about the great victories you can accomplish there

The two of them walked for almost five hours to ascend the slopes And although Randidly thought of it as walking both were relying on various images in order to cheat� through traveling Randidly in fact relied on the obscenely broken power of Chimeric Avoidance to simply shorten the distance directly by avoiding it Beyond that they both devoured distance with long strides that could put away miles in five minutes

Yet before this rocky outcropping

Those Skills along with the constant usage of Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality allowed Randidly to barely keep pace with Zagnal Whose brutal march seemed to devour the distance with a workmanlike detachment They moved quickly from the foothills to the tight cutbacks of the mountain proper and then to the winding paths along the high cliffs

It was Randidly realized extremely dangerous for the visual lines to engage in such spastic switches while they were traveling along the edge of a cliff But he simply shook his head and continued to push forward

Of course Randidly wasn�t tired when they neared the summit of the bluffs as an image he didn�t really possess Stamina But he did feel a bit blurry around the edges Rather than worrying about his physical Health it was how sharp his Willpower remained that suddenly concerned Randidly And now that he was outside the tent he could feel how that area was designed to help concentrate Willpower in preparation for what was to come

Maybe they should build their tents closer to the fucking front lines Randidly thought grumpily as they followed the meandering path along the edge of a cliff to the top of the bluffs That way we don�t have to set out an entire half day early

RUMBLE

The ground beneath them shook violently Small stone skittered off the cliffs and pattered down the steep mountain gorge to their left

Zagnal chuckled darkly It looks like it has begun Come we are almost there And have a care the reverberations will only become more violent

True to Zagnal�s word those ominous rumblings continued as they climbed up over the rocks to their destination From time to time Randidly glanced up and was gratified to see that there was clear air above them Finally after a half day of trekking they had reached the top Taking in a deep breath Randidly clambered up over the last shale scramble and stood with a completely unobstructed view of the surrounding land

Randidly wasn�t sure what he was expecting to see when they mounted the summit He supposed that the expectations had been pushed upward by the phrase �Great Rift� but some part of him was so busy coping with the constant visual variations of the stones around him and his own out of body situation that he hadn�t really thought about what war on this scale would look like Even the ominous rumbles that seemed to shake his bones failed to convey the sense of scale of what he was about to see

But it only took one glance for Randidly to be frozen by the vast expanse of space that he could see from the top of the rocky outcropping

Perhaps it was because Randidly had never visited or traveled through any true mountains that it struck him so violently He had heard that the recently revealed Mount Olympus in Zone Eleven was large but he had never seen it But when Randidly stood atop this summit it felt like he could see almost infinitely in both directions The rocks in front of him finally fell away revealing a steep slope down toward the ground Although Randidly thought their assent was steep this drop was even steeper

Randidly didn�t possess any Stats to augment his vision right now but every small change in the land seemed completely clear and distinct before his eyes

Beyond the slope was a rocky expanse of cracked and heavying ground that seemed to pulse slowly up and down like it was breathing The jagged fault lines expanded and contracted Barren badlands sprawled outward from the base of the outcropping and in the surrounding area tumbling helplessly outward

But whereas the nearby land was relatively gentle in its movements in the surrounding five miles away from the outcropping the ground did away with pleasantries Huge stones undulated like a jump rope They bucked and heavy like a bull in mating season

Across that heavying expanse were hundred of black dots From the height and with the intervening distance it wasn�t possible to distinguish their features but Randidly was confident that those were the very same images that had flowed silently out of their tents and marched to the borderlands They seemed like beetles dragging their bellies across the ground as they walked toward the edge of something Something that could only be the Great Rift

But before Randidly�s gaze slid outward it slid to the left and right Those thousand small bugs became millions as Randidly broadened his view to include the vast line that separated the land from the Great Rift Randidly seemed to be standing at the center of a long coast To his left and ring were wings of heaving ground covered in black dotes There were so many that Randidly couldn�t count them all The land went on for so long that Randidly couldn�t see the end of the area

Abruptly Randidly felt very small

The further forward one went the more violent the movements of the ground became Gravity seemed to fail as you neared the Great Rift allowing huge boulders to spin lazily in the air And the Great Rift itself

It was black That much was obvious And empty too It was thought some great god had brought a knife and cut away the edge of the world Randidly wondered what he would have seen if he stood on those heaving grounds below and looked down through the dark fissures Would they stretch to the center of the planet

But every second as Randidly watched in alarm thin tendrils of ghastly blue energy slithered through the darkness It only took a few seconds to realize that infinitely large blackness and its blue energy beat in time with the pulsing of the ground It was exactly that strange energy that seemed to so upset the land

But Randidly�s eye was caught by those strange blue lines His gaze narrowed and he examined them carefully They seemed to branch and shift without warning but some instinct Randidly possessed said that wasn�t so There was an inherent pattern in that vast darkness

Which was when another realization struck Randidly those blue lines were veins This great darkness was somehow a living thing

Chapter 1043

�Hurry up � Zagnal said gruffly �You�ll have time to admire the view later �

Randidly nodded slowly and turned away from the Great Rift to follow Zagnal Aside from the raised stone outlook where they were currently standing there was a small path that led toward a flat ground that featured a permanent building and a parade ground

As they approached the first thing that Randidly noticed was that people were waiting in the parade ground There was a low stage that had about three dozen individuals standing in front of it with their hands behind their backs And then there was a group of confused and rather dull eyed individuals who were milling around in a mass in front of the stage

Zagnal inclined his head toward the crowded mass of bodies and then went to join the group standing in front of the stage Randidly blinked several times and walked over to stand along the edge of the unorganized crowd it became clear to Randidly that his situation was not unique there were two tiers of individuals here People like Zagnal who saluted sharply to the man with the salt and pepper beard standing on the stage before standing at attention and people like Randidly who were directed over into a large and amorphous mass

Randidly chewed on his lip as he glanced around And Zagnal wasn�t wrong Most of the people in the image group look like they are sleepwalking

Behind them along the path usually coming in pairs or in groups under five people more and more escorted images were brought up Randidly thought cynically that they had all the glassy eyed awareness of chickens in a slaughterhouse While they trickled in and congregated Randidly turned his gaze upward and regarded the Great Rift As he watched it breathed slowly its azure veins branching and spreading with an almost engineered regularity

Randidly�s eyes narrowed So this is the great enemy huh Even from here I can feel how dangerous it is And that�s only my instincts from when I had Nether Resistance But as an image I still remember how aching those headaches were after prolonged exposure to Nether It�s unfortunate but it seems like images are exactly the portion of Aether that is most vulnerable to Nether

Eventually the man with the salt and pepper beard clapped his hands �I believe that�s everyone Welcome all to the Great Rift I�ll be your commanding officer for the duration of your stay here Lord Miln I think I don�t need to explain to you how dangerous a foe we face Look at that darkness This place used to be a vibrant world And now it is a broken place

�The beings of Nether are demons that seek to destroy order and are incompatible with our existence As they have sought to expand that have taken and taken and taken So many lives have been lost but no more �

�I swear to you if you give everything you have to fight against the Nether and follow my orders that will change We will take back what we�ve lost We will avenge the fallen And Aether WILL annihilate these abyssal beings �

Lord Miln thrust his fist up into the air with a determined expression on his face This was followed by several seconds of silence Then there was a smattering of applause as the man�s defiant pose and framing with the vast blackness of the Great Rift behind him finally reached the crowd Honestly it was very well done But the audience

Randidly glanced around Most were drooling zombies Even with three days most of these images hadn�t recovered enough to be swayed by the performance After holding the pose for several seconds the Lord Miln relaxed

�Your liaisons will be taking you to the staging area and provide Aether Keys Obey there instructions and your odds of survival will shoot upward I await word of your success Good luck �

Then the man flickered out of existence Sensing a familiar sensation Randidly frowned He was an image the whole time Well I suppose if he truly is overseeing the entire area it would be a bit much to come out and greet all the newcomers

Zagnal quickly found Randidly hanging around the periphery of the image group �Good you didn�t get sucked into the middle of this rabble Quick follow me The sooner we get to the staging area the easier your mission will be �

Randidly raised his eyebrows at the sudden display of emotion from Zagnal Randidly supposed it was too much to hope that the dragon headed man actually wished him well �Does it make that much difference �

�Yes � Zagnal grunted already striding away After following the gruff and dragon headed liaison all morning Randidly anticipated his rapid departure and was able to keep pace with the man through the sudden movement They wove easily through the press of surrounding bodies from the other groups Randidly watched with interest as the other liaisons seemed to be similarly urging their images forward Seems like it isn�t altruism that motivates Zagnal then

Snorting lightly Zagnal continued to speak as they moved with enough velocity to leave the lion�s share of the images and other liaisons behind �This is only one of two offensive staging areas along the entire front So there is a lot of variance in the areas you will be invading And where you invade determines who you will report to for the duration of your defensive missions �

Zagnal spared Randidly a glance as they moved off down a sloping hill past the parade grounds �And I�ll be honest I�ll also earn some merits if you do well And you seem more aware than most so you might be the chance I�m waiting for Don�t disappoint me �

�Oh don�t worry I have no intention of dying � Randidly said dryly Zagnal shook his head and led Randidly further down the slope and toward a veritable city of floating stone pillars

�This is the staging area � Zagnal said shortly He gestured with his hand as though Randidly couldn�t figure out that the stone pillars were the strange construction here Then his eyes quickly flicked in several directions before he pointed decisively toward the center of the tightly clustered pillars �There Follow me �

While from afar there were so many stone pillars that they appeared as a forest they resolved themselves into an understandable pattern as Randidly drew nearer There were probably hundreds of pillars but each was part of a pentagram with a pillar at each point of the star The pillars themselves were covered in a complicated Engraving that Randidly studiously memorized although they didn�t mean anything to him currently

This shit is useless to me now But to the main body and Lucretia

Zagnal dragged Randidly through the maze of pillars to one of the central pentagrams But as they wiggled their way through the small spaces between the pentagrams for the first time since he had met Zagnal Randidly saw him hesitate �Huh Iellaya�s is also open Hmm

With a familiar decisiveness Zagnal spun on his heel and faced Randidly His eyes glowed ominously Then you have a choice This staging area is the one directly under the command of Lord Miln but Iellaya she is someone that I�ve wanted to establish a relationship with for quite some time She arrived only five years ago but her record speaks for itself And she doesn�t have many close subordinates yet Your quick feet earned this so choose to whom will you bind yourself �

Randidly blinked Other groups of liaison and image were hurrying down the rocky slope Truly those blank faced images were slower than Randidly but not by much They would arrive soon And it was clear from their determined movements that these other liaisons also had plans for which staging area to use

But still without any more information Randidly hesitated The other liaisons hurried closer Zagnal�s gaze grew flinty

� let�s take the gamble then � Randidly said �Take me to Iellaya�s staging area �

Although Randidly wanted to get near to Lord Miln to investigate more of his body he was very far from having any sort of plan or capability to rescue it As such it seemed better to go to a distant area where Randidly�s exploits wouldn�t grab the attention of the very being that he hoped to dupe

Not that I know for sure that I�ll do well especially without Nether Resistance Randidly thought bitterly But still The more I can fly under his radar the better There is still so much that I don�t know about this battlefield

�Anything else I need to know � Randidly asked as Zagnal pushed him into a pentagram just as another liaison came dashing over to the same array of floating pillars

�Don�t lose yourself � Zagnal said shortly as he passed Randidly a small item that reminded Randidly of a snow globe Glittering energy spiraled around the glass orb given to him grabbing Randidly�s eye �That�s the Aether Key Keep ahold of that That will help your im that will help you stabilize the space And when the energy is inside of it is depleted the formation will activate to teleport you back So doubly so don�t lose it �

Before Randidly could open his mouth and ask additional questions the array flared to life and Randidly felt the familiar lurch in his stomach that came with teleportation But as he traversed the distance to his destination he barred his teeth at the twisting space around him

Zagnal was about to say image and stopped himself so he�s complicit with whatever is going on

Randidly�s claw flexed But it also means that if I can do earn him some benefits he will be able to tell me the truth of the situation

Chapter 1044

A split second later Randidly was floating in the Great Rift Small azure paths of energy scurried by his face like schools of curious fish Vast black space pressed down on Randidly from every direction

The first sensation that hit Randidly was a sledgehammer of cold Not a physical cold but a mental cold that felt like falling into oblivion and the hole you used to get there closing up behind you Then an eternity seemed to pass cracking through the neat processes of Randidly�s thoughts to rip at the core of his being It was one of the worst feelings that Randidly had ever encountered

Against the Judgment Randidly had felt cold But that was a literal cold that was so acute that it started to forcibly shut down Randidly�s biological processes His brain hadn�t been able to handle the temperature That was the sort of trial that Randidly endured against the Judgment But this cold seemed to extinguish Randidly�s Willpower

Don�t lose yourself

Randidly�s eyes glowed with a furious emerald fire as he opened his mouth and roared The noise started at the pit of his stomach and clanged back and forth through his organs inside of his windpipes and then ripping out of his throat As if responding to the righteous fury and refusal in his chest the snow globe clutched in his claw began to glow

Simultaneously something distant and ethereal began humming in Randidly�s chest Whatever was there began to slowly build as the cold continually pounded against his will to continue As Randidly refused to give in it budded like a flower in spring

Yet it was the glow whipping outward into the surrounding darkness smashing into the blue veins and shattering them that finally freed Randidly from the vice grip of the cold The outward expansion of light slowed and the energy whipped back to swirl around Randidly The terrible cold was driven away and simultaneously the humming in Randidly�s chest ceased

But he found in himself a strange new capability Randidly could use that light to shape the surrounding space It was an instinctive feeling but it felt impossibly true at that moment Randidly could wave his hand and make

Then that certainty trembled Randidly spun around in his halo of light surrounded by darkness filled with azure veins and felt something desperately shooting toward his position through the unimaginably large space in the surrounding area And as Randidly felt that expanded sense he couldn�t help but gasp at the size of the darkness around him

The teleporter had brought him out here but Randidly could not for the life of him detect anything in the surrounding darkness but those intermittent azure lines In the vast expanse of space Randidly was completely alone

For a second Randidly thought while he tapped his jaw lightly The strange certainty of creation the huge distances the lonely darkness it all gave him pause Yet he couldn�t wait around forever It seemed that the response from the Nether was coming Even here a small island of slowly stabilizing Aether in the Nether something was coming to kill him

Randidly�s face split into a grin Some things are too comfortably familiar

And with that thought in his mind his will twitched and then spread outward in a nova of genesis Within a second that very same arena that Randidly faced the challenge of Donnyton and then the Eidolon Crucible condensed around him in stuttering waves of light and substance The flat surface of the arena the pristine waters of the quarry the surrounding cliffs the empty stands

All was perfectly reproduced The dreamland descended once more to surround Randidly

Randidly�s smile was the site of a vicious battle as hunger for violence and bitter regret warred across his face There�s a certain sort of poetic justice that I keep returning to fight in this place that I left annihilated But I can�t help but fear that if I keep returning here one day I will lose on this battlefield

Then Randidly�s gaze hardened But that day will not be today

Then the Nether creature arrived and all of Randidly�s focus narrowed to a point

Randidly wasn�t sure what he had expected But certainly he didn�t believe that this sinister existence so reviled by Lord Miln and Zagnal would turn out to be so acceptable Rather than some unspeakable horror with twisting inversions and an inside out body comprised mostly of hungry mouths the being of Nether that pierced into Randidly�s created area like an arrow was like a midnight black jellyfish Its tentacles seemed rather dehydrated and wrinkly but still it was a familiar silhouette cast in inky blackness

As it shot downward it flailed wildly ripping large gashes in the Aether that was pulsing out of his Aether Key

Swirling it like an aura however was that same terrible chill that attempted to extinguish Randidly�s Willpower Yet with the admittedly fragile backdrop of the conjured world behind him that same chill that had briefly left him stricken now filled Randidly will grim purpose

�Let�s see then what a being of Nether can accomplish � Randidly hissed as he stalked forward like a hunter going to meet game that had fallen into a snare

The black jellyfish hit the edge of the arena like a comet splitting the ground and sending shards of stone flying up into the air Randidly activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Craves and launched himself forward with all of the concentrated momentum of Spear Advances Ash Trails That very same aura of cold grew stronger as Randidly shot forward but he ignored it Even though the ground that the black jellyfish impacted began to slowly float upward as the concentrated Nether destabilized the space

Randidly�s emerald eyes were locked on the dozen or so tentacles that began to lash out and rip through the arena Rather than an evil Nether is just the opposite of Aether It might be some sinister evil force whose invasion necessitated the System but that doesn�t change HOW it operates And that way is to destabilize space by slowly sapping away the strength of inherent order of the world Which might just be an image

In that split second of that reflective thought Randidly focused less on the actual bone spear of his right arm and more on the image of heaviness Rather than physical strength all of his effort spiraled together to form an image of unstoppable weight And as Randidly concentrated his Willpower to go toward that point he felt strength flooding into him Strength that wasn�t just originating from himself

No the weight that condensed into the tip of Randidly�s bone spear was the strength and vehemence that he had siphoned off from the images of those who followed him from the Eidolon Crucible Individual it was an infinitely small amount They likely wouldn�t notice the difference in their image aside from the bitter truth that they had lost But to them that truth would only drive them to reach more desperately to grow strong

That weight only had meaning when aggregated And then when it was combined with Randidly�s already significant determination

When Randidly smashed into it the jellyfish of Nether popped and exploded like a soap bubble Black inchor spewed everywhere drenching Randidly and the surrounding arena in viscous sludge

In addition a howl of fury emerged from the creature�s previous position as it began to eat directly into the image of the surrounding area Randidly�s mouth twisted in distaste This fucker didn�t know when to give up And then the pain hit

For a split second the agony of that Nether eating into his image directly left Randidly�s face warped in hatred and wrath His breath came out in an explosion of steam as fury and his pounding heart kept the sizzling antipathy of Nether at bay

It was strange as time seemed to travel in bits of filmy pictures across Randidly�s mind The pain was something that he could see eating away at him Not at his body because that was a luxury that Randidly didn�t currently possess No when Nether and Aether met directly the two forces crackled and spat and parts of him began to blur and diminish

Don�t lose yourself � Zagnal had said with a tired expression of one too often disappointed and finally Randidly saw with absolute clarity why Zagnal would feel disappointed from even having the smallest bit of hope for his success

That expression was motivated by the same reason that Lord Miln was willing to toss away what amounted to little more than ghostly images in an offensive Because in those moments of filmy time Randidly felt a strange pivot opening up before him The Nether Jellyfish hated him hated his very existence They repelled each other like magnets and pressed together that rejection became mutual destruction

And as Randidly felt bits of him being destroyed he could have easily panicked and allowed the damage to worsen But some instinct honed through a year of carefully refining his images roared to the forefront of his existence It buckled down and brought every shred of his Willpower smashing against this influence that invaded his body It would not lose to this strange darkness

It was a burning desire to live And Randidly suddenly suspected that regardless of how deeply rumpled or shellshocked all those images were after being ripped out of their bodies no amount of preparation would have gotten them ready to endure that agony It wasn�t something that preparation could equip you against so why bother to prepare

You could either handle it or you couldn�t And among the recruits who came here unusually not due to the Fourth Calamity it seemed that most simply couldn�t handle it

Chimeric Avoidance Randidly hissed in agony and he felt the pain immediately lessening More than the Skill itself Randidly used every iota of his Willpower to picture himself as an inviolable entity that simply avoided the dangers of this contact with Nether He had no true shield but the firm belief in himself

Honestly what followed was somewhat akin to the Eidolon Crucible that Randidly endured the prior day Except where those images had demanded a portion of Randidly�s strength this being of Nether demanded that he cease to exist It completely denied his ability to avoid this damage and instead wished him into oblivion

Steam hissed upward from the spots were the jellyfishes black ichor pressed against the skin of the Grim Chimera The emerald light in Randidly�s eyes brightened That strange ringing was back in Randidly�s chest too The globe in Randidly�s hand flickered as the Aether Key attempted to keep the surrounding space stable while Randidly clashed directly with the monster of Nether The ground quaked causing several small pebbles to drift upward into the air

Randidly raised his head and bellowed with such violence that spit flew out of his open mouth The veins across his body were bulging out of his skin as the agony continued to pound against his WIllpower Some inner fire was burning in Randidly�s chest refusing to give in to the agony More and more of the Grim Chimera was beginning to flicker but with that rising ringing in his chest

Then something clicked within Randidly Abruptly the pain took several steps backward so it was still extremely painful but not so existential in nature A very familiar feeling rose up in Randidly�s hand as the Nether still maliciously tried to eat into his body

Nether Resistance Randidly thought blankly Nether Resistance activated After being exposed to it for so long I was able to trigger the Skill

A Skill from the main body that I shouldn�t be able to use if I was simply the Grim Chimera

To lend credence to Randidly�s theory a notification popped up in front of him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 75

Then Randidly pushed away all his shock wonder and excitement Because for now he had a fucking black jellyfish to annihilate

Chapter 1045

Once Randidly had the assistance of Nether Resistance the battle became immensely easier Although it could still blur the edges of the Grim Chimera image much of its potency had been sucked from it With the additional image strength from his victory in the Eidolon Crucible his victory was no longer in doubt

Of course a sufficient amount of Nether would still be deadly to Randidly Activating this Skill would not mean that Randidly could act with impunity in the front lines The lingering damage to the image of the Grim Chimera was a testament to those tense first ten seconds of bitter confrontation

But with the periodic pulses of Aether from the Aether Key in his hand Randidly was nigh unstoppable in the current battle He methodically used Molten Fang of the Pariah to eradicate the remainder of the black jellyfish that covered the ground of the arena He even earned several additional Skill Levels in his Grim Chimera Skills and Nether Resistance

But those notifications soon twisted his mouth into a scowl I get the Skill Levels sure and that will help But without my main body I won�t have any way to use the PP to follow Paths

Yet that annoyance quickly gave way to hesitation then again I would have said the same thing about my ability to use non Grim Chimera Skills So perhaps it�s doable I just need to find a way to cause a resonance as happened with Nether Resist But a resonance with my Status

But causing such a phenomenon was easier said than done In this case the direct cause was obvious exposure to Nether After that switch had been flicked inside of himself to grant access to Nether Resistance it felt like a tenuous connection was established with his main body that allowed him to utilize the Skill Perhaps it was due to whatever actions Yggdrasil used but there was enough sympathy between the two of them that Randidly could probably worm his way into access to all of his main body�s Skills

However very few other Skills possessed the same extremely blunt activation pattern as the Resistance series of Skills did

And of course the traitorous Skill Pain Resistance doesn�t work at all from the pain resulting from Nether damage Randidly gloomily regarded the burnt skin of his arm and chest So torturing myself here is a waste of time

Once the creature of Nether was gone Randidly felt rather bored as the Aether Key continued to pulse out waves of energy into the surrounding air Some wild part of himself almost wished more enemies would show up Still he had his hands rather full doing his best to repair some of the damage that Nether had done to the Grim Chimera and decided a peaceful conclusion to his trip out here wouldn�t be such a bad thing

Nether Resistance probably didn�t win the battle for Randidly but it certainly saved him from a lot of pointless suffering But even with that advantage Randidly could feel portions of his image that had grown vague and blurry While sitting on that imagined arena that Randidly had left destroyed in the past he slowly repaired the damage to the Grim Chimera

He reinforced the image of violence added more detail and texture to the physical body of the Grim Chimera and slowly upped the ravenous hunger than animated it Even though the exertion left Randidly in a state that was close to dizzy Randidly was able to quickly repair his image

Of course there were some spots that Randidly spotted the tenacious touch of Nether lingering despite his best efforts It wasn�t pure Nether as it had been mixed too thoroughly with Randidly�s energy into a strange mixture that was probably useless to both types of beings But it became part of the fabric of his Grim Chimera As Randidly examined it it even seemed to strengthen the shadow of loneliness that covered the Grim Chimera

This will be the part that becomes a star then Randidly tapped his lip and then shrugged Although he couldn�t remove it here it might be possible to purify his image if he had access to his main body Even if the strange process of transforming the Nether into a star didn�t pan out Randidly didn�t believe he wouldn�t find a way to handle it

With his repairs sorted Randidly moved onto a restive type of meditation His breathing evened out and Randidly let himself drift for quite some time Some of the edge returned to his Willpower Only after Randidly felt himself grounded and capable did Randidly open his eyes

With most of his internal state sorted out Randidly glanced around at the surrounding area At the moment he dearly wished he could find a way to cause resonance between himself and the Skill Absolute Timing because Randidly wasn�t sure how long he had been here The battle against the being of Nether couldn�t have been long but it left him drained As for how long his recovery meditation lasted

Randidly sighed and shook his head Honestly he had no idea It could have been an hour since he was teleported here it could have been a day But it did seem like the energy within the Aether Key was slowly starting to die down so the return should trigger sometime very soon

With the being of Nether eradicated the arena came back with perfect clarity The point of impact where the ground had been destabilized slowly settled back together like a magical self solving jigsaw puzzle The pristine water of the quarry reflected the blue sky But beyond that

Randidly walked slowly with the Aether Key in his claw to the edge of the area Just like it was with the frontlines the edge of Randidly�s stabilized space ended with a sharp wall of ominous blackness The azure veins added some depth but the view still struck Randidly with a physical force It was difficult to imagine what existence for the Nether beings was like looking at those strange azure patterns flickering across the blackness

Randidly glanced up The blue sky ended sharply at the edge of the blackness Rather than any true phenomenon that color was likely created based upon his image But it was still rather off putting to see the stark line where the edge of Randidly�s small world ran up against the surrounding vast darkness

The Great Rift huh Randidly mumbled Then he shook his head and walked back to the center of the arena Once there he sat down once more and returned to meditation This time rather than trying to refine his image Randidly let his mind go completely blank in order to recover from the strain of his confrontation with the being of Nether

Breathe in breathe out

Don�t lose yourself

In the past this would likely be a time where Randidly would slip into his growing image verse and feel the movements that he could sense with his Crown which had now been restructured into the Reign of the Eidolon Crucible But displayed on the inside of his eyelids Randidly now only found blackness He wondered idly how Ignition Essence was doing and what Yggdrasil did to pass the time while he was performing missions

Would his growth here help the main body grow more powerful

The concept of time writhed and slithered around Randidly like a naughty serpent The only constant was his own breath and the intermittent pulses of the Aether key grasped tightly in his claw After focusing on his mental recovery for what felt like days Randidly soon felt himself returning to his peak

Well rather than his peak it was the rather gritty reality of feeling good in not the best of circumstances Which considering where he was seemed good enough to consider it a victory So Randidly returned to the rather endless task of refining his image of the Grim Chimera

And when he did so Randidly was met with the rather shocking realization that his earlier refinements� were extremely crude and clumsy They stuck out like a sore thumb against the rather smooth rest of his image He had wielded a blunt instrument to repair the damage done by Nether leaving the finished product extremely rough

Randidly grimaced as he went about correcting and enhancing the pieces he had added to his image earlier Well I suppose that�s a sharp lesson about trying to perform surgery on yourself directly after a battle the results are pretty abysmal But I�m not sure whether it�s better to add such stopgaps to an image or simply focus on recovering mental acuity first leaving those wounds to the image to bleed during the intervening time

Shaking his head Randidly stretched and straightened He glared down at the Aether Key as though it was responsible for his current predicament Weak pulses of Aether continued to flow outward about once every five minutes or so In order to pass the time Randidly stuck his feet into the cool water of the quarry But although the sensation was enjoyable it felt hollow

Hard to tell if that�s because I don�t have a body or because this place was made off of my rather fuzzy memory Randidly sighed and closed his eyes once more Instead of simply focusing on himself or his image Randidly focused on the Aether Key in his hand

With the Grim Chimera�s instincts he could clearly feel the dense Aether that was held within the glass sphere But it was also clear that much of that energy had already dispersed into the surrounding area Which considering it was used to stabilize the space made Randidly wonder how exactly Aether worked Why did its presence give Randidly something to affix his image to If it was just an energy form

Of course Randidly knew it wasn�t just energy It was also shape But

Then Randidly froze Because while his focus was directed at the continually pulsing waves of Aether there was a subtle stirring in his chest Something was resonating

Instantly the excitement in Randidly�s chest bubbled up and completely destroyed his focus But now Randidly stared down at the Aether Key with a hungry intensity Of course Even if I can�t get some of the other Skills if I can get Aether Detection to resonate by holding such a powerful bit of concentrated Aether for a prolonged period of time

So Randidly took several breaths to calm himself down and focused on the slow beats of Aether that were spreading outward from the sphere in his hand Of course the time between the pulses of Aether seemed extremely long to Randidly�s impatient senses Almost prohibitively slow

Yet after every pulse the resonance in his chest would increase by the smallest bit The energy would clearly trigger something and come back with more vigor than before only then to slowly fade as the space between pulses stretched

Randidly frowned while keeping his eyes closed Focusing like this earlier would have been better when the Aether held within the Aether Key still possessed most of its potency But even so with a few more pulses

The resonance in his chest continued to climb in intensity Randidly didn�t remember exactly when the resonance had reached a tipping point but he suspected it was very close

Randidly�s stomach lurched as he was pulled through teleportation once more The resonance rapidly faded to nothing With a quick look it was clear that the sphere in Randidly�s hand was completely devoid of energy Randidly released a long stream of curses

And based on what Zagnal said I�ll need to handle three defensive missions before I�ll have another chance at an offensive one again Randidly wanted to rip out his hair But maybe there will be a way to get access to a spare Aether Key without waiting for another mission What are they anyway I would assume its concentrated System Aether but without Aether Detection

A split second later Randidly was standing once more in the pentagram of pillars Zagnal looked up and met his gaze with Randidly whose face was probably covered in an expression of a man whose fiance died of a heart attack at the alter across from him

Zagnal patted Randidly shoulder with a commiserating expression Not so easy is it And it will only get harder from here but you survived that�s what�s important When you�ve recovered follow me It�s time to take you to your new lodgings Now you report to Iellaya

Chapter 1046

As a sour mood Randidly followed Zagnal down the Eastern side of the rock outcropping he was shocked out of his funk by the sight of Ignition Essence and Yggdrasil waiting at the base of the slope Even though Randidly could clearly see Yggdrasil was still cradling Ignition Essence in his arms he hurried over Was there any change in his condition

Yggdrasil shook his canopy sadly No there has been no change since this morning Time will take much longer than that to begin its holy work I�m afraid But it is good to see that you�ve managed to survive your ordeal Was it painful

Randidly paused Then he turned and looked at Zagnal after he parsed apart what Yggdrasil had said to him How long was the mission

About three hours Zagnal showed his teeth Heh it felt much longer to you did it not Good that�s very good

Randidly�s depressed mood returned with a vengeance I even was warned that time here moves strangely But even so really That was only three hours I feel like I did a week�s worth of damage control on the Grim Chimera image holy fuck

Growling at Zagnal Randidly said Why is that a good thing it felt so fucking long

Because the heavier an individual�s image the longer time seems to stretch The damage done by the Great Rift it is an insidious influence that is difficult to overcome And the Nether are beasts of instinct that know nothing of time The weaker an image is the more easily it is swept along to that timeless quality That�s how we can tell which images are nearing

So you are saying I have a strong image Randidly said with a vicious smile

Zagnal froze caught between what Randidly assumed were orders to keep references to images to a minimum and his own pleasure that the image he was acting as a liaison for had returned none the worst for wear

Eventually Zagnal coughed and nodded Yes that is the case Now follow me My own defense mission is tomorrow morning so we will need to make good time to Iellaya�s base of operations this evening so I can return

With Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil Yggdrasil had no trouble keeping up with Zagnal�s brutal pace They quickly traveled to the backline of the lower camps and began to speed across the badlands As the rocky outcropping seemed to barely grow any more distance behind them the four blazed across the outer ring of the huge base that sat here on the edge of the Great Rift At first there were some other groups traveling along the same path but as they headed further and further away from headquarters they quickly became the only group on the path

Rather than any real fortifications for these bases there only seemed to be the lines of tents stretching endlessly on their right across the broken and barren ground There were also small spaces between the bases too giving Randidly of a sense of scale for this battlefront So far they had walked past the edges of the headquarters and one other camp about to enter into the area of a third

Now at least Randidly saw some individuals moving outside of their tents Noises from cooking fires and conversations caught Randidly�s attention In addition it rapidly became clear that there were three types of tents and the greys were in a minority

Most of the tents that Randidly saw now were a maroon red and often had wounded individuals standing and talking around by them When their group passed these individuals would look sharply up before returning to their conversation not even bothering to acknowledge their passage

Who are they Yggdrasil asked as they continued past these groups

Once more Zagnal hesitated veterans They�ve been fighting here for a while Don�t let their attitude bother you By the time you prove yourself you will have the chance to stand amongst them

Which probably means that these are individuals that were allowed to keep their bodies Randidly reflected But I wonder if Zagnal saying by the time you prove yourself � means there is a possibility that I will be allowed to return to my body Should I reveal now that I know I am an image

Ultimately Randidly clicked his tongue and decided against it There was still too much he didn�t know And there was always the worry that it was explicitly outlawed that the images learn what they were Better to wait and learn more information for now

In addition to the grey and maroon tents there were also gold tents Randidly only saw a few of those in the four camps that they passed and it was clear that these were reserved for special individuals In each section of maroon tents there would only be a dozen or so that were golden Zagnal clearly saw the interest in Randidly�s gaze as well but he didn�t volunteer any information

Meanwhile Randidly was rather occupied sensing the gradual changes happening within the fabric of his image As Zagnal had informed him the first day he arrived he could feel some sort of current through the air that tugged insistently on the tainted Nether that remained suspended in his image

Slowly that Nether was siphoned out and formed a star shape pattern in the air around Randidly Like the staging area this new star had five points But rather than a star with equal sides this star was scrawled with a wild curving script The substance of Nether began to flow toward the points and central area

However there wasn�t enough Nether present in Randidly to create the strange star diagram In fact only one of the points seemed to be filled in the looping script The remaining points were dull and empty while the center seemed to have not even been started

Randidly tsk�d in his mind and shook his head I beat that damn jellyfish too badly It will take a lot of enemies of that caliber before I can condense a star and in order to investigate what effects it has

In the beginning Randidly had been rather worried about what sort of influence the owner of the grand array could wield if that being could use the remnant Nether to make these stars But seeing the slow accumulation and more important the way that it accumulated Randidly was somewhat relieved

His main bodies expertise was still absent but Randidly was still able to recognize certain patterns From what he could tell this strange looping star would do exactly as advertised it would only give him a minor resistance against Nether The full star would create a bubble of Nether substitute that would reduce the effectiveness of Nether attacks

Until as Zagnal pointed out the Nether reached the point of overwhelming him and turning those stars against him But Randidly had faith in his own Willpower and the additional strength he had received from the Eidolon Crucible

Which once combined with his current Nether Resistance

It was only after they had traveled for about four hours that Zagnal spoke again By this time they had reached the sixth camp to the East of the headquarters They stood in front of a thin thoroughfare that led through a row lined with maroon tents This is the edge of Iellaya�s headquarters She is the Easternmost commander on this battleline

Randidly glanced around One thing he immediately noticed was that although most of the tents were maroon there were no golden tents that he could see In addition there were a few dozen or so grey tents tucked away behind the sea of maroon Randidly chewed his lip thoughtfully If the tents meant what he believed they did that would mean this camp also hosted disproportionately more isolated images than any camp they had passed did other than the main one directly underneath Lord Miln

It was difficult to know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing for Randidly

But more than that there was a scent in the air

It is a strange energy that lays over this camp Yggdrasil said lightly Zagnal blinked and looked at Yggdrasil with a frown Although Randidly had been thinking the very same thing it wouldn�t do to have Zagnal�s attention focus on Yggdrasil and his impressively acute senses

Before Zagnal could direct his attention wholly toward Yggdrasil�s ambiguous statement Randidly took a step forward to grab the liaison�s attention So why are you so desperate to form a relationship with this Iellaya

That seemed enough to attract Zagnal�s attention back to Randidly Zagnal sighed You would not understand It is a thing closely related to the status of my homeland For someone ah for someone like you without a place to return to someone who is waiting for the old friend of Lord Miln it might be difficult to understand

Despite the fact Randidly was trying to keep his knowledge secret his emerald eyes flashed in annoyance His emotions bubbled ominously Barring his teeth at Zagnal Randidly growled Try me

Almost immediately Randidly inwardly cursed his hot headed reaction Where had that sudden aggression come from It�s true that this fuckface needs to stop treating me like a broken doll but

Zagnal seemed similarly surprised by the sudden violent sneer that covered Randidly�s face Luckily before he could articulate any sort of reaction there was a dull roar from deeper within the camp All three of the figures twisted to look up toward the glittering fireball that filled the sky while Yggdrasil clutched the weak form of Ignition Essence to his chest

What the hell is that Randidly asked in alarm Is the camp under attack

Yes but it�s not what you think Zagnal said slowly His eyes glittered from the reflected light as the huge fireball faded to a glittering bonfire that burned near the center of the camp Almost instinctively his hands tightened into fists The sudden longing in his voice was abundantly clear Obviously there would be much more drastic response if the camp itself was under attack No that light is a Beacon of Duty Basically a commander will light one if they are looking for volunteers for a special mission

Randidly considered the light solemnly Calling for volunteers huh I suppose volunteering in a situation like that means that whatever is going on the mission is extremely dangerous and that the commander would be extremely grateful toward any volunteers

Their previous argument hung between them like a bitter death in the family Zagnal�s eyes continued to glitter with unwillingness as he looked up toward that burning beacon Huh whatever he wants from Iellaya clear is something significant If it has to do with his homeworld something to do with the Nexus A steady supply of Aether

But after a few seconds Zagnal sighed in dejection Yes that is correct but for you as you are now going on such a volunteer mission is a deathwish Still you are also correct this is exactly what I need for my people Perhaps no I have my own duties No matter what I cannot afford to risk failure

Zagnal twisted around Emotions warred on his face for several seconds as Randidly and Zagnal stared at each other The rather sudden appearance of emotion on Zagnal�s face filled Randidly with wonder Even more so because the emotion Randidly saw was desperation

And then even more surprisingly Zagnal bowed to Randidly at the waist Please If you can do this for me I�ll do everything in my power to help you reclaim your body Because right now I must come clean you are currently naught but an image that was forcibly ripped from your body You possess a fragment of your true power And if this separated version of you is powerful enough then your true form

That�s enough Randidly said lightly as he tapped Zagnal on the shoulder Although Randidly still wasn�t sure how much he could trust the man the fact that he had come clean about Randidly�s status was enough to earn a measure of consideration now After all if we don�t act quickly won�t someone else volunteer first

Zagnal�s face split into a wry grin but then his brow furrowed I was not exaggerating however If volunteers are required it is not something that should be possible for an image

I have never been a man Randidly called lightly over his shoulder profoundly enjoying the experience of leaving Zagnal in the dust to walk away To be greatly concerned by what others say I can and can�t do

And more importantly than winning your trust I have Nether Resistance back to give me an advantage Hopefully that will give me enough of an edge to seize this chance

Chapter 1047

Yggdrasil stayed outside with Ignition Essence as Randidly and Zagnal walked steadily toward the towering command tent The large aisles forward leading to the central area of the camp were completely deserted Conspicuously so considering the lit Beacon of Duty As they proceeded deeper into the camp Randidly had to expend more and more effort suppressing a frown

And it wasn�t even the lack of volunteers No Randidly was concerned about something else As Yggdrasil had so bluntly pointed out in front of Zagnal earlier there was something extremely strange in the air of this camp Almost like a persistence stench that one couldn�t quite place Randidly glanced sideways at Zagnal who walked forward with gritted teeth

So why can�t he seem to sense it

Of course the current Randidly was just an image Perhaps for that reason it was easier to sense other influences in the air But calling it a stench seemed quite fitting the entire camp was steeped in that strange influence

It was very easy for him to just forgo breathing so no foreign particles could enter his body� Even if the main body was present it would be extremely simple for Randidly to hold his breath long enough to avoid the strange smell and whatever trap may lay in it This thing was avoidable But even so Randidly�s instincts prickled as they proceeded through the tainted air It wasn�t that it was dangerous to him per se

The sensation was extraordinarily strange But Randidly shook his head and did his best to ignore it as Zagnal knocked formally on the tent flap For now it was clear that Randidly didn�t need to worry about it affecting him

No what concerned Randidly more was whatever being caused that stench to lay so heavily over the camp It was the only camp of the five they had passed that possessed such a stench Randidly wondered how easy it would be to transfer away from Iellaya if things turned dangerous

Enter came the regal sounding reply After exchanging a glance the two men pulled aside the flap and went into the tent

The interior was sparsely decorated there was open space for a training area a pole in the center that held up the wide tent and a desk at the far side Two people were gathered around the desk one seated and the other standing with his arms crossed both were carefully examining the two individuals who walked into the tent

The standing one was a being that seemed to be made of granite with bright yellow eyes that glowed and faded independently of each other like fireflies The figure seated at the table was an intense woman with a long main of ebony feathers hanging from her head

Narrowing his eyes Randidly confirmed what he was seeing rather than hair this woman�s body was covered with feathers in all the places where most people possessed hair Extremely long feathers curled gently down around her face from her head and Randidly could also see feathers of a smaller variety sticking out from her forearms

It didn�t escape Randidly�s notice that the stench of that strange influence was even more densely present inside of the Commander�s tent Although Randidly wasn�t sure what it meant it did seem like there was no avoiding the fact that Iellaya would be involved in this strange feeling that made Randidly�s skin crawl

The woman leaned forward and clasped her fingers together as she considered Randidly and Zagnal I don�t believe I recognize either of you two from my division Although I appreciate that you have come to assist after seeing the Beacon of Duty the mission is only open to my subordinates Thank you for your time you are dismissed

Zagnal cleared his throat Randidly watched with amusement as his liaison�s draconic features clearly displayed nerves With all do respect Lady Iellaya this man is one of your subordinates He only recently passed his first defensive mission and was assigned under your command today

Iellaya�s eyes flicked to Randidly then back to Zagnal indeed I did receive notice that a new recruit would be coming to my camp But let�s not dance around this issue this being is a homeless image With his body enduring the punishment he will no longer receive energy from the System Do you really think that his assistance will do anything to help me

Lady Iellaya please there�s no need to Zagnal began as he nervously glanced at Randidly But Randidly just raised his hand to stop him from speaking

Yes I can help you Randidly said smiling easily at Iellaya Enduring a punishment huh But it�s still impossible to tell if that is due to my status as a Heretic or from the special addition that Octavius said would be in my Judgment Information just lets me ask even more questions

Her expression twitched in surprise She looked at Randidly again this time more closely Her expression shifted After allowing her gaze to flick back to Zagnal she put Randidly in her crosshairs this time Ah I didn�t realize you had regained your clarity You were already aware of your situation weren�t you

Although Randidly smiled he didn�t answer that Honestly he hadn�t been truly aware and he still wasn�t But that strange feeling of that stench was even stronger within the tent and it was clearly emanating from Iellaya now that he was standing nearer to her Rather than letting her set the pace with her questions Randidly instead said lightly Besides it doesn�t seem like any others are coming to your assistance Even if it�s a gamble to trust me aren�t I better than nothing

Of course the fact that they had seen no one stirring in the camp after the Beacon of Duty was lit did diminish Randidly�s confidence that it would be fine for him to accept this mission It was possible that the people of Iellaya�s camp knew something about this that Randidly didn�t If so Randidly might be signing his deathwish

Randidly�s eyes flashed I cannot afford to let my growth slow down With the main body locked away under some punishment I need to put myself in increasingly dangerous situations in order to grow And with Nether Resistance I have a pretty significant advantage over other images here in fighting against Nether

Iellaya�s eyes were so black that they didn�t reflect any light Inscrutable and large they seemed to be entirely composed of pupil with the faintest hint of sclera around the edges it�s true This is actually the third night in a row I�ve lit the Beacon of Duty The first night there were numerous volunteers and nine were sent Only two returned The second night three of my strongest people went and none remained in the morning And now on the third night it appears that none of my brave subordinates will come Because they understand I will not hold it against them if they do not That is how deadly this mission is

Iellaya tilted her head to the side The light inside the ten reflected off the main of glossy feathers that tumbled down her back Even the ebony feathers seemed lighter than those eyes Does that scare you

Of course Randidly said with a small smile But what he didn�t say was whispered by the Grim Chimera in his ear

But if there was no terror these enemies wouldn�t even cause me to struggle And I crave struggle

Iellaya blinked Then she laughed Indeed So at least you admit that you are afraid Well then fine If no others come you will be my lone representative into the Great Rift on this night Abiodun please take Mr

When Iellaya looked at Randidly in askance he said Ghosthound

Nodding Iellaya continued Please take Mr Ghosthound to the staging area I wish you the best of luck I will not forget this favor

After Randidly had been led away by the rumbling being of granite Zagnal still remained in Iellaya�s tent with his hands clenched at his sides

Iellaya looked at him with obvious amusement But for several minutes she didn�t attempt to break the silence Instead she stood and walked over to the side of the desk Pulling on a drawer Iellaya removed a tea set and delicate set it on the table A snap of her fingers set the kettle to steaming and she poured the scalding water over pink leaves

Zagnal�s arms trembled from the exertion of staying still

After another few minutes Iellaya raised the glass of tea to her lips From her vantage point Zagnal could see that the water was still completely transparent However the pink leaves had completely dissolved

After taking a sip Iellaya�s attention turned finally to Zagnal She returned to her seat behind the desk The small feathers of her eyebrows twitched as she examined him So It won�t solve my problem but I appreciate you sending such a promising image of yours to die in my defense You have my attention

You never know Zagnal said slowly as much for himself as for Lady Iellaya He could survive He sustained almost no damage in the earlier defensive battle Perhaps his aptitude is quite high for an image

Offensive battles and defensive battles are very different Iellaya waved her hand So much so that I didn�t even bother to lay out how they are different for the fool And you didn�t speak out at all either So let�s not pretend like the outcome is in doubt that image will die and be consumed by the Nether Still that�s not a knock against it many better individuals have met the same fate out here

Leaning back in her chair Iellaya pulled a pile of papers on the corner of her desk in front of her With a quick flick of the wrist she made a quick note underneath a page featuring a picture of Randidly Ghosthound�s true body Still two more images were extracted from this body so all is not lost And even if he fails spectacularly it will buy us a tiny amount of time So please tell me what you want

Zagnal�s mouth was dry He huffed out a smoky breath from his nose I I wish to arrange passage to the Nexus for my world I hear you already possess Tier 2 Citizenship in the Nexus I�m willing to throw my support behind you assuming my world becomes a portion of your Realm if you reach Tier 3 citizenship with your accomplishments on the front lines

Lady Iellaya chuckled If you know that much you�ve certainly done your homework on me And if that�s true I suppose you know that throwing your support behind me carriers with it certain additional requirements

Nodding slowly Zagnal took a step forward His knees almost buckled underneath him as the took that step I I am aware I am willing

The air within the tent began to change Suddenly Zagnal could barely breathe as a heavy energy swirled between them Under the influence of that abrupt weight even the visual cues from the destabilized space were somewhat restricted The very air seemed to tremble in the presence of that energy

Slowly Iellaya stood With a certain ritualistic cadence she took slow steps around her desk to stand before Zagnal As she slowly turned Zagnal could see how the ebony feathers stuck out of her body all along her spine giving her a black trail of feathers leading down her slender back When she settled only a meter away from Zagnal those feathers began to flare outward like a cobra�s hood

Iellaya was now wreathed in darkness

Then you also realize that this means your own potential will become mine Lady Iellaya said quietly You will still grow but only in proportion to my own strength This is the end of your Path

Yes But Zagnal panted I�ve served twelve of my twenty five year sentence on the frontlines I have seen too many individuals far more powerful than I die to think that it is anything but luck that I�ve made it this far And if I die my world

I know hush child Lady Iellaya reached out and brushed her fingers against Zagnal�s cheek It is for exactly those reasons that so many lost pilgrims have made the very same decision you now make So do not regret Instead relax As soon as you kneel your woes will become mine And I will not forget the petty burdens of those who dedicate themselves to me

Trembling Zagnal went to his knees His hands were twitching The weight was growing too much to handle His entire body was oozing a mixture of sweat and ash from his pores Lady no Queen Iellaya My life is yours My will is yours My image is yours

Chapter 1048

Randidly glanced over at the stoic Abiodun Well at least he adjusted his speed so that I could keep up with him but it doesn�t seem like my luck of getting brusque silent types will change anytime soon

Although Zagnal has been a bit weird ever since we came to Iellaya�s camp so perhaps it�s just a matter of allowing them to warm up to me Perhaps the Grim Chimera body is a bit more charming than the main body

Randidly looked down at his bone spear sticking out from the elbow of his right arm and his monstrous claw for a left hand Or not after all my physical appearance is a bit off putting even for all of these combat focused alien creatures

As they arrived at a familiar series of runic pillars floating in a pentagram Randidly looked toward Abiodun�s hulking frame So is this an offensive or defensive battle Or something in between

Abiodun slowly turned and looked at Randidly Interestingly enough the granite man moved quite quietly there was no grinding in his joints Then he turned back and walked over to one of the arrays of pillars there is no in between The battle type is determined by who is currently maintaining the surrounding space In this case the Nether beings have had the chance to warp the space to become another portion of the Great Rift so it is a defensive battle You have to protect yourself from the environment while fighting off their forces

So jumping to the hard one immediately well it�s not like I don�t have plenty of benefits from my first battle to inform me Randidly�s claw tightened into a bristling sphere of blades and talons What I�m saying is don�t Aether and Nether destroy each other So what is left if the energies are completely equal and they fizzle out That�s in between

Again Abiodun paused This time he completely turned around and looked at Randidly His eyes glowed and then dimmed as he considered Randidly for several seconds theoretically you are correct However what exists in the balance is impossible to determine By viewing that balanced state we influence it Therefore we only ever see Aether space to be protected or Nether space to be destroyed As long as Aether and Nether exist there cannot be a balance For balance would mean both have ceased to be

The part of Randidly that was undoubtedly the Grim Chimera was raring to fight this treacherously difficult defensive battle But the Randidly part was intrigued by Abiodun�s words I m surprised you are the first individual who hasn�t constantly referred to Nether as a monstrous force of evil Then of course Randidly�s Grim Chimera aggression commandeered his mouth For a rock you are pretty philosophical

Abiodun tilted his head to the side For an image that is about to die you talk an unnecessary amount But rather than annoying me it simply causes me endless regret It is possible we would have grown fond of each other given time

You certainly have a strange way of expressing regret Randidly shook his head as Abiodun turned back to one of the pentagrams and began to activate the runes Randidly calmly walked to the center of the array twisting his neck to crack it

Then something struck Randidly Oh by the way how do you return from defensive missions Can I have an Aether Key

In a defensive mission you attempt to defend against the enemy and the space Abiodun repeated rather unhelpfully Just when Randidly was about to complain the granite man added You will continue to defend until the morning when a relief force can be arranged Struggle hard fast talking image so the Nether doesn�t have much time to reinforce their position before we arrive

Then space bent and twisted as the array around Randidly activated

Good thing he activated the teleportation after that Randidly frowned I didn�t have any sort of comeback at all

Almost immediately after that thought however Randidly�s expression turned serious His attention focused inward He did last checks on his Grim Chimera image and began to forcefully activate the connection he had to Nether Resistance If he was understanding how this would play out correctly he was heading to an area to which a being had Nether had brought the reciprocal of an Aether Key

So not only would Randidly need to fight against the Nether creature but also he would need to fight against the environment

Then Randidly paused You know I suppose I�ve always assumed I would only fight one Nether beast at a time due to the huge size of the space that the two forces are contesting but no one has ever said explicitly that this would be the case And if this mission is so important that they sent NINE the first time and only two returned

well fuck

Randidly felt a sinking feeling in his chest But his grin spread wider and wider in anticipation of the danger facing multiple beasts of Nether at once would pose to him

Then Randidly blinked into the mission area and the existential cold of the Great Rift began to suck incessantly at his Willpower The great blackness filled with those azure lines was wrapped around him like a blanket that was so tight it felt like a noose This time however Nether Resistance surged immediately to life Randidly spread his arms and roared with such violence that some of the pulsing azure veins in the air around him trembled and shattered

With his left claw Randidly reached out and grasped the Great Rift with Eternal Cravings of a Wraith Randidly sucked and consumed everything in the surrounding area even the void The blackness trembled then small motes of ash began to form and spiral around Randidly in the void It was a small thing but immediately the pressing cold surrounding him eased up as the space began to shift toward something more hospitable to beings of Aether

In that same moment Randidly felt three presences begin making beelines through the void toward his position One was almost immediately on top of him and the other two shot closer together to assist Beyond them Randidly could feel a huge concentration of Nether that seemed to be a much larger version of the Nether Key

Thankfully there was no response to his presence from that huge knot of void energy

Spinning around Randidly locked onto the position of the first foe that was nearing him Wreathed in tight azure lines a strange shadow cut through the Great Rift toward Randidly�s position Emerald eyes blazing Randidly locked onto it almost immediately It seemed to possess two pairs of arms but a thin film of shadow stretched from the upper pair of arms to its waist like bat wings

Just as Randidly was trying to analyze the shape of the foe it twisted sideways and slipped between two glowing azure veins and disappeared Grimacing Randidly twisted to the side as the batbeast appeared behind him in a swirl of patterned azure veins Its dusky claw slid past Randidly�s side forcefully impacting Randidly�s image just with the violence of the attack A cold spike of agony hammered into Randidly�s side

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 76

You piece of fucking shit Randidly hissed Once more he sucked violently in with Eternal Cravings of the Wraith to pull all the surrounding energy toward himself Although he couldn�t actually drag anything useful from this Nether being his overwhelming image of hunger that exploded outward was enough to daze the batbeast It acted as a vast thunderclap that destabilized the Nether in the surrounding area

Randidly�s Molten Fang of the Pariah sizzled toward its chest But the batbeast released a low rumble from its chest and stepped backward into the swirling azure veins After only inflicting a shallow scratch and a mild impact to the Nether being it disappeared The veins scattered like a spooked school of fish

Randidly�s eyes narrowed I suppose it makes sense just like physics and geography are strange Aether rules that these Nether beasts don�t understand these azure veins are an environment that I can�t figure out and it can take advantage of Therefore the first step in defeating this foe would be to destroy the veins

The batbeast appeared once more so close to Randidly that he couldn�t react in time even with the benefit of Chimeric Avoidance The batbeast�s two lower arms slashed out and ripped away sizable chunks of the Grim Chimera�s image The wounds sizzled and burned as Aether and Nether met All the previous planning that Randidly was engaged in was wiped away by a flood of white hot rage

Screeching in hate Randidly took a sharp step forward and simply seized the batbeast�s head with his clawed left hand Immediately the contact began to burn At first the batbeast was surprised by Randidly�s decisively aggressive move but then it began a flurry of attacks on Randidly�s exposed torso Existential agony pounded against Randidly�s Willpower but he began to laugh

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 77

Do you fucking think you are my equal Randidly�s eyes blazed like a supernova of emerald fireworks His claw tightened inward and the substance of the batbeast�s head buckled Look at what this body can do and be appalled cretin

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 78

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 79

Although Randidly�s consciousness grew a little fuzzy around the edges the batbeast�s struggles grew increasingly feeble and it whined in agony Steam wafted upward from the wounds on Randidly�s chest and his claw around its skull A second later Randidly used The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns to pepper the batbeast�s body with gory holes

The inky black flesh of the batbeast spasmed and then began to deflate like a punctured pool floatie With a shudder it collapsed in dispersed ichor that sizzled painfully against Randidly�s skin

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 80

For a second Randidly�s face was twisted with the intoxicating rush of triumph Nothing else mattered but that warm thrill of victory Then Randidly winced as the adrenaline began to pass and he felt the terrible wounds that disfigured his image of the Grim Chimera

With two more foes coming to fight this might be a bit

Then Randidly felt something in his chest There was a tremor and suddenly it appeared like it was placed there deliberately for Randidly to notice And it immediately seized his entire attention For several seconds he was frozen in shock Even the instincts he had received from the Grim Chimera weren�t sure how to handle this new arrival

This what the hell is this

Chapter 1049

The this� that left Randidly�s jaw rolling on the floor was a dense ball of Aether that appeared suddenly in his chest It was warm and bright and familiar filled with ash grey emerald gold and the pale steel of a shattered Crown turned into a spectral Reign It hummed with potency as it hung inside of Randidly

This this is clearly Aether From the main body Randidly who was probably heavily based on the Grim Chimera struggled to categorize all the implications that the sudden arrival of this dense Aether signaled Then it looks like the main body can still send Aether to me So the punishment Iellaya mentioned is due to what Octavius warned us about not us being a Heretic Because wouldn�t they try to cut off a Heretic�s Aether to its images Would there be meaning to cut them off only from System Aether to starve them out Because Heretics have proven to have other methods

But maybe that�s exactly why they are cut off from System Aether and have their images ripped out Without the main body they probably lose the ability to accumulate Aether on their own through various means because those methods aren�t usually a part of them like the Aether Crossroads is with me

A certain sort of poetic justice to remove the images from the body to deprive them of their usual methods then allow them Aether from the System no longer

Then Randidly shook his head rapidly But even then that isn�t the important part What�s important is whether it�s just a coincidence that the Aether appeared now or whether somehow the main body is aware of what is going on with the images Likely communication is blocked by those same restrictions on System Aether but if the Aether between us can flow freely with the main body�s Aether detection

Right now Randidly was facing the daunting prospect of struggling to face against two more approaching batbeasts working together who had the advantage of those strange azure veins to teleport freely in the surrounding area Plus the rage that had consumed him upon being initially wounded had meant he had exposed himself to quite a bit of unnecessary damage as he dealt with the first foe

But with this ball of Aether

Randidly released the ball into the air and it exploded like a glimmering nova of energy Familiar scents spread out in a whirlwind around him Once more that certainty of genesis came to Randidly and he pulled the surrounding area to his will The Great Rift shrunk back arranged and structured into space by Randidly�s Willpower

Randidly was initially quite disappointed to see that this space he conjured was quite a bit smaller than what he had been able to accomplish with the Aether Key it was a little less than half the size of the area the Aether Key had been able to turn into a habitable zone But this time Randidly at least had a little bit of perspective to shape his choice of local

Rather than that familiar Donnyton arena that Randidly had turned into a monstrous sinkhole Randidly�s conjured land was the familiar scenery of his vast image zone He stood on a dirt road To his left was low grassland that sloped down toward the towering World Tree and to his right was the familiar dusky landscape that surrounded the Grim Chimera

Needless to say the current Randidly gladly fled into the ashen filled fog of the right area It might not be as big as an Aether Key could manage but it feels like home Thanks Main Body

Randidly didn�t have much time before the other two batbeasts arrived but he did have enough time to hastily smooth the wounded edges of his Grim Chimera image This time Randidly was well aware of the fuzzy edges of his thoughts and didn�t attempt to create and detail oriented repairs to the wounded areas of his image Instead all he focused on was intensity and alignment of purpose

Anything else would turn out clumsy and malformed This at least could get by just by with the intensity of feeling Besides these areas would likely be impacted by the fast approaching battle anyway no point in trying to be too fussy about the details

After a brief meditation Randidly�s eyes snapped open The other two batbeasts had arrived And as they approached Randidly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach One of them compared to the other two it�s the real deal It�s almost as big as the other two of them combined

Releasing a breath Randidly�s Willpower expanded outward and began to rapidly reinforce the surrounding space he had conjured as much as he could before the antagonists arrived Details seeped into place in the surrounding area This time he was very careful to emphasize the stability and strength of his place Abruptly Randidly dearly wished he had the main body�s understanding of Engravings to add some engineered stability to the frame of the small conjured image

As it was Randidly did as much as he could on short notice Then his eyes snapped open and he smiled widely Not even bothering with polite greetings eh Well then I won�t start with a warning shot either

The smaller of the two batbeasts crashed into the conjured space and caused thin cracks to run through the World Tree�s manifestation that splintered outward to touch the path that ran between the two sides of the image

Then its larger and meaner cousin ripped through the entire left half of the space and turned it into large flakes of rapidly disintegrating space The concussive force of its arrival was enough that ever Randidly was briefly jarred

Randidly�s eyes flashed Although I might not think of it that way these physical spaces are just as obnoxious and confusing to them as the azure veins are to me If that�s the case

A tendril of Randidly�s will stabilized the ashen half of the image while taking the largest remaining pieces from the scattered World Tree and send them spinning lightly toward the larger batbeast It ripped and crashed into them with a roar but the collision slowed it down It even was polite enough to methodically shred those larger pieces of space into oblivion rather than rushing directly toward Randidly

Which gave Randidly time to give the smaller batbeast his entire focus

Man is Proud But the Chimera CRAVES

Randidly pierced outward like a spear from his ashen halo of safety into the rapidly spreading Great Rift to strike at the weaker batbeast At the last second it seemed to sense its impending doom It managed to bring its lower left claw in a vicious counter that aimed to rip through Randidly�s neck and spine

Randidly tilted his head to the side Chimeric Avoidance

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 198

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 81

The claw sliced harmlessly past Randidly�s neck A thin sizzling strip of flesh hissed as Aether and Nether brushed against one another however slightly Then Randidly�s bone spear covered in dried blood ripped into the Nether beast�s chest It screamed at it trembled and shattered into a spray of ichor

Randidly frowned at the burst body Rather than my image which is damaged when its physical form is altered these being of Nether are made on the same principle as the stars the grand formation condenses on the front lines there is a light outward bubble and a dense inner core But if you can manage to have your attack reach that inner core

Just as the mean batbeast finished its work on the manifestation of the grasslands and the World Tree Randidly�s claw pierced forward and smashed against the tight center of the smaller Nether being that was hiding amongst the oozing piles of ichor It trembled the gurgled into oblivion

The Nether of its body continued to burn painfully at Randidly�s senses but without that core of meaning the constant burn was mostly just superficial pain Randidly had managed to finish off one of the foes without taking any more significant damage Which was definitely necessary for his survival But on the other hand

The remaining batbeast�s chest heaved in fury It beat its chest and azure veins began to spiral down out of the vast darkness to surround it

Not so fast

The effort left Randidly slightly dizzy but he reached out and used his Willpower to shift the imagined area that the Grim Chimera always existed a few meters to the left so that Randidly and the batbeast were once more surrounded by the familiar press of Aether Once more the chill of Nether began to ebb

Of course the batbeast�s eyes widened in fury and it began to swing its arms and rip out large chunks of the surrounding space But that also gave Randidly a moment he needed to breathe sharply in and activate Eternal Cravings of the Wraith It wasn�t much and the energy that Randidly could gather was only the Aether that the main body had donated to him but it was enough to refocus him and give him a lethal edge

The swirling weight of images that Randidly had gained from the Eidolon Crucible flowed easily into his limbs With a single step Randidly arrived before the batbeast To its credit it reacted quickly and slashed at his head with one of his arms But Randidly easily ducked under the attack and speared it with Molten Fang of the Pariah

Instantly Randidly gritted his teeth Like I thought this one is on another tier of strength I can�t just pop it like I could the others

Flexing its wings the batbeast brought two lightning fast slashes around to cut at Randidly�s sides Randidly stepped backward then used The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns to pepper it with sharp attacks searching for a weakness Unfortunately Randidly received a vicious ripping blow to his left shoulder for his troubles

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 82

Of all the fucking times to no longer have a metallic shoulder

Randidly tried to control it but that same wild madness that had seized him earlier was rising in his chest That raw heaving rage of the Grim Chimera began to cause the surrounding area to fill with swirling bits of ash Which at least was proof that the potency of his image was intensifying But it felt beyond his control at the moment

Randidly�s claw reached out and seized one of the batbeast�s arms and then Randidly yanked the fucker sharply toward him so he could smash his forehead against its inky black face

The batbeast flailed its arms leaving several agonizing scratches that sizzled unpleasantly with a gurgling chemical noise Fortunately for Randidly it didn�t appear very well equipped to defend against Randidly�s close combat onslaught

With grim cruelty Randidly began utilizing his powerful left claw to rip off large chunks of the batbeast Every shiver of pain and increase in the violence of the batbeast�s struggles made Randidly�s smile go wider

However it didn�t take long for the batbeast to surge and scream with enough force to crack the surrounding space even with the full weight of Randidly�s Willpower behind it It wriggled out of Randidly�s grasp and began to throw wide sweeping slashes with its claws But for every cut Randidly received he inflicted back the same with interest

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 83

Randidly�s focus began to narrow Growling he pounced forward and smashed the batbeast back into the Aether image to restrict it And when it pulled away as Randidly had expected he unleashed a flurry of strikes with his bone spear to make it pay for its predictable decision

With remarkable quickness one of the batbeast�s claws reached out and seized Randidly�s bone spear It then rushed toward Randidly with claws swinging with deadly intent Randidly met it with his own claw

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 84

Randidly was cut and he cut back harder The reality of the situation became fuzzy Randidly cut and cut and cut

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 85

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 86

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 97

Chapter 1050

When Randidly came back to himself everything was fuzzy and blurred It was like someone had left a sticky residue over all of his perceiving organs Sensation was strange But some deeper necessity from his core urged Randidly force himself into wakefulness So he scowled and forced his gummy eyes open

Randidly was sitting in a small bubble about five meters in diameter filled with swirling ash After thirty seconds his gaze shifted to the limit of that bubble Beyond that the familiar sight of the Great Rift loomed imposingly in the background

See Alive and with a bit of Aether surrounding me It seems that I barely need to be conscious in order to slaughter batbeasts And I cannot sense anything in the surrounding area No need to wake up from my nap yet

After closing his eyes Randidly allowed himself the briefest moment of surrender to the aches and pains that he was now strapped with Then he forced his eyes back open

I would say if I wanted to die here Randidly groaned and forced himself to stretch and strand Which was surprisingly difficult considering the mauled and wane form of the Grim Chimera�s image As Randidly shifted he realized exactly how much damage he had sustained fighting against the batbeasts Randidly�s left arm was completely gone and one of his legs was melted up to the knee

Charming fuckers

Groaning again Randidly began the fuzzy work of bringing the Grim Chimera back into focus The left arm was the most important because without it Randidly was basically left with a single chopstick with which to go about his daily life Comical as such an image would be it would certainly undermine the violence and urgency of the image

After that rather pressing bit of repair work Randidly did a few touches on his head and torso to remove the vicious scarring the claws of the batbeasts had left on his flesh Which turned out to be a very time consuming activity Finally Randidly began the frustrating task of trying to recall how the inverted joints of his legs worked

Certainly he remembered that the knees and ankles were inverted However he had never really examined the mechanical shifts of the joints enough detail to reproduce them So Randidly was forced to experiment in his small bubble of swirling ash

All the while the all consuming headache continued to pound like a hammer against the base of his skull Shaking his head Randidly did his best to push that away and focused on recovering his ability to fight With Eternal Cravings of the Wraith Randidly sucked in a bit of the surrounding Aether to take the edge off of his pain The swirling sphere of ash around him decreased by a full meter

Randidly eyed the space bitterly Well at least my bubble is still intact And that Aether helped a lot

Randidly checked his body out once more and could only wince Perhaps even worse than his patchy skin which appeared to have been set on fire and then boiled was the sludge like byproduct that resulted from Nether and Aether fizzling out on top of each other His body was covered with that ooze

Several layers of it in fact It was possible to see where earlier layers dried and then were covered in a new layer

Irritably Randidly wiped the gunk away Or at least he tried to while using the ungainly remnant of his bone spear But he mostly just managed to smear it across himself Even worse it seemed that more oozed out of his image every second like an oozing sore from third degree burns

Growling in frustration Randidly slumped back and allowed himself a few seconds of rest to cope with the pain coming from his head His Willpower was blunted and depleted after all of the major repairs had been accomplished Yet this was only the beginning of the recovery process With no way to accurately measure how much time Randidly had been in here he could only act like he would be required to stay here for quite some time

So with the most pressing repairs done Randidly allowed himself to sink into a more focused recuperative state The flow of blood had been stemmed now Randidly needed to give himself the chance to regain his clarity He allowed time to drift away to the realm of unimportance His mind settled down into a hibernative state

When Randidly felt well enough to pull himself out of that meditation he found that although the pain was still present it had faded to a dull ache A tiny mallet playfully tapping against his temples Much more pressing was the fact that the swirling sphere of ash had shrunk to only a meter

Randidly eyed his chest doubtfully No touch ups to my area main body A little bit of Aether would go a long way right now

Minutes crept past and there was no change Shaking his head Randidly set that problem aside for the immediate future and turned his attention outward to the ominous fluctuations of the Great Rift around him

What he found made Randidly swear quietly It was clear that at some point while Randidly was indisposed that huge mass of Nether in the distance had drifted closer In addition Randidly could feel a dozen batbeasts or similar monsters slowly spreading out away from that mass of Nether They didn�t appear to be rushing over toward Randidly but it was easy to see them as a net that was slowly spreading out to surround him Although their movements were slow that only made him take the threat more seriously

Heh if you want a fucking fight I�m ready and willing

Snorting Randidly pulled back his focus to his body But as he did so he felt the faintest glimmer of resonance from his chest It was a low thrum like a single guitar string being plucked

What was that

Ultimately Randidly couldn�t seem to reproduce that sensation no matter how long he waited so he shrugged in let it go If it�s me connecting with another Skill I hope it�s Absolute Timing Just so I know I�m not going crazy with my perception of time out here

Then Randidly turned to the exhausting task of doing more in depth repairs of the Grim Chimera image He had taken the time to rest and now it was time to add some polish to his earlier efforts

One thing that became immediately clear was that the relationship between his current body and his image wasn�t exactly direct The ruinous damage that had been inflicted on his body hadn�t exactly damaged his image It was more like that his body and his image were always trying to shift to align with each other So possessing a damaged body had begun to degrade his image as the image attempted to shift in his mind to match the body�s damage

And the damage to his image as it quickly degraded was already so extensive that it seemed clear that Randidly had spent a significant amount of time alone in the Great Rift while unconscious Yet somehow Randidly scowled as he knew that he would be soon brought back to the base of Iellaya and they would say something like �What No it�s only been four hours Why are you complaining �

While keeping a wary eye on those distant batbeasts that were drifting through the Great Rift in his direction Randidly took his image inch by inch and repaired the damage And then as Randidly finished he sighed and started again as portions had degraded once more as his body affected the image

And then when he finished for the second time he did it again

Because there was no way for Randidly to forcefully repair his body All he could do was perfect his image and allow the image and his body to slowly align with each other in the right direction Once the sorry state of his body had degraded his image in their slow alignment Randidly had to repair his image again to increase the speed of his body�s improvement Which led to Randidly having to repair the image again and again to keep the speed of recovery reasonable

The improvement was noticeable at least But it also was a constant struggle to keep the quality of the image high Even worse the constant mental exertion meant that the headache quickly returned This work was not easy

If not for the extra oomph that Randidly possessed after overcoming the Eidolon Crucible it likely would have been something that beggared him mentally

The only silver lining of the whole ordeal was that Randidly became intimately familiar with the image of the Grim Chimera Although he had spent quite a bit of time refining it before Randidly had never been required to go through the minutia of the image again and again with such an exacting focus The constant repetition of the repairs meant that some part of the knowledge was tightly branded in Randidly�s psyche For better or worse Randidly would never have the luxury of forgetting the

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 104

�Fuck � Randidly swore as his skin began to hiss When he opened his eyes Randidly realized that the aura of ash had shrunk to the point that his slowly regenerating legs were sticking out of the ash sphere of Aether and into the Great Rift Such were the wounds already present that his body immediately began to warp and shiver

Grimacing Randidly split up his already overtaxed attention and began to regulate the remaining Aether around him He couldn�t increase the size of the Aether bubble he possessed but he could stabilize its slow dissipation In addition there was no need for the Aether to be shaped in a sphere Randidly spread out the remaining energy he possessed so it covered his body like a suit Then he willed the presence of ash into that suit giving it the little bit of weight that Randidly could manage right now

Which was all well and good but then Randidly had to return to the monotonous task of repairing himself

Time crept past The batbeasts drifted closer That strange mass of Nether that Randidly could distantly sense seemed to be rotating but Randidly had no idea what it meant Azure veins ran through the Great Rift and twined around Randidly leaving him unsure whether it was worth it to expend the effort to destroy them

And again and again Randidly would feel that strange feeling in his chest of a resonance occurring But every time he focused on it it disappeared Whatever Skill he was brushing up against it was certainly shy

Randidly gritted his teeth and tried to focus on the repair of his body As his form neared a serviceable state the difference between his image and his body narrowed to an amount that would be easy to overlook Therefore both his image and body slowed in their shifts

Which was good because the repeated repairs took much less time but it also meant that the speed of his body�s recovery was much slower

This is probably why there is so much attrition at the front lines Randidly frowned down at his hands Once you are damaged you need to spend so much time and effort to recover and by then you have another mission And this is what happened to me even with Nether Resistance at Level 100

As the repairs became easier Randidly focused more attention on making sure the Aether surrounding him stayed stable The last thing Randidly wanted was to deal with additional damage to himself

At this point enough of the dull pain from his wounded form had faded that Randidly had finally realized that he had been in constant pain for quite a while However the aggrieved pain of a warped body was so minuscule compared to the mental strain and the memory of the existential pain of Nether that he had hardly noticed until now

Fuck I�m getting too old for this Randidly grumbled

Chapter 1051

Eventually Randidly was required to spend a larger and larger portion of his attention on maintaining the Aether around him The vast expanse of darkness around Randidly continued to loom menacingly above him The azure veins gleamed to light intermittently according to some series of rules that Randidly couldn�t seem to understand

Perhaps worst of all Randidly was becoming extremely bored

The net of distant Nether monsters continued to slowly circle his location Even with the strangely stretched time of the Great Rift Randidly had a horrible sinking feeling that the waiting for the knife would never end It was a cruel form of torture to leave him stranded here without any comfort or at least the distraction of a good battle

Which of course was infuriating enough of a truth that it reinvigorated Randidly�s efforts to perfect the repairs to the Grim Chimera The more unlikely his escape seemed the more that Randidly was determined to prove this Great Rift wrong But it was difficult to manage both the repairs and his Aether covering perfectly at the same time

ss

Wincing Randidly did his best to redistribute the Aether covering as he allowed a small portion to be exposed to the inhospitable surrounding Nether Because it was rapidly becoming clear that his efforts to stabilize the Aether was just slowing the inevitable soon the entirety of his Aether covering would disappear

Randidly would find himself alone in the Great Rift without any protection As oddly exciting as that prospect was the reasonable portion of Randidly�s mind was well aware of how painful such an experience would be

Rather than allowing it to happen all at once Randidly opted quickly concentrate the remaining Aether around his head and face and let his limbs handle the lion�s share of the corrosion for the time being At least in this way Randidly was prepared for the locations of the sweat inducing levels of pain

Aether and Nether truly hate each other Randidly thought while gritting his teeth His arms and legs bubbled and twitched as the Nether continued to grind away at his substance The pain was a slowing growing into a hot white lance into his brain At least Nether Resistance is continuing to rise Otherwise I might just lose my sense of progression at all

Once more Randidly resentfully checked that place inside of himself that had suddenly been filled with a ball of Aether earlier Coughing lightly Randidly gave that portion of himself a meaningful look There was no change Which left Randidly wondering whether the main body couldn�t observe him or whether the tight ball of Aether was a one time gift only Perhaps the effort the main body had to expend was much higher than Randidly would have anticipated

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 111

Randidly breathed in his nose and out his mouth The pain continued to grind at his focus making the necessary repairs he did to his image that much more difficult to do efficiently Everything was becoming so exhausting Time slid past in a constant state of strain as Randidly continued to hone himself while constantly working on his arms and legs to keep the new damage from becoming something systemic

All the while Randidly felt the Aether around his chest slowly shrinking Soon Randidly�s midsection was exposed Nether burned and sizzled at his skin Even though the Grim Chimera was a being that was imagined as this cockroach that thrived in hostile environments the constant damage from Nether was slowly corroding him

It wasn�t despair that emerged in Randidly�s heart but a certain sort of exhaustion that stemmed from his very bones It was like a heavy wet cloak that was draped across his shoulders Randidly didn�t fear that he would die here The gritty violent determination in his chest would brook no word of failure even now In fact his eyes continued to blaze emerald as he prepared to meet the slowly circling batbeasts

No rather than that Randidly felt in his chest a deep melancholy as he floated alone in the Great Rift because this was the Path down which he was leading Kharon He wanted to teach them how to fight on the edges of existence in order to protect humanity Which was exactly what Randidly was doing now and the pain and toil of it made him feel a great deal of guilt toward the tribulations they would need to endure

There were no bright rewards waiting for Randidly for what he was doing here in the Great Rift

But someone has to do it Randidly breathed in and then breathed out savoring the feeling even if it had no physical meaning Rather than recharging his mind he was falling into the familiar habit to ground his mentality

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 113

Randidly�s eyelid twitched Had he been so focused on repairs that he missed the Level 112 That certainly didn�t help at all with his peace of mind It meant that even though Randidly felt that most of his focus was present the extended period of time he had been working at this was beginning to blunt the edge of his WIllpower

The edges of Randidly�s mouth turned downward And he shouldn�t forget that previously he had completely lost consciousness in his battle against the batbeasts For all that he had been able to rest resting here wasn�t what he needed right now

The Aether around him continued to slowly be worn away by the press of Nether By now all but his head felt on fire as Aether and Nether clashed Chimeric Avoidance and Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality were doing their best to resist the damage but it was a tolerance thing Pain was not a foe that Randidly could fight And as time continued to move fluidly around him Randidly lost that last barrier of protection he was now completely exposed

In a way it was better to have no Aether than only a little Because now his entire focus could handle the problem of coping with the pain from Nether and image repairs Or at least that was the idea Randidly should now have a fair portion of his attention to dedicate to other problems And yet

The pain in his arms and legs had grown to the point that Randidly could barely tell that the limbs were there anymore Rather than any physical shape what defined them in his mind was the pain

His chest and head began to sizzle Randidly�s eyes narrowed in fury and self hatred He should be better than this

The skin began to burn and curl upward in long warped loops The emerald light from Randidly�s eyes grew brighter and brighter It felt like

Huh I stand corrected The very reassuring voice of Abiodun rumbled You have lived This is a surprise

Abiodun stood before Queen Iellaya looking at the ground as his mistress stared up at the roof of her tent while lost in thought

An image surviving alone in the Great Rift should be impossible Iellaya said lightly Because she said it it was so Abiodun continued to look at the ground without responding She did not need him to assist her here She would turn the problem over in her mind until she was satisfied with the answer

That was the terrible implacable determination that made Iellaya such a formidable commander

An image without a body will be damage directly by Nether That very image body is the source of its strength while it is cut off from the main body It no longer possesses the sentience that imagined it� originally Without the imaginer the image cannot very well return to its original form once damaged Because the part of it that knows itself would be warped along with the form Iellaya tapped the edge of her desk with a heavy silver pen Abiodun could hear the soft sound of Iellaya�s feathers flexing outward

there is also the matter of the resonance between the images of this Randidly Ghosthound They are clearly more intimately connected than most images and each more distinct and evolved Iellaya showed her teeth If I can bring this man to my side it will be a great boon to the cause Regardless of how his image accomplished it the fact that the image possessed that capability means the man behind the image is even more of a find Did the image use the Aether Fountain to recover after returning

Abiodun straightened and shook his head The tree image informed me that such a thing would be unnecessary It is performing the healing directly As for the image running out of Aether it showed no signs

Iellaya sneered If they became cognizant of their situation they are likely aware enough to avoid the Aether Fountains They can clearly see that such energy would not come without costs But at least that�s one thing I won�t need to worry about Although now that the image survived after I filed it as destroyed I�m stuck in something of a pickle but perhaps that can be used to my advantage

Inclining his head Abiodun agreed with Iellaya�s assessment That was the reason that Abiodun had thrown his lot in with Iellaya just as she was beginning to discover her ability to subsume other�s images for her own gain she did not regret mistakes but found ways to transform them into advantages To Iellaya it was all a matter of perspective And due to the fact that Abiodun was the first to bow his growth surpassed all the later converts

One part of that was outlook but the other part was an extremely sharp mind that would repeatedly reduce a problem to thin slices in order to determine what the best path forward was

Still if the image recovers it will be a strong soldier Iellaya mused The physical form is quite compelling as well I quite look forward to how being within my Domain will influence it Hopefully its loyalty toward me will grow rapidly enough to make a difference Otherwise that fool Lord Miln will have his way and half the frontlines will collapse just so he can win his fucked up private war

Abiodun didn�t respond to that Some thoughts it was better to pretend not to have heard He was not here to offer advice He was just here to obey

And yet some instinct made Abiodun raise his head and look at Iellaya in the eye When she mentioned the Ghosthound being influenced by her Domain something inside of Abiodun did not believe it

Iellaya noticed his gaze almost immediately and paused in her thoughts So rare was such an action for Abiodun that even Iellaya was swayed by its sudden arrival Is something the matter

No Queen Abiodun said After hesitating for a second he finally rumbled I just I like this Randidly Ghosthound It might not be relevant but I wish to offer you this information His spirit is not one that will be easy to sway This I sense

Iellaya�s eyes were pitch black as she weighed his words carefully you very rarely express any sort of emotion And to it to be enough for you to say you like him

The only other person I would have said such a thing about Abiodun sighed in his heart But his loyalty to Queen Iellaya was everything She should know his honest reaction was you

Indeed

Abiodun could not look up and examine Iellaya�s expression Her face was covered in that same devouring darkness that was always present in the corner of Iellaya�s eyes But now it spread and it became her entire countenance The vast will to dominate and control that usually slept in her chest was shaken into wakefulness

As with every other strange bit of information Abiodun could feel Iellaya attacking this with a scalpel cutting and cutting and searching to find the perfect way for this information to become useful to her

To find the way that Abiodun�s affection for Randidly Ghosthound became a weapon

Chapter 1052

Yggdrasil�s extremely vivid leaves rustled as his branches continued to sway over the frowning form of Randidly It was at least an extremely soothing sound Pressing his eyes closed Randidly did his best to not think about the horrendous headache that was only now being soothed away by Yggdrasil�s Skills

The specter of the experience he just endured still hung over Randidly

That was close If Abiodun had taken only a little longer to arrive If the main body hadn�t been able to provide Aether to me while I was lost in the Great Rift If those batbeasts had arrived a little sooner Even with Nether Resistance I�m still not strong enough to stay out there alone without a body

But there isn�t much I can do about that right now is there

Eventually Yggdrasil pulled his branches back Huu I apologize but I have reached the end of my strength If I am to continue assisting Ignition Essence today you will have to recover on your own from here

This is plenty Randidly said as he used his claw to leverage himself up into a sitting position He spared a glance to the flickering form of Ignition Essence which continued to remain dormant and dim in the corner of the tent Save your strength for Ignition Essence I have a feeling that our recovery will become immensely easier if we manage to bring him back around to wakefulness

Inclining his canopy Yggdrasil turned and used his roots to pull his body across the interior of the tent to huddle over Ignition Essence Randidly shook his head probing the dull ache that remained behind his eyes with not a little bitterness It wasn�t a complete recovery that Yggdrasil had powered but it certainly had restored a lot of Randidly�s capabilities Enough that he should be unencumbered for normal activities

Enough that he had some time to reflect on the aid given to him by the main body Although he had felt the distinct sensation of having that large amount of Aether being given directly to him there needed to be some Aether flowing between them Otherwise it would have been near impossible for Randidly to recover so abruptly

And in addition

Randidly closed his eyes again While he was being healed there had been strange flickers of images that he could see on the interior of his eyelids When he focused on it it would immediately disappear But if Randidly remained relaxed he could see a version of the Grim Chimera projected there Instantly Randidly had a deep impression that this too was a gift sent to him by the main body

It was an older version of the Grim Chimera likely the one that had originally come to the land of Nether before being knocked out and separated But it possessed certain characteristics had since been burned away by the acidic touch of Nether For example Randidly had lost both of the tails that extended out from his waist and the base of his neck as well as a lot of the texture of his skin and body

Not that Randidly could really be blamed for losing these details as his focus was locked onto surviving in the Great Rift but Randidly knew that the very fact he lost these details was proof that he wasn�t powerful enough If he knew his image more intimately surviving while submerged in Nether would be much easier

So after Yggdrasil healed Randidly as best as he could Randidly spent some time refining his image once more with this new information He brought back the detail and texture while also allowing some of the lingering damage from Nether to remain After all the Grim Chimera had never flinched from obtaining scares In its eyes the only thing that was really important was survival

And Randidly had survived

Cracking his neck Randidly straightened and looked at Yggdrasil After realizing that there was likely Aether flowing between the main body and him Randidly was slightly worried They had been cut off from System Aether which meant that it would be difficult to explain where the Aether originated

Then Randidly glanced slowly around He couldn�t detect any other movement in the nearby area Turning to Yggdrasil Randidly said There is something else I need to tell you While I was in the Great Rift I received a great deal of Aether I believe it was directly from the main body But I cannot tell if was done purposefully due to my need or the main body was simply sending random aid It has not happened since

Yggdrasil who had been bent over the flickering emerald flames of Ignition Essence straightened The golden characters that were scrawled across his bark shimmered as his body shifted Hum Indeed Then it seems that our actions weren�t in vain You possess the deepest connection to the main body of us all For now there is no need to be impatient It has been less than a week since we were severed from the main body

If the sympathy between you grows as you grow in strength or as you and the main body recover I expect that we will soon find a way to escape this hellish situation

I agree Randidly grunted The right side of his face itched but it was rather difficult to reach across his back to touch that spot with his claw of a left hand In addition his right arm was too blunt an instrument to handle a delicate operation like a scratch But I also had another thought it was clear from Abiodun�s reaction that he was quite surprised to find I had survived likely due to the fact that I�m an image without a body

you think they will begin to question how you managed it Yggdrasil�s roots curled into tight knots

Randidly did his best to manipulate the recently recreated small tail from his neck to curl around and try and scratch the side of his face The tail swept back and forth awkwardly unfamiliar with the motion he was attempting Scratching turned out to be an extremely difficult task Perhaps but I think they will accept my survival as true But It is hard to explain what I am thinking without you having been in the Aether and seeing how it damages images that have no body to act as a shield I believe it they will be incredibly suspicious at how quickly I recovered rather than my survival

In the Nether I realized that these image bodies we possess are our images When they are damaged the image is damaged as well Therefore any damage is incredibly difficult to recover from for images Due to the main body�s presence I�ve been able to sense flaws that were created in the Grim Chimera image But I suspect that I shouldn�t have that sense That a typical connection wouldn�t allow such an experience

So what are you saying Yggdrasil asked quietly

Finally Randidly�s efforts paid off the small tail was able to reach the offending itch Not to put you on the spot but it might be best to offer them your ability to calm and repair images as the special thing about us rather than something relating to the main body

Ah I see It will act as an explanation for the unlikely But one that may require that I use my abilities to heal others when the truth of it is discovered Which is why you bring it up now

Randidly nodded sharply His initial impression of Iellaya was that of a capable and determined woman If she would learn of this ability she did not seem like the type to allow such a useful tool to lay fallow

Yet Yggdrasil�s earlier comments were exactly why Randidly believed that this was necessary Only a few days had passed since he had awakened from being split from the main body Perhaps as time passed more and more Aether would be able to flow between them Which certainly didn�t appear to be what happened with other images

And the Grim Chimera had long ago learned how dangerous it was to be seen as different by those in power Especially when those powerful individuals wished to use you for their own benefit

Yet I wonder Yggdrasil�s many branches shifted and rustled Do we know for sure that they will really care about this connection

I don�t know Randidly sighed

The unknown can perhaps doom us Yggdrasil sighed Let it be so In truth a portion of my image could be accurately called recovery focused But it is not an easy thing to accomplish without familiarity with the image on the receiving end Our similarities make it possible but with others we shall see

Randidly opened his mouth to say some more perhaps to thank Yggdrasil or offer some apology for him having to bear this responsibility but the noise of footsteps on the rough dirt seized his tongue with an iron fist Both images sat over their dormant companion and waited as the sound drifted closer

As Randidly had expected the footsteps stopped outside of their tent and there was a knock on the tent flap Without waiting for a response the tent flap was pushed open to reveal the granite torso of Abiodun

His eyes winked in and out slowly as he considered the interior of the tent truly extraordinary You hardly appear the worse for wear after being reduced to a blob of spectral goo not six hours ago But perhaps such a situation is common for you

Ha Randidly laughed hollowly Truly he felt incredibly exhausted at the moment Even with most of his image repaired and reinforced the remnants of his headache continued to grate against the healthy operation of his own thoughts It hadn�t helped that he had spent time repairing his image and also was trying to parse apart what information it was safe to share

But what was immediately made clear by Abiodun�s statement was that Randidly�s suspicions about how they would view his recovery were correct As Randidly�s tongue twisted in his mouth to arrange the prepared lie in a form that would encourage very few questions Yggdrasil just bluntly spoke

Due to our common body and my own image I was able to heal Randidly to a greater or lesser degree At the moment he is incredibly weak but it should not take long for him to recover his combat capability

Because capability is what matters here more than anything else As long as I remain capable I will remain useful Randidly gritted his teeth but added nothing to Yggdrasil�s short explanation

Abiodun simply nodded Indeed A lucky thing for this cretin to have companions who can clean up after his mistakes

Insult me one more time and ill rip out your throat Randidly growled unable to repress the hot rage that was pumped outward with each beat of his heart It was doubly infuriating because Randidly wasn�t sure that Abiodun even had a throat that he could rip out

But Abiodun just smiled Apologies I must admit I goaded you purposefully only because it worried me to see you as indecisive and feeble as a falling leaf ah no offense Sir Tree

Yggdrasil chuckled We all have our own strengths and weaknesses But I�ll agree that Randidly was not one designed for planning or waiting His is the brutality of action and impulse

Virtue in motion Abiodun clicked his stone teeth Well if you have recovered my job is much easier I came earlier and asked and your tree friend refused on your behalf but it is protocol to ask the wounded individual directly do you wish to receive the blessing of the Aether Fountain

Chapter 1053

Randidly examined the two tired and shredded individuals who were experiencing the process of using the Aether Fountain in front of him Once again his focus on the movement of Aether earned him a small resonance in his chest that he believed to be related to Aether Detection However both individuals finished their brief exposure to the Aether more quickly than Randidly could reactivate the Skill and therefore the resonance quickly disappeared

Three more missions Randidly promised himself

The Aether Fountain didn�t actually look like a fountain at all Instead it was a gleaming copper grate that was inlaid into the ground at the center of the camp behind the Commander�s tent It was only a meter in diameter but it was clearly a very complex work of Engraving When activated the brass would glow to the point of becoming almost golden as energy rushed through the material

Without Aether Detection Randidly wasn�t positive what occurred in the process but even if those senses weren�t activated he still had his eyes

Two individuals used the Aether Fountain while Randidly watched Abiodun briefly commented that they had rejected the opportunity yesterday but they acquiesced this morning as their conditions worsened

Truly they looked ragged before they began Like crayon drawings of real people that had been soaked in chilling river water for several hours before being recovered They were grey and diminished beings that seemed to be flaking and disintegrating as Randidly watched Then again that might have been an effect of the strange visual phenomenon caused by the Great Rift rather than any real lingering damage to the image

But after standing on the Aether Fountain those images were soon swollen with color and power There was a palpable strength that radiated off of them as they stepped off the copper grate and released booming laughter while slapping each other on the back in congratulations

Randidly�s eyes narrowed Of course that strength radiating off of them is the very power that they just obtained leaking out through the flaws in a broken container None of the damage that was done to them was repaired and none of the fuzzy details were corrected No they were puffed up with empty power that will slowly leave them as time passes

But from the System�s perspective putting a little bit of energy in the hands of these broken but proven images is probably preferable to giving it to a planet that might not even survive a single Calamity

Yea no Randidly said shortly as he turned to look at Abiodun He flashed a predator�s smile at the granite man I don�t think such measures are necessary

Yet it seems like they both enjoyed the feeling immensely Perhaps they were even improved by the experience Abiodun rumbled but you could tell from his open maw that the being was making a joke at the expense of these wounded and struggling images

It was a cold and cruel joke but Randidly felt the corners of his own mouth twitch upward in response �An easy joke for someone with a body to make The wear and tear you endure heals with time �

�An easy joke for someone with strength to make � Abiodun countered �Or do you claim that you are like them Will your eventual end be here on this endless battlefield before the vast darkness �

Randidly looked at Abiodun then for several minutes without speaking The other man was content to allow it standing still with his eyes independently fading in and out of his sockets like each one needed periodic holidays from the madness going on within Abiodun�s mind in order to continue with its duties

Finally Randidly opened his mouth �You know I thought you were a gentle being when I first met you �

�And I thought you were wispy � Abiodun�s mouth stretched even wider �What a delight that we were both wrong and we two monsters were able to meet here at the edge of the world Nether will learn to rue this day �

Randidly didn�t bother to refute the label of a monster Honestly he wasn�t even sure if he didn�t believe it to be true Instead Randidly turned away from the Aether Fountain and began to walk back toward his tent

Behind him Abiodun called after Randidly�s departing form �Remember that heeding the Beacon of Duty will not excuse you from your assigned missions In two days you will participate in a defensive battle against the Nether Make sure you rest well �

Randidly continued without turning around But he gritted his teeth in response to Abiodun�s words

When he arrived back at his tent Randidly didn�t head inside to sit and meditate with Yggdrasil and the feeble form of Ignition Essence Instead Randidly walked beyond the tent toward the edge of Iellaya�s camp and the barren badlands

They had been stationed near the right side of her camp so it didn�t take long to walk beyond the tight rows of tents and toward the empty space between this camp and the next one Because the threats were existential rather than physical there weren�t any real defensive structures that served as a buffer against the Great Rift It was only on the basis of potency of Aether that their defense was mounted

But because of that lack of physical barriers there was a wide open space filled with pebbles and coppery dirt that no one bothered with And it was there that Randidly released a long breath and raised his head to the strange sky of this land

Randidly began slowly to move And he began with of all things the Spear Phantom Style With his right arm Randidly moved smoothly through all forms he could recall Shal teaching him in that strange Dungeon For a half hour Randidly let go of all of the fighting and bloodshed that he had endured over the last five years He was just a foolish kid who was slowly learning the spear from someone who was muddled by generations worth of manipulation in his body

The spear began to blur as Randidly accelerated

From there Randidly shifted toward the Ashen Kata These moves were much less refined and smooth but they were built on a monstrously powerful base of Aether that elevated them far beyond their technical strength Randidly could see now how he had relied on Aether for much of the move�s potency a lot like those images today let themselves be inflated by the Aether Fountain But still there was value in revisiting the seeds for what he would soon become

After all Randidly still was unsure of exactly what the current him was But he couldn�t deny that the Grim Chimera was intimately related to his current existence

The air around Randidly stirred as he used his right arm and moved through the old motions Fragments of images that he had forgotten floated into the air around him The face of his mother half flesh and half bone staring out as his phantom The ominous ticking of a clockwork world as a doom slowly approached The curling smile of Aemont his broad back and wild determination spreading away from him like wings

Although Randidly had no body with which to physically breath he found himself panting after transitioning through the moves Perhaps it was the weight of memories that dragged at him but that wouldn�t slow Randidly for long This was only a warm up

Randidly�s eyes glowed emerald as he began to move through the motions of the Grim Chimera His muscles bulged outward The joints of his legs flexed and pulsed Small motes of ash began to drift outward from his body Although he couldn�t sense it Randidly was almost positive that there was a connection of Aether between himself and the main body Otherwise even with Yggdrasil�s help he wouldn�t have recovered so quickly

Now moving through the vicious and desperate movements of the Grim Chimera Randidly pulled as much as he could at that connection

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 200

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 251

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 252

Congratulations Your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 220

Congratulations Your Skill Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 99

Randidly pulled and pulled and pulled His body began to blur further as he accelerated through motions He hardly had to think at all before his body instinctively moved In the Grim Chimera�s moves Randidly found a familiarity that made it difficult for him to try and claim that he wasn�t something deeply connected to the Grim Chimera While performing these moves Randidly felt completely at ease To the point that it was illogical

Because Randidly remembered the feeling of using the moves while he had possessed the main body Or at least he thought he did And the ease with which he could grow now was extremely high His Skill Levels continued to shoot up at a pace that would be ridiculous if he were still on Earth

It might be his imagination but it seemed to Randidly that the flow of Aether into himself was slowly growing as he continued to so insistently pull on it

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 189

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 171

Congratulations Your Skill The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns has grown to Level 155

Main body watch me grow Randidly thought as his body became a veritable whirlwind of ash in that abandoned strip of land between camps Although I might not have all of the tools at your disposal I�ll prove my worth by growing so strong that you won�t even believe it So strong that it will never be in doubt how much you need me

Congratulations Your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 221

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 190

�For an image you are extremely strong Incredibly so Even the visual fluctuations caused by the Great Rift are diminished around you �

Randidly froze Then he blurred into motion once more spinning around and opening up some space between him and the speaker with a light hop

Three figures had appeared in that same no man�s land between the two camps The woman in the center watched him with extremely amused azure eyes that matched the waterfall of hair that went from her scalp to the ground behind her On her hands were a pair of thick metal gauntlets so heavy and worn that they were likely older by far than she was At her side were two men one tall and broad shouldered and the other slender and slight Both wore short capes around their shoulders that were the same color as the woman�s hair

And most annoyingly Randidly could immediately sense that the implication of the woman�s words was true all three possessed their actual bodies

Chapter 1054

Relax we aren�t the type that harasses lone images wandering the camps The azure haired woman said with a surprisingly gentle wave of her gauntleted hand The subtle grace in the movement was enough to impress Randidly despite her slender arms she had perfect control of her heavy gauntlets We are all here to fight against Nether right It doesn�t matter who you pissed off in the past

Well I suppose it�s good enough that I learned that there are people who harass images for the fun of it Randidly thought rather bitterly as he eyed the trio He specifically looked at the woman with suspicious eyes wondering why she decided to approach him during his exercise And so purposefully too

Although Randidly was truly caught up in the process of training it was extremely disturbing that he hadn�t noticed the group until they were very close to him It was difficult for Randidly to accept that they hadn�t purposefully approached using stealth And yet

The woman continued to smile at him She waved softly with her heavy iron gauntlet as though she wasn�t sure if he saw her At her sides the two men�s ill will toward Randidly became almost comically obvious as he had no response to the woman�s words

Slowly the tension in Randidly�s shoulders relaxed In most cases like called to like That hostile and fear driven suspicion that Randidly blazed with in response to their approach should have brought out similar emotions in the woman and her companions if they possessed them Just like the no nonsense cruelty of Abiodun had brought out similar emotions in Randidly that he normally kept under tight control

But now the woman just studied him with a friendly smile Randidly stared stoically back at her trying to understand what her goal was for approaching him And although the woman�s companions were growing increasingly irate it wasn�t ill will toward Randidly They simply wanted to protect the woman

As the seconds ticked past and Randidly continued to glare at the woman her smile started to falter

Plus She added finally as she twisted awkwardly in place I ah admire your spear form It seems very dangerous and powerful And you already are near to condensing your first star You must be a veteran of man battles And with your powerful body

Randidly looked down at the long protrusion of bone that stretched out from his right arm It was covered in dried blood and much of the point on the end came from the jagged remnants left from a time immemorial where the bone was snapped off He looked at his scaly and oversized left arm that ended in five extremely sharp talons Then he looked back up at the azure haired woman

Well certainly it�s easy to kill people with these limbs

She suddenly seemed to be blushing M my name is Vualla by the way Vualla Meteo We were just patrolling here And I guess when you patrol you finish a whole round right Right guys so I think it�s probably time that we get back to it

My name�s Randidly Ghosthound It is nice to meet you Randidly said slowly as he frowned at Vualla Abruptly it seemed like the woman wanted nothing to do with him She fled quickly back across the expanse of dirt toward the camp immediately to Iellaya�s right and her two companions followed her while glowering at Randidly

After they departed Randidly shook his head For a few seconds he had seen a strange hunger in Vualla�s eyes that made him believe that he would need to fight It was a relief that it hadn�t come to that but the strange and sudden conclusion to an equally unexpected meeting left him a little uneasy

Were they perhaps sneaking toward me Did noticing their approach throw off their plans to attack But I really didn�t notice them at all until she spoke If they had intended something malicious then I

Randidly likely would have continued to pick apart the strange actions of the woman but a notification popped up in front of him that stopped his heart for a split second

Congratulations You have finished the Nether Adaption I Path By pushing your body beyond the limits of the physical you have begun to slowly incorporate aspects of the Nether into your existence It is an unstable Path you walk but it is not one that will not lead you forward Do not slow in your advance for this strange combination will have unpredictable effects that could possibly benefit you

Endurance and Resistance +50 Your Skill Nether Resistance has evolved into Nether Acclimation � The effect of each Skill Level in the Skill has slightly increased

In addition your ability to learn Skills relating to Nether has slightly increased

A tingling wave of numbness ran across Randidly as he felt something shift in his body Abruptly he had the vaguest sense that he could feel the slow flow of Nether through his body drawn out from the substance of his image and into a complicated pentagram array to form the star Of course he could see the results before but now it seemed to him that the entire process was becoming clear He could feel himself slowly aligning underneath the influence of the grand array that covered the camps

The Nether was so different from Aether Where Aether was shape and space Nether was aura and core It seemed to Randidly that he slowly stretched and warped as that slowly coalescing star made him straddle the line between existences

Of course it was difficult to tell if this was just his imagination or not

Did I complete that Path unconsciously Randidly wondered Or is it the main body doing what he can It would certainly be rather boring to just sit isolated and look at the Status screen for a long time he is probably ecstatic when PPs come in so he can at least enjoy the sensation of spending them

Randidly�s left claw clenched into a tight ball of bone and talon Plus with this I�ll have an even easier time surviving out in the Nether Every little bit counts

Very quickly Randidly quieted his excitement and returned to the calm tranquility of training He was determined to continue to push himself and earn more PP that the main body could use Unfortunately reaching that same relaxed mental state where he was perfectly in tune with his images was not an easy task If it was training would not be an activity that was done slowly over time

Although he trained for the rest of the evening his PP accumulation speed slowed back down to normal rates the special magic of the moment had been lost Even though he spent six hours training he only earned 9 additional PP in his Grim Chimera Skills

Rather disappointed Randidly returned to the tent and laid down to rest after sweating off his the remainder of his headache Although there hadn�t been any serious changes in Ignition Essence�s status Yggdrasil was hopeful that it was slowly stabilizing due to his constant attentions

Randidly hoped it was so But to his eyes Ignition Essence seemed to be getting dimmer each time Randidly returned Pushing those concerns out of his mind Randidly focused on recovering fully from his battle the prior day

After all he only had a single day more until he had to do it once more

Iellaya kept her expression mild even though she was shocked to the core as she looked at the whole and robust image of Randidly Ghosthound Truly this image of the three was a being made for war His claw and spear radiated an aura of ominous energy that was palpable enough Iellaya almost reflexively released a bit of her own image in response

As Abiodun had dutifully informed her earlier in the day the image appeared to be completely recovered from his ordeal after responding to the Beacon of Duty Which should be impossible even for a fresh recruit with a body In fact it appeared that the density and clarity of his image body had actually increased from his original form Suddenly he possessed a long tail from his waist and a rather slender one from the base of his neck

Such growth should be impossible Iellaya reflected as she calmly stood and offered the image a warm smile Which means that perhaps the images of Randidly Ghosthound are the keys to saving us all

I�m so glad that you were able to recover so quickly Iellaya said as she offered the image her left hand Today I called you in a bit earlier than the usual sortie to talk about the details of defensive battles You seem to have intuited most of the details but preparation makes all the difference in war

Iellaya breathed in slowly My face needs to be completely composed when I say this It is simply a normal statement Otherwise all of this is useless Then she smiled and said As you know as an image you need to rely on the tether to your body in order to possess enough Aether to stabilize the space in the Great Rift But there are a few details you can look for in order to have an easier time establishing an island of Aether in the darkness

Randidly slowly nodded Iellaya blinked mildly She would not respond visibly She would control her facial muscles Relying on the tether to the body is correct but the body has been completely isolated from the System Are you aware and humoring me Or does your body have enough ambient Aether to spare that you were able to survive as an image in the Great Rift

Either way a Heretic I wonder who you pissed off enough that they ensured you were isolated then Usually only the Heretics who target System roles directly are imprisoned And you don�t have that feel to you

Although Nether isn�t Aether that doesn�t mean there aren�t defining features that you can locate We call them Nether Wells Immediately after you arrive the best option is to sense the nearest Nether well and head a good distance away from it before establishing your base of operations The goal is to defend the surrounding space with your Aether Zone Its presence will weaken the Nether wells in the area and keep the Great Rift from expanding

There were three types of Heretics generally the Pirate the Vampire and the Ritualist Although the names were rather garish in Iellaya�s opinion they did serve as a useful descriptor of the process by which Aether was gathered for each variety

Pirates killed and plundered Aether from the corpses of their enemies They were also the oldest type of Heretic because when you thought about it the System was a Pirate that raised livestock that it could cannibalize later It was the greatest evil that they were all struggling against Greater even than the threat of Nether

Vampires like Iellaya herself siphoned a portion of other�s Aether to a greater or lesser degree based upon the relationship and personal preference There was a lot of variance in the process used Some took a portion of lifespan Others learned to leech Skill Levels Iellaya found it most efficient to consume the image directly then allowing the original image to exist like a parasite within her own

But I suppose I am a special case

And Ritualists well Ritualists were the ones who truly mattered to Iellaya Because Ritualists were smart enough to make the impossible possible So smart that they could extract Aether from the natural forces of the world in ways that the System hadn�t been able to figure out how to prevent

Which is exactly what we fucking need if we want to win this war

Chapter 1055

Randidly mulled over Iellaya�s words as she continued to talk about the various types of Nether beasts that could be encountered in the Great Rift

An Aether tether to the main body is accurate but what is she fishing for

Immediately when Iellaya casually mentioned Aether Randidly�s Grim Intuition warned him that this question was a trap of some sort Which was at least a nice confirmation that Randidly still had access to a portion of the main body�s capabilities It wasn�t present in quantity but he could now sense the qualitative change even to his image that resulted from the evolution of the stat

However its continued effect on him now might just be because of the word Grim� After all Randidly couldn�t feel any particular benefit currently stemming from his very high Control He didn�t have a body that had stats after all But perhaps the qualitative change had been preserved

So Randidly could immediately tell that the soft spoken Iellaya was trying to extract some information from him likely something that Randidly didn�t want her to know But simultaneously Randidly didn�t want to deny that there was an Aether connection to the main body Otherwise there might be even more pressure on Yggdrasil to heal other images as they turned to that as the reason he could recover

Yet even as he nodded Randidly knew that he had likely given away more information than he wanted Still it didn�t feel like he had any other choice Iellaya was standing easily before him releasing not a hint of pressure Which did little to alleviate Randidly�s fears

I�ll need to talk about this with Yggdrasil later All of this thinking feels like such a waste of time I would much rather be fighting and growing

And now Lady Iellaya was trying to bury her innocuous question beneath a flood of practically useless information about the Nether Honestly Randidly was rather relieved when she finished ten minutes later allowing him to head out to the staging area To Randidly�s surprise Abiodun was together with Zagnal waiting for him to arrive As he approached the two ceased their discussion and turned to look at him

Once more Randidly�s Grim Intuition tingled Seems like discovering Grim Intuition again means it�s now comfortable flaring up whenever it wants Truly aggravating

It could also just be a sign of how much danger is lurking here

When did you two become friends Randidly asked with a vicious smirk The two seemed rather casual like there was a sudden intimacy between them But it was clear from their stances that Abiodun was in the position of authority

Abiodun only chuckled and after a quick glance for confirmation Zagnal stepped forward and spoke Good news I have applied for a transfer to serve under Lady Iellaya and Abiodun here That way I�ll be able to continue to assist you while you are acclimating to battles in the Great Rift

Lucky me Inwardly Randidly�s lip continued to curl upward until he showed teeth But he kept his actual expression rather neutral Recalling how freely Iellaya spoke about his body being locked away Randidly took a gamble and said What about our deal then Were you able to talk to Lord Miln about retrieving my body

Again Zagnal�s eyes flicked sideways to Abiodun before he spoke

How cheaply you have sold yourself Zagnal Randidly�s emerald eyes were as cold as slate grey cloud about to dump snow out over the world I will remember this

Abiodun reached out and put a heavy hand on Zagnal�s shoulder Some unspoken message passed between them before Abiodun turned to Randidly and spoke A hungry little piranha aren�t you Randidly But I�m sure I don�t need to remind you that we are about to go to battle There will be time to settle personal matters later but I can assure you that we have already brought the subject of your body to Lady Iellaya�s attention And she is not a woman who takes no for an answer

But it seems she likes groveling Randidly smirked at Zagnal but didn�t press the issue further Already he could feel Zagnal�s hackles rising as he was so obviously dismissive but some part of Randidly�s mind was hot and slick Offending a man with a dragon head who did not keep his word felt good

How many will you kill today Abiodun asked casually to change the conversation

Randidly tried not to smile but it was a natural response to the discussion of brutality he couldn�t even help it Can we truly say for sure whether beings of Nether die Perhaps these beasts we fight are dead things Our actions finally bring them life

Rumbling in amusement Abiodun shook his head A convenient truth for us if it is truly so

Very quickly Randidly was brought away by the duo to another pillar filled staging area That same wild violence that pushed him to aggravate Zagnal wanted him to wander away and follow his Grim Intuition to choose his portal but his better judgment kept him in line In addition Iellaya had mentioned that he would be sent to some of the least dense Nether fields around the edge of the Great Rift as consideration for him volunteering two nights ago

As a final chip on the side of behaving Abiodun stayed close to his side His solid presence exuded a subtle weight of image that Randidly didn�t think he was prepared to face quite yet

Randidly felt confident that his ability to handle Nether shot upward after his Skill evolved to Nether Acclimation but he was too aware how close he had come to his limit on that night to risk it again His growth would be slower in a safer area but if Randidly wanted to figure out the secrets of this place he would need to be well enough that he wasn�t constantly struggling against a headache

After he was teleported into the Great Rift Randidly could immediately feel that his current location was nowhere near as dangerous as he had been sent two nights ago Whereas his skin had almost immediately begun to bubble and spit previously now it was just extremely painful Slowly a low sizzling could be heard

In addition Randidly could close his eyes and only distantly detect something similar to the dense mass of Nether that he had encountered previously the Nether Well Perhaps the most disappointing of the changes that were present Randidly couldn�t sense any Nether beasts at all in the surrounding area

Not that his sphere of detection was very wide But there simply wasn�t much around him So Randidly settled down and prepared to wait for his foe to arrive

And then over the course of the next six hours Randidly was taught an extremely aggravating lesson Not all defensive missions involved engaging with an enemy Sometimes all you needed to do was head out into the vast darkness and repeatedly destabilize the blue veins that flowed through the surrounding air

Without the threat of Nether beasts the mission dragged on even longer than either of Randidly�s previous two sorties Time seemed endless in the darkness After a certain point Randidly stopped destroying the blue veins that sometimes swam curiously around him At least staring at their strange movements provided some small amusement

In addition to the wide expanse of monotony the slow and bitter resistance against Nether�s corruption was especially exhausting Perhaps even more so than it would have been normally because the exertion was so relatively light It couldn�t be described as easy but it also wasn�t difficult It was just constant exertion

Randidly couldn�t get his tension up at all to face this thin Nether In small spurts he would focus his mind enough to cause waves of ash to radiate out from his body but the effort didn�t seem worth it

Inwardly he vowed never to allow himself to fall prey to his cautious attitude again this test of endurance was completely intolerable Even worse he could suddenly hear very clearly Iellaya saying that there was about a 20% chance that the location they were sent to in the Great Rift would be so remote that no Nether beasts would bother to defend it

So Randidly did his best to refine his image while fighting off the fearsome opponents of boredom and darkness Perhaps even worse every time Randidly would resign himself to his situation and take a breath something would begin to resonate in his chest The sudden sensation was such a surprise that he was knocked out of his trance and completely destroyed the resonance

With only five Levels of his new Skill Nether Acclimation to show for it Randidly was replaced by another and sent back to the camp

There at least Randidly was met with excitement

The very sky seemed to have cracked far to the East Those thick golden shapes that had so often passed in the sky previously were completely gone The light orange of the sky seemed pale and thin and the maroon clouds had darkened to dried blood Thin tendrils of blackness lined with thick veins of blue wormed their way deeper into the sky from the Great Rift Randidly took several heavy steps away from the staging area and joined a slowly increasing crowd who were staring upward toward the sky with worried expressions

Those threads of blackness continued to writhe in the sky above speaking to their continued offensive against the Aether of this place The visual variance on the ground was even more aggravating than usual When looking at the grim faces around him it was immediately clear to Randidly that this wasn�t a usual occurrence

It took a few seconds for Randidly to spot her but he very quickly scanned the crowd and saw Lady Iellaya standing in the shadow of a tent at the far side of the staging area She stood with her hands folded and her obsidian feathers pressed tightly down against her scalp and neck The familiar form of Abiodun loomed next to her an even deeper blackness in the shadow marked only by the unpredictable light of his eyes

Iellaya�s lips moved and Randidly surprised himself with his ability to read them Lord Miln is a fool

Even more surprising to Randidly was the fact that even as Abiodun�s mouth barely moved he could clearly intuit the words he was saying Should I voice a criticism If it does not come from you

Iellaya�s expression turned bitter The feathers on her head twitched It matters not Even if we cannot afford a loss on this front those who already possess citizenship always choose to take the long view of these things The flood of new recruits are being tempered he will say A loss of a single camp means nothing

Leaning forward Abiodun said Was the entire camp lost

Thankfully not or I would have proceeded over there myself and damn the consequences It would actually be a relief to strike at their Leviathans Iellaya showed her teeth The feathers along her neck spread outward But a Nether Well used a corrupted image to travel back to the staging area It expended itself to radically destabilized the space on this side of the line It will take weeks to repair and I suspect that Lord Miln won�t bother to spend the Aether required to do it He has found other uses for it apparently

Abiodun made a sharp gesture that Randidly wasn�t able to spot through the crowd Immediately Iellaya shook her head I don�t know the Commander over there he�s new as well Better to continue to strengthen our position here then try to expand

Before Randidly�s eyes Abiodun nodded and then faded into the shadows next to the tent leaving Iellaya alone The feathered woman continued to stare upward for several more seconds considering the invasion of blackness that was slowly eating into the brightly covered sky over the forces of Aether

Briefly Randidly wondered what would happen if Aether actually lost this war Based on the forces he had encountered so far Randidly could only manage to be a soldier here Even with his main body he held no secret hopes that he would be able to affect the outcome of this confusing war in a short amount of time

Perhaps the most frustrating part about being here is that so many of the battles had been fought alone Fighting on this front was about influence over space rather than about any real combat between individuals It was more important to establish territory and weaken the opposition�s grip on their own area Therefore Randidly hadn�t seen the strength of anyone

Of course right as Randidly was thinking that he saw Iellaya gesture sharply with her hand Distantly above so distantly that Randidly almost believed that he had imagined it the sharp cry of an eagle rippled across the strange maroon clouds

To Randidly�s disbelief one of the tendrils of blackness up in the sky was cleanly chopped off It began to lean and fall toward the ground slowly dissipating as it crashed downward It was difficult to get a sense of scale from here but by comparing it to the looming rocky outcropping of the headquarters that huge chunk of blackness was the size of a skyscraper

When Randidly looked back down toward Iellaya she was smiling at him Then she calmly turned and walked back toward the Commander�s tent

Chapter 1056

Lord Miln smiled widely at Iellaya as she walked into his headquarters From his relaxed stance it was clear that he had been expecting her As always he stood behind his ornate desk the ground around it covered in thick lines of Engraving Behind him his mausoleum of isolated bodies floated suspended in the strange mixture of Aether and Nether that would ensure that they would be cut off from the System Lady Iellaya to what do I owe this pleasure It has been quite some time since you�ve come to visit me for a pleasure call

His smile artfully slipped away as though a true tragedy had occurred to him only at that moment Unless you made the trek over here in order to talk business Ah I suppose you must have heard about Commander Thrall�s camp truly a tragedy To think that the monstrous creatures of Nether would be so insidious and deceitful as to corrupt an image to infiltrate our base but worry not it has all been taken care of There is no need for you to be personally involved

To be honest Lord Miln leaned forward He smiled like a shark eyeing a haunch of meat as his eyes glided over Iellaya�s tightly controlled feathers You are somewhat superfluous at the moment

No need to worry this isn�t about today�s bitter defeat But I can understand your tension You could use a break after the day you�ve had Although Iellaya knew better than to press it she wanted to squeeze a little to see if any blood oozed out Lord Miln�s eyes were glassy and mild as he returned her stare

Nothing That�s a pity She continued Actually I would like to apply to have one of your precious prisoners freed An extremely strong image was transferred to my base in the latest batch I think he would be invaluable if he possessed his body to fight

He survived an offensive battle Lord Miln�s sculpted eyebrows rose smoothly upward The man ran on clockwork and snake oil How lucky he must be to have avoided an area of dense Nether and likely encountered no beasts in the Great Rift

I have it on good authority that he did in fact avoid any beasts today As prettily as she could Iellaya smiled But her feathers stayed tightly pressed to her scalp and spine Lord Miln was the worst sort of predator too lazy and sure of himself to even hide his dripping fangs

How strange that such a fortunate individual had garnered enough ire to require my involvement Lord Miln�s fingers drew slow circles across his desk What is his name

Somehow Iellaya knew that Lord Miln already knew his name This was all just a game But just like Iellaya came to weave a net to protect what she wanted to protect it seemed that Lorn Miln also had skin in the game Interesting His name is Randidly Ghosthound

The peculiarities of this individual seem to be perpetually multiplying Lord Miln�s eyes practically glowed with the glee of a positive determination I must be misremembering because it seems to me that was the very name of an image you reported to have been destroyed two days ago Right after you lit your Beacon of Duty if you recall

Iellaya�s eyebrows pulled inwards in confusion Her face displayed only the confusion she wanted to be present there What are you playing ate Miln I have no doubt you are aware that the body possessed multiple images And it seems like one of the images might possess the capability to heal other images As such it is in the best interest of the front that the image returns to their body

And I want the main image to be beyond your reach

You know well the danger of returning images to a body after one of the images has been destroyed Sometimes there are consequences

I m willing to risk it Crossing her arms Iellaya studied Lord Miln Although there were generally consequences sometimes it didn�t occur It depended on how discrete the images were In the case that the images were very different the physical body could continue as normal

And they both were aware that it would be impossible to determine what images were returned to the body unless the images were once more extracted So the images would be safe

I cannot risk such a tragic loss of life was all the reply she earned That same stupid smile remained pasted across his face

I had hoped it would not come to this Iellaya leaned forward with her face twisted into a scowl She was overwrought and frustrated nothing more You owe me a favor My vacation last year was very timely was it not I wasn�t present at all for the Aether flow inspections

Lord Miln shook his head sadly Lady Iellaya or should I call you Queen I cannot believe you don�t trust how deeply I value our candid relationship It would bring me nothing but joy to acquiesce to your requests no matter what they may be Alas I cannot There is a superior lienholder

Turning slowly Lord Miln glanced over his shoulder almost fondly This body Well let�s just say you aren�t the first to express interest in it You can consider it to be on lone for as long as the images yet live And after it is emptied it has already been purchased by a very influential citizen of the Nexus So satisfy yourself with just the images please

Yggdrasil and Randidly sat above the emerald form of Ignition Essence in silence each considering the information that Randidly had brought for them to consider from his experience watching Abiodun and Iellaya

There is something I have to tell you as well Yggdrasil rumbled to break the silence After you left I was approached By a wounded image suffering It said that it heard a rumor that I could perform healings

Fucking bitch Randidly swore without bothering to keep his voice low It seemed like they planned on moving quickly to discover the veracity of the rumors about Yggdrasil And asking Yggdrasil how he responded was almost unnecessary You healed it didn�t you The image

Of course Yggdrasil�s branches creaked as he shifted I could not fully restore its strength but I could trigger some of its latent potential with the image of timelessness that has been woven into me Rather than healing it it might be more accurate to say that I have taken away the lingering damage done by the wounds But the lost portions of the image cannot be recovered by my efforts alone

Randidly scratched his cheek with his upper tail trying to conceptualize what Yggdrasil was saying So the strength wouldn�t return to normal but perhaps Yggdrasil could remove the headache as he had often done for Randidly How useful do you think is it

Unfortunately very Yggdrasil shook his canopy with palpable regret After receiving my assistance that image was ordered by that rock man to proceed to the Aether Fountain I followed at a distance to observe It seems that part of the benefits of my healing process is that the speed of leaking Aether from the image is drastically slowed It greatly raises the efficacy of the Aether Fountain process

Abiodun just how dirty are your hands Randidly�s claw twitched The feeling of bloodthirsty competitiveness and strange sense of kinship that Randidly felt toward the stone man was extremely confusing to him He simultaneously wanted to murder Abiodun and also team up to murder someone else with him But there could be no doubt that Abiodun was the right had of Iellaya

Lady Iellaya didn�t do anything without reason This was calculated

They will come again Randidly said tiredly Rather than the peaceful experience he had resisting the Nether Randidly wished he would have been able to rip the skull off of some sick Nether monster in a burst of adrenaline He needed to relieve some of his stress We need to figure out how to respond to it

Yggdrasil�s branches shifted There is a bright side The experience allows me to sharpen my own image immensely And there is an aspect of growth assistance to it that the main body often forgets or does not utilize directly If we allow this process to happen I will improve I have strength enough to assist Ignition Essence and a few other images a day

Randidly shook his head True but it won�t just be a few other images a day if it is really so useful It

Immediately Randidly�s mouth twisted into a snarl as a heavy mental blanket began to smother his ancillary thoughts Perfect timing Just when I needed some ways to blow off some steam the images of Donnyton decide to swarm up to the plate

Shifting rapidly Randidly laid himself down Yygdrasil�s leaves rustled in concern mm Try your best to not destroy any of them

Randidly fell asleep laughing

The mist wrapped around him until it solidified into a thick and fluffy sea around him Randidly floated downward his eyes blazing like a chemical flare as he sunk deeper into the strange depths of the dream world As his body� became subdued into unconsciousness by the strange Skill clarity returned to his mind Despite Randidly�s building rage he couldn�t help but notice that some lingering wariness he hadn�t been able to eradicate was lifted away from him as he was taken by the skill

Seems like it isn�t just another way to exhaust myself Well point for Eidolon Crucible And the timing was at least reasonable

This time Randidly didn�t find himself in that familiar arena in Donnyton Which in a way was a relief He was awfully tired of that place where he constantly needed to seize victory in order to protect himself and the entire world through the direction of Donnyton

But perhaps this place held an even more troublesome place in Randidly�s heart As he examined the surrounding the sound of his heart pounding in his ears grew increasingly loud

He was floating in a sea of lava watching as that superheated metal and stone evaporated around him like it was rubbing alcohol Floating above Randidly the combined force of the thousand images of Kharon was the faceless form of the sun A strange amalgamation that served the role of Aegiant

Heat hammered at Randidly�s skin Compared to Nether it was a rather mundane assault but it did feel like thousands of fingers were scrabbling at Randidly to rip away his skin and feast on his core The lava around him hissed and spat its heat in a malicious spray Perhaps the most obnoxious part was the weight of the warped molten metal against Randidly restricting his movements

That shadow figure rippled as the multitude of images that formed it struggled to demonstrate their unique charms This was more than just a constant spiritual raid perpetrated by the images of those who swore their cause to Randidly�s this was also the chance for the images to prove themselves as capable

But right now Randidly didn�t care The shadow of Aegiant raised his arms and screeched The heat spiked upward as its power began radiating outward Thin vapors of evaporated rock whistled up from the growing spear of superheated air that neared plasma

Is this all you have

Randidly spread his arms wide and began to pull himself up through the thick lava His two tails sinuously twisted pushing him upward When he broke the surface of the lava Randidly took a deep breath His lungs screamed in protest but the Grim Chimera just smiled

I always wanted a second chance at this Perhaps this Eidolon Crucible isn�t such a bad thing after all

Chapter 1057

When Randidly awoke it was to a black and silent night The thin light from Ignition Essence illuminated the inner portion of the grey tent but its actual usefulness for distinguishing details was low All Randidly could make out were several figures at the far end of the tent with one of them being familiar Yggdrasil sat at the far side talking to two individuals who were standing outside the tent in a voice pitched low so as not to wake Randidly

Instantly Randidly�s focus sharpened to those two shadowy individuals With a few sharp movements he materialized on his feet He half expected to find that Iellaya herself had come out to harass Yggdrasil but instead there were two unfamiliar figures at the door One was a smaller and more brown version of Abiodun a man completely made of rock and mud The second was a thin man covered in scales and with the head of a snake

Both were images There was an ambiguous quality to their bodies that Randidly was beginning to recognize

Sensing that Randidly awoke and was glowering at the new arrivals Yggdrasil turned around Ah good It seems you had a good dream You were ahem laughing in your sleep But these two are

Yggdrasil rustled his leaves as he gestured to the two figures This woman is Zauna She is a relative of Abiodun�s This man is Salazar Lady Iellaya issued orders that since you had proven yourself in your first two missions you would be sent to more dangerous areas in the future Areas where you could make more of an impact on the battlefield as a whole Therefore you would need subordinates

In addition I will be responsible for healing them Yggdrasil paused briefly But Lady Iellaya also informed me that as long as these two remain in fighting shape I will need not use my talents on any others

That sharpened Randidly�s gaze His eyes took in the pair once more It turned out that the brown Abiodun was a woman She didn�t appear to carry any weapons but Randidly supposed most images didn�t carry weapons with them

Meanwhile the snake man Salazar had two miniature scimitars strapped to his lower back His long fingers were constantly wringing in front of his slight body

Spies Likely both of them What a hassle But if it kept Yggdrasil from being worked to the bone

Nice to meet you Randidly said through his teeth Honestly he was in a rather good mood after slaughtering his way through the images of Kharon Even this strange ambush couldn�t shake his optimism He had tried his best to not be too violent to the rather feeble images but the tiresome experience of remembering what information he should and should not share had built up in his chest over the past several days the images had been the perfect outlet

And compared to Nether the small individual images even as one monstrous Aegiant replacement were almost comically simple to overwhelm with raw force It was like comparing someone who fought for sport on the weekends to someone who fought to stay alive There was simply no tenacity to the images of Kharon So Randidly took it upon himself to teach them the true brutality of images

It would be worth it in the end he knew

I bet the main body will even thank me when we are all finally united Randidly thought as his hand remained extended toward the two images Salizar looked up at Zauna nervously while wringing his fingers without any visible reaction Zauna nodded shortly and reached out to shake Randidly�s hand without saying anything

Only after Zauna moved did Salizar seize Randidly�s hand with both of his own A p pleasure We have heard heard much about you

A silent woman and a coward The perfect sort of subordinates Soon dominion over the entire world won�t be just a dream

Setting aside his sarcastic thoughts Randidly did realize that there was no reason that his Eidolon Crucible needed to be focused on only Kharon The main body�s subordinates could be from any world He made a mental note to talk to Yggdrasil about vetting these two more directly to be recruited into the Eidolon Crucible

They were likely spies but that didn�t mean there wouldn�t be other chances in the future Even if it took some time it might be worth looking into the option

Well I need to spend some time training after that I will see you both later Randidly said shortly He nodded at Yggdrasil and walked out of the tent while brushing past Zauna and Salazar

It was about ten steps later that Randidly stopped and turned on his heel He glared back toward the tent Is there a problem

Both Zauna and Salizar were following him Salizar glanced up at the stoic face of Zauna then winced and offered Randidly a weak smile It is d difficult you know For images l like us around the camps So if we f f f follow you at least

Randidly brought his claw and tried to rub the bridge of his nose He almost punctured his eye with one of the sharp points of his talons He calmly lowered his hand and hoped the large size of his hand kept his new subordinates from seeing his close call When his face was revealed it was glowering at the two of them Then return to your tents Is there a need for you to wander around so late at night

We w will be staying with you and Yggdrasil from now on sir Salizar said in obvious discomfort His tail flicked rapidly back and forth behind him

Then it won�t be a long walk back to the tent will it Randidly hissed

But the two simply stood there dumbly Zauna said nothing In fact she seemed completely unphased by Randidly�s obvious ire It seemed that she definitely inherited some of Abiodun�s nerve And as for Salazar although he began to wring his hands more quickly there was no other change

From behind them Yggdrasil said unhelpfully To be fair I was told that Lady Iellaya ordered you to familiarize yourself with your new subordinates tonight It might not matter much but on the other hand

Sighing Randidly just shrugged Fine just stay out of my way

He had planned on heading back out to the border area and spending some more time working on his Skills It didn�t seem like the presence of these strange two would make much difference to the process If they were going to accompany him into the Great Rift in the future they would see his capabilities anyway And perhaps seeing them while in an Aether controlled area would lower their inevitable shock after seeing what Randidly could manage in the Nether

Randidly�s eyes narrowed as a resolution formed in his chest Not knowing the details this place and walking on tiptoes to avoid revealing my hand it�s unsustainable Now that these two are going to be following me out into the Great Rift time to shift the strategy Stealth won�t serve me well for much longer

I need to have a candid conversation with someone around here that knows what�s going on Considering Zagnal�s recent change in attitude He�s no longer an option Which probably means that the conversation needs to be had with Iellaya And to sway someone like her I need to prove my capability Perhaps these two are a test for exactly that Better to keep them alive then

So Randidly proceeded to the no man�s land between the two camps once more intending to spend some time training But as he approached the edge of the camp noises ahead caused his gait to slow Glancing back at the two follow him Randidly was relieved to see that both noticed his expression and moved stealthily in his wake

Despite her size Zauna seemed to drift across the land like a ghost Her heavy footfalls didn�t register even the smallest sound to Randidly�s ears And Salizar seemed to fade into the nearby shadows so naturally that even Randidly�s luminous eyes could only barely distinguish him against the shadowy backdrop of the dirt

Snorting softly Randidly turned back forward and began to activate Chimeric Avoidance to its limit While he also slowed his gait and took care to remain quiet he also simply avoided making noises The Grim Chimera had its own methods

Moving near silently the trio drifted forward to the edge of the camp About three fourths of the way across the no man�s land two figures were arguing in the open area with some space left between them and the tents of the camp With glittering eyes Randidly could intuit their conversation just as he had been able to do with Abiodun and Iellaya

Vualla I will report you The tall and broad shouldered man said

The same woman with azure hair that Randidly had seen here a day ago shook her head The motion sent long undulating ripples through her dazzling hair Even so I�ll take the demerit This is personal

That demerit will see you sent to a deathzone on the next mission The man hissed

Then don�t report me Vualla replied rather flippantly Even to Randidly her smile looked fragile in the night Then I won�t need to worry about the deathzone

The man sighed If I have to report you to stop you from going I will This pointless errand of yours is not worth it We�ve already received the reports What more do you need

Vualla raised her chin Most things aren�t worth dying for A few things are And I know that this is one of the things I would die for

They stared at each other for a long time So long that Salizar began to wring his hands to work off his nervous energy until Randidly shot a glare his way He made a mental note to ask how much control he really had over his subordinates when he saw either Abiodun or Iellaya again as he turned back to look at the duo across the no man�s land

The large man shook his head one more time I�m going now To report you So so please Please be there when the patrol comes to your tent

It is a petty man that asks a woman to betray her principles And not even for love but out of fear You can be afraid most of the time but if you claim to be alive you cannot be afraid all of the time Vualla spat at the man�s departing back

Strangely Randidly cocked his head to the side You can be afraid most of the time but if you claim to be alive you cannot be afraid all of the time

Something shifted in his chest As a being deeply rooted in fear the Grim Chimera constantly needed to be wary of threats Wariness stemmed from fear So Randidly was constantly in the throes of a small amount of fear

You can be afraid most of the time but if you claim to be alive you cannot be afraid all of the time

Randidly found his legs moving across the dimly lit barren land between lands making a beeline for the woman�s lonely back He could feel Salizar and Zuana moving silently behind him like a mute entourage which pissed him off a little bit Some part of him dearly wished this was about to be a private meeting Yet Randidly was more unwilling to let this moment go than he wished to hide this interaction with the azure haired Vualla

After all there was a completely reasonable basis for this action This was the one person that Randidly had encountered who wasn�t associated with Lady Iellaya at all That same pervasive feeling that Randidly had felt when he arrived in Lady Iellaya�s camp had become a subtle backdrop to his experience but it ran through everyone he had seen and talked to in a greater or lesser degree But from Vualla there was a completely different feeling

It was in a word refreshing

Perhaps I won�t have to impress Iellaya after all Randidly grinned If I can help Vualla right now perhaps she can give me the information that I seek

Vualla was standing with her shoulders trembling and her fist clenched as Randidly arrived about five meters away from her back More than her actual body Randidly would see her cascade of hair But it was clear to him that she was facing the ground with her features steeped in shadows

What does a salesman say to sweeten a deal before the sale well the obvious step is to remind the recipient of our previous interactions

Randidly cleared his throat lightly But of course he didn�t have a real throat He didn�t really understand why he did it For someone with a body you seem incredibly fragile right now

Vualla flashed into motion Unlike Randidly how had opened up some space when surprised Vualla twisted around and brought one of her heavy gauntlets around in a haymaker toward Randidly�s head Eyes widening Randidly brought up his claw up to catch the blow But his body wasn�t moving quickly enough to catch up to her dazzling speed

How the fuck can she be so fast So this is the ability of someone fighting on the front lines

Randidly released a low breath that came out grey and ashy as his image billowed outward Chimeric Avoidance and Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality roared to the fore His body contorted as muscles bulged to accomplish his will

Even then Randidly gritted his teeth to brace for the blow as he watched it approach the power behind Vualla�s strike was obvious from a single look The air quaked with its passage But at the last second she halted in her abrupt attack The shockwave of the sudden stop still struck Randidly sending a ripple through him and through Vualla�s waterfall of azure hair

Randidly�s eyes widened at the casual force Then he saw her glittering azure eyes sparkle even in the shadowy no man�s land It took him a second of confusion to figure out what was happening then immediately it was obvious

Vualla was crying

For a second Randidly was transported across time and space to a moment in the port town on Earth when he encountered a young woman whose life would be wasted All he needed to do was reach out and help her but he hadn�t

Slowly Vualla lowered her gauntlet and turned away from Randidly sorry It�s been a long day

Chapter 1058

Uh Randidly blinked several times as his mind struggled to cope with so much strange information Vualla had attacked him so quickly he could barely cope and then she had stopped herself And obviously he had seen other people in pain before The Grim Chimera itself was an image that was built on a lifetime of pain Yet those sparkling tears in Vualla�s eyes seemed to force his breath to catch in his throat Is everything alright

No Vualla shook her head still facing away from Randidly But don�t worry about it It�s none of your business anyway I�m just just taking a night walk to clear my head Just walking

And with that Vualla began to walk back toward her camp with a determined stride Feeling helpless Randidly turned and looked at Zuana and Salazar Zuana was standing silently and Salazar was wringing his hands and flicking his tail from side to side If anything they both appeared even more confused than Randidly was

Completely useless

Randidly turned back and looked at Vualla�s departing back Even in the dim light of night here on the edge of the Great Rift her vivid azure hair was a poignant as an auditory thread of a saxophone on a street corner Randidly couldn�t look away from the sinuous motion of her gait

And to his own surprise he spoke again Do you want company for your walk

That was a dumb thing to say a small voice whispered to him If you take a walk you won�t gain any PP for the main body Training would be a better way to spend your time

Vualla stopped She slowly turned around and stared at Randidly for several seconds Her mouth twisted There�s no need It will be a long walk

I have long legs Randidly grinned and gestured with his claw down at his raptor lower body

Some life returned to Vualla�s eyes as she studied Randidly She inclined her head toward the space behind him What about those two

Randidly shook his head in mock sorrow If I�m being honest they follow me around everywhere They would be coming as well But as far as I can tell there are no problems with their legs either They are like baby chicks

T tweet tweet Salzar said helpfully Randidly suppressed the image to turn around and stick his bone spear down the snake man�s unnecessarily vocal throat He wondered idly if snakes could regenerate severed limbs

But Vualla laughed Then she shook her head I�m obviously not concerned about their legs Thank you but it�s unnecessary What I�m about to do it can be considered desertion even if only for a night I hear Iellaya is a relatively lax Commander but she won�t look kindly on you leaving

Honestly Vualla narrowed her eyes as she peered at the three of them I�m surprised you left camp at all That�s why I was uh so interested in you two days ago Rumors are that all of Iellaya�s troops are part of a cult Everyone says that when no one else is around they kneel before her and call her Queen

Vualla seemed to be studying Randidly for any sort of reaction He shrugged I�m a recent transfer But I will say that I don�t think it will be a problem for me to come with you I was ordered to spend some familiarizing myself with these two subordinates This walk can be considered a team building exercise

Pfft would anyone actually believe that Vualla shook her head but then she threw her hands up in the air Well I can�t very well do anything if you also want to take a night walk in the same direction And thanks Randidly

She couldn�t very well use her heavy iron gauntlets so Vualla rubbed her shoulders against her cheeks to soak up the tears Randidly felt strangely tingly as he settled into pace next to her He opened his mouth to say something but he was beaten to the punch by Salazar

If if this is a team building exercise Strangely his voice sounded hopeful Perhaps introductions and fun facts about ourselves

Fine Randidly said as he glared over his shoulder at the inane snakeman I suppose Zauna can go first

Abiodun�s relative trundled forward in silence for several seconds After flashing a look of triumph toward the hand wringing Salazar Randidly turned back forward And then a surprisingly soft and feminine voice spoke from behind him

Zauna Tjak I play common musical instruments

what sort of musical instruments are common for rock people Randidly wondered but already Salazar was excitedly beginning his own introduction

Salazar Griss In my homeworld I had many w wives and admirers I had so many children that there would always be at least o one person s singing s songs about me at every time of day

Doubtful

Then Randidly belatedly realized that everyone was looking at him Vualla�s eyes were so very bright After gulping down a mouthful of air Randidly raised his bone spear and waved it vaguely Randidly Ghosthound Specifically the image of the Grim Chimera I uh my body is being punished for some reason but the main body is very skilled at creating Engravings

Oh Vualla seemed rather disappointed after Randidly spoke So you don�t look like this normally

Randidly blinked Well my face looks the same and most of the torso but my limbs are a bit more average

S so s sad Very dangerous looking Salizar shook from side to side

Vualla bobbed her head I guess the face is okay but that huge claw of yours ehhehe it�s definitely a capable body that you have there

sharp claws Came the low whisper from Zauna But by the time Randidly twisted around he could see any proof that she had spoken

Despite the strange compulsion Randidly felt earlier to come on this walk with Vualla suddenly Randidly felt profoundly tired The three people around him were all weirdos And Vualla especially did she have a fetish for large hands It made a certain sort of strange since while looking at her huge gauntlets

The group had avoided the edge of Vualla�s camp and joined the low road that led back toward the towering rocky outcropping of the headquarters Glancing to the side Randidly saw that Vualla�s eyes were aimed upward toward the tendrils of Nether that still remained in the sky Ah does she want to go see the damage to the camp that was attacked But why was she so adamant about it

Then Vualla clanged her large fist into the metal palm of her other hand I suppose it�s my turn I�m Vualla The reason that I�m special is that I will destroy the System someday

That brought Randidly to an abrupt halt He stopped walking completely Vualla continued forward as Randidly stared at her back her long hair swishing side to side as it lightly brushed the ground His words came to him slowly He felt even less capable of speech than Salazar You want to destroy the System

Of course Vualla nodded seriously as if it was the most natural thing in the world

Randidly found himself nodding almost subconsciously along with her I I also wish to destroy the System

Finally Vualla paused and turned to look at Randidly Her mouth slid easily into a smile as her azure eyes sparkled mischievously Then it will be a race won�t it Try not to make this too easy for me Randidly Ghosthound

S she has a big advantage Salazar whispered conspiratorially to Randidly With her b body But Sir I think

Snorting Randidly raised his claw and physically snapped Salazar�s mouth shut The snake man�s eyes widened as the dangerous talons gently pressed the mechanism of his jaw Randidly grinned dangerously at him Don�t worry I�ve got it

The foursome continued to walk for quite some time At first the only noise that accompanied them was the soft patter of their feet on the tightly packed dirt of the path Of course Salizar eventually forgot the implied threat of Randidly�s claw and began to chatter again explaining all of the many accomplishments he had in his own world

Most mind boggling of all was the fact that both Vualla and Zauna appeared rather amused by the snakeman�s wild stories The only benefit of the constant chatter was that once he got on a roll Salazar�s stutter completely disappeared He even appeared to gain some confidence His voice deepened and suddenly the narrative carried a persuasive sort of energy

Randidly�s Grim Intuition could feel the edges of a powerful image lurking behind Salazar�s voice Perhaps not just a coward then but someone who was not meant to ever exist on a battlefield If we can maintain the integrity of his image he will be useful for weakening the surrounding Nether at least

With Salazar extolling his own virtues the group passed by the vast base of the rocky outcropping that served as headquarters They walked around the inside keeping an eye on the destabilized and warped land at the edge of the Great Rift But their path did take them nearer to the edge of the lands that Aether held sway Even from here Randidly could feel a strange thrum from the blackness that he associated with the blue veins

It was like the Great Rift was breathing Without a doubt the victory Nether had won by attacking the far camp had given that breath strength

It was around dawn when they arrived at the farthest camp The landscape over here was much rockier and uneven then the space around Iellaya�s camp perhaps due to the recent attack But because of it they were able to ascend a low hill that gave the group a good view from which to see the damage done to the camp

It was hard for Randidly to understand what he was seeing however There seemed to be strange window like panes that reflected light and space that dominated the center of his view The middle of the camp had been folded in on itself completely isolating the staging area from the rest of the surrounding camp A group of people led by a man with closely cropped blue grey hair were gathering around the distortions and slowly healing them

The man was tall and vaguely familiar It was clear that this individual was the one in charge of the camp Every second he issued a string of orders all the while utilizing an image potent enough that Randidly could sense the edges of it from here After watching for a few minutes Randidly glanced sideways at the pale face of Vualla

She grinned weakly when she noticed his gaze Yea he�s why I came He is my father I just I just wanted to make sure he was okay

Do you want to go down and talk to him Randidly asked This was murky territory for him As the Grim Chimera he didn�t have any parents And the main body�s relationship with his parents was rather strange as well But he understood that these subjects were rather delicate for most But also Randidly found himself strangely disappointed that this was the reason she so wanted to come here

It just seems so mundane Randidly thought as he continued to carefully scrutinize the azure light of Vualla�s eyes

No We�ve never met Vualla�s voice was filled with bitterness I was born after he was sent to the frontlines He probably wouldn�t even recognize me He�s been serving here fighting against the enemies of the System for 50 years

Her heavy iron gauntlets tightened into fists That�s why I will destroy this System I�m tired of it using us until we break and wither And then replacing us My father used to visit home occasionally before I was born He made it home to see the birth of all three of my brothers But then those three grew up As individuals with lower tiered citizenship in the Nexus they were drafted into the System�s army And they died trying to expand its borders I�ve seen their graves they are shallow pathetic things They

Vualla choked up and released a hiss

Randidly watched her in fascination She had walked here the place where her family had died He wondered if she would cry again Why come here then if you weren�t going to talk to him

Turning away from her father ordering his soldiers Vualla crouched down and pressed her chin to her knees Her long and brilliant hairs scattered into the coppery dirt around her Because he�s still my father Because I wanted to see if some part of me would soften when I saw him He serves the System after all Reveres it even If he learned my plan he would spare no effort to stop me

Randidly�s emerald eyes flashed And did you soften

No Vualla whispered If anything I just became more sure I want to end this farce so badly that my chest is heavy with the dream of it Have you have you ever wanted something so wholly that the small mundane details of the world feel exhausting Like you�ve become so completely tied up in one endeavor that you have only apathy remaining for the rest of it

Some part of Randidly stirred Because deep in his core the Grim Chimera had heavy strains that came from the destructive impulses of Alta and Ulaat the Patron of Ash Those were two individuals who drank deeply of the cup of obsession

Although Vualla was clearly more considered and less self destructive in her goals he sensed the same unwavering resolve in her that had been in those two tragic individuals

Some instinct urged him not to answer Vualla�s question about drive and obsession but Randidly was grinning down at her Yes I know deeply the sensation of craving

She smiled up at him but her face was shadow and her hair seemed to be so luminous that it blinded him to the details of her face The only thing that he could see was her white teeth I knew there was a reason that I was drawn to you

Chapter 1059

As the dawn slowly crept outward they remained in their respective positions Randidly wondered idly whether they would ever move It felt like Vualla�s words had transformed him into a statue And honestly Randidly didn�t mind

Eventually Vualla stood and shook herself a bit like a cat She started with her feet then her legs her hips her torso and her head All the while her hair spun around her like a gleaming waterfall Then she waved her heavy gauntlets at Randidly Alright let�s head back I just I got what I came for

Randidly nodded slowly His two followers remained silent and behind him as the foursome continued back toward their respective camps

Perhaps it was due to the fact that no one spoke on the return journey but time seemed to drag out into a long spool of endless thread as their trundled procession proceeded forward There was no sun but the ambient light to this strange slice of land at the edge of the universe slowly grew more abundant The harsh reflected light off of the orange dirt beneath their feet grew increasingly unbearable and added an unearthly quality to their journey

Yet still Randidly remained silent while in the thick of those strange sensations It wasn�t that he was uncomfortable during the procession No that wasn�t true He was uncomfortable But it wasn�t the silence of their journey that had seized the deepest recesses of his brain and refused to release him It was the memory of Vualla�s bitter words embedded in that strange sudden night walk

I knew there was a reason that I was drawn to you

Randidly blinked What was he afraid of Unlike most people that he encountered he didn�t particularly fear being alone Isolation was the lot of the Grim Chimera And although he greatly struggled to avoid death Randidly had already made his peace that his end would come eventually That was one of the core tenants of the Grim Chimera�s image life was just a matter of how long you could drag out the chase

Yet Randidly had still felt that silent resonance in his chest when Vualla had said the first line about fear The worry and anxiety he held inside himself trembled with something akin to shame as she spoke It revealed itself by its fear of being revealed and Randidly was disgusted with himself for feeling it So he picked and picked trying to find the source

Unfortunately nothing emerged from his efforts And this was also an area that the main body struggled with So what did he fear His thoughts chased their tails endlessly

Although time dragged Randidly soon found himself facing Vualla as she prepared to enter her own camp The sudden picture was so abrupt and such a sharp change from their journey that for several seconds Randidly could do nothing but blink

Thank you Vualla said finally after examining him for a long minute Her azure eyes seemed determined to measure and memorize every facet of his physical body It was an unnecessary thing you did But But I think because of it we might be able to change our futures We we are both people who will end tragically won�t we

Randidly tilted his head to the side There was something oddly familiar to the way that Vualla was speaking No it wasn�t her tone it was a sensation Randidly felt something from her words as she spoke but he couldn�t place the sensation What

Blinking Vualla abruptly shook her head and laughed I honestly have no idea where that came from But anyway yes thank you I hope I hope to see you again

Then she spun on her heel and walked away her long hair wreathed around like an aquamarine halo Randidly�s eyes remained fixed upon her until her form was swallowed up by the uniform sea of tents of her camp Several times he almost spoke but he had no idea what to say He didn�t have anything to say but he wanted

With a sigh Randidly turned away Then he reached both of his limbs up toward the sky until the joints of his shoulders and elbow popped and snapped Now that Vualla was gone some of the more mundane concerns were returning to him It wasn�t tiring exactly to move in this image body But because his image had become increasingly detailed there were some unfortunate side effects

For example Randidly was shocked to find that his feet were rather sore Or rather he imagined that they were sore which made them so Twisting around he looked at Zauna and Salazar The snake man straightened immediately and pounded his chest with a self important air

Ahem In m my world females often enjoy receiving the h headless corpses of common v v vermin

When Randidly raised his claw menacingly Salazar�s mouth clicked shut with a strangely satisfying noise Shaking his head at the foolishness of the more talkative of his two subordinates Randidly once more underlined the mental note to determine what sort of influence he had over them If it was possible to use some sort of punishment to improve their attitudes

shiny rocks

Randidly paused Then he twisted around and looked at Zauna Her face was completely stoic In the face of her unexpressive visage there was nothing Randidly could do but sigh and continue his walk across the no man�s land between the two camps

When they arrived back at the tent Yggdrasil nodded to the group while he continued to concentrate energy toward Ignition Essence Randidly walked to the far end of the tent and took his usual seat against the wall Zauna and Salazar filed in after him and took their own seats in the suddenly rather cramped tent It was three meters long and two long but Zauna�s stocky body took up quite a bit of space and Salazar seemed to like to drape himself over a large area

Randidly pressed his eyes closed and attempted to focus once more on improving the image of the Grim Chimera Any improvements he could add now would help him in the future These peaceful days were an important opportunity for preparation Iellaya wouldn�t have gone to the trouble of giving him two subordinates just test Yggdrasil�s recuperative powers Undoubtedly he would also be sent to increasingly difficult areas to fight

Which is just fine Randidly�s claw curled inward as his excitement bubbled out and tightened the muscles of his arm drawing deep furrows on the dirt floor of the tent If I can�t figure you what sort of fear that I am holding within me I�ll just drag it out by throwing myself into danger Even near death experiences are better than just sitting bored in Nether and feeling like I am getting slowly boiled

So Randidly tried to focus on making himself more refined and potent It didn�t work very well But the reason that Randidly grew increasingly distracted was not one that he had guarded himself against Rather a new realization came upon him

Randidly became very aware of the subtle influence of Iellaya�s image over the whole of her camp Its touch could be felt everywhere the place was steeped in it

Of course when Randidly had originally arrived at the camp with Zagnal he had also been hyper aware of that pervasive image It was the image equivalent of a scent it seemed to waft out of every aspect of the camp until it became completely ubiquitous Every inch of even the tent they were sitting in was soaked in Iellaya�s personal stench So much so that it was difficult for Randidly to initially parse apart exactly what he was sensing It was all too much at once

But the night walk across the entire front of the battlefield gave Randidly a bit of perspective Now that he returned he could distinctively feel the thin veil of image that swirled around them As indicated by the sharp cry Randidly had distantly sensed as Iellaya struck one of the inky tentacles in the sky Randidly felt the very powerful pride of an eagle

A vast eagle that could spread its wings and cover the sky

And pride wasn�t a grand enough word for what that eagle personified In it�s long and straight feathers were dominance and glory at the expense of all others It was the arrogance of the apex predator of the sky It was the regality of the King of the wide blue expanse that hung above the ground

Or the Queen

Randidly pursed his lips It seems that Vualla wasn�t kidding when she said there were weird rituals and worship going on in this camp drown in this image its no wonder that people are slowly brought around to her side And it has the added benefit of assuring that they will be completely loyal to her That dominance that�s included in the image is no joke

After identifying the problem Randidly was able to turn his attention inward and sniff out the presence of that image in himself As he examined his image body he could see that a thin film of his own image in his breath kept Iellaya�s influence away But when he really examined himself he found a few scraps of her eagle cry that had likely been instinctively brought in for support when he had come back from the Great Rift bloodied and wounded

It took some time but Randidly ripped out these minor threads and healed his Grim Chimera image to its whole state This was exactly the sort of karma that Randidly could not afford to sew right now His path was not of the subordinate but of a ruler in his own right He might no longer have a Crown but now Randidly Ghosthound Reigned

Afterward Randidly�s attention shifted to the fragile image bodies of his two subordinates Iellaya�s image was surprisingly scant around them Of course Randidly could see that neither was as instinctively on guard against it as he himself was Likely that was due to the suspicion and paranoia inherent to the Grim Chimera It was constantly assessing the surrounding environment for possible threats and taking countermeasures

Which isn�t the fear I�m looking for Randidly frowned It�s just one of the rare areas that I�m prudent

But as he examined their images they were relatively untouched Which came as quite the surprise considering that Randidly had expected them to be spies against him that were deeply in Iellaya�s pockets As he had noticed when Salazar was talking at the snakeman�s core burned an extremely bright and powerful image So much so that Randidly couldn�t help but feel a grudging respect for the talkative fellow Even Randidly didn�t have that much raw force to his existence

Zauna well Zauna was a lot like the stone that she resembled although Iellaya�s image had grown thickly on her exterior like some sort of psychic moss it didn�t touch any of her inner portions Even so Randidly hesitated for a few moments before spreading out a mantle of ash to cover them both and force Iellaya�s image away It wasn�t easy or clean or completely thorough but it still severely reduced their exposure to it Both of them twitched a few times while it was happening but Randidly was careful to keep hostility out of the action By the end of it it didn�t seem like either noticed

Better safe than sorry

While Randidly slowly refined his understanding of this place and Iellaya�s image time once more slipped between his fingers The mental was an area of constant toil Soon he finally received word that it was time the moment had arrived for their first group sortie

Chapter 1060

The trio popped into existence in the Great Rift with a muted smack Salazar immediately began shivering and rubbing his scaly shoulders as the Nether began to bite and snap at their relatively vulnerable image flesh Zauna simply floated in the vast space filled with intermittent blue veins seemingly at ease despite the obvious corrosion of her body Both looked to him for guidance

Randidly�s eyes glowed emerald Ash billowed outward in waves driving back the Nether and giving the group a brief respite from the Nether

It wasn�t impossible to push back the Nether without Aether Aether just functioned as a weapon for someone to use that could strike directly at the substance of the Nether and weaken it so your image would have an easier time making itself at home It pretty directly corresponded to the difference between convincing a stranger to give you their wallet and using the threat of a gun to coerce them into doing so

But of course the Grim Chimera was very persuasive In this case it just wouldn�t take no for an answer

Yet it was also an extremely draining exercise Only a small area of Nether was currently suppressed by the weight of Randidly�s will and already the familiar buzz of a headache was emerging Without Aether to ground the shift the area would immediately revert to primordial Nether when he stopped pressing against the substance of the world

Randidly glanced sideways at Salazar I�ll hold it up while you get your bearings Afterward you will stay toward the back and keep this area filled with an image while Zauna and I handle any Nether beasts

Immediately Salazar began to twitch and wring his hands His thin and pink tongue flicked out between his lips I d don�t think that�s f f f for the b best I can�t

Some part of Randidly died as he opened his mouth to speak The worst sort of hells are the ones you bring upon yourself willingly and knowingly Don�t think about it Just tell your favorite story About yourself I�m sure it will work out

Zauna nodded in agreement and Salazar immediately brightened R really Well if you are sure ahem ohohoho it�s so embarrassing to have you beg for stories like this but I suppose I can�t say that I�m not used to it ah now which to tell there are simply so many deed and adventures that would leave the world shocked

He hadn�t even started the story but Randidly already felt some of the pressure on his will wane As Salazar worked up a head of steam his image billowed outward away from him An incorporeal phantom that Randidly had to assume was Salazar�s vision of himself began to manifest directly above the trio The phantom resembled Salazar in so much that it was also of the same race but that was where the similarities ended

This phantom had powerfully muscled limbs that flexed constantly as it prowled And weirdly it was constantly walking back and forth and twisting to reveal a snake fang smile over his shoulder as if it was a model prancing about on a catwalk Its tail was as thick as a dolphin�s flicking back and forth with serpentine grace

Ahem I suppose the best place to start is the day I was born My mother was a princess in exile the secret descendant of Salashak the ancient emperor who had once conquered the world

Randidly did his best to ignore Salazar and let his senses expand outward as the snakeman�s image surrounded them all and granted him a measure of respite Immediately he grimaced as he examined the Great Rift around them Not as bad as the mission from the Beacon of Duty but that Nether Well is pretty damn close

Randidly could also sense five nether beasts immediately swarming toward their position None were as large as the one batbeast Randidly had faced but each was close to that size But what really caused his mood to dip was the heavy pulse of the Nether Well against the edge of his awareness Distance was hard to judge here in the Great Rift but Randidly felt how the strange Nether Well slowed as soon as they appeared

It seemed like it was turning around to head for their position A small resonance began to build in his chest but Randidly was used enough to such feelings that he didn�t allow it to distract him Which of course meant that the resonance grew and it became even more distracting But still Randidly�s focus was drawn elsewhere at the moment by the weight of necessity

Randidly spared Salazar a glance and then spoke loudly to drown out his voice Zauna I doubt he can maintain this if he gets spooked so we will need to leave the bubble to intercept the Nether beasts You take the two heading up from below and I�ll manage the other three pieces of shit If you can�t kill them just stall I�ll handle the fucking rest

Randidly�s heart was pounding Hot imaginary blood surged through his limbs If the Grim Chimera would sweat he would be sweating The thought of the wild conflict that was about to occur sent tingles through Randidly�s entire body And waiting beyond these Nether beasts was the Nether Well He hadn�t fought one before but

can�t see them coming

Randidly blinked and refocused on Zauna�s muttered words You can�t feel them coming They

The resonance in Randidly�s chest built until it popped up in the form of a notification

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Nether Sensation Lvl 1 After your body�s slow adaption to Nether the state of the surrounding substance becomes increasingly clear

Nether Sensation Increases effectiveness of your evolved Perception stat in areas dominated by Nether In addition gives you some understanding as to the perverse laws of the Nether Effects increase with Skill Level

Immediately Randidly�s awareness reached outward and seized the Great Rift In addition he became acutely aware of a strange sort of pattern to the Nether Beasts� movements In a short amount of time he couldn�t figure out exactly how they were moving but it suddenly occurred to him that the way each moved had distinct similarities If he could grasp the pattern

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 2

Shaking his head Randidly pointed quickly twice down toward the approaching monsters There and there They should arrive a few seconds apart so you might want to engage the first as hard as you can to attract the second

For the first time since they had met Randidly saw Zauna tilt her head to the side and open her mouth Which weirdly meant that the upper half of her head moved upward a tiny bit in a similar way to a puppet would be made to look while it was speaking handle three

Randidly chuckled Honestly I wish it was more Ten seconds until they get here Don�t let them touch this bubble or else we will need to endure the Nether for the rest of our stay here

And that was when the jealous mongoose leapt out of the bog Salazar continued to enthusiastically tell his story his eyes so filled with stars that he didn�t even notice that his audience had drifted away Which at least also meant he would not easily notice the approaching Nether Beasts From its belt it drew a curved dagger which it licked provocatively while gazing at my heavily pregnant mother

Randidly shuddered Even letting his concentrate slip for a second let too much of Salazar�s story into his mind It would be a while before he could scrape his consciousness clean So instead of staying inside the bubble of Salazar�s image while he could Randidly deliberately left the safety early and floated out into the caustic Nether

His skin began to burn Randidly�s breath came faster and rougher

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 119

Yea that�s the stuff Randidly grinned out into the vast void around them Now that he was out within the Nether his feel for the surrounding area grew even more acute But there was still too much strangeness to parse apart and Randidly didn�t have the time or attention to give the environment his consideration

Randidly inhaled His heart was pounding The fire was burning in his chest

Grim Chimera exhaled its murderous appendages tingling in anticipation

With a roar the first Nether Beast arrived It was not a jellyfish or a bat but this time something that looked like a cross between an angler fish and an eel With its milky eyes slick and bulging body and strange wiggling singular antenna it certainly fit the part of a strange monster from a different dimension better than the prior two types of beasts Randidly encountered

But ultimately its form didn�t matter

Randidly ripped forward Such was his momentum that he practically cut through the sizzling Nether as he shot forward toward the Nether Beast While he was moving Randidly�s entire focus narrowed to the tip of his bone spear All the weight and momentum he could muster was thrust and compacted into that singular point The tip of his spear rumbled ominously even though the sound was dampened by the Nether around him The Nether Beast twisted but Randidly was too quick the beast�s body was punctured like a balloon hit with knife

Nether splashed outward in a wave as Randidly�s tightly compacted image smashed into the core of the Nether Beast Unfortunately Randidly felt the core crack but it didn�t completely shatter And its two fellow Nether Beast�s roared down at Randidly�s back

Congratulations your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 201

Randidly spun away earning two shallow gashes across his back where the antenna of the attackers scored hits Scanning quickly Randidly determined that Zauna had successfully stopped the other two beasts and focused back on his own opponents The Nether Beast Randidly had struck originally was gathering itself together but its fellows flipped around and shot after him Grinning Randidly spread his arms wide and welcomed them with talon and spear

Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Randidly pulled deeply at the surrounding space The Nether Beasts stalled for a split second as his image smashed against them but Randidly missed that opportunity to strike because he paused briefly as well

Because when he pulled Randidly�s will caught on the wafting image that Salazar was madly producing as he grew increasingly fervent in his storytelling And when that image was pulled toward Randidly it funneled into his body and was transformed into strength And strength in the body of the Grim Chimera became confidence in violence

When the two Nether Beasts attacked him Randidly didn�t dodge He simply raised his spear and activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes once more The Skill propelled him forward so he smashed directly into the skull of the left Nether Beast and this time both the outer bubble and the core was completely destroyed Wreathed in a nova of Nether guts and gore Randidly began to laugh

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 173

While the first Nether Beast continued to try and restore the Nether hemorrhaging from its core Randidly�s emerald eyes locked onto his last remaining prey in prime condition Come on then don�t you dare disappoint me

Chapter 1061

Inwardly Zauna sighed as she considered the two sinuous beasts that shot out of the vast blackness below her and struck in a whip of Nether and violence just as Mr Ghosthound had indicated that they would Interesting that She moved her body in front of the quicker of the two and forcibly endured its charge

Her body shuddered from the blast of Nether but Zauna Tjak could sense that her torso could endure this level of impact One of the many benefits of her people was that even their images were heavily reinforced with a hard outer exterior it just came with the territory No matter what her body would endure

Of course she would need to because the second Nether Beast looped around its companion and slashed at her leg with its antenna Zauna channeled her image of eternity into her leg and the strike glanced off without leaving any lasting mark But now the two were circling her aiming for her blind spots

Just break me please

Although her oath to Abiodun kept her from actually aiming for her own death Zauna felt it justified to sneak a glance toward her commanding officer while the two beasts swarmed around her That was a reasonable course of action in this situation to check in on how his fight was progressing He was facing against three of the Nether Beasts at once after all Protecting companions was an integral part of the army

And one aspect of the oath Abiodun had extracted from her was that she needed to obey all of Randidly Ghosthound�s commands for the duration of his stay at the frontlines So if he requested help now and she was forced to expose some slight weakness in order to rush to his aid

Deliberately she looked to the side And then Zauna�s eyes barely registered the blur of motion before a flailing Nether Beast smashed into one of the two enemies that were circling behind her back A split second later Randidly Ghosthound himself crashed into the other Nether Beast in an explosion of gore and Nether residue Some splashed onto Zauna

Is he laughing Zauna tilted her head to the side How can he enjoy this hell Wouldn�t it just be easier to roll over and die

He was laughing too it wasn�t her imagination She watched as he twisted away from the flailing sludge he left of the first Nether Beast he smashed into and thrust his spear directly into the skull of the second one Then he used his left claw to forcibly seize and rip the vicious antenna off of its head in a gesture so overpowering that Zauna was forced to admit that today was not the day she would finally be free

Tossing the antenna to the side Randidly struck again with his claw and ripped several deep gashes in the Nether Beast�s head The beast that he had thrown earlier recovered slightly and lashed out toward him But the Ghosthound simply breathed in a way that Zauna couldn�t understand and the colors of his body were abruptly so vivid and sharp that it hurt to look at him directly And when he moved he seemed to completely avoid the mundane difficulties of traveling through space and instead just displaced himself several meters away

He was unstoppable

His raptor like leg stomped downward shattering the Nether Beast�s skull like it was rotten fruit Then grey motes of ash blasted out from him in a wave and gradually disintegrated the remnants within a few seconds

Zauna floated in the vast darkness completely still Some part of her felt disappointment that this was not the day where she would finally die and be free from her oath but the larger part of her was flooded with a grand sense of awe

She watched the slow rise and fall of the Ghosthound�s chest as he breathed here in the Great Rift Which of course was impossible because she was aware that he was an image as she was She could see small distortions at his edges were the Nether was eating away at him but it seemed like some part of him was meant to be here fighting in this lonely darkness He seemed completely at ease

More than at ease He was thriving

Perhaps he finally condensed his first star That does help you resist the Nether Zauna thought dubiously as she examined his body But she had received quite a bit of information from Abiodun as preparation for this repayment of her great debt And from what she had learned from Abiodun�s explanation the effect of earning a Nether Star shouldn�t be so sudden or drastic Otherwise the mortality rate of images on the frontlines wouldn�t be so gruesome

You alright

Zauna twitched several seconds later as she realized that the Ghosthound was talking to her She nodded quickly forcefully bound to answer honestly on a very surface level to any question that he asked In actual fact however Zauna believed she could have worked herself up to a no if she had concentrated on her depression for long enough prior to him asking But what would saying no really accomplish

Then he would remove her from danger thinking her status was related to damage from Nether And she would lose her one outlet to end this life Which was exactly the opposite of what she was aiming for

It would be better if he believed that she was completely fine so she would receive more dangerous assignments

After nodding Randidly floated back down toward the area of Aether conjured by Salazar He had not slowed in the slightest in their absence nor had he noticed any disturbances But then again Randidly Ghosthound had been able to eliminate five Nether Beasts in a little less than ten seconds All without taking any damage

But to Zauna�s shock after the Ghosthound returned to the safety bubble of Aether he seemed somewhat diminished A lot of the luster went out of his body and it was easier to see the damage that the Nether had inflicted on him His spear of a right arm was still sizzling and the claw of his left hand was missing one of its talons

Not without damage then but he took all the damage selfishly onto himself

Zauna felt an impulse to ask the Ghosthound how he was faring but she was also under compulsion not to volunteer any information and speak only when spoken to As such she could only convey her concern in the stance of her body but the Ghosthound was too preoccupied with his own struggles to notice that she loomed over him in a protective manner

And because only ten seconds had passed Salazar was still in the midst of his rather amusing story And to that my mother replied I will never surrender because the son that will be born from me will be cunning enough to devour the whole world And his name will be Salazar � and the mongoose and its rat minions fled in fear from my name as on top of that volcano

Despite the fact that the fighting hadn�t grabbed Salazar�s attention at all he immediately shut up when the Ghosthound slowly raised his claw and clicked two talons together It seemed that the effect of the threat wasn�t diminished at all by the mission talon

With the small tail on his neck flicking side to side Randidly lowered his claw No need to continue let�s save the rest of the story for times where we are in a more peaceful situation It�s hard to concentrate on your virtues out here in the Great Rift

Salazar nodded and gulped visibly The effect of his image on the surrounding area rapidly began to shrink but such had been the strength of Salazar�s belief in his own stories that it had grown into quite a large area in the time he had been talking They would probably have a few minutes longer of rest before all of it was eaten away by the Nether

The Ghosthound reached up and scratched his neck I�d like to congratulate everyone but we aren�t out of the woods yet Something big is heading our way It might be what they call a Nether Well has either of you encountered one before

Zauna shook her head mutely but a surge of excitement started rising in her chest

Salazar blinked several times Well this is my first battle without an Aether Key

Cracking the bones of his neck the Ghosthound shrugged Then I suppose we will go in blind That�s fine I�ve been waiting for a challenge

And although Zauna would like nothing more than for herself to finally be killed and therefore freed of her oath the Ghosthound�s words were quite alarming Because you didn�t fight Nether Wells You ran away from them lest they seize your body and corrupt you with their strange energies That was the reason that Nether Wells were so dangerous the people who encountered Nether Wells weren�t technically killed

Just like the stars Nether itself generally had a core and a bubble People were seized by the Nether Wells were worn like a suit becoming the bubble� around their core The individuals probably knew something was wrong of course but they were largely overwhelmed by the evil of the Nether Wells They would wait almost unconscious pumping out Nether constantly until someone else returned to send them back to the staging area

Which was exactly how the tragedy of the recent attack on the one camp had occurred Someone who was just constantly pumping out Nether was sent directly back to a staging area rapidly destroying and destabilizing the surrounding area

Look at me Zauna thought desperately She took several hesitant steps closer to the Ghosthound But his eyes were pressed closed and he seemed to be using whatever trick he had utilized earlier to sense the approach of the Nether Beasts I can�t volunteer information but if you ask the right questions

But of course what questions would he need to ask Something akin to should we fight the Nether Well� Which was an impossible question for a superior officer to ask subordinates and be taken seriously

Zauna sought oblivion but she had enjoyed these peaceful few days serving out her sentence under the Ghosthound much more than she had expected It was the worst sort of torture to think that these lives would be ended because of her Because she had the information to save them but she was not able to share it with the group in time

As Zauna watched the Ghosthound stretched out his spear and pressed it passed the edge of the dispersing image and into the Great Rift Immediately his eyes snapped open to reveal the warm green of the deep forest in summer It was a gaze filled with light and life It was the look of a determined man who trusted his own ability to survive

And so soon you will die Zauna thought bleakly It was cold comfort to know that she would also be joining him

About ten minutes The Ghosthound grunted That�s how long we have until it arrives Make your preparations this fight won�t be easy

Chapter 1062

In such a short amount of time there was only so much that Randidly could do to repair the damage to his image Not that he had experienced any truly dangerous wounds in the short and violent fight but he had gotten so caught up in the heat of battle that he had directly exposed himself to the dense cores of Nether much more often than was necessary Emotions had gotten the better of him after his last boring sortie into the Great Rift

It was only light superficial damage as he punctured and popped the bodies of the Nether Beasts but it added up And as always in the Great Rift this was ultimately an endurance contest It wasn�t enough to just defeat these foes but there was also the reinforcements and the environment itself that he would need to cope with

Randidly shook his head roughly trying to dislodge the distracting thoughts Even if the healing he could accomplish was small he needed to give the process his entire attention That was how he would survive

And to the Grim Chimera survival was everything

Finally a foe worth fighting too Randidly shivered in excitement before allowing everything else to fall away but the form of the Grim Chimera that hovered before his eyes As before the faint echo of the original image that was used by the main body could be faintly perceived There were an increasing number of things that were different about his current form to the main body�s image but that didn�t bother Randidly too much In fact Randidly believed that a lot of the changes he had main since splitting off from the main body were improvements

What he was looking for was potency The specific details didn�t matter so much as the fact that there were details associated with the image Heaviness reality and weight were the touchstones of his refinement And Randidly was proud of his work

After so many sorties into the Nether the skin of the Grim Chimera had taken on an extremely sickly quality It had always been rather grey with large flaking chunks but now there were thick black veins pulsing visibly across his torso and arms As his skin visibly paled and thinned the tenacity of the image actually strengthened his resistance to the Nether But it did mean that the shuddering movements of his internal organs were partially visible

Still Vualla didn�t seem to mind

Shaking his head in irritation at the sudden distraction Randidly once more banished the thoughts and focused his attention inward Then as an afterthought he checked the approach of the Nether Well with Nether Sensation Probably two more minutes Time enough for a few small things stay focused Randidly

Salazar�s image was almost completely devoured by the Great Rift but Randidly couldn�t deny that some of the low thrum of pain from Nether was starting to grow on him Just like the Eidolon Reign it was a constant grind that would force him to grow stronger Even if it was uncomfortable that sensation of growth was enough to keep him addicted

And he would need it Just feeling the weight of the Nether Well against his senses caused Randidly to shiver in a mixture of anticipation and dread These were fundamentally different beings than the Nether Beasts that was clear Rather than a monster that fought and killed in the Nether these Nether wells seemed to be the pillars that held the Great Rift up And it didn�t escape Randidly�s notice that this was the foe that so destroyed the camp of Vualla�s father

Randidly gritted his teeth I�m not fucking afraid

Both Salazar turned to look at him Nether hissed idly at the skin of each as they both watched him with wide eyes

Randidly scratched his chin with his neck tail and tried to think of something to break the silence the Nether Well is gonna arrive soon Get ready for battle I�ll engage first Zauna follow up and see if you can figure out its weak point If you see a chance hit hard Salazar I suppose you can continue your story where you previously left off

Salazar brightened immediately but then it tilted its head to the side and looked at Randidly curiously Don�t they say that the first person to engage a Nether Well usually dies

Chewing on the inside of his cheek Randidly considered Salazar Do they say that I haven�t heard much about Nether Wells

they do Zauna whispered with remarkable volume

Randidly looked at her and chuckled when he saw her stoic expression This woman maybe she and Abiodun have more in common than just their race Bloodthirsty fuckers So I suppose what you are saying is that you think I shouldn�t engage first Are you volunteering

Yes Zauna said

Denied Randidly shook his head This one is mine You can fight the next Nether Well we fight alright

From her stance it was clear that Zauna didn�t agree with his decision But she kept her mouth shut simply expressing her significant volume of displeasure from a dead stare from her flickering eyes She at least was much easier to handle than the snakeman and his unpredictable behavior

Chuckling again Randidly turned away and looked out into the darkness Thirty seconds Salazar Get started with that story will ya

A ah Oh ahem W where was I Salazar looked at Randidly and Zauna as though he actually wanted an answer

Randidly cleared his throat meaningfully as Salazar continued to remain silent Twenty seconds

O oh I suppose just picking up anywhere would be fine so a as I w was saying I was born and the v volcano underneath my mother erupted in an explosion of molten metal glory heralding my arrival

Randidly gritted his teeth to ignore the constant drivel from Salazar but that struggle only lasted a moment For the next moment he saw the approach of the Nether Well

Unlike the horrid and strange creatures he had encountered thus far this was bright At first Randidly believed that it was something akin to the personification of the blue veins of the Great Rift but then he realized that it was just that the Nether Well had the veins chasing after it like a school of fish hiding in the shadow of a whale

It was also bright There was a piercing light to it that seemed to appear so suddenly and abruptly in the vast emptiness that Randidly couldn�t help but blink in shock It wasn�t light not quite But Randidly supposed that it was the closest Nether had to light

It flowed out like a silvery moonlight liquid in thin membranous waves It ebbed and flowed after the rushing form of the Nether Well like a diaphanous cloak Randidly�s breath caught in his throat as he looked at it It was the milky way personified It glittered and gleamed a lake reflecting the infinite stars at night

Because the last realization that struck Randidly was exactly how beautiful the Nether Well was And then it had arrived and only instincts from years of receiving threats from all sides propelled Randidly out of the image bubble to clash against the approaching doom before it hit them all at once

It was like a spear of quicksilver sliding through the Great Rift with thousands of blue veins spiraling behind it Randidly peered closely at it and realized that those veins were dancing As the seconds ticked past the spear seemed to grow larger and larger and the sea of blue veins became so fast that the Great Rift was transformed into an actual ocean Randidly�s eyes widened as he realized that much of what he was seeing wasn�t the actual Nether Well it was just the wave of extremely dense Nether that the Nether Well was dragging along with it

Swearing quietly Randidly gestured sharply at Zauna Change of plans Stand directly behind me Even if we survive the Nether Well we will just end up being washed away by the thick Nether it�s bringing with it if we don�t act intelligently

Zauna glowered at Randidly for a second so that he worried that she wouldn�t agree to his plan But then she nodded and shifted back behind him She even took the time to drift backward and move the babbling Salazar into line with the three of them

Twisting around Randidly faced the Nether Well with only a few seconds to spare He breathed in he breathed out His skin began to flake away like it was being exposed to nuclear radiation on an extremely high scale That certainly made his eyes narrow Even the vanguard of the Nether wave was thick enough to significantly damage his skin Which made him believe that his worries about the depths of this wave�s power were well founded

Randidly�s limbs began to tingle The sizzling of Randidly�s skin began to rise toward a crescendo The vibrating quicksilver spear seemed to take up the entirety of Randidly�s vision It was buzzing all light and wave and liquid energy It was so vast and bright that it blotted out the wave of blue veins that was surging behind it

To his own surprise Randidly looked inside himself and really found no fear Which was something of a relief to him As he had thought earlier this was not what he was afraid of It was something much more terrible that had worked its way insidiously inside him That traitorous fear at least wasn�t this weak

Closing his eyes Randidly braced himself His awareness slid outward over his body What is within without And what is without within I am the Grim Chimera and this place will not be my grave

There was a moment of waiting then there was the moment of impact The Nether arrived first thick and acidic

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 121

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 122

Randidly had believed it would be a momentous meeting that would jar even his consciousness with its concussive force but it wasn�t not really There was the immediate upward escalation of the rate at which his image was being eroded to an alarming degree but that didn�t send waves through Randidly He could stand firm against the flood of Nether that crashed against him

No when the Nether Well arrived it was gentle As Randidly�s consciousness became increasingly fuzzy at the edges under the constant assault of Nether the Nether Well itself flitted forward like a small fish

Honestly Randidly was reminded of a compact galaxy as he saw it approach It was a spinning disc of specks of cosmic light Like the entirety of its entourage it was breathtakingly beautiful The sort of natural beauty that you could describe but couldn�t convey But it was also shooting unerringly toward Randidly�s chest He braced for the impact but once more it didn�t matter

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 123

When it hit him it slipped right through his defenses Rather than impacting the image it seemed to phase into another plane of existence and appear inside of his chest Suddenly it was there curled tightly next to all the inner workings of the image of the Grim Chimera blasting out Nether every second The images at the core of the Grim Chimera were made of sterner stuff than the edges but even the core couldn�t last long underneath that constant barrage of Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 124

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 13

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 125

It was like standing next to a hot water jet in a hot tub but this jet was spewing out molten plasma His body was softening very rapidly under the constant assault The pain was spiking upward even as Randidly began to gather himself

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 126

He prepared all of his mental faculties to force an ejection of it but then the Nether Well started to do a strange thing it sent out thin silver tendrils that began to touch and surround all of his Grim Chimera images Silver light flowed rapidly out protecting Randidly from the constant surge of Nether

Which was good but at the same time Randidly felt increasingly light headed The Nether Well was just blasting out Nether into the surrounding area in an intoxicating feeling of release Randidly�s conscious began to be dragged away lost in the flood of genesis that was now assimilating into his image body

But Randidly�s Willpower was heavy from the constant sharpening of the Eidolon Crucible He resisted the enticing pull of the Aether For the first time since that first battle in the vastness of the Great Rift Randidly felt an overwhelming flash of rage that emerged from something outside of himself it seemed that the main body was watching what was occurring Immediately several thick currents of Aether filled Randidly�s core ready to be unleashed to destroy and reject the strange actions of the Nether Well

As Randidly seized that Aether that appeared within himself the pull of the sensation of releasing Nether seized him once more For a brief moment he was dizzy But the red hot rage of the main body surged again and Randidly was able to snap back to himself Yet that brief interlude of mindlessness had brought a single thought to Randidly�s attention one that had been previously buried beneath the sensation of the experience

And his emerald eyes began to glow as Randidly turned that thought over in his mind

You know this sensation feels a lot like what the main body felt when he started seriously pumping Aether out of his Aether Crossroad When he released so much that he almost got lost in it

Chapter 1063

While Randidly narrowed his focus and immerse himself in the sensation the sense of fulfillment from the expulsion of Nether once more threatened to engulf him As much as he had been reinforced from his repeated successes over the Eidolon Crucible it was still dangerous to expose himself to too much to its influence

Which was exactly the opinion of the main body that Randidly could feel through the anger helplessness and fear that was radiating palpably through their connection Randidly wasting his time testing the sensation was not bringing the main body any sense of security

Randidly pressed his lips into a line And suddenly you are completely capable of understanding what is going on with me huh How convenient

Then again the arrival of the Nether Well in his chest was probably an extremely noticeable event for the main body Suddenly one of the images was being isolated from outside influences and also became a font of Nether which had thus far proven to be an extremely destabilizing influence on all of Randidly

No not yet Randidly ignored the increasingly desperate flow of Aether from the main body and immersed himself in the Nether Well that was quickly ingratiating itself into his existence The sensation of wholeness from release grew and grew until it became all Randidly could sense The sensation of his image body faded away to nothing The feeling was so consuming that even his sharpened will wavered But suddenly Randidly sensed that the Nether Well had completely finished connecting to him

At this point they had become one

The natural thrill in that knowledge was primal Just like with an Aether Crossroads it was profoundly instinctually rewarding to be part of this eternal cycle of energy So much so that the first time one experienced the sensation it was too overwhelming to parse apart You could only allow yourself to be swept away by it

Of course Randidly realized he had been correct before this was not his first time experiencing this sensation It was exactly the same as releasing Aether

This is what happens with Nether Wells Randidly abruptly realized They latch onto images and become one with them But the image is surprised b the feeling of release and completely lets their sense of self be washed away They become suicide bombers eventually

Yet I wonder if the Nether Well does this purposefully there isn�t any malice that I can feel from the Nether Well itself it is simply a facet of the natural world It fulfills its purpose But that doesn�t mean that there aren�t entities that release Nether Wells toward the Aether Zone purposefully

Yet all those thoughts were too light to exist anymore and were born away in the flood of Nether emerging now from Randidly�s core Everything without weight was dragged away Randidly didn�t attempt to hold onto those minor thoughts at all instead he allowed them to be dragged inexorably away in the swirl of Nether What remained was purpose and Randidly honed and hammered that until it was hard as a diamond and as cutting as a butcher knife Then he began to follow the flow of Nether

It was not an easy journey His mind shook and ebbed His awareness was becoming fuzzy from the accumulated wounds his image body had suffered in the initial surge of Nether Without repairs he was slowly degrading Still Randidly persevered allowing his perception to swim outward in that wide sea

Because to pull back the exploding flood of Nether Randidly would need to allow himself to go to the very edge of this expulsion He would need to be completely lost in it

Because then he would find the core So Randidly swam ripping through the tangled lines of gleaming moonlight around him

Although Randidly tried his best to trim unnecessary thoughts the escalating emotions from the main body were a constant source of instability And every wavering moment of hesitation would cost him so Randidly was forced to stop in his pursuit and pivot to address the main body�s demands

With brutal intensity the main body pressed with his Willpower thrusting Aether out toward Randidly and demanding that he use it to reverse whatever was happening And the main body really leaned on him demanding that something be done

Do you trust me Randidly asked solemnly This is not what we need to fear

The main body hesitated Some of the weight was removed The Aether coiled ineffectually inside Randidly�s chest waiting for an outlet

I want to try Randidly said again He hated how soft the words sounded even to him But he couldn�t deny that the main body was the source of everything He felt an almost instinctual subserviency to it Which was infuriating

It was also true

This was his rebellious stand however He would not give in on this issue The Nether Well shouldn�t be expelled There was potential here Randidly truly wanted to see the end of this

The Nether continued to batter at Randidly�s distracted sense of purpose while the main body weighed the decision Randidly felt the fuzziness dig inward from the edges of his mind seeking to corrupt his core

Please hurry

There was a pause and then a sigh that reverberated through Randidly�s entire existence Such a choice is dangerous You will become a monster Not literally but something that the System hates to his core Something even more reviled than a Heretic In its mind Aether and Nether cannot coexist We have already attracted so much attention it is dangerous to take on another aspect of the unusual

Monsters have long claws

So they do And it�s not like the System has ever been our ally For a split second a vicious smile reverberated through their connection One that was immediately mirrored on Randidly�s own face And then the main body withdrew his focus taking his Aether with it

Just as quickly Randidly twisted himself back into the tempered knife of purpose and allowed himself to be born outward by the wave of instinctual release It was difficult to get a sense of time but everything seemed too fast to handle and too slow to escape

Randidly was growing drowsy The darkness and liquid moonlight lapped around him urging him to let go of his tight fisted purpose and stay here in the dappled light Disperse his tight will become a part of the vast flood Oneness beckoned him

It would be so easy to release all of the tight tension in Randidly�s body Immediately all the hatred and secret fear that lined the Grim Chimera�s core would disperse When he became a part of the flood of light nothing would need to bother him anymore He would have an infinite number of others just like him that had become a part of the Oneness Accepting that Oneness would mean transcending his individual emotions

He would be free the moonlight Nether whispered

The small kernel of Randidly�s will bobbed up and down as it was born outward in the deep waves of gleaming Nether Farther and farther deeper and deeper The sea seemed to have no end and Randidly was comparatively so small

So far and so long Randidly traveled without reaching the edge of this vast flood Without being able to touch the core of the Nether Well and attempt to taper off its flow And he began to wonder whether it was worth it to continue this struggle It was a thought that he struggled against but it kept re emerging to distract him

As long as he refused to accept the Nether it burned and devoured him It was a hungry thing And out here completely submerged in the Nether Randidly was entirely alone

The Grim Chimera shivered And that small spike of fear brought with it a burning clarity to Randidly�s mind The fire in his core exploded outward in emerald brilliance

This is exactly what I�m afraid of I�m so terribly afraid of being alone forever

Then join us � the Oneness of the Nether around Randidly whispered We are never alone We are One If you become One your fear will disappear �

As he was pulled even farther outward Randidly considered that It was difficult to think but somehow he knew that he could not take the decision lightly The small motes of uncompromised consciousness scoured the problem Clockwork gears whirred the most exterior and superfluous slowing down and stopping

Randidly was drifting while thinking

The Oneness is perfect The Oneness is complete The Oneness �

Is alone isn�t it The fire of consciousness flared brighter in Randidly�s chest The gears of Randidly�s mind began to tick rhythmically The Grim Chimera clicked its sharp teeth in time with the thoughts to maintain its clarity You spread and destroy everything you touch You annihilate all others or absorb them into the Oneness You are just as afraid as I am aren�t you If you are One you are alone

We are not afraid � The Oneness roared The quicksilver moonlight stretched and arched into violent blades of light that spiraled dangerously around the kernel of Randidly�s will

But the Grim Chimera just smiled If you claim to be alive you cannot be afraid all the time Don�t let the fear control you

WE ARE NOT AFRAID � The surrounding Nether began to rumble Like the floodgates opening Nether at a volume hitherto unheard of smashed into Randidly It ate and ate a jealous spiteful thing filled with fear

Shaking his head Randidly reached out and grasped the core of the Nether Well It was so close that Randidly couldn�t believe he had missed it before That terrible loneliness felt like home to him It urged him to join the unending flood of negative emotion into the world flooding away all the rest of existence in a futile attempt to prove that he was also not afraid of loneliness

Well I am afraid Randidly said quietly And he pictured Vualla her face streaked with tears

Randidly reached out to the edge of the Nether Well and began to pull It was like a spigot that had gone out of control and Randidly had the tiresome task of slowly tightening the bolts to reduce the flood of Nether from it All the while the sense of Oneness continued to try and tempt him into joining it

Randidly was alone true and lonely for it But that was okay He saw again Vualla�s tears We aren�t the only lonely ones in the world you know

If the time to reach the edge seemed confusing time slowly and gradually controlling the flood of Nether was even more difficult Because the expulsion of energy was an escalating thing it should have gotten easier the longer he worked at it Yet the effort weighed on him like a mountain every short step of the way It was a wall of Nether constantly wailing for release

Randidly tightened the spigot

Randidly tightened

Randidly didn�t dare stop lest he never start again

Chapter 1064

Time was grey and rattling like a snake The light from Randidly�s mind slowly dimmed so it was barely lit All that was left was the continual struggle

At some point Randidly tightened and immediately something was different Then while his face slowly shifted into a frown he tried tightening again He blinked owlishly as the sensation once more informed him that something was wrong

His remaining thoughts buzzed around him like heavy bees in the height of summer Those individual thoughts were definitely making noise but it was hard to understand them through the constant drone he was hearing Sensations were such complicated things that Randidly remained perplexed for quite some time by their strangeness So instead Randidly did his best to ignore the pesky thoughts and returned to what he knew he tightened

Ah Randidly blinked again I�m done But

His awareness blearily wandered down to the Nether Well that now sat docilely in his chest Just like his thoughts had been his whole image body was buzzing Which even a distinctly out of it Randidly knew was not a good sign But Randidly remained focused and quickly arrived before the Nether Well

One problem at a time

The reason that he didn�t think he was done was because there was still a thin flow of Nether that was trickling out of the Nether Well But despite that no matter how much Randidly strained against the Nether Well it wouldn�t shut all the way The flow remained

Randidly�s bleary mind tried to remember if the Aether Crossroads had either been completely closed and concluded rather quickly that it really hadn�t perhaps it was impossible to close such things As such his long trial was finally completed Or at least the first portion of the trial was completed

Let�s see if it behaves

Settling down on his mental haunches Randidly closely watched the Nether Well for any changes after he had finished tightening it The worst case scenario was that it would slowly force itself open while he wasn�t paying attention reducing him to a bomb Considering the fact that Randidly�s current watching abilities essentially amounted to blinking and hoping that too much time didn�t pass between blinks such a result would be catastrophic for him

Randidly blinked Darkness was a timeless place that Randidly dived into and from which he then emerged

Nothing seemed to have changed Randidly did his best to suppress the urge to yawn He was supremely drowsy and not in the Eidolon Crucible was about to arrive kind of way He was exhausted because he had pushed too hard for too long His image was in shambles and some of that damage ran to the very core of the Grim Chimera

The kind of drowsy that means I�m near my end That send a spike of vivifying energy into Randidly He shook himself Nothing brought the Grim Chimera�s focus to a point than the looming threat of death

Time trickled past His heart rate was erratic Randidly abruptly realized he had stopped paying attention to the Nether Well and shifted his attention back

Nothing had changed

Well if its opening it�s very slow Randidly tried to tighten the Nether Well again and it still wouldn�t budge And since he trusted the sensation of tightening more than he trusted his current vision on the thin flow of Nether Randidly assumed that perhaps he would be okay to turn his attention elsewhere Perhaps to the deep wounds to his image he had received while trying to control the flow of Nether Where it was drastically fucking needed

But before Randidly completely turned away to focus on other things he created a tight spiral of Nether in his chest where it would continue to flow He still remembered some of the problems that resulted from the tepid Aether the main body had encountered Although he had no proof he suspected that Nether would behave similarly if allowed to gather and pool Better to have it swirling in his chest than pouring out into the outside world anyway

Then Randidly began the exhausting process of repairing his image Due to the extent of the damage he started with broad strokes

Survival violence loneliness talon claw spear arm two tails pale skin raptor legs

All things check Time to take a quick break Randidly dozed off allowing his consciousness to shift into another place to heal

This time when Randidly snapped back to himself Randidly opened his eyes and actually considered the real world Thin blue veins flitted away from his face as if surprised by his sudden movements

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 14

The notification made Randidly wince but he did get a sense of the surrounding area A bleary sense that informed him there were no Nether Beasts and he could distantly feel two other foreign objects among the Nether Those would likely be his subordinates However it was immediately clear that neither was moving

Some part of Randidly wanted to check on them further but he was in no state to do that So Randidly turned his focus inward once more He checked the Nether Well immediately There were no changes after the extended period he spent hastily shoring up his image Satisfied he turned back to himself

The musculature the pale skin the dark veins the brilliant green eyes the tactile sensations of bone and talon the violence the pride the wrath the Chimeric changes

ugh I have such a fucking headache Randidly slumped back down into rest He could feel his image body fuzzily drifting in the Great Rift Yet he simply didn�t have any energy to create a buffer of images to dull the worst of the damage he was receiving

I�ll do that later

Oblivion took him once more Again he came to and checked his surroundings and the Nether Well No changes Randidly idly wondered how much time has passed but didn�t care enough to follow up on the thought at all Instead he began to work again

This time Randidly started by repairing all the damage that he had received from Nether corrosion while he was resting It wasn�t particularly significant but it was best to have a clean base to start his changes to the Grim Chimera He couldn�t simply allow it to continue to wear away at him

Then he began to work on his image again this time taking inspiration from that phantom that Randidly received from his connection to the main body However there were times now that he consciously differed from that image he could sense

Because there was a very important change that had occurred to Randidly Suddenly he had a Nether Well inside of him Something that even the main body didn�t have Smirking Randidly began to trace out the implications for his own image

Rather than being extremely subtle with it Randidly physically placed the Nether Well in the core of the image of the Grim Chimera That spiraling nebula of dappled light how was physically present in his chest near his organs Strangely it fight perfectly nestled vertically between his two lungs Plus it spread a wide illumination outward

Which had the strange effect of combining with his near translucently pale skin to make his torso seem almost completely see through The damaged skin of his arms and legs was dark and marred but near his hips and shoulders the pale skin took over With the light from the Nether Well you could see every muscle and bone the Grim Chimera possessed

And the thick black veins that carried his sludge like blood throughout his body The sudden shift made the Grim Chimera seem even more sickly like it was a fragile thing that could break at any point But of course it was that fragility that had given the Grim Chimera its eternal craving for survival And that was an impulse that would not go easily into that good night

Another strange result was that the color of his eyes shifted They were still green of course but now there were thin veins of black that ran through the emerald of his irises Rather than being bright his eyes were dark and dangerous

This time when Randidly returned to himself to rest he didn�t lose consciousness He simply drifted allowing his thoughts to move freely

So he thought about Nether If as he suspected Nether was just the polar opposite of Aether what constituted Nether

Aether was substance energy and image The System was a ponzi scheme were it took the images of the people underneath it in exchange for its tightly regulated energy Was Nether run under a similar scheme

That didn�t feel quite right There was a very different feel to Nether an aching sort of pain that was very different from any discomfort that Aether had ever caused to Randidly But Randidly had also noticed that the Nether Beasts he had encountered had been extremely feral in their actions Perhaps no Nether creatures possessed intelligence but Randidly wouldn�t assume such a thing easily

I�ll have to visit Vualla when I get back Randidly thought drowsily Maybe she will be able to tell me more about how the whole of the war is progressing

This time Randidly�s rest was directly interrupted by a sudden sense of displacement He was there floating in the Great Rift slowly coming to terms with his body and then a hand touched his shoulder and he was teleported elsewhere

The first thing Randidly felt was relief Although he had gathered himself mentally enough to endure it was still nice to be out of the Nether rich environment of the Great Rift One realization that had hit him suddenly was that as he tightened the expulsion of his Nether Well the function that protected Randidly from the other Nether was severely diminished That was why he had been damaged by the surrounding Nether

With the Nether Well almost completely shut off it provided a barely noticeable boost that only covered the interior of the Grim Chimera image

A light cough dragged Randidly�s attention above him So Mr Yggdrasil will you be able to heal him from this

Chapter 1065

Randidly stayed very still as the voices passed back and forth above him His Grim Intuition quickly wafted outward immediately reporting the strong presence of Iellaya�s image

So strong that the other figure looming over him could only be her

Yggdrasil�s trunk creaked as he twisted his branches I believe so Although there is significant exterior damage those portions of the image can be very easily repaired And it appears the core of the image is still sound

Uh huh Iellaya�s rather unconvinced drawl set Randidly�s teeth on edge So this is primarily exterior damage That is good to know And what about the other two Is their damage similarly concentrated on their exterior They hardly have bodies any longer

This time Yggdrasil hesitated we shall see

Heh so even you have some things that you can be honest about Iellaya chuckled Just remember our deal as long as you protect these two nothing else will be required of your particular skills As your superior officer I suppose the least I can do is drag these blobs back from the staging area We don�t what them gumming up the works do we And based on the Nether massing above us

She trailed off Randidly felt Yggdrasil�s warm branches reach down and wrap around his body Immediately warm streams of energy began running through Randidly�s body with such familiarity that Randidly had to suppress the urge to groan in pleasure But Yggdrasil�s worried question brought him right back to focus

You think another attack will come Here this time

Randidly�s eyes were still closed but he could sense the subtle motions of a nod from Iellaya With the forces of Nether waiting at the gates I have to assume they will send another Nether Well to make trouble for us at our core Their attack on Commander Thrall�s camp was similarly arranged Which is why I am here personally at the staging area Ah feel free to tell the Ghosthound that the reason I was here was out of concern for his safety He is my star recruit after all

Chuckling Yggdrasil shook his canopy and set his leaves rustling He will not believe such a thing Lady Iellaya

He is smarter than is healthy for a foot soldier He also But then Iellaya�s whole bearing changed The violence in her voice rapidly escalated What the hell

Randidly was shocked when suddenly Iellaya�s hand was suddenly on his face Her fingers were so strong and sure that Randidly felt more like there was a bear trip sitting docility in front of his nose than an individual�s hand At any moment Randidly sensed that hand could tense up and shred the bones of his skull Yet she moved with surprising gentleness Iellaya turned Randidly�s face from side to side as if searching for something

Thankfully Yggdrasil spoke Is something wrong

He has already condensed his first star and is now more than halfway on his way to forming a second star Iellaya hissed How is such a quick improvement possible Based on all the Nether damage to his body it is almost assured that he will reach the two star level if he is given time to recover

Must have been a very violent encounter in the Great Rift Yggdrasil said mildly We are the type of images that grow quickly when challenged

Iellaya released Randidly�s face It seemed her attention turned to Yggdrasil The two of you are profoundly peculiar images that�s for sure The things you do shouldn�t be possible The things you do should only be possible if your body is a Ritualist with a steady supply of Aether

From the way Iellaya said the word Ritualist she expected a strong reaction Yet Randidly was quite clear that Yggdrasil was only puzzled In addition focusing on that word meant they didn�t need to address the last part of her sentence I�m not familiar with the term Ritualist

That gave Iellaya pause really Who is your sponsor

Randidly�s mouth was dry Why were all these strange labels coming up If they answered incorrectly

Yggdrasil made no pretense of their knowledge and Randidly respected him a lot for it I�m also not sure what a sponsor is

Iellaya was clearly gritting her teeth Have you spent no time at all in the Nexus Who is the individual who has citizenship in the Nexus associated with you On whose planet did you live I can help you here but only if you give me the information I need We need to apply external pressure if Lord Miln is to give up your body Otherwise Well

Seeing Yggdarsil�s continued confusion Iellaya shook her head Your loyalty would be even more useful

Of course we are loyal Yggdrasil said shortly You are our commanding officer

Pah you know that is not the loyalty I am talking about I cannot help but notice both of you have isolated yourself from my influence Lady Iellaya took a few steps away so her voice was less imminently present Not that I mind Certainly be surrounded by individuals bound to my will carries with it certain risks But I have to wonder what such capable images intend refusing to be bound or explain themselves to me

We have no sponsor Yggdrasil said slowly Our world was only recently brought into the System we have not yet even faced the first Calamity That is why we are so desperate to get back and so careful We cannot afford to fail here There is so much we don�t know

Randidly�s heart rate increased as Yggdrasil professed so directly to not knowing anything but he also trusted Yggdrasil�s instincts The slow natural progression of growth was Yggdrasil�s territory If he believed that their best option was so directly to bare themselves then it was definitely in their interest to do so

Several long seconds of silence followed that admission

How is that possible If that�s true why are your images so

SKRee

The concussive force blasted outward from the nearby staging area smashing into Randidly and Yggdrasil Quick as a spark Iellaya was gone in a brutal screech of fury Above the machinations of Nether began to rumble as the long awaited signal finally arrived Yggdrasil quickly set Randidly on his feet likely knowing that Randidly had been conscious and shifted over to grab the limp form of Salazar

Randidly opened his eyes blinked and staggered and then followed Yggdrasil to seize Zauna Both of his subordinates appeared unconscious and Randidly felt a pang of worry as he looked at their soft and melted looking forms Although they resembled their usual look they seemed like wax figures that had been left too close to the fire

A black wind heavy with nether swirled around the edges of the staging area where they were currently located Very quickly the entire surrounding area was obscured by the opaque currents of air laying across the area like drapes As Randidly heaved Zauna onto his shoulder the ground around them began to crack and destabilize as Nether wormed its way into the ground

Wincing Randidly straightened Although he was only carrying an image body that was severely deteriorated his own weakness meant that this task was a difficult prospect Apparently his own repairs to his image hadn�t been as complete as he had initially assumed

It wouldn�t be the first time

Randidly glanced upward This black tentacles from the Great Rift were slowly twining downwards It was difficult to see through the distorted space and Nether tainted wind around him but it was clear that the attack would arrive soon If they didn�t move

Suddenly all of the Nether in the surrounding air was eradicated The previously unbalanced space slowly realigned itself Even the usual visual effects of the Great Rift were barely visible underneath the heavyweight of Iellaya�s image that billowed outward

Randidly turned slowly and regarded the hulking black form that spread its wide wings over the staging area It was a ten meter tall statue of polished obsidian with a wingspan that seemed broad enough to cover the whole of the camp Every feather was a perfect crystalline piece of art assembled together into an image that was so heavy and potent that it weighed physically on the surrounding area

When Iellaya had struck out at the attack to the other camp Randidly had been somewhat awed by her casual power But now that the attack came toward her own camp the power that Randidly saw at this moment left him breathless and tight lipped This was the sort of power of one who thrived in the Nexus If Randidly wanted to fight his way toward the top this was the sort of foe he would need to face

Although the difference between their strengths wasn�t the vast chasm between himself and that individual that had used him to find the Creature Randidly felt very small as he looked toward that obsidian eagle And that feeling filled him with desire

The Grim Chimera stood before an edifice to the power of the System and it craved

Once more Iellaya raised her head and unleashed a piercing screech Immediately the camp around them began to buzz with activity Where soldiers had previously been waiting in their tents to escape the sudden blast with its epicenter in the staging area they now swarmed outward Their eyes were grim and determined as they marched toward the edge of camp to face the threat of the Nether invasion

Those huge tentacles twined down smashing into the shattered badlands between the camp and the Great Rift Floating boulders tumbled slowly outward in a weightless wave Although Randidly couldn�t see it from where he was standing he felt the wave of Nether Beasts that surged outward in a ravenous horde

Suddenly Yggdrasil was at Randidly�s side We should return You need to recover before you can fight

I can still fight Randidly wheezed Then he coughed several times trying to clear his throat But the skin of his esophagus was parched and dry

Yggdrasil snorted And I don�t doubt you will get the chance Look at the sky It isn�t just our camp that is under attack This is a full on assault from Nether There will be plenty of chances For now come back even if you are alright these two are not

Randidly looked down at Zauna Although he didn�t like to pull back when Iellaya had so tantalizingly showed him what he could one day become he nodded

So Randidly and Yggdrasil turned away and headed back toward their tent to recuperate while Nether fell like gloomy raindrops toward the camp

Chapter 1066

As soon as Randidly sat down to work on his image and healing again he realized how dangerous going to fight in this form would have been Although some of the damage he had accumulated was just subtle markings on his subconscious currently if Randidly had fought with this image it might have been even more deeply engrained in his understanding It would have become a series of permanent debilitations built into the Grim Chimera

Which made Randidly wonder what sort of weaknesses he had slowly bred into the image of the Grim Chimera without him knowing thus far Which Randidly supposed was exactly why the process of refining an image was an endless journey

Fucking images More fucking effort than they are worth Randidly thought glumly How long will it be until we have the body again

Although he purged the impurities Randidly did accept the physical and aesthetic changes that he had made in the Great Rift Honestly he quite liked the luminous quality the Nether Well added to his torso In addition he felt the strength slowly flowing through him from the Nether Well in his core to his image It would take a while to understand what exactly its presence would mean for him but it would certainly push his strength upward

Mostly however Randidly was just glad that Iellaya hadn�t been able to sense the fact that he possessed the Nether Well Her discovering that he was carrying such an object within him would have been bad

For all that she believed that they might be useful it was hard to argue that the constant threat such a presence posed wasn�t too much to risk And at this point Randidly wasn�t sure how well he would handle its removal His image was still quite fragile after the fight

Randidly opened his eyes and shook his body to give himself a small break from the mental exertions At this point headaches had become just another constant at the frontlines of the battle against Nether Then he glanced at Yggdrasil and frowned What are you doing Performing surgery on them

Yggdrasil shook his canopy I�m harvesting this grey condensate He held up a cupped branch filled with goop that looked a lot like spackle This forms when Aether and Nether are forced to combine rather than destroying each other It doesn�t look like much but after removing some from you previously I noticed that it is excellent insulation I�m thinking of building a chamber for Ignition Essence with it To prevent his energies from leaking away

Nodding in agreement Randidly looked to the end of the tent to the place where Ignition Essence continued to sleep As previously he remained flickeringly present but it did seem like his size was slowly diminishing The lines across Randidly�s face tightened with worry

Main body can�t you do something about that

Randidly waited a beat there was no answer Irritation slowly grew in Randidly�s chest Still nothing changed Then Randidly scowled down at the ground Of course suddenly you are too good to interfere to protect your images

Again there was only silence Randidly scratched his head with his claw and then settled down to focus on other things

This time when Randidly turned his focus inward Randidly examined his newly condensed first star And the second star that was nearly finished forming

Just as he had noticed from destroying Nether Beasts in the Great Rift Randidly could now feel a thin film that covered both his insides and outside He had a tight core of energy that had lodged itself quite near to the Nether Rift and gleamed with a small amount of energy This was likely the tightly wound source that the great arrays around the camp had caused to form

Randidly prodded the core in his chest and immediately sensed that there was a trick hidden in it It possessed some capability Yet for all Randidly�s prodding he could not cause any changes With a frown Randidly shook his head and pulled his focus away if there was a trick to it he would discover it eventually

In addition there was a small bubble of energy that surrounded his body As Randidly moved it easily shifted to follow him There was a small bit of space between the edge of his image and the bubble but it wasn�t so large that it was easy to notice Randidly�s only regret was that it was difficult to tell what effects the would have It was clear that a portion of the bubble barrier was Nether but it was only a small portion There were also strange constructs of Aether that mimicked the Nether closely Overall it was an extremely intricate barrier and Randidly once more wished he had Aether Detection

Randidly had heard the bubble would benefit him defensively but he just wished he had a more concrete idea of what that meant Although he would soon have a second star which might make the benefits he received even more palpable

Because the other thing that Randidly discovered was that the flows that he had hastily created now swirled in five distinct spirals around the Nether Well and from there were dragged directly by the grand array into his next star The Nether Well was still as tightly closed at it would go but the small constant flow of Nether in his body would continually be channeled into the array creating more and more stars for himself

Which if he was ever absent from battles for a long period of time would become slightly troublesome to explain In the short term it would just be that Nether was being extracted from his wounds But when the time since he had last been wounded grew

Shaking his head helplessly Randidly turned back to Yggdrasil How are they

They will live but there is some very significant damage Nether has invaded too deeply into them It is difficult for my Skills to force it out Even if I can stimulate their image they do not have the strength to throw out the Nether on their own Yggdrasil sighed and leaned back from Salazar His leaves were drooping This this is beyond the current me

Actually Randidly chewed his lip as he looked at his two limp subordinates I�m not sure if it will work but I have an idea that I want to try

The monthly status report meeting could not have come at a worse time for Iellaya After putting out all of the fires she could at her own camp she shook her head and prepared to set out

But she would be damned if she didn�t show up and stick Lord Miln�s feet to the fire for the recent string of attacks they were suffering It was exactly what Iellaya had been waiting for proof that his wait and see approach to the battle was not working In the face of these results perhaps some of the other Commanders would support her ideas for a more proactive stance

Iellaya made sure all her feathers were immaculately groomed and oiled before she walked out of her tent Then with the teleporter from the rapidly repaired staging area she was spirited immediately across the battlefield to stand on the rocky outcropping that dominated the landscape

When she arrived the first thing Iellaya did was to glance across the battle Her mouth twisted into a frown Of course although the Nether did unleash token attacks against the other camps the bulk of the invading forces had made landfall near the camps at the edge of the line That is her own camp and the camp of the previously attacked Commander Thrall

Although she was able to repel the invaders she could see even from here that Thrall had struggled to do the same After all she had been forewarned by his own loss and didn�t have any of the lingering damage he was dealing with Iellaya had prowled about the staging area until the Nether Well finally arrived It had been almost child�s play to squish it out of existence and then turn her full attention toward the attacking forces But it had been an infuriating exercise in patience

A more aggressive stance would lead to more casualties of course but that was only in the short term Once her strategy had time to get its legs under it it would begin to pay dividends Allowing the forces of Nether free reign was a mistake The dominant opinion of the Nexus was that the beings of Nether were wild savages but it was clear that there was something out there that had a plan for the distribution of the Nether forces

They were slowly and surely ceding strategic space to the Nether forces Despite the fact that most considered Nether Beasts to be little more than monsters no one denied that the Nether was capable of creating great arrays that it used to concentrate its Nether into dangerous weapons Even high command couldn�t deny that danger Which was why the battle for control of space was originally offered as an option

And yet Lord Miln

Iellaya�s face was impassive as she walked into Lord Miln�s rather plain meeting tent To her disgust all ten of the other Commanders were already present Even Commander Thrall had someone managed to beat her to the meeting

Iellaya�s eyebrow twitched Although I suppose if I had abandoned my camp to the worst of the Nether threat it would be possible to have made it over here so quickly But I shudder to think the grievous losses we would have endured if that were the case I suppose I need look no farther than Thrall�s own camp to see what would result

Ah Lady Iellaya Lord Miln said with a smile He gestured to her chair Please join us We were about to discuss the rising threat of the Nether

That sentence at least did a little to pique her curiosity As Iellaya walked over to the long wooden table and took her seat at the end she tempered her expectations After all she had been endlessly disappointed by Lord Miln�s avoidance of responsibility in the past But it was true that the attacks were coming more and more frequently

As you all know the unending forces of Nether have long crashed almost pointlessly against the iron bulwark of our defense Lord Miln began Even though what they were currently seeing was just a projection of his actual body the projection also mimicked the strange trait of being completely glued to a single spot Lord Miln leaned forward over the table However they have recently began assembling their forces for a concerted attack This is dangerous even for us

Despite the fact that Iellaya had allowed a small glimmer of interest to build in her heart even she was shocked at the sudden about face of Lord Miln�s stance Had she missed something crucial occurring during the attack

Suddenly he was taking the threat seriously

Generally we strike at the vast empty space of the Nether�s territory forcefully destabilizing the flow of Nether Lord Miln continued That is no longer tenable Instead I believe their current aggression requires that we teach these monsters a firm lesson To that end we shall be launching an attack on a Nether Gatekeeper A key one which will completely scramble their network One order of business for this meeting then is to seek out a volunteer among you Commanders to arrange such an expedition

WHAT Assault a Nether Gatekeeper directly It�s suicide to attack a Nether Gatekeeper that is enshrined on a throne of Nether Iellaya�s hands tightened on the table It was only when the table creaked ominously that she realized how strong her grip was The Nether Gatekeepers are the equivalent of our Commanders Unless several of us mount an assault together we are going to sustain heavy losses without any guarantee of success

Does he honestly believe that a single Commander would volunteer for this Its the equivalent of

Actually

Iellaya looked sharply up at the Commander next to her Terith She wasn�t familiar with the man but he was known to be a notoriously a stickler for regulations The fact that such a conservative man volunteered was quite the surprise

Commander Terith cleared his throat I have some insubordinate elements within my camp I think an assault on a Nether Gatekeeper is the perfect way to handle them

Lord Miln smiled Just what I was waiting to hear Excellent I suppose that is that Now on to other business

Iellaya�s face twitched in frustration So it was just a front Lord Miln won�t address the problem but this will buy him time But the real purpose was to get Terith involved Why

What�s going on behind the scenes

Chapter 1067

The tent was quiet in the way of churches and hospitals Randidly sat with his eyes closed and breathed rhythmically to the sound of his subordinate�s labored breathing beside him But of course as Randidly listened to their breathing he smiled despite the fact that their current struggles were still significant Because the worst of it had passed for those two Because his idea had worked

Rather than using Aether to try and forcefully destroy the remnants Nether that remained in their bodies Randidly�s suggestion to Yggdrasil had been to create a thin flow of Nether with Randidly�s Nether Well and wash the area around the wounds with that flow Rather than continuing to fight and destroy itself while working against Aether Randidly figured that Nether would respond to the presence of the flow and follow the relatively low pressure pathway provided to join up with its own kind

In theory it would be quite easy It had however been a very tense operation in practice Careful to not allow too much Nether to flow at once Randidly had slowly and methodically used a Nether flow to pull out the large lingering chunks of Nether that were in his subordinates wounded image bodies It was a difficult thing to see them so frail but Randidly had gritted his teeth and continued with his talk

For every second that the Nether remained there the corruption to the image grew increasingly severe Randidly couldn�t afford to wait until some of his own issues were healed to begin the operation Which meant there was the slightest tremor in his will as it was going on

What was worse was Randidly was extremely aware of Yggdrasil�s mild gaze on him as he triggered the Nether Well in his chest to produce the stream of Nether It felt like Randidly was suddenly hyper aware of the fact that the main body had been resistant to the Nether Well It was difficult to tell whether Yggdrasil would be similarly against Randidly possessing it

Such was his distraction that there was a point that the flow of Nether was a little too robust resulting in some light damage to Zauna�s stony skin But considering how much damage she had already received Randidly immediately paled He put his own hesitations to the side and threw himself unreservedly into the task

After both Zauna and Salazar had escaped the danger of accruing addition Nether damage Yggdrasil had given Randidly a long look That is an interesting development

Yea Randidly had said shortly But something in his tone must have alerted Yggdrasil to how conflicted Randidly still was about the Nether The treant stretched out his branch and placed it on Randidly�s shoulder Randidly couldn�t bear to look up to meet Yggdrasil�s eyes so he studied the golden lines of text engraved across the branch

You are one of the images of Randidly Ghosthound No matter how you evolve that will not change We are him as much as he is us And we are in this together

Randidly was oddly comforted by Yggdrasil�s words despite the fact that he still preferred to consider himself an actual incarnation of Randidly that had simply been split off of the main body But it was difficult to claim it after he had interacted directly with the main body and defied his will

but what does that make me

Shaking his head Randidly let it go and returned to his breathing All that mattered now was the Nether was removed from his subordinates and Yggdrasil had been able to use his image to heal much of the damage done to the two of them It was time for Randidly�s focus to shift to his own progress once more

Randidly rested When the constant headache had subsided he rolled his shoulders to warm up his body and then turned his focus inward Unfortunately the stars of Nether that he now possessed were not easy to handle

Time continued to flow as Randidly sat entirely still inside the tent After several hours of experiments Randidly was profoundly fed up with his new core of Nether The only active effect he had accomplished was figuring out how to move the core around Once he knew the trick it was even rather simple But after moving his core around Randidly still found nothing interesting about what he could accomplish

Sure he discovered that he couldn�t push the core beyond the edge of the bubble And the bubble of Nether would warp slightly when the core was moved up next to the limit But Randidly wracked his brain and couldn�t think of any way where such an effect would be actually useful

When Randidly touched the core he was always struck by the certainty that there was a hidden purpose of the cores to the creatures of Nether Yet his optimism had no choice but to slowly wane as that hope was never substantiated

Maybe it�s just that these cores are imperfect imitations of what the Nether Beasts possess or maybe I need to be in the Great Rift to understand its capabilities

Randidly stood up slowly in the tent the muscles from his legs flexing as he stood Grinning down at his body Randidly allowed himself to feel a small hint of pride at the current state of his image For all that his image had been repeatedly eroded down to its basic form every time he encountered the powerful forces of Nether it had also been chances for Randidly to build himself up from the basics

Of course that meant the amount of effort and time he put into his image increased drastically as he remade himself multiple times The headache of an overextended will was now a constant companion to Randidly Not that he really needed to sleep� in the traditional sense but that constant pounding made any sort of rest that wasn�t fueled by Yggdrasil�s relaxing energies almost impossible

Still Randidly felt not an ounce of regret as he considered his newest form

Randidly�s talon gleamed darkly with an entirely new sort of sharpness that would shred through flesh even though he was just an image His bone spear seemed to have aged a thousand years The bloodstains seemed so desiccated and sacrilegious on the yellowing bone that the one whose blood so stained the bone to remain stained there to this day couldn�t have been an ordinary individual His legs flexed powerfully the long and thin tendons bulging out of his skin like steel cables

And his eyes the dark green of forest and peat mud

With this amount of improvement there is no way that the main body won�t be satisfied

But just as Randidly had that thought his face tightened into a scowl It shouldn�t matter so much to him that he come back and prove to the main body that he had been able to survive on his own The approval of the main body was a ridiculous thing to seek As Yggdrasil said he was just as much a part of the main body as the main body was of him Their relationship shouldn�t be so one sided

And yet the fucker remains completely distant when I want to talk with him Randidly thought resentfully Shaking his head he stood and stretched his body Yggdrasil looked up shortly at him as he moved but then returned to the slow sculpting of the housing structure for Ignition Essence Still recovering Zauna and Salazar breathed in unison in the other side of the cramped tent

even if its a bit tighter in here now it�s not such a bad feeling Randidly reflected Moving carefully he stepped around their still forms and left the tent The gloomy alleyways between the canvas dwellings were uniform and empty allowing Randidly to quickly slip through them and appear at the edge of the badlands

When he was walking over Randidly supposed he was heading over to attempt another training session like he had experienced a few days ago Where his consciousness became so light that it floated on top of his actions like a bubble in bathwater

Such a metaphor accurately illustrated how hard it was to maintain but there were commiserate benefits in terms of grown if he could achieve that balance once more For a short amount of time Skill Levels had come so freely that it was shocking There was something intrinsic about that mentality that Randidly sought to capture for a second time

If he could master it his growth would be positively monstrous

Yet when Randidly actually arrived at that borderland between two camps he realized that although training was important that wasn�t why he had walked to this desolate place No it immediately became abundantly clear that the reason that Randidly had walked over to this place in the middle of the night was that this location was where he had twice experienced the pleasure of encountering Vualla

And the third time was still the charm she was standing with her pale face tilted upward toward the sky when he arrived

Her azure hair was usually flowing freely behind her but now it was tightly bound up into a thick braid Rather than a waterfall her hair was suddenly a river of remarkable currents and depths The sort that could sweep a careless adult away underneath its surface without even a ripple passing across it

Unlike their previous encounters they noticed each other almost immediately After seeing him Vualla began walking slowly out toward the middle of the no man�s land Randidly accelerated to meet her Their footsteps were the only sounds in the wide night

When they arrived they stood almost exactly one meter apart from one another simply looking at the other individual It was clear to Randidly from the places that her gaze lingered that Vualla noticed the changes he had made to his image yesterday and today refining his physicality after it had been so thoroughly brutalized A small surge of pride made him raise his chin

Yet at the same time Randidly noticed how somber and resigned Vualla�s expression was The way her hair was pulled tightly back into a braid emphasized the harsh lines of her high cheekbones and made her look five years older It also revealed messy scar along the left side of her jaw almost directly below her ear Likely her wild hair had hidden the old wound previously Now Randidly stared at it in wonder curious about the story behind it

They were silent

Randidly�s emerald gaze that had become a dark olive and Vualla�s azure eyes played a delicate game of fencing all testing thrusts of attention and coy reposites

Eventually it became too much for Randidly to take There was a truth hanging heavy over Vualla�s head that Randidly found himself too curious about to ignore But he couldn�t get his mouth to ask about it directly So instead he asked So we aren�t going to start our meeting with a fight today

Vualla�s mouth twitched a tiny bit You think what we did previously was a fight

Randidly grinned and raised a flexing claw Well it would have been a nice warm up wouldn�t it

But almost as soon as it had appeared that spark of amusement died in Vualla�s eyes Perhaps But I don�t I�m sorry I suspect that I won�t be the best company tonight

Is something wrong Randidly lowered his claw

Vualla sighed and look upward to the strangely luminous maroon brushstroke clouds above them They appeared rusty and grey in the dim light of night here Yes and no My that man you saw me talking to the other night reported me As he said he would but I thought that well it doesn�t matter now I�ve been assigned to a special squad that will spearhead an assault against a Nether Gatekeeper in two days They will light the Beacon of Duty but I don�t expect many will heed its call With so few of us going

Vualla shook her head

Randidly�s body was tingling What is a Nether Gatekeeper

Shrugging Vualla spoke with a complete lack of interest A being of the Nether that possesses actual intelligence My squad is tasked with drawing its attention so other teams may assault its stronghold and destroy as many Nether Wells as possible The assignment it is likely a death sentence for me

Vualla raised her arms up toward the sky I just wish there was a moon here This place seems so much darker than the world I remember

Chapter 1068

Just as quickly as Vualla raised her gauntleted hands up toward the blank sky in askance her arms went limp and the limbs dropped back to her sides She turned and gave Randidly another look sizing him up with those luminous azure eyes But enough about me what about you You�ve managed to achieve a two star status as an image and yet I don�t believe you even had one star when we last met Certainly there must be a story to that fact

Shaking his head Randidly said harshly Don�t change the subject Is there any way for you to get out of this assignment Even if you have a body

Do you want to know a secret about those stars Vualla interrupted as she turned to her body to face him directly

Randidly�s mouth firmed into a line His mouth moved more quickly than he could censor the words that he was thinking Don�t treat what you just said like it doesn�t mean anything I don�t want you to die

There was a split second where Randidly�s mind ground to a halt as he tried to figure out exactly what Vualla probably thought he meant when he said it but then his annoyance and worry continued to push him forward So much forward that he could safely skip any reflection of his own on what saying that meant to him

Even if she thought that he that he well no matter what she thought it was fine It was much more important to make sure that Vualla wouldn�t allow herself to go on this suicide mission than to quibble over intent at this point

What was even more strange than his own feelings was that a queer resistance was building up in Randidly�s chest to counter his words and intentions Some part of him seemed profoundly reluctant to try and save Vualla from this mission In fact some part of him was seized by a complete aversion to her Some instinct of his seemed to paint her less of a person and more of a rotting corpse

The feeling rapidly spread so that Randidly�s proximity to Vualla suddenly gave him a strange urge to vomit Which of course was completely improbable he was just an image So why

In a split second of rage Randidly realized that the revulsion was coming from the main body For whatever reason he could sense that the main body believed it was better for him to just leave well enough alone and let Vualla go on this mission The main body believed it would be in his best interest to allow Vualla to die

The suddenness of the sentiment had confused Randidly for the following split second as his rage struggled to parse the information apart and then as realization dawned all of his frustrations and complexes regarding the main body crystalized into a hot ball of caustic hatred in his chest

After all that I�ve done for you You are going to fight me on this Randidly hissed mentally toward that ambient impression from the main body Do you think saving lives is a waste No wonder you let Alta destroy your Soulskill No wonder you so quickly murdered Ki Kunot without any hesitation No wonder you sent your precious Kharon to fight at the borders of the world without any supervision Life means nothing to you

Even as Randidly thought the words he felt a glimmer of regret But at the moment there was too much violent rejection of the main body�s disgust toward Vualla

Unfortunately there was no response from the main body There were no sudden sparks of hurt or anger to indicate that Randidly�s barbs had found purchase against the main body�s psyche Again it was hard to even tell whether the main body listened to what he was saying Aside from that one moment in the Great Rift where there was direct contact between the two of them it was an ambiguous bond that they shared

Finally Randidly seized control of his body and banished that foreign revulsion toward Vualla She was someone who had walked a lonely Path Randidly would not abandon her just because the main body desired it

As Vualla fell silent and considered him Randidly found his voice once more and continued to speak Is there no way for you to avoid going on this mission

Well it�s not like it�s impossible but Vualla took two sharp steps forward devouring the meter of distance between the two of them Suddenly she was only a few inches away from his face Such was the sudden proximity of their bodies that Randidly barely suppressed an impulse to step backward despite the fact he had just reaffirmed the desire in his heart to help her

But being so close so suddenly

Vualla�s azure eyes were very serious as she looked at him Just as you worry for me I am worrying for you I am not flippantly bringing up your stars So listen to what I have to say and then we can talk about my matters

Some part of Randidly wanted to point out that he had asked first and therefore his concern should be addressed first but some note of solemnity in Vualla�s gaze was enough that he held his tongue Either way he trusted her word if she said they would talk about it they would talk about it

Fine Randidly said shortly Plus he was somewhat distracted as the disgust and rejection from the main body surged up once more This time there was a note of warning in the main body�s emotions

That set Randidly to chuckling inwardly as he squashed those emotions Oh suddenly you feel like talking do you Well fuck you

As though the main body got the hint the feelings faded away

Seeing Randidly truly meant to allow her to speak first Vualla smiled Thank you Now as I was saying it seems you�ve acquired some method of handling a lot of Nether very quickly Very enterprising of you And as this Nether is being transformed into stars very useful in the short term to increase your survival in the Great Rift But there is a secret that no one tells the new recruits at a certain amount of stars there are negative side effects

What sort of side effects Randidly muttered hotly But mostly his animosity was aimed at the rather useless stars themselves He was still quite sour that there was so little of an effect after all the suffering he had endured

Even if they are basically a bonus it�s fucking annoying that everyone made a big deal out of the stars when they turned out so mundane

Well for lack of a better turn motion resistance Vualla shrugged Obviously it�s not something that they talk about often I only heard about it from my mother who heard from my father during one of the times he visited for the birth of my brothers Apparently the Nether stars create a barrier around you that provides significant protection from Nether But also

When enough of those barriers overlap there is a resonance the physical body is affected There Vualla paused as she looked at Randidly Well I don�t think images often possess stars So I�m unsure how it would affect you But if it creates a physical resistance that even bodies struggle with its likely even worse for images Symptoms manifest around five stars and each successive star after that makes it worse

actually I don�t think images would be affected more strongly by the bubble portion of Nether Randidly�s brow furrowed as Vualla continued her explanation The problem is probably that even if the array takes out most of the Nether aspects there is still a significant amount of Nether in the bubbles And Nether and substance don�t mix well So when a sufficient amount of Nether is present it reacts adversely to a physical body

Is there an upper limit on stars then Randidly asked aloud

Ten

Randidly blinked So someone�s gotten all the way to ten huh

But Vualla shook her head causing her braid to bound back and forth across her shoulders No I think the actual record is eight stars After that the individual couldn�t even move properly and retired from the frontlines

Frowning Randidly asked Then why did you just say nine

I honestly don�t know An instinct maybe Vualla flashed Randidly a smile Since it is physical resistance I suspect that a sufficiently strong body should be able to resist the effect of the stars for longer than a weaker body could Therefore I think someone could get to ten if they pushed hard enough Still this is why most Commanders engage Nether Beasts sparingly All of them are nearing that five star state

Randidly gave Vualla an unamused look She winked at him in response Would it help if I called it a woman�s intuition

Rolling his eyes Randidly threw his hands up into the air Fine so the bubbles make it difficult to move But do they notice anything from the cores if there are that many gathered together

At the very least Randidly hoped he would be able to find some useful information from Vualla in regards to the stars� uses But when she replied Randidly was even more confused

Cores Oh you mean like you sometimes feel break when fighting a Nether Beast Although most people theorize that stars create something similar in us it�s never been proven Vualla tilted her head to the side and carefully studied Randidly�s face After all no one can sense Nether So it�s just a theory

Yea Randidly finished lamely Vualla�s eyes narrowed

Is there something you�d like to tell me She asked evenly

Well obviously yes but Randidly hesitated Was it so easy to just tell Vualla that he had learned a Skill related to Nether That he carried a Nether Well in his chest right now even as they stood so close to each other

Obviously not so simple Randidly sighed But out loud Randidly said yea I do have an extra sensitively to Nether I don�t know if other people have them but I can sense the cores of Nether inside myself

Rather than speaking out about the Nether Well his ability to sense Nether was much more innocuous And it would probably leak anyway when his two subordinates recovered It was also an easy way to explain away a portion of Randidly�s accomplishments in the Great Rift thus far

Vualla�s eyes stretched into happy crescents Really You certainly possess many strange talents Randidly Ghosthound In another life Well nevermind Who�s to say if we would even have met in another life

That made Randidly�s head tilt to the side Both because it was an odd thing to say and because the main body�s ire abruptly roared back with a striking intensity Gritting his teeth Randidly pointedly ignored it and asked Vualla Is there something you�d like to tell me What would we be in another life

For the first time since they had met Vualla hesitated At the moment that Randidly had surprised her she hadn�t hesitated to spin around and strike at Randidly But now she seemed frozen

Silence slowly stretched The air and land around them was dead aside from the constant visual variance caused by proximity to the Great Rift Randidly watched as the lines of her face stretched and flitted side to side The joints of her overly large gauntlets moved with an oily silence as she nervously flexed her fingers

We could have been together Vualla said so softly that even Randidly couldn�t catch the words The only reason he understood was that his Grim Intuition had the uncanny to pick up speech from even the slightest movement of lips

aren�t we together now Randidly asked slowly

Until I go on this mission Vualla replied in a normal tone of voice She took a step back away from Randidly All of the tension in the air drained slowly away like it had been lanced with a needle To answer your earlier question yes I could get out of going I could beg for mercy I could go to my father and reveal myself But I won�t

Why not Randidly asked through gritted teeth

Would the woman who will destroy the System run away from a fight

Chapter 1069

After Vualla�s lonely pronouncement Randidly had nothing to say In his adventures he had learned exactly how important it was that your images and your actions aligned almost perfectly To allow for dissonance was to invite a fatal weakness into yourself And when Vualla had asked her question to the empty night Randidly had felt the gentle reverberation of denial from her image

No the woman who will destroy the System wouldn�t run away from a fight

Yet even as Randidly recognized that and recognized that his instincts would come up with the same answer he couldn�t help but think of the main body The main body had fallen for the arrogance of such an outlook many times and been thoroughly chastened by reality each time In order to survive the main body might recommend Vualla take a step back

That is of course if the main body stopped wishing for her to die

Perhaps because of the fact her veritable waterfall of hair was now done up in a braid Vualla�s back looked extremely slender as she turned away and moved across the badlands back toward her camp Even her huge metal gauntlets couldn�t cover up the desperate uniformity of her steps This was the choice she was making but it was not an easy one And Vualla was aware of the consequences

Although her image was prodding her toward this Path Vualla was well aware of how this would likely end

Even heroes need time to grow into their strength

Silence was the only answer Randidly had for the Vualla who resigned herself to fight against every foe that was thrown into her path He watched her without moving until she vanished back into her camp

Yet despite the fact that he allowed Vualla to walk away without asking to accompany her that did not mean that Randidly didn�t intend to help her He was just aware that he would receive exactly the opposite answer that he had received when he had asked to accompany her on a walk a few days prior

No if Randidly had shown any desire to accompany her she would have taken measures to stop him from doing so Therefore Randidly watched her go in silence His eyes glittered as he slowly made plans for tomorrow Then still maintaining the silence he returned to his tent and began to meditate

Every chance to improve himself counted especially now when he planned on heading to somewhere very dangerous And suddenly Randidly had a pretty fair hope of improving himself Because one thing that Vualla had mentioned had given him a bit of inspiration

The people in the camps treated the Nether stars as solely a source of the bubble with that outlook they were completely unable to control the bubbles to the point that too many of them could stack on top of one another to a troublesome degree Even powerful individuals who had made it to the frontlines were unable to move underneath the stacked bubbles� influence Opposite but just as incorrect as these individuals Randidly had been trying to move the cores without thinking about them in terms of what they were

Both methods were insufficient because the core and the bubble were intimately connected Treating them as anything other than a whole was squandering their abilities They were intimately bound

So this time when Randidly turned his focus inward he didn�t attempt to just move the core around Instead he focused on the connection between the core and the bubble He felt their relationship His energy and effort began to flow into that space between the two Because he had two stars there were two cores that slowly drifted apart and resonated with the surrounding bubble as his attention began to cause a reaction

Feeling that change Randidly didn�t try to control what was happening at all He simply let the resonance build within himself Soon the cores began to align themselves naturally within his body One settled in his clawed left hand the other within the tip of his bone spear

As they did so Randidly felt the bubble around him change Rather than staying uniform much of the strength of the bubbles followed the cores to concentrate the thickest portion of the bubble around his arms and torso Because of that the covering around his head and legs became extremely thin The covering was still present in those areas but the concentrated force that now emanated from Randidly�s arms put the thinner areas to shame

It was additional defensive energy that was all at the moment Still Randidly grinned at the discovery

His focus narrowed to a point as he carefully gathered his Willpower Rather than let the resonance continue naturally Randidly continued to pour himself into stimulating the connection between core and bubble while consciously moving the core out of his clawed hand With great care he pulled that core across his body and over toward his bone spear to join its sibling at the tip of the spear

Of course the difficulty of continually stimulating the resonance sharply increased as Randidly tried to move the cores around It became even worse by the time Randidly had moved the other core to his right arm Maintaining them in such close proximity was a lot like putting two magnets near each other at close distances they repelled

There was so much resistance that Randidly was sweating and gritting his teeth as one core was in the tip of the bone spear and the other had made it down to his elbow But to proceed forward

As was typical for his time at the frontlines a headache was building behind Randidly�s eyes Still he continued to push and strain at the cores They inched toward each other while digging in their heels like fanatical mules Randidly let out a hissing breath between his tightly clenched teeth

Then there was a glimmer of response from his core and abruptly the effort he was required to expend vastly decreased Curious Randidly turned his attention inward and discovered that a thin flow of Nether had diverted from the Nether Well and was spiraling down toward his right arm

With increased density of Nether in the surrounding air the two cores were able to drift closer to one another Very soon both were present in the tip of his bone spear and rotating rapidly around each other A thin seed of Nether formed a core� between them and the two rotating cores became the bubble� of this new arrangement

At that moment Randidly saw it How just like all of reality governed possessed space� in which to exist everything that was Nether was composed of cores and bubbles Sometimes many things formed a core or many things formed a bubble but they were all repeated into infinity animating the vast chasm of Nether that existed

Even the inexplicable Nether moved in certain patterns

The Randidly�s attention returned to his actual situation Because although the two cores were a bubble around the core of pure Nether they were actually the core to something else

And of course the actual bubble

Randidly opened his eyes and smirked down at his bone spear The variant visual effects that the Great Rift caused had tripled around his limb Rather than a single deviant layer that was vibrating around there were now five or six layers that spastically stretched and twitched every second His bone spear was a blur of motion that was almost impossible to track with the naked eye

In addition a small glimmer of black flame danced around his limb Although the thin and filmy flames were much less eye catching than the visual effects Randidly could sense that this condensed form of the bubble was much more dangerous than the average version

Not only was it a shield but it would also function as a weapon

Pleased with himself Randidly leaned back and closed his eyes once more He allowed his consciousness to drift away toward rest buoyed by the rhythmic breathing of his two wounded subordinates If he planned to answer the Beacon of Duty of the neighboring camp he would need his strength

Just from Vualla�s bitter expression as she considered the option available to her Randidly understood that this mission would be very different from his assignments thus far Whereas his status as an image had seen him sent to relatively unimportant areas to waste Nether energy by affecting the space this was an assault on one of the bases of Nether A Nether Gatekeeper sat at its helm

But despite that it would also give Randidly a sense of the power possessed by those who fought here on the front lines Something that he had thus far been unable to really intuit

Randidly�s face split into a grin The look on Vualla�s face when she sees me will be priceless

Commander Terith spent almost an hour making sure all of the chairs were in perfect alignment Three tables were set up in his tent surrounded by nine chairs each Four on each side and one at the head of the table Each table designated a separate team that would be sent to attack the base of the Nether Gatekeeper

One table to perform reconnaissance and distraction One table to strike once the location of the Nether Wells had been located One table to lie in wait a blade to strike at the Nether Gatekeeper if that beast would overextend pursuing the prior two teams

Terith straightened to consider his work Noticing that one of the chairs was slightly off alignment and pointed to the side Terith frowned With a short shake of his head he returned to his work this time taking the time to check every possible angle for any flaws Then for good measure be produced a rag from his pocket and wiped down the wooden surface of every piece of furniture until it gleamed

He could have asked a subordinate to do these mundane tasks but Terith was entirely too familiar with the haphazard nature of his subordinates� work No if he wanted something done he would need to do it himself

Which was exactly why Terith had stepped out of his comfort zone and volunteered to handle this punitive expedition Something extremely strange was happening on the frontlines and Terith was too close to obtaining the requisite amount of fame to retire for him to allow it all to go to shit now

In the last year�s meeting quite a bit of the military�s budget for Aether had been haphazardly allocated in a way that made it obvious Lord Miln was embezzling the Aether for some personal purpose One that appeared to benefit someone with connections because no questions were asked Even more ominously immediately after that Aether disappeared the disposition of the Nether forces immediately changed Their foes suddenly seemed to double in size and were much more aggressive in their attacks

Since then the forces of Aether had been constantly dogged by the flood of Nether Beasts Yet Lord Miln remained completely calm Which meant that there was something happening behind the scenes and Terith was determined to avoid the fallout of that

Huffing in annoyance Terith straightened and considered his work A good chance to clean house as well Some of my subordinates have grown altogether too complacent Without a firm hand they will spoil and turn insubordinate Just like that Vualla welp

Shaking his head Terith banished his emotions He carefully constructed a firm face of conviction Then he walked sharply outside and turned to his aide waiting beyond the edge of the tent

Commander Terith cleared his throat Light the Beacon of Duty

Chapter 1070

Commander Terith glared at the commander of the Nether Well Strike team who had been bored and tapping one of his many tentacles against the table to pass the time It almost sounded musical In the silence of the tent it was an unnecessary and obnoxious distraction Instantly the multi limbed individual withered underneath Terith�s pointed glare

Terith turned to face forward and stand perfectly upright behind his desk They would wait for four hours or until all 27 of the spots in his expedition was filled During that time these individuals should have training enough to wait Terith was mildly tempted to call in some favors that were owed to him but he at least wanted to allow the opportunity for his subordinates to volunteer

After all he would be carefully noting down who joined the mission After all quite a few of those engaging in this mission would not be returning

Still despite his stoic expectation of very little from his subordinates Commander Terith was disappointed to see that it looked like they were heading directly for the four hour time limit rather than having a sufficient volume of volunteers When Commander Terith came back he would certainly require a thorough explanation for why his subordinates were too lazy to volunteer when the Beacon of Duty was lit

Almost unwillingly Terith looked at the commander of the reconnaissance and distraction squad the girl child Vualla Even he couldn�t help but feel a grudging admiration for how her head was held high despite the fact that only three people had agreed to join her squad Certainly a good soldier if only her pride didn�t keep unruly and dangerous

That is the sad truth about my position I have the choice between innumerable inappropriate options And the great Commanders are the ones that can arrange the circumstances to make do with the talent that they were given

As Commander Terith continued to study Vualla he sighed Truly capability was present in Vualla in a way that rarely happened It took a special sort of determination to catch Terith�s eye but still she managed it Despite the fact that Terith was suspicious of her strange and hasty admittance into the army

It made Terith wonder if he shouldn�t allow her to participate in this mission It made him wonder whether this Vualla would be missed by someone who would take a pound of flesh from Terith Still talented soldiers died every day Such was the reality of war If she fell in battle certainly Terith couldn�t be blamed

And Terith had previously mentioned in passing to Lord Miln his desire to rid himself of some variant influences which had led to this opportunity Surely if Vualla was truly that important Lord Miln would be aware of her true identity

Bah worthless Let all the petty schemes of the spiders fall away Better to focus on strengthening my own position for now

Terith glanced at the other two group tables both were completely filled with volunteers The elimination group had plenty of talent and Terith himself would accompany the third group to prepare and ambush the Nether Gatekeeper Most of the pieces were in place All that was left was to fill Vualla�s group

Which was proving to be extremely difficult everyone was aware of how disastrous the casualties would be for that group They would not only be required to sneak into the base but also cause a distraction that would draw the Nether Gatekeeper�s attention sufficiently to lure it into an ambush Honestly most of the responsibility for the success of the mission would lay at the feet of Vualla Which was quite annoying from Commander Terith�s perspective but there wasn�t much he could do

Perhaps that was exactly why Terith decided to overlook Vualla�s strange arrival to the army and expose her to danger anyway he knew of few individuals aside from her that could pull this operation off

Despite Vualla�s young age she was acknowledged as one of the top ten strongest individuals in Terith�s camp after less than a year Her two subordinates that had joined her weren�t anyone to sniff at either Yet even with that much concentrated power in the squad only one nonaffiliated individual volunteered

Still that man is a brave fool Good riddance

If the trash wasn�t going to make itself available to be removed having such an obvious refuse bin became a critical weakness Should he have offered more benefits for volunteering Commander Terith turned back to face forward Even if no one came

But just as his thoughts began calculating whether Vualla�s group could handle the task with so few of them there was a commotion at the front of the tent Eventually one of Terith�s aides led someone into the tent Commander Terith blinked in surprise when he realized that the individual who had entered was an image A cognizant image from his direct and focused gaze but still a bodiless cluster of ideas

Even worse an image from another camp

Still it wasn�t like there were any limits on who could apply for the Beacon of Duty And without any regulations against it Commander Terith pondered whether he should acquiesce to such a volunteer Even more intriguing was the fact that this image had somehow managed to achieve two star status Commander Terith�s curiosity was somewhat piqued to discover that an image could have lived long enough in order to develop stars He cast his mind around but couldn�t recall any other examples of it happening

Theoretically possible but highly improbable Considering an image�s innate resistance to Nether a tolerance would need to be built up gradually In addition the image would need to be naturally resilient

In terms of tangible benefits to the expedition it at least meant that the image was likely a veteran of many battles But still

Please don�t joke with us Vualla said with remarkable coldness Terith eyed the woman�s white knuckled fingers as she gripped the table Escort the image out of the tent Such a liability can do nothing but jeopardize the safety of our mission

Perhaps most damning in Terith�s eyes Vualla had spoken just as he was preparing to make a similar pronouncement She had spoken with timing that overstepped her authority Which of course earned his ire

Commander Terith kept his odiously upright posture and spared Vualla a contemptuous glance The Aether expended to teleport an image deep into the Great Rift is a fraction of what a physical body requires As such won�t such a companion ease the process of infiltrating the base

Vualla blinked at Commander Terith Fury confusion and some other emotion warred across her face Clearly she hadn�t expected Terith to intercede on the image�s behalf He could see her replaying her previous words to herself in her head and the dawning realization that she should have waited to speak until he had settled on an opinion

Too impetuous girl You wear your emotions on your face truly a piss poor soldier Practically a mercenary Then Terith turned and studied the image itself He was slender with a mostly humanoid torso surrounded by warped and dangerous looking limbs From the way he walked it seemed the image had a certain confidence in its own strength So I wonder what your connection is to this image girl Either way a tool is a tool If your fellow soldiers become more than that to you you are in the wrong business

I formally object to an image�s inclusion in the expedition Vualla hissed This image isn�t even from our camp Our teamwork will likely be negatively impacted by the unknown and untrustworthy presence of this image

So you claim to have never met this image in the past Commander Terith asked simply

Vualla froze with her mouth half open All the while the image stood calmly and waited Commander Terith clicked his tongue inwardly as he examined the image�s face for a second time This time his examination was even more exacting Already Terith could detect flaws in the image�s mask of ambivalence Even if he is better at holding his tongue he is just another young welp who is altogether too easy to read Even if Vualla spoke out of turn first it does not please me to have you both attempt to use me to get around the will of the other

I suppose it would be pitiable if I wasn�t magnanimous enough to forgive both of you considering you will soon die for me

Commander Terith smiled lightly Which is why I will allow you both to sacrifice your lives gallantly for the successful completion of this mission To use me as a bit character in your drama well then what is more romantic than a grave

Your name Terith asked aloud

Randidly Ghosthound The image responded There wasn�t a hint of nervousness in his words So much so that Terith almost reluctantly looked at the image for a third time This time he ignored the physical form and simply allowed his own image to gently sound of the core of this image

Terith�s smile faded away What he heard in Randidly Ghosthound�s voice and felt from his core was bubbling excitement The image held no fear In fact at that moment of speaking Terith realized why this strange image had come here It wasn�t out of concern for this girl although the image might convince itself that that was the case No this image was one of the oldest types of soldiers The ones that lived and died in pools of blood under dark skies

It came because violence brought it joy Which reminded Commander Terith of some of the old monsters that lived in the Nexus

If you had a body no with the obvious strength of your image probably all you would need is time And someday you would be a Commander yourself soaked and blood and roaring at the sky in ominous fury And it is exactly due to people like you that I cannot afford to fail There are already too many half mad berserkers in the Nexus whipping us uselessly toward war Please proceed easily to your grave

Well then Randidly Ghosthound Thank you for your service Commander Terith inclined his head toward one of the tables You will be serving underneath Vualla Do your best to follow her orders to the best of your ability

Then before Vualla could figure out what she was about to say with her half open mouth Terith beckoned one of his aides Please carry these messages to some of the individuals within my camp If they won�t come willingly I�ll drag them here

Nine is a good number Very round I�ll get nine volunteers even if I need to blackmail them Commander Terith resumed his straight ahead staring After being reminded of the Nexus by Randidly he was no longer in any mood to wait around for volunteers After all after this I will likely retire There is no need to worry about my future here

It only took five minutes from the moment when Commander Terith dispatched his messages for four more volunteers to turn up They were grim eyed and surly but it was at least clear that they were capable individuals

Randidly was impressed by Commander Terith�s ability to mobilize forces on short notice The new arrivals barely spared Randidly a glance but they carried with them a palpable sort of image that radiated off of them

Randidly�s eyes glittered Finally I�ll be able to see individuals with actual power

Once everyone was present Commander Terith began to outline the plan

Randidly tried his best to stifle a yawn during the drawn out explanation Although they couched it in fancy terms and overly wrought descriptions the plan was comically simple Vualla�s team team 1 will sneak into the base of the Nether Gatekeeper and locate where the Nether Wells were being kept Then they will signal the second team and cause a distraction in another portion of the base giving the second team time to accomplish the real goal of the expedition exterminating Nether Wells

Then incensed by the distraction the Nether Gatekeeper will be kept busy by Vualla�s team Should the Nether Gatekeeper pursue them to a ridiculous degree the third team will strike and attempt to wound the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly did perk up when Commander Terith mentioned he would be acting personally in team three but it seemed unlikely that his involvement would come to pas

After all Randidly was able to intuit that the amount of time and distance that Vualla�s team was required to survive before help would arrive They were in effect on their own in the interim deep behind enemy lines

No specifics about the makeup of this base came up either They would be wandering in blind for all intents and purposes

Randidly glanced over toward Vualla Her hair was still up in a braid and her chin was raised She listened calmly to Commander Terith�s explanation of their roles without every glancing Randidly�s way

Still Randidly�s Grim Intuition told him that she was just as focused on him as he was on her

With great reluctance Randidly looked away and tried his best to listen to this drivel If nothing else my Nether Sensation will give us an edge neither of us will die on this sortie

Randidly�s claw tightened into a fist No matter who I need to kill to make it so

Chapter 1071

During this teleportation this time the travel felt different Randidly had to grit his teeth and flex his imagined muscles in order to keep control of his body as cosmic forces battered him from every angle The breadth of the distance they were being sent was immediately apparent in the violence of the passage If not for the extra oomph that he had gathered from his victories in the Eidolon Crucible even this amount of battering might have been enough to overwhelm him

When they popped out into the Great Rift the Nether was like a hammer blow on Randidly�s will But rather than wincing in pain Randidly�s mouth stretched into a smile He could immediately feel the bubbles from his two stars protecting him shunting away a portion of the Nether that was seeking to damage him

The other thing that was immediately obvious was the presence of the numerous blue veins running through the space around their small band Although the veins were pretty much omnipresent in the Great Rift they usually drifted slowly past in a meandering way But at their current arrival point lay a dense web of blue lines that formed strange esoteric patterns in the air Even worse those patterns rapidly fluctuated as the blue veins drifted closer as if they were curious about the new arrivals

With the veins of course came even denser and caustic Aether that lapped up against them in calming waves But no matter how gentle the waves were the Nether that they brought was anything but As Randidly�s skin met the Nether that terrible irreconcilable violence of the two energies came to the fore with a vengeance

This is how I will grow Randidly closed his eyes and savored the sensation of the Nether sizzling against his skin Nether Sensation wandered outward almost idly quickly scanning the surrounding area for any threats To Randidly�s great disappointment he found nothing By exposing myself to these stimuli

Just as Randidly was really getting to enjoy the sensation it was wiped away as a gentle radiance blossomed outward from Vualla The energy flowed rapidly outward and wound between the individuals like silky bindings Soon all nine of the figures were cloaked in her tight image Randidly blinked tasting the wafting note of mint on the surrounding image

Certainly it was an impressive display But why did the air suddenly taste like mint What sort of image was she using to accomplish this

Perhaps even more shocking to Randidly was to see that there was a sharp divide along the edge of Vualla�s image Normally when an Aether image and Nether touched there was a powerful rejection where both depleted the energy of the other Which is what routinely happened with Randidly�s image body out here in the Great Rift Yet on the edges of Vualla�s image there was a sharp demarcation that only a small percentage of both energies crossed Therefore they were effectively screened in the area

The veins approached ceased as though the new arrivals had been whisked away just as quickly as they had arrived Unfortunately the other result of being suspended in the image was that Randidly wasn�t able to sense the surrounding area But at least he could be sure that they were safe for the moment

Vualla noticed Randidly studying the edge of her image and frowned You didn�t know that thinking of a specific past moment where your image originated made the image much more impervious to Aether How did you avoid detection in your past missions then

I didn�t I just killed any Nether Beast that showed up Randidly shrugged with forced nonchalance Or any Nether Wells that drifted past But hiding really would have been a lot easier

Still I would have done the same even if I had known It�s the only way to grow

Clearing his throat Randidly asked This image tastes like mint And it feels like family

Which was true While Randidly stood inside of Vualla�s image he felt warm breezes brush across his skin The scent of mint was the strongest but as Randidly continued to breathe the image in he also detected other floral notes In the nebulous environment of an image they were clearly located in a garden He could feel actual sunlight on his skin

As Randidly savored the image he felt teleported to a moment in Vualla�s past Like Earth before the System arrived it was clear that some parts of Vualla�s upbringing were idyllic She was not raised in a war torn hell like Tellus

Distantly he could hear the tinkling sound of a child�s laughter

For a second Vualla�s eyes softened as her own memory swayed her But then she glanced sideways at the grim faced warriors that were with them Instantly her face returned to its determined stare Does it Well thank you I suppose And if we are all done chit chatting let�s focus on the mission Kel�ev Take the lead

Rodger said a man with a short nod and Randidly was surprised to recognize that it was the same tall man that Vualla had been arguing with that night in between camps Which probably meant that he was the exact reason that they were here

Randidly wanted to be rather furious at the man but the fact was that he had clearly volunteered to accompany her here So even if he was a dick he at least also punished himself for what had happened

At least he�s loyal Randidly thought darkly as he watched Kel�ev step outside of Vualla�s image and conjure his own Then the tall man quickly headed deeper into the surrounding darkness of the Great Rift following the densest paths of the blue veins that ran through the surrounding area

Once the image was up it appeared that the new arrivals were hidden from the veins so they settled back down to peaceful drifting Frowning slightly Randidly looked at the strangely whimsical veins in the surrounding area and then peered in the direction that Kel�ev had proceeded In the darkness every direction looked almost exactly the same Only the flowing veins distinguished each direction

As time ticked slowly past Randidly became more and more worried that he couldn�t rely on his Nether Sensation to figure out what was going on in the surrounding area He needed to make contact in order to spread his senses out through the Nether He did have a general impression from the brief touch he had felt earlier but it was rather fuzzy Yet from what he had seen Kel�ev was heading in exactly the wrong direction

Randidly turned to Vualla and opened his mouth to say just that Yet when he looked at her the words curled up and died on his lips like leaves in fall She glared at the vast abyss floating below their feet like she was completely unwilling to be disturbed at the moment So Randidly closed his mouth and settled in to wait in silence

He didn�t decide not to speak because of how sharply she had spoken to him earlier that was annoying but it was ultimately a small act of lashing out that Randidly of all people understood Vualla was occupied with larger dangers than Randidly at the moment Their situation was quite dire

No the reason that Randidly decided not to speak was exactly because of the way Vualla was reacting to these larger dangers From her tense stance and surly attitude it was obvious that some part of her had already accepted that she would do her best on this mission and probably die anyway That pessimism seeped into her like a poison coloring the bright azure of her personality a murky slate grey color Fear was ruining her

In the same way that Randidly had at some times let his fear of being alone ruin his relationships

Randidly�s eyes burned as he examined the darkness around them It seems I don�t just need to keep you alive in here I also need to remind you how bright and defiant a spirit is needed to survive underneath the System You might believe you will be the woman to destroy the System but it won�t happen if you�ve lost your way

Randidly�s mouth twitched Too bad Ignition Essence isn�t on his feet and here He was always better at this inspiration than me

Only a few minutes after he left Kel�ev was abruptly appeared racing through the darkness with a dozen Nether Beasts in hot pursuit behind him These monsters were much larger than any sort of Nether Beast that Randidly had ever encountered and where they weren�t physically more oppressive the darkness of their substance was much denser

As they approached Randidly�s wild smile skittered out across his face on spindly limbs like an eager spider Finally

Vualla unleashed a snort that set a low rumbling through the air As Randidly blinked in surprise the image she maintained around them dissipated slowly as she focused her attention elsewhere Very quickly Randidly�s Grim Intuition screamed that staying near Vualla right now was dangerous Then she raised her heavy right gauntlet and threw a single punch

It was a casual motion There wasn�t anything profound about her action But the punch carried with it Vualla�s will and that desolate rage was one of the most horrifying things that Randidly had ever encountered

A dull roaring filled Randidly�s ears as a wave of annihilation spread outward from the tip of Vualla�s steel knuckles Kel�ev hastily dodged out of the way as that spiraling oblivion rolled forward Even though he probably understood what was coming the tall man was still blasted downward a fair distance into the darkness by the displacing force of the attack passing above him

Randidly�s eyes were wide and solemn as he felt that destructive image shoot forward and annihilate all of the Nether Beasts that were charging forward toward their group It didn�t even take a full second and they were once more alone He had thought that Vualla had spoken figuratively when she talked about destroying the System Like he was currently seeking he thought Vualla was looking for a way to escape the influence of the System more generally

But that understanding was shattered as Randidly saw Vualla�s dominant image No she really planned on destroying the System After all there had to be some vast Aether construct that handled all the minutia of the Nexus and the worlds that were held in its thrall If Vualla could find the vital and precious machinery at the System�s core and unleash that image

Randidly released a nervous breath that came out with tiny flakes of ash That image was at least the beginnings of an answer to exactly how powerful those who fought on the frontlines were She was weaker than that terrifying being suspended in a veritable continent of solidified Aether but Vualla was still far beyond Randidly�s own strength by quite a bit

Even with his own body facing that destructive punch Randidly shook his head helplessly There would be nothing to do but dodge Certainly with Chimeric Avoidance he would have methods to continue fighting against her But it would be foolish to expect this to be all of the tricks she had up her sleeves

The surrounding veins were shattered into dozens of motes of blue light by the echoing aftershocks of the attack But just as quickly more veins flooded downward to spiral around in the wake of that horrifyingly powerful image

Kel�ev shot back up to join the group He was visibly trembling as he wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow S sorry about

Did you find a lead Vualla interrupted bluntly Her sharp gaze scanned the surrounding area Because our presence is no longer a secret

All because of how ludicrous that attack was Randidly thought with amusement Not that I mind of course

I Kel�ev hesitated Then he slowly pointed about thirty degrees to the left of where he had gone Based on the defenses that direction is the most likely

Randidly barely suppressed a dark chuckle at Kel�ev�s uncertainty Instead he stretched his hand out toward the dispersing edges of Vualla�s original image The scent of mint in the air slowly faded as Nether ate gleefully into that happy memory submerging them once more in darkness Then his fingers broke through the remnants and out into the Great Rift The skin of his claw began to sizzle lightly

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 15

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 128

As Randidly�s Grim Intuition blasted outward he regarded the tough exterior of his image claw almost fondly At least it really seems like all that extra work refining the image is worth it Add that to the bubble from the two stars I could survive out here for quite a long time

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 16

Randidly�s awareness continued to swim outward amongst the slowly shifting Nether Beasts He felt the threaded veins in the Great Rift and several dense patches of Nether that surrounded them Belatedly Randidly realized that the Nether was somehow grafted onto the dense patterns of the veins Or rather the Nether was a product of those patterns The more Randidly could feel the shape of the veins the more it became obvious that the Nether patches were growing on the veins like they were fruit off of a vine

The reciprocal of Engraving Randidly thought in wonder But ultimately that was a question for the main body Suppressing his sudden irritation at thinking of the traitorous main body Randidly spread his attention even further afield to look for Nether Wells

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 17

Vualla�s voice was extremely sharp How sure are you Kel�ev We cannot fail here or else we will have thrown ourselves into the fire for nothing

It is the most likely direction Kel�ev said his mouth firming into a line The rest of the soldiers shifted awkwardly around as the two maintained heated eye contact for several seconds

Well I suppose its a fucking sure thing then Vualla replied sarcastically But still her eyes flashed as she looked around at the group Since there are no other ideas

Wait Randidly said

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 18

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 19

Chapter 1072

Randidly could feel the edge of it Once he saw it as a grand plant the pattern immediately became clearer He could follow around the stem to the vine vine to the stem stem to the trunk

I wish Yggdrasil was here He would understand the knack of this vein system so much easier

Randidly�s awareness rushed along following the vast network of blue veins He had located a few independent Nether Wells drifting around them but he could sense that something much more valuable was hidden somewhere tucked stealthily between two dense discs of Nether Randidly felt like he weirdly could picture the location that he was searching for like some part of him already knew that it was definitely here Yet that weird certainty that the Nether Sensation provided didn�t match up easily to his actual perception of the surrounding area

So he could only expand his area of scanning looking for the similar swirling shape of the Nether that he pictured around the Nether Wells In the few seconds since he had asked the group to wait he hadn�t been able to locate anything concrete

Vualla visibly restrained herself from the snapping response she had originally intended to give Instead her eyes studied Randidly very carefully for a few extra seconds can you really sense things out here

Yes Randidly grinned

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 20

Impossible Kel�ev spat Randidly just barred his teeth at the man who had immediately given away their stealthy approach But it did reassure Randidly that the casual divide that Vualla had created with her memory image wasn�t as easy as she had made it seem

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 129

Out of the corner of his eye Randidly noticed that one blue vein was swirling down toward his finger Part of him wanted to pull back immediately to escape its attention once more but they were already revealed correct What was the harm in allowing the thing�s approach

So instead Randidly ignored the immediate surroundings and continued to follow his perception outward along the pulsing veins

So what can you see Vualla asked in a neutral voice

After a few distracted seconds Randidly pointed sharply in three directions One of them was the direction that Kel�ev had indicated that they should go Three groups of Nether Beasts Large ones heading from those directions They will get here in a few minutes

Then we should move Kel�ev said harshly His eyes gleamed with a fanatical light as he spared Randidly a furious glance If forces are coming from the direction I indicated that will mean the Nether Wells over there will be unguarded for the time being It�s the best chance we�ve got

All you had was a feeling and the honorable designation of being the one who blew our cover Vualla narrowed her eyes at Kel�ev The air was tight with the knowledge that Kel�ev had also earned their place here by reporting Vualla�s movements that night So perhaps we wait for confirmation How many times need I gamble my life on your terms Kel�ev

Do we have time to wait for this fucking image Kel�ev glanced at the other seven soldiers for support The silent watchers shifted uneasily their eyes scanning across the Great Rift around them Randidly understood that it was difficult for them to accept that he could truly sense things in the Nether after all no one else really could

But Randidly never bothered appealing to these people There was only one person in power on this expedition To approach anyone else was just a waste And as he watched Vualla he continued to frantically search

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 21

She seemed so lonely and solemn with her hair drawn back into a braid leaving her face completely uncovered Her eyes looked at Randidly Slate grey met forest green

Perhaps because Vualla had talked about the memory of an image�s origin but Randidly thought about his previous interactions with Vualla Her stubborn determination Her willful certainty Her casual hubris

Then slowly as their gazes remained almost magnetically connected to each other azure light flowed back into that pair of eyes as Vualla looked at him Almost helplessly Vualla shook her head and laughed Ignoring the surrounding shoulders she spoke directly to Randidly with the first pinch of genuine emotion she had displayed toward him since he had come to volunteer without informing her I�m really glad you are here Ghosthound but you know we might die here right

Randidly grinned Will it really be us who will die today

Well I�ve already dug the graves Vuall retorted But her eyes were as crystalline blue as the untouched depths of the sea in summer Someone will surely be buried here today

Seeing something was occurring Kel�ev stepped forward Vualla

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 22

And at that moment that Kel�ev stepped forward the drifting blue vein that had quested after these strange interlopers alighted on the tip of Randidly�s finger His entire mind stuttered and froze as information smashed into him

It was like too much air being forced rapidly into a balloon Randidly felt himself inflating rapidly beyond the point that he could handle it His mind and image spasmed painfully under the forceful injection

Which of course was the moment when Randidly felt the main body there that soothing Willpower bolstering his own strength Randidly immediately felt bitter but the main body�s thoughts flowed into Randidly like an apology

You have to trust that I have my own concerns the array isolating me is not a simple thing It learns every time I escape its clutches to contact you Theoretically enough of these contacts will mean I am completely bound Then you guys out there will need to break me out directly without any assistance from me

Randidly could sense the truth of the main body�s words in that brief contact So he shelved his resentment and rage and focused instead on handling the surging tide of information Very quickly Randidly realized that the strength of willpower wasn�t coming from the main body the main body could simply provide him a haven of self� so he wasn�t born away by the flood of information From that safe haven it was much easier for Randidly to leverage his own power to channel the forces that were flowing through him

Randidly�s awareness of the surrounding area had grown so quickly that he knew too much about the Great Rift On a scale that was useless to an image that was only as large as he was What was even stranger was that Randidly could feel a grand pattern from the aggregate of those minuscule veins of blue But then the main body grounded Randidly�s focus back to the area where he actually was

With a heaving groan Randidly tore his finger away from that thin blue vein The flood of information stopped Even though he was an image Randidly wretched and vomited pale yellow bile out into the Great Rift It floated downward slowly beginning to sizzle as the imagined bile was consumed by Nether

The discussion was briefly halted as the surrounding soldiers looked at him in stunned silence Even Vualla�s face creased with concern

Be careful of that Vualla The Aether around her it�s extremely strange And old And familiar It might be better to stay away from her until I am freed to inspect it directly Right now I can only barely use your senses

And what happens to my feelings for her until then Randidly thought bitterly But just as quickly as that reassuring presence of the main body was there it was gone

Sighing Randidly straightened He supposed there was no point blaming the main body for struggling with his own issues Besides they currently had more important fish to fry I found where we want to go It�s that way

Randidly pointed To his annoyance It was in the general direction that Kel�ev had pointed only upward about 45 degrees They would never have encountered the Nether Wells if they proceeded in the direction Kel�ev had indicated but Randidly would have been much more satisfied if the direction they needed to go was exactly in the opposite direction

Then let�s head out Vualla said shortly Randidly was surprised how much relief and warmth flowed into him as she immediately trusted him Then Vualla sent a sharp glance toward Kel�ev when the tall man opened his mouth to say something else We don�t have much choice now do we They will begin blinking closer soon So move out Speed over stealth at this point

Although it was clear that several of the soldiers were skeptical they followed orders quickly The group began to shoot in the direction that Randidly indicates covered loosely by Vualla�s image but mostly focused on simply plowing forward through the Nether like a sailboat looking to outrun a storm

Randidly brought up the rear furiously struggling as much as possible to keep up with the rest of them In this area it was quite clear to him that having a body was an immense advantage for moving in the Great Rift So violent were his struggles was that he earned two Skill Levels in Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality as he pushed his body far beyond its usual limits to keep up with the group

Very quickly Nether Beasts began popping up Which also taught Randidly what Vualla had meant by blinking One moment there was nothing and Randidly�s Nether Sensation felt that enemies were quite a ways off Then in the next moment five or six Nether Beasts were right there roaring at them from the side and approaching with their claws raised

During the first of these brief ambushes Randidly had hardly noticed the Nether Beasts� arrival before a few of the soldiers diverted from the center and exploded out with their own various dominant image With a workman like efficiency small groups of Vualla�s subordinates butchered these Nether Beasts that Randidly inwardly acknowledged that he would struggle against

Then they would return to the rapid procession easily overtaking Randidly�s own speed to rejoin the group formation In terms of capability they didn�t approach Vualla�s ominous supremacy but they were still more powerful than Randidly�s main body

All the while Randidly continued to push himself Nether Sensation�s Skill Level continued to quietly tick upward to Level 27 After all these are the cream of all of the worlds underneath the Nexus Even if this is just one of many camps on many frontlines this level of power is nothing special

Which means I need to start improving much more quickly than I have been thus far Otherwise I will never make a difference I�ll never be able to save Earth from what is to come

But although the power of their group was impressive Randidly�s focus kept going to the Nether Beasts It irked him that his perception wasn�t able to track their movements If he could figure out the trick of what they were doing

Which of course meant Randidly was trying to comprehend Nether And so far all he knew was the bubble and the core These were two important tenants of how Nether behaved but in context they were relatively incapable of explaining such rapid movements Furiously trying to brute force an answer was just giving Randidly a headache

As they rushed forward along the twisting branches of the blue veins Vualla spared Randidly a glance How much farther

Randidly considered that vast map that had been forced into his head when he had touched the blue vein Even now it was difficult to struggle with the size of that information and force a realistic scale onto it I think just short of halfway

Fuck one of the soldiers muttered

Vualla nodded grimly Yea that�s what I figured Alright boys look sharp It�s about time the real party starts

Frowning Randidly opened his mouth to ask what they were talking about but then he felt it

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 28

An army�s coming Randidly said Even he was somewhat floored by the veritable flood of Nether Beasts that suddenly seemed to surround them They were one drop of substance and image in a sea of darkness

Vualla just smiled Welcome to the front Randidly Ghosthound Don�t lag behind

Chapter 1073

As the leader of the expedition Vualla handled the lion�s share of the fighting against the enemies directly in front of them And oftentimes she spread that to enemies that were visible to her as they rushed forward Although her squad gallantly handled the task of keeping the foes pestering them from the sides off of her back it only took an additional five minute of fighting before Vualla was starting to feel gassed

Unfortunately she wasn�t the only one who was nearing her limit

She glanced behind and looked at her squad Of the people behind her it was clear that three of them were beginning to accumulate too much Nether damage to continue to fight They needed time to recover Considering the fact that they probably had two more minutes of activity before they reached the destination indicated by Randidly

And if he is mistaken A thin voice whispered But Vualla shook her head and banished that thought If she let doubts creep into her head now all of the work that they had done would be wasted

A sudden appearance of almost thirty Nether Beasts dragged Vualla�s attention forward Her eyes quickly scanned the group what she saw made her face twist into a scowl It seemed like whoever was in charge was finally getting serious about eliminating the Aether dagger that was cutting into this base�s heart

Likely due to the grand array on the frontlines that created defensive stars in their chest most people on the front had taken to grading the high Level Nether Beasts based on the number of stars you would need to possess in order to resist the ambient Nether energy that each beast released

Of the thirty Nether Beasts that appeared Vualla could sense that twenty were four star Nether Beasts Even worse their leader possessed the caustic strength of a five star Nether Beast It opened its mouth to roar and scent a shockwave that made the surrounding area quake As someone who possessed three stars currently Vualla couldn�t rely solely on the physical to rival even the weakest Nether Beast of this group

But Vualla had something much more deadly than her physical body She had the blade she had so carefully polished her whole life with the stated purpose of destroying everything in her path

She had grown up in a military household so even before the System had earned Vualla�s ire she had been preparing herself for a life dedicated to killing She had carefully visualized the most complete destruction she could imagine and learned to unleash it to annihilate both Nether and Aether alike

Young Vualla still hadn�t been satisfied with her small capability even as her peers were left in the dust she continued to push herself to create a more comprehensive and piercing image Annihilation became the god to which she prayed And her own exercise of power was her sincerest form of worship

As she raised her gauntleted fist Vualla said a silent prayer to that familiar god But as she did so she felt the surrounding air reverberate with the strength of it Those pure moments of connection to her life�s work were the only thing in this vast darkness that could give her confidence that she would survive Because here as it was with all places destruction demanded its steep price and accepted no deferment

Well confidence now comes from my power and also

But Vualla didn�t let her finish that thought Not now not with enemies ripping toward her with their claws spread wide to butcher and gut her allies To be vulnerable now even only to herself would have been a mistake Instead she simply threw a punch that held every ounce of her baleful will to end this farcical world

In response the world rocked backward a half step as she unleashed her unfiltered power The Nether Beasts attacking them from the front were gone Still they weren�t out of the woods yet Vualla�s felt a bone deep weariness settle across her shoulders She only had a few more punches fo that caliber left in her

Perhaps even more dangerous more and more Nether Beasts were appearing from the sides and launching sudden attacks on their group Mostly these were two star Nether Beasts but numbers were beginning to wear on an already depleted squad The steady accumulation of injuries was catching up with them

Vualla did her best not to think about the fact they were supposed to cause a distraction after this

Plus with three individuals nearing the end of their strength

Although she hated herself for it Vualla turned around and glanced at Randidly Ghosthound again It was clear from his face that this speed was already too much for his image body to handle To ask him also fight was a bit

Randidly looked up sharply as if he sensed her gaze Which Vualla realized he probably did Somehow Randidly Ghosthound was able to detect the presence of the Nether Beasts even in the Great Rift Some part of that piercing green gaze could see in a way that Vualla didn�t truly understand He was an enigma Every fact that she learned about him just made her more confused about what he was truly capable of

Which was probably why her life had felt so different since she had encountered him Like he was the push that took her off the rehearsed script of her life and into something completely fresh and new

His smile was wan as she continued to consider him You want me to help out against the Nether Beasts right

If you can do so without dying yourself Vualla said frankly Your ability to sense the surrounding area is useful enough that losing you now would be a waste considering that there is more we need to accomplish here

If he isn�t just making it up Kel�ev muttered But Vualla ignored him Randidly Ghosthound might be a lot of things but a liar was not one of them

It also wasn�t irrelevant that Randidly Ghosthound was also not a snitch

Vualla turned her gaze back to the area in front of them but her attention remained focused on the actions of Randidly behind her Occasionally she was forced to throw out destructive punches to clear their way but it seemed like the blue veins had parted and allowed them to accelerate rapidly forward for the time being Almost reluctantly Vualla increased the group�s speed

With her attention behind Vualla was able to ascertain that Randidly hadn�t just been following meekly along with the group as soon as she had given him permission he did his best to slip into the rotation of soldiers fending off attacks from the sides When it came around to his turn Vualla was aghast to see that he had to fight off only a single opponent but that opponent was a three star Nether Beast that looked like an oversized pitbull

Even for soldiers with a body

But Randidly Ghosthound also didn�t hesitate He raised his bone spear and a strange spectral fire that filled Vualla with a deep sense of foreboding flickered into existence to cover his weapon At the same time his skin began to hiss and steam as Nether began to eat directly away at his image

Vualla chewed on the inside of her cheek in confusion Did his stars stop working Why is he so suddenly open to the Nether damage where he hadn�t been previously

Then he was a blur of momentum and that relatively fragile image body smashed forcefully into that three star Nether Beast without a hint of warning Immediately the Nether Beast roared and swiped out with its dangerous claw but Randidly�s form seemed more shadow than substance as he slipped underneath the attack and dug deeply into the beast�s flank with his own claw on the way past

Clearly earning all of the beast�s ire Randidly followed up with a sharp kick to the side of the beast�s knee joint on its back leg While Vualla twisted to watch she saw that the black flames around his spear disappeared and suddenly his leg was wreathed in those same dangerous looking flames At the same time the damage Nether was doing to his legs fell to basically nothing and his arms began to hiss and spit

Vualla could feel her heartbeat slow in her chest as she studied Randidly Can he truly control the stars as he wills Turn them into weapons wherever he needs them

This time when the beast screamed its voice was filled with less rage and more fear But as the Nether Beast scrambled to open up some space between them Randidly struck almost eight times in quick succession with his spear Huge gashes were torn in the Nether of the beast�s body Then the talons on his left hand began to glow cherry red like a brand freshly taken from a fire and he raked it across the panicking Nether Beast�s eyes

At that point the beast seemed to realize that this relatively insubstantial foe was more dangerous than it had expected Rather than continuing to engage at a distance and try to dogfight the beast simply leapt forward to try and overwhelm Randidly with the weight of its Nether

Randidly didn�t even flinch in the face of the beast�s charge With a smile so insane that it infectiously spread to Vualla�s mouth Randidly stood his ground and raised his arms to meet the Nether Beast directly Their bodies smashed into each other and Vualla gasped as the Nether Beast seemed to pop and deflate while the image stood as straight and dangerous as a bared blade

Lightning fast Randidly struck out with his bone spear and pierced through the Nether to strike the beast�s core There was a light tinkling and then the surrounding Nether turned sluggish Very soon Randidly�s blurred form returned from the drifting Nether to rejoin the rest of the group

To be frank he was much slower compared to the other soldiers present But he had made it back within a reasonable amount of time Which bought the rest of the soldiers a few more precious seconds to recover Right now that was exactly what they needed

Perhaps even more importantly no one took him lightly after Randidly managed to defeat a three star Nether Beast while only being an image Vualla�s subordinates looked at him with newfound respect as he took his place in the rotation

Twice more Randidly left the safety of Vualla�s image to fight against attacking images But no matter the number of foes he was required to face he triumphed over them and returned to the convoy with a heaving chest

Still Vualla couldn�t help but notice that Randidly�s long limbs were warped and fuzzy from his contests It was not without cost that he continued to go out there and fight against Nether Beasts without a body to rely on His status as an image was starting to catch up with him

If because of this he dies Vualla�s shoulders trembled It would be her fault primarily of course But that didn�t mean that she minded laying his wounds at the feet of the System Because Vualla knew that all the vital energy and life she had felt was so suddenly injected into her after meeting Randidly would die along with them And what would be left was only the grim purpose of her life�s work First I�ll personally take a limb from both Commander Terith and Lord Miln And I�ll stop there only if I�m feeling fucking generous

After Randidly returned from his third defense rotation he gestured forward and spoke in a low and guttural voice Here Soon

That brought Vualla�s attention swiftly back around to the are in front of them Although she had no way of ascertaining that Randidly was correct directly in front of the group there was a large space that was densely packed with those blue veins and supported on each side by planes of Nether so dense that they seemed to glow with pale flames As Vualla peered closer to examine those flames that were so shockingly similar to the ones Randidly had created Nether Beasts began to surge out from behind above and below them to crash toward them

Don�t worry boys this one is mine Vualla hissed After cracking her knuckles she spread her arms wide She sucked in a breath and suddenly Vualla was standing next to her mother in front of a gravestone that had her brother�s name written across it in large letters Vualla tightly clutched at the thin silk of her mother�s maroon dress

Several times the name on the gravestone changed The fabric and color of her mother�s dress changed But what didn�t change was that her brother was dead and her father never returned home

You took everything from me Vualla thought as she looked up at the vast Great Rift Her gaze seemed to pierce through that non space to see the looming specter of the System under which she was raised grinning down at her fighting its wars Her rage was directed at anyone and everything that supported this behemoth of an institution that had devoured her brothers and was currently eating her father alive

Then Vualla smiled defiantly But all that did was teach me how to take

Then Vualla took and all of the Nether Beasts in the surrounding area died with all of the noise of a little girl�s tears

Chapter 1074

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 134

Randidly did his best to catch his breath as that terrible destruction that Vualla held so close to her heart raced outward from her body with all the terrible momentum of a wildfire on a dry summer day Nether Beasts were eradicated and the blue veins unlucky enough to be in the surrounding area were forcibly shattered What remained in the aftermath was only an ominous silence

The action struck him as even more impressive after Randidly had gathered some context by joining the body possessing soldiers to fight against the Nether Beasts that were harrying the group as they rushed headlong toward the Nether Wells From his first battle the quality of Nether Beasts here was several tiers higher than he had encountered previously To see Vualla treat them like nothing after tasting their strength firsthand

Honestly I�m pretty near the end of my rope already It�s honestly sorta a miracle that I�ve maintained as much clarity as I have Randidly thought as he stared at Vualla�s back

Had he not discovered how to manipulate the bubbles he had obtained from the stars there was no way that he would have been able to keep up with this pace Even with his newfound control over the faux Nether in his body he was battered and bruised after three run ins with Nether Beasts His edges were charred and bloody He could only watch as Vualla threw her punches and annihilated everything in her path

At least my admiration toward her isn�t unfounded Randidly shook his head Then he remembered the main body�s spoken warning against being close to her and he reflexively barred his teeth

Even if her Aether is old and familiar that doesn�t prove anything She grew up in the Nexus just the fact that her Aether feels ancient means nothing

However Randidly couldn�t deny that the warning from the main body took on a less aggressive and superior tint in the context of the attack that Vualla just unleashed It instead seemed more cautious If Randidly were to become antagonistic with Vualla

Then Vualla swayed and Randidly snapped back to the situation at hand with a pang of guilt over his previous train of thought Although Randidly�s own image body groaned in protest he stepped quickly up behind Vualla and pressed a steadying hand against her shoulder He tried to keep the touch of his claws gentle so they wouldn�t pierce her unprotected skin Hey Group Leader Now�s not the time to take a break

Vualla turned and looked at Randidly sourly Yeah well now�s when I want to take a break So be a good subordinate and prepare my reclining couch

Grinning Randidly responded I�ll send for the manservant immediately But what about the mission

Vualla released an aggrieved sigh with all of the energy of a forgotten closet swinging open due to the wind But before their banter could continue any further Kel�ev and his permanent glare aimed at Randidly stepped up beside the two of them He pursed his lips at the sight of Randidly�s claw on her back Vualla We must continue An attack like that will attract

Yea yea Vualla waved a gauntlet warily On we go There is more work to be done The reclining couch will have to wait

But Randidly couldn�t help but notice that she stood still for several seconds leaning back against his supporting hand before she finally took that step forward As the group slowly regained its previous speed no Nether Beasts appeared to harry them Rather than being relieved Randidly felt a tight knot forming in his chest as they hurried forward unmolested Looking around it was clear that the other soldiers felt the same no more ambushes could only be bad news

It only took a scant thirty seconds to arrive at the entrance of the Nether Well area Vualla slowed down clearly confused by the dense web of blue veins that formed a halo around the entrance But with the image of what he had to do clear in his mind Randidly pushed past her and raised his hand toward the blue veins

All he needed to do

Look out Vualla bellowed but it was too late Almost a hundred Nether Beasts appeared in front of Randidly one less than a meter away from him All oozed the deadly sort of Nether that meant they weren�t just average Nether Beasts These were meant to be their heavy hitters

But although Randidly was ambushed he did have a flash of insight as he watched them suddenly materialize in front of him That�s how they teleport They don�t teleport really they move along the veins They become the bubble and the blue veins are the core and they shift themselves

Just like I manipulate my bubbles they simply make their bodies focus elsewhere It�s probably not an easy thing to move the self across such vast distances but if you have enough Willpower

Randidly�s thoughts were interrupted by the bear like Nether Beast in front of him ripping into his shoulder with its claws Feeling a bit foolish that he had allowed himself to be distracted he spun away to avoid letting the bear make the wound worse with a brutal rend Randidly�s eyes narrowed as the bear then swiped with its other limb to complete the evisceration

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 206

It was a close thing but the movement was enough to avoid a matching serious wound on the other side of his body Randidly wasn�t interested in matching wounds at all From the edge of fuzziness that he felt slowly drifting over him he knew that he was finally nearing his limit once more Truly his volunteer trips into the Great Rift are one of the worst habits that Randidly had developed

One of these days his generous spirit was going to get him killed

But right now he was grinning from ear to ear Molten Fang of the Pariah concentrated energy into his bone spear He moved like a shadow and stabbed his limb directly between the Nether Beast�s eyes Of course it didn�t have a true brain it had a core But still Randidly found it immensely satisfying to land such a typically deadly blow The feeling of the Nether flesh parting before him was rich and wet

In response the bear Nether Beast just lashed out with its paw again Around him Randidly could feel Nether Beasts surging closer and Vualla howl with retaliatory fury Her image soon followed The sudden wave of destruction that blew a huge hole in the suddenly arrived Nether Beasts was so close that it ruffled Randidly�s hair with its passage

Although Randidly�s left shoulder was a mass of gore he was just an image his actual mobility wasn�t affected at all So he raised his claw and brought all of the resonance he could muster between his cores and his bubbles to press the Nether Beast�s attack to the side by thrusting the bubbles out against it like some sort of telekinetic ability The paw whistled past a scant inch away from cutting into him once more

But it did give Randidly a second to gather himself

The Grim Chimera Skill that was the combination of Spear Advances Ash Trails and As the Sun Stills remained the most powerful sudden attack in Randidly�s arsenal The sudden burst of momentum and the concentrated force both became blunt instruments to smash directly into the Nether Beast�s already bleeding body Their forms buzzed and hissed from the sudden physical contact and the Nether Beast was sent tumbling backward

Man Weeps but the Chimera Mourns

Randidly followed up with his quickest Skill striking out nine times in quick succession to rip the Nether flesh of the beast and inflict some distracting damage It roared furiously scrambling backward to open up additional space and regain its footing After that most recent exchange the Nether Beast appeared to finally consider Randidly a threat But of course more space was exactly what Randidly wanted the harassment was only to give him a clearer shot on his true goal

Congratulations Your skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 177

This time Randidly�s sights were firmly set on the core of the Nether Beast With a brutal crash the tip of Randidly�s bone spear skewered the thing

But Randidly�s face immediately fell he hadn�t been able to shatter it It might have been a result from his slow weakening under the influence of Nether or the fact he hadn�t utilized his bubbles to add extra force to the strike but the core was cracked yet unbroken In addition the Nether Beast was thrown backward away from Randidly from the force of the strike

Randidly was considering his follow up when one of his fellow volunteers appeared next to the wounded Nether Beast and bisected it with a swing of his huge copper ax Afterward the bull headed man nodded toward Randidly and moved to assist others against the remnants of the most recent ambush force

Twisting around Randidly found himself face to face with a trembling Vualla Her eyes were locked on the wound on his shoulder Her gaze was so intense that Randidly couldn�t resist looking himself As he looked down at the mass of gore Randidly winced the wounded flesh was steadily disintegrating and flaking off like ash off a burnt house

Randidly did his best to offer a cheerful smile Made it Now we just need to give the signal and run away right I bet just the forces following us will be more than enough of a distraction for Terith

Vualla didn�t respond She was just looking at his slowly disappearing flesh

As Randidly opened his mouth to say something else Kel�ev materialized next to the duo Truly he seemed to have a banter radar that let him stick his nose in at the most inopportune times But to Randidly�s surprise he wasn�t glaring at him at all right now instead Vualla�s former assistant seemed extremely worried about her Vualla give the signal and let us depart

Finally Vualla spoke Randidly can you open the way to the Nether Wells

Randidly blinked Well probably but

It wasn�t supposed to be this way Kel�ev hissed A tremor seemed to run through his body None of it was supposed to happen like this

Ignoring Kel�ev Vualla smiled at Randidly Open it up then Why should we bother waiting for the Second Squad I need to blow off some steam anyway

Chapter 1075

After studying Vualla�s overly bright expression for several seconds Randidly turned around and reached for that dense plane of Nether balanced perfect in the halo of blue veins It took a few tries to focus his Grim Intuition due to accumulated Nether but Randidly used all of his Willpower to force his Skills to activate

No if you do this now the Nether Gatekeeper will proceed here directly Kel�ev�s eyes were very wide and white You have a role to play Vualla If you die here how

If you cared about my life we wouldn�t have had to be here Vualla chuckled darkly

Kel�ev balled his hands into fists How could I have known you wouldn�t back down You backed down before how could this time be any different

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 29

Randidly�s senses spread outward toward the portal in front of him It was clear that it wasn�t possible to simply walk forward and see the Nether Wells but with Randidly�s ability to sense Nether it shouldn�t be impossible to make his way through His delicate touch traced the lines of the blue veins looking for patterns and shapes

Vualla didn�t bother to answer She simply began to gather her power to herself Kel�ev was twitching now but he remained silent as Randidly continued to work What was much more persistently distracting is the cracking reverberations of Vualla�s image that she steadily released

Whatever she was preparing it would be big Very big

Even with those distractions after feeling out the surrounding area for a short amount of time Randidly found the key he was looking for The dense panes of Nether slid easily sideways revealing the hidden realm that was positively filled with Nether Wells In fact they were packed in so tightly in that area of bent space that the blast of rich Nether that rolled outward knocked Randidly several steps backward

This Nether seemed to have slowly gathered and stewed for quite some time The potency of it was staggering Randidly�s unprepared bubbles from his stars were overwhelmed and his image body was forced to endure much of the Nether directly But still Randidly struggled to gather himself and keep his gaze forward

Randidly�s gaze was solemn as he quickly used Nether Sensation to spread out his perception Although he couldn�t be sure due to the constant interplay between the Nether Wells he counted at least six hundred in a quick scan Six hundred Nether Wells roaring at full capacity in a veritable sea of Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 30

But Vualla was there to step forward past him and face the onslaught as Randidly was forced continually backward

One last punch for all the marbles Vualla whispered quietly as she moved past Randidly She looked at him and smiled almost sadly Her eyes were so blue and pure they bit into him like a clear sky on a freezing cold day Randidly to say something in response but he was forced another step backward as wave after wave of Nether crashed against him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 135

In the next moment Randidly was knocked even further back as the concussive force of whatever monstrous image that Vualla threw forward smashed into hundreds of Nether Wells For several seconds even Randidly�s Grim Intuition wasn�t able to pierce through the chaotic conflict of energies to see how the clash was proceeding There was only a horrible grinding noise so viciously loud and all consuming that even a fuzzy minded Randidly had to grit his teeth in pain

Perhaps even more embarrassing for Randidly was the fact that the fluctuations of energy were more than enough to addle his already weakened image body If he had to do much more fighting

Then the light winked out Vualla crumpled from a standing posture to a heap so suddenly that Randidly didn�t even have time to respond But just as he was about to run to her side his eyes were pulled upward by a shifting movement in the chasm of dense Nether in front of them

Although Vualla had decimated the Nether Wells she hadn�t been able to completely destroy them Two whirling discs of light slid forward weaving between each other as the aimed toward Vualla�s limp body

Randidly moved without thinking toward the first Nether Well his eyes burning He steadying himself and tried to calculate how quickly he would need to move in order to block both of the approaching Nebula

Luckily Kel�ev moved with a roar toward the right one YOU CANNOT DIE )( ##

The sudden string of gibberish where the System would generally translate tugged at Randidly�s attention but he just as quickly shoved it to the side It could wait Instead Randidly braced himself as this Nether Well crashed into his chest and slid just as easily past his defenses As the other one had it immediately nestled up against his core and began to pump out Nether into his body

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a blur of light and Kel�ev�s body twisted and grew But then his focus shot down to the problematic Nether Well in his chest

It burned against his will as he reached out toward it but Randidly ignored the worst of the pain with a stoic sort of determination that he had learned from Shal�s harsh lessons His two cores swirled down to surround the Nether Well suppressing its Nether production by a significant amount Then his hand alighted upon the fragile substance of that core nebula that was a portal into the negative energy

I know it�s hard to be alone But you cannot just destroy

We are not alone We are one All of us are connected � The Nether Well screamed ineffectually But Randidly ignored its words and brought his will to bear against it He tightened the seal

This second attempt was much more straightforward than the first Within a few seconds he had completely closed off the gushing Nether Well While trying to catch his breath in the aftermath Randidly turned to look at Kel�ev

At that exact moment Kel�ev spun to look at him concern evident on his face Both blinked at the other

How did you Kel�ev began

With raised eyebrows Randidly interrupted What the hell happened to you

When the Nether Well had approached earlier Randidly had seen a surge of light and motion coming from Kel�ev But Randidly was still floored when he looked at the man now and saw that the right side of his body seemed to have swollen into a body builder�s muscular physique and grown a thick coating of bristling quills across the top of his right arm They fluttered as Kel�ev looked at Randidly the tips a dark orange color

At Randidly�s question Kel�ev grimaced perhaps there are more important issues at the moment than our relative secrets

yea Randidly agreed slowly Then he proceeded to pick up Vualla�s limp form But no sooner had he touched her arm than there was a rumbling wave of Nether that crashed against the group If not for having hold of Vualla Randidly himself might have been blown away by the abrupt force Even more peculiar it was like Randidly could hear someone speaking in a language he didn�t understand with the noise hidden in the subtle reverberations of the Nether wave

But the emotion was clear

The Nether Gatekeeper is coming Kel�ev whispered We have to go Now

Well it�s not like I fucking wanted to sightsee here Where do we need to go for the rendezvous Randidly spat out

Kel�ev shot him a reassuring furious glance and then said The opposite side of the base from where we arrived We were supposed to mark the location of the Nether Wells and then lead a mad chase through the remainder of the base but now There should be a small Aether Key floating there currently although well hidden So

Kel�ev faltered as another dense wave of Nether carrying the Nether Gatekeeper�s ire pressed against them Randidly looked down at the unconscious form of Vualla Without her strength fighting against a foe like this

Then Randidly shook his head No even at Vualla�s best she hadn�t been able to produce such strong emotions that would persist across such distance If she had been able to the Nether Gatekeeper would have been drawn over to her presence before she had the chance to destroy the Nether Wells No their only hope was to make it to that Aether Key

And as usual Kel�ev was completely worthless

What did I even expect Weird transformation aside this guy is just a source of negative energy

So Randidly closed his eyes and blasted himself outward

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 31

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 32

Another wave of anger hit Randidly�s senses scattering them for a split second But then they snapped back together and continued the search After all Randidly had been expecting just such an outcome since he had exposed himself to the sensation of Nether

But that fucker is getting damn close Randidly thought worriedly as he felt a presence approaching them that moved with all of the brutal destructiveness and weight of a tornado

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 33

Got it Randidly hissed He pushed Vualla up onto his shoulder and looked at Kel�ev with a mocking grin Or do you think you know better than I do about this

Try to keep up Kel�ev snapped But Randidly was amused to note that he fell in easily behind Randidly as they began to rush forward toward their goal The only problem was Randidly quickly began to sweat as they continued to steadily accelerate Bouts of dizziness nipped at the edges of his consciousness

It was easy for Randidly to forget about his wounds after seeing Vualla being injured But the lingering damage from those blasts of dense Nether remained Forcing his image body to move quickly was aggravating them

Okay okay this is easy right Randidly thought with a grimace We have the direction so all I need to do is worry about going forward for the rest ah also don�t drop Vualla

Congratulations Your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 227

Chapter 1076

With most of his mind freed up by simply following the cascading motion of his own momentum Randidly was able to slap some much needed stop gap fixes onto his heavily damaged image There wasn�t any immediately noticeable healing but the edges of Randidly�s will did stop annoyingly drifting away as he struggled to continue

Fuck that was much closer than I would have liked Randidly thought through the pounding of his headache I can�t believe I�m still upright

Stemming the worst of the mental wounds in turn freed up a few more iotas of his mental strength and allowed Randidly to perform a few quick repairs and return his image to an even more stable state Of course this healing progress wasn�t free while Randidly was carefully fixing himself and rushing headlong forward the soldiers that followed him were furiously repelling the attacks of the Nether Beasts It seemed that they no longer felt the need to wait to amass before attacking They were simply flowing forward like an unending river that battered at them from every angle

And Randidly was leading the charging group of soldiers directly upstream

Who the fuck decided to put the exit point on the exact opposite side of the base from where we arrived Randidly thought grimly We have to push directly through their main forces to escape And if I�m doing that while I�m trying to recover

Randidly barely was able to keep up a basic perception scanning the surrounding area while they continued their mad dash Not that there was any real point to it He didn�t even bother to make even the slightest evasive maneuvers Such an expenditure would quickly bankrupt his already overworked mind When he looked too far forward his vision seemed to shake as his mind couldn�t smooth out the rapid changes in information that he was receiving

Too much was going on at once The Nether Beasts were too numerous

His brain hitting a limit was obviously not a good sign But it just went to show how well guarded the base of the Nether Gatekeeper was Although the number of foes Randidly had fought on this mission were small they were all elites that he had defeated only by relying on his abilities with both Nether and Aether not because he was more powerful than them Perhaps even more troublesome was all the extremely dense Nether he had to swim through to travel around the area Most of the time they had a protective image to take the edge off of it but the most dangerous battles always meant that Nether was pushed through the protective image to eat directly at his body

Pressing his eyes closed Randidly allowed his own momentum to carry him forward He really needed to steady himself For a split second his entire focus confronted the gruesome task of giving his entire remaining image a scan to determine if there were any areas that would be easily repairable Because that was exactly what he needed

Unfortunately Randidly didn�t see any easy fixes His heart sank But as his attention stayed for several seconds Randidly discovered something extremely strange occurring within himself

His image body was healing automatically It was slow but even with the continued corrosion of Nether it was definitely happening

Randidly�s eyes flicked open in shock But when no obvious explanations for that sudden change presented themselves worries began to congregate in his heart A frown creased his face as he continued to rush forward

Now that he considered the past couple of encounters more directly it was extremely strange that he had been able to stabilize himself after being weakened and then smashed backward by the collision between Vualla and the Nether Wells That alone should have knocked him out Plus Randidly then handled several seconds of the inner portion of his image being blasted by the Nether Well without any ill effects at all

Due to how quickly each of those events had occurred Randidly hadn�t been able to pay much attention to them He had just been thankful that he had been able to pull through the trials But honestly

Trying his best to ignore the grunts and groans of the soldiers following him Randidly did his best to calm his mind and quickly find the source of this healing

Once he knew what he was looking for it didn�t take long to find the culprit However when he first traced the strange healing reverberations he couldn�t believe what he saw From his two cores an ambient warmth was spreading outward through thin tendrils of Nether that brushed against the wounded portions of his image

When Randidly examined the cores more closely he was shocked to realize that there was a faint outline of his prior image hovering inside of them an exact replica of the image he possessed before coming to the Great Rift today

Randidly shivered Of course the bubble doesn�t matter as much as the core The outward image is maintained by the energy flowing outward to form the bubble Which might also be a reason that too many cores begin to bog down a physical body its attempting to heal the bubble to its prior form but the body resists the change naturally To the body it just feels like a strange foreign image But since I am a relatively more malleable image

As Randidly�s awareness brushed up against the cores a strange certainty filled him that he had no way of explaining if he were to bring his cores to touch the edge of the bubble� around him it would take a snapshot of his current image that would be the source of healing henceforth

Obviously that would be a waste at the moment as those two cores steadily sending energy toward his image was the only reason he had maintained his clarity to this point But it was a good reassurance that Randidly wouldn�t be stuck with his current image forever

The only problem was that this would technically put a stop to the rather productive process of having the Grim Chimera image ground down to nothing and then steadily built back up again However sometimes long term growth needed to take a back seat for current survival And considering the constant attacks that the Nether Beasts were launching toward them Randidly could worry about becoming even more powerful at another time

The growing noise of combat made Randidly groan and force his eyes open His mouth twisted as he glanced behind him and noticed that two of the previously injured soldiers were not following along with the group any longer it appeared that they had been completely killed by the barrage of attacks Even more concerning was the fact that their formation was slowly spreading out as those who were protecting Randidly couldn�t keep up with him and his continued mad dash

Once the formation fell apart it became that much easier for the Nether Beasts to pick off the stragglers

Dammit Some part of Randidly wanted to go assist with the fighting but for all that he was delighted by the healing from his cores it was a gradual thing It would be quite some time before Randidly was safely away from devolving into an image blob And that was exactly what he would become if he was overstrained at the moment

Sure he could kill things as an image blob but all of the growth he had so carefully experienced since arriving at the battlefront would collapse into nothing Which wasn�t even considering the damage that the main body might experience if the Grim Chimera image that Randidly held was destroyed

For all that the main body had been pissing him off Randidly didn�t want to be the cause of such a blow against it Beyond the battlefield there was still the Earth and the System he couldn�t afford to lose here

While trying to turn a deaf ear to the intense fighting continuing behind him Randidly glanced down at Vualla in his arms It was difficult to carry Vualla in a comfortable position with one of his arms being a long bone spear and the other one being an oversized claw Still Randidly did his best with his arms and used his larger lower tail to wrap around Vualla�s waist and keep her relatively secure

She was breathing peacefully blissfully unaware that her soldiers were fighting and dying around her Her braid had begun to come slightly undone so several strands of azure hair fell down along her strong jaw And strangely Randidly felt slowly easing into a smile as he looked down at her A moment passed then completely isolated from the frantic death around them Randidly felt some tension in his chest ease somewhat as he saw that Vualla remained alright despite their frantic flight

As long as she is okay

With gleeful eyes Randidly raised his head once more Another soldier had disappeared in the rain of Nether Beasts there were now only six of them remaining with Randidly and Vualla both so out of commission that they couldn�t assist with the continued threat of Nether Beasts Above and below their rapidly moving convoy thick trunks of blue veins spiraled outward like geysers of water

These two thick geysers ran parallel with their group both hemming them in and forcing them forward And the Nether Beasts were the droplets of moisture that dripped off of these geysers and rushed toward the group in uncountable numbers

Fortunately whatever transformation that enabled Kel�ev to resist a Nether Well directly also transformed him into a killing machine He was more shadow than even the Grim Chimera as he flitted back and forth and ripped forcibly through the Nether Beasts that were massing around the group The other soldiers really just needed to clean up the scraps it was only by Kel�ev�s will that they had made it this far

Randidly also couldn�t help to note two facts the first was that the strange transformation had progressed past just Kel�ev�s arm Now his entire torso had inflated and was bristling with orange tipped quills Second and even more shocking Randidly couldn�t feel even the slightest hint of an image from him as he went about his deadly work

An image was clearly present the Nether Beasts were reduced to dust just by the ambient image of his presence as he passed near them But such was the tight control that Kel�ev kept over his image that none of it seeped toward Randidly

In a way it was just as impressive as Vualla�s enormous show of power

Randidly released a hissing breath between his teeth as he continued to hurtle forward through the Great Rift His senses expanded rapidly to check their progress

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 34

Randidly�s eyes opened once more They had already punched through the middle portion of the base and were moving to areas that had less abundant Nether But all of these areas were covered in blue veins which meant that the ambushes wouldn�t be slowing anytime soon

And even worse than that

Rooaarr

Everyone shuddered and slowed as a wave of concentrated rage blasted outward Hundreds of blue veins spiraled down about two hundred meters directly in front of them and formed a strange pulsing sigil in the air Nether began to rapidly rush forward to support the strange working

We need Kel�ev began but the portal opened before he could finish

Two long tentacles as thick as a tree trunk that ended in brutal obsidian spikes slithered through the sudden opening Nether gushed out like air conditioning from a department store quickly affecting the surrounding area Then the Nether Gatekeeper began to heave the rest of his body out into their path

Chapter 1077

Randidly rushed forward doing his best to accelerate even as the Nether Gatekeeper sent two more deadly looking tentacles out of the huge portal to grip the edges and leverage its body through the opening His heartbeat began to accelerate rapidly Its staccato drumming seemed to fill Randidly with heat Even though it was just the physical presence of the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly couldn�t help but tremble with anticipation

This is the level of strength that matters If I want to be able to change the fate of Earth I need to get to this level And I need to do it quickly Randidly thought as he looked toward the portal with luminous olive eyes His body was far beyond its limits He could barely manage his current task the thought of facing this foe left him hopeless

And yet he kept accelerating

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 35

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 136

Randidly�s Nether Sensation kept him very informed of how stupid his current trajectory was Directly in front of him were now five tentacles that oozed pure Nether strong enough to eat away at the flesh of his image body even as he was throwing his all into his defense Even with the two bubbles he possessed he was fighting a losing battle This Nether was on another tier altogether than any he had previously encountered Perhaps the only reason that it wasn�t quickly tumbling out of control was the small repair ability from his cores stemming the tide

But Randidly didn�t stop pushing forward Meters disappeared as his eyes scanned the strange working Around those tentacles was a completely black portal of Nether Surrounding that portal was a wreath of interlocking blue veins that pulsed more brightly and frequently than Randidly had ever seen for the veins It seemed that the role of the Nether Gatekeeper was more than just the strongest Nether Beast in town

Around that was a steadily growing number of Nether Beasts There were jellyfish alligators dinosaurs eagles raptors badgers bears and eels They screamed and roared and bared their slimy and dense bodies Although quite a few continued to come and draw Kel�ev�s attention most were just massing in a vast circle

With an unconscious Vualla at their center the squad was trapped Randidly could feel the realization hit the surviving soldiers in their chests like a thrown dagger Those that had been pulled into the mission by Terith�s request quickly turned immediately sluggish It was only Kel�ev and the rather short man who was Vualla�s other subordinate that continued fighting with the same vigor

All the while Randidly accelerated His mouth stretched wider He had a very very dangerous idea

Kel�ev materialized next to Randidly as though he sensed the increasing aggressiveness of Randidly�s thought process At the same time Randidly finally had a taste of Kel�ev�s image the strangeness of hit smashed over Randidly�s head like a splash of cold water

It was the reflection of a moon in a pond in the eye of the beholding woman on the mossy bank who had come up in a story someone else remembered that an acquaintance had told to a stranger while all parties involved were drunk It was a life of empty spaces between empty people who were endlessly copying other empty people and chasing each other in a circle while seeking empty happiness

This time when the main bodies furious disapproval of this strange image appeared Randidly agreed wholeheartedly This was a dirty and dangerous image

But Kel�ev�s words pulled Randidly back to their situation and out of the hideously empty image that he wielded What are you doing We must turn around Even if it takes longer to reach the Aether Key

Randidly activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes to shoot forward at an even higher speed Like a peerless steel knife Randidly cut forward through the thick flows of Nether and headed straight forward toward the Nether Gatekeeper that was slowly manifesting The distance narrowed to one hundred meters As Randidly watched its struggling figure with narrowed eyes two more tentacles swam out and seized the edges of the portal

With one final heave the main body of the Nether Gatekeeper was revealed And to Randidly�s surprise it was very clearly a human

It�s bald and sweaty head lolled sideways on a completely tensionless neck The eight tentacles stretched out from the human body�s back and lifted the body to stand high above the hurtling form of Randidly But as Randidly examined the seemingly lifeless human body at the core of the tentacles Randidly�s blood froze as he met its eyes

They were crimson and fixed upon him with a baleful stare Those eyes brooked no disagreement the Nether Gatekeeper had ordained it would kill Randidly and the woman in his arms who had destroyed the Nether Wells With just a stare the Nether Gatekeeper began to gather flows of Nether that twisted into a tight river and began to push against Randidly to slow him down

To Randidly�s fury it was working His defenses were slowly crumbling as the Nether became even more fucking caustic but he did not turn away from his path even as spots of darkness flashed across his vision

Chimeric Avoidance As Randidly stretched his already overtaxed will to start avoiding some of the damage from the Nether the rate of his mind unraveling slowed back down to acceptable levels It wasn�t free however Randidly�s headache intensified But at this rate Randidly should last long enough to accomplish what he wished

Once more Kel�ev caught up to Randidly and began to speak The ease with which he did so rankled quite a bit If you wish to give up your life in order to help us escape there are better ways to do it And please put Lady Vualla

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 208

I wish I could avoid this fucker�s nagging Randidly thought rather bitterly This time he was careful to keep his Grim Intuition close to himself so he wasn�t forced to endure Kel�ev�s image for a second time

But as Randidly kept his senses away from the figure next to him suddenly remembered the strange failure of the System overlay in translating Kel�ev�s words as he referred to Vualla a few minutes prior Combining that with the feeling of unease that both he and the main body sensed from Kel�ev�s image Randidly no longer was willing to trust this man Which even left out the fact that he was the reason that they were forced to come here to this death trap

But that doesn�t mean he�s not useful Randidly chuckled darkly Plus its pretty obvious that for all his idiocy of reporting her Vualla has an important place in Kel�ev�s shriveled heart And I don�t mind using that

Huh Why are you laughing Kel�ev snapped

Just as quickly as Randidly opened his mouth to snap back a retort his jawed clicked painfully as he instinctually forced his mouth closed in response to a wave of furious Nether gushing toward him Apparently the Nether Gatekeeper was tired of them rather blatantly ignoring it as they rushed toward it

Those crimson eyes narrowed at the two figures streaking toward it Perhaps only fifty meters or so remained between Randidly and the Nether Gatekeeper And considering that the tightly muscled tentacles of the Nether Gatekeeper probably could stretch out to fifty meters they had just entered its territory

One of the tentacles shot outward with all of the subtlety of a charging rhino to smash into Randidly�s chest Meanwhile Randidly�s Grim Intuition warned that the real threat was the five other tentacles that sneakily began to spread out in a net around to all the directions that he could use to escape the first strike

Give me dammit you fucking image you need to dodge Kel�ev bellowed

Randidly chuckled again and activated Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes once more He was still under the influence of the first Skill but his current speed wasn�t enough So he layered the two Skills together and continued to shoot up through the flows of Nether that the Nether Gatekeeper was throwing against him His muscles twitched and spasmed in protest but Randidly managed it

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 178

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 137

You fucking fool Kel�ev spluttered as he realized Randidly was only moving more quickly toward the certain death However Randidly�s attention was completely focused on another issue a well timed notification popped into being in front of him

Congratulations You have completed the Nether Adaption II Path Truly this Path is one rarely traveled by those who are primarily composed of Aether The two energies of Aether and Nether are inherently opposed even now they fight in your body Yet through strength of Willpower and Endurance you have managed to handle the complications It may not yet be clear where this fractured Path leads but there can be no denying that the symmetry present can be used to construct something that will endure the ravenous passage of time

Congratulations Endurance +100 Skill Levels in Nether related Skills count for an extremely small amount more You have learned the Skill Nether Rituals Lvl 1

Nether Rituals Although Nether cannot be used in the same manner as Aether to Engrave there are certain pseudo religious offerings that can be made with Nether as the base Depending on the desired result and the created offering results may vary If the desired result is vastly superior to the offering consequences may result Significance of result increases with Skill Level Likelihood of correct result increases with Skill Level Possible size of the Ritual increases with Skill Level

Your Soulskill has passed Level 10000 You sense that you shall receive the next PP tithe from the Alpha Cosmos if your Soulskill grows to 11000

Chapter 1078

Of course Randidly couldn�t benefit from the rather significant Endurance reward which was quite unfortunate considering his current troubles relating to enduring the obnoxiously thick Nether But the additional bonus for Nether related Skills would help even if it was rather small change overall

Of course Nether Rituals as a Skill seemed rather dubious Randidly wasn�t a fan of the fact that the term religious� popped up even if it was prefaced by pseudo But experiments with his new toy could wait until later Randidly still needed to survive His tail tightened around Vualla�s torso like a skittish boa constrictor while she continued to rest peacefully

Almost unwillingly Randidly glanced once quickly down at Vualla in amusement Are you seriously able to sleep through this

But then his focus came sharply back upward

As Randidly predicted Kel�ev gnashed his teeth but threw himself in front of the tentacle that was racing to meet the duo of Randidly and Vualla with a swift death Once again Randidly was left supremely impressed and not a little furious at Kel�ev�s sudden speed Even though Randidly was moving forward as quickly as he could manage Kel�ev still managed to catch up and interpose himself between the two charging forces

In preparation for the collision Kel�ev�s transformation intensified His body increased in size even further until he was about four meters tall and two meters wide His quills became almost completely burnt orange with a glimmer of gold at the tips The aura he radiated triggered Grim Intuition�s warning against dangerous foes

Despite all the preparations Kel�ev was only barely able to deflect the tentacle And even though he managed it in the end the obsidian tip drew a deep and bloody line across his left side Randidly continued to rush forward using Chimeric Avoidance to shimmy just a little to the side and make it past the collision point without being buffeted too badly by the violent aftershocks

Unfortunately the dense Nether wafting off of the tentacle just ripped Randidly�s bubbles open and began eating into him He pulled Vualla more closely to the other side of his body to protect her from the worst of it and hurried forward with a grimace

Don�t think I don�t know what you are doing Kel�ev hissed right into Randidly�s ear Randidly didn�t bother to acknowledge him But it is a fool�s errand If I die this whole thing collapses Your precious Vualla (# #( )(

Like a curtain dropping across the stage suddenly none of Kel�ev�s words were being translated by the System More warning bells went off in Randidly�s fuzzy mind that this was much bigger than Kel�ev just being a dick but Randidly was dipping down toward sleepwalking by now The Nether Gatekeeper�s very presence brought too much Nether for Randidly to resist for much longer

But he didn�t need much longer His body continued to skip forward through the Nether Twenty meters fifteen meters All he needed

The Nether Gatekeeper roared again The tentacles that had been waiting for Randidly to dodge no longer were poised in wait now they struck from every direction like the patient vipers that they truly were

# email protected)(#

Kel�ev materialized in front of Randidly again This time he ignored the tentacles and reached out toward Vualla With his huge body there was barely a ghost of a chance that Randidly could get around him to his goal

Randidly�s gaze was glassy as he considered Kel�ev�s monstrously muscled form His thoughts clicked noisily together like copper pennies It was increasingly hard to focus There are no perfect Paths just appropriate ends

A spear can only advance

But even Randidly tried to push his body one more time to get around Kel�ev�s huge orange hand he felt his image tremble with the exertion There was just no more mental strength that he could use Even that extra weight he had gathered from repeated triumphs against the Eidolon Crucible was reaching its limits

Not yet Randidly didn�t need to look down at Vualla to feel the rise and fall of her chest Not her

But there was a pinch more With Randidly shooting rapidly forward across the last dozen meters Kel�ev trying to block his way and seize Vualla and the Nether Gatekeeper unleashing an attack on the two of them with six of its tentacles it was the time to put everything he had on the table

All Things Succumb Yet TIme Whirls the Earth

Randidly felt his perception stretching He was two Randidly�s then three then twenty then a hundred and one searching for that perfect combination of growth that would have made this situation possible to overcome

It was hard Too much was smothered by Nether Almost as quickly as Randidly stretched himself to find a Path forward some of the alternate Randidly�s disappeared as they drowned in Nether in those far flung timelines and ceased to be Numbers grew and shrunk Each dragged away a little more of Randidly�s mental strength each intensified the throbbing pain in his skull The number of lives Randidly managed to sift through doubled and then dropped to one tenth of their original amount as Randidly�s died like flies drowning in molasses

Yet eventually Randidly found that perfect Randidly He took a step forward even as he felt something deep inside of himself rip and tear as it was overstrained

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 144

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 145

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 146

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 147

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 148

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 149

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 150

Even as he moved with more speed and elusiveness than should be possible the Grim Chimera sensed something was wrong The fragment of personality that it had inherited flickered and cracked That certainty of self went dim leaving the Grim Chimera in near darkness while surrounded by foes

Of course that just made the Grim Chimera smile When had it not been this way Such a situation was more familiar than family or friends

A pressure the Grim Chimera hadn�t truly noticed until now suddenly disappeared as he had been able to lose the gaze of the Nether Gatekeeper for a brief moment The Grim Chimera shivered A frightful beast the Nether Gatekeeper one best avoided And even though its sense of self departed the Grim Chimera still remembered the old mind�s plan It was a good one although dangerous

The Grim Chimera glanced behind as it continued to streak forward through the final few meters That fool Kel�ev had swelled again becoming almost ten meters tall In addition the Grim Chimera suddenly could sense that this swelling body was just a puppet something vast and dangerous was lurking behind this strange transformation

But the body it currently possessed was simply too weak to handle that terrible empty image Three of the tentacles had punctured the body and now ate rapidly away at Kel�ev�s flesh But even though he was incredibly injured Kel�ev only looked confused

Finally Kel�ev�s eyes located the Grim Chimera�s form He ground his teeth in fury It was obvious who he blamed for this turn of events

The Grim Chimera grinned allowing its long tongue to loll out of his mouth Following its instincts the Grim Chimera pressed Vualla against himself and absorbed her into itself She became a core and the Grim Chimera the bubble It was slightly uncomfortable but it would do for the moment

Then while Kel�ev continued to bellow something unintelligible the Grim Chimera reached out and touched one of the blue veins He became a core to the bubble that was this vast network that the Nether Beasts hadn�t bothered to shut down around him

With an effort that had the Grim Chimera shivering and sweating he pressed himself elsewhere and disappeared

Unfortunately the Grim Chimera hadn�t been able to make it completely to the location of the hidden Nether Key Still it was now only a short while away and no Nether Beasts materialized to attack it

Perhaps more importantly the density of the Nether in this area was so much less than it had previously been enduring that it felt almost refreshing Still with its tongue hanging out of its mouth the Grim Chimera took several steadying breaths

Grinning with the glee of a successful delay of its final death the Grim Chimera quickly began to move through the Great Rift It seemed like the Nether Gatekeeper was not pleased to find that it had escaped

Very quickly the Grim Chimera moved until he was very near to the Aether Key Then with another shudder inducing effort it removed Vualla from his chest It studied Vualla carefully Even though most of its cognition was gone it still was deeply attached to Vualla The destruction she pursued seemed sublime to its sensibilities

Luckily she seemed to still be sleeping peacefully being a core didn�t have any lingering effects

So the Grim Chimera took a step forward and arrived at the hidden space with the Aether Key

Nine pairs of eyes widened as the Grim Chimera appeared Then they noticed Vualla in the Grim Chimera�s arms and they instantly became annoyingly agitated They were speaking to the Grim Chimera but it couldn�t understand what they were saying The words were as empty as their eyes

The Grim Chimera gestured toward itself Vualla hoping this would convey what it wanted Then it pointed toward the Aether Key

It would be difficult to kill these people the Grim Chimera decided but not impossible But considering that Nether Gatekeeper was likely pursuing it fighting would take too much time And the Grim Chimera was so so tired

One of the people stepped forward and said something else in a low voice

Helpless the Grim Chimera cast its weary mind around to try and remember how the personality would have handled such a situation

But before it found an answer another roar ripped through the Great Rift And this roar was much closer it seemed that the Nether Gatekeeper was heading in their direction

Just as the Grim Chimera was about to take action the individual that had spoken to it last reached out and touched the Grim Chimera�s shoulder The Grim Chimera�s first instinct was to cut off this offending limb but it kept control and observed this motion It remembered dimly that this sort of gesture could convey intimacy Which was quite confusing

After that the speaker gestured to itself and spoke several sentences very quickly The individual patted the Grim Chimera�s shoulder and then offered it the Aether Key

The Grim Chimera didn�t really care what they were saying After blinking rapidly several times the Grim Chimera confirmed that they truly had understood it So it simply took the key and was finally teleported with Vualla back to safety

Chapter 1079

Some part of Nahlun knew that he was making a mistake by putting himself into the line of fire here But as he looked at the wretched state of Vualla and witnessed dead eyes of the soldier that managed to carry her out of the Nether hell

Shivering Nahlun had to look away from those eyes Even though that individual was just an image and Nahlun possessed a body there was a terrible intensity there that had nothing to do with power and had everything to do with determination It was that core of steel that had allowed these two to escape where it looked like Vualla�s significant power had failed

Yet even though they had made it to this rendezvous point it was clear from the wrathful roars that the Nether Gatekeeper�s attention was definitely attracted in this direction The first Squad had accomplished every task flawlessly At this rate there would be nothing left for the other Squads to assist with

Perhaps even that amazing capability wouldn�t have been enough for Nahlun to expose himself to danger due to the lack of relationship with this unknown soldier and Vualla herself if the first exhausted message of this soldier hadn�t been so breathtakingly clear

Without any ability to say words the soldier could only gesture Yet that was more than enough to get his point across Please use the Aether Key and take our Squad Leader She at least needs to survive �

You�ve accomplished our goal of destroying the Nether Wells so please allow us to handle your role we will lead the Nether Gatekeeper toward the ambush Nahlun said solemnly As a veteran of fifty years on the frontlines who possessed three stars he knew exactly how likely it was that he would die for this decision

Yet as he said it it was suddenly like a weight was removed from his shoulders In his heart Nahlun knew that this was the correct decision They all were soldiers And it was clear that the other squad had taken action so Nahlun�s squad wouldn�t be exposed to danger Honor dictated that Nahlun return the favor

Nahlun could see the hesitation and confusion in the silent soldier�s eyes It was an image somehow having reached the level of two stars likely a veteran of an uncountable number of battles The image undoubtedly knew that Nahlun�s squad would be exposing itself to unnecessary danger by giving him assistance So when he arrived there was a pause as the two duties warred within the image�s heart His hesitation betrayed his kindness

Yet even after Nahlun made the offer the soldier hesitated It was clear he did not want to truly expose them to this risk

To emphasize his point Nahlun offered the soldier the Aether Key Torn by indecision the soldier looked down at Vualla That seemed to harden its heart somewhat When he looked back up at Nahlun the soldier took the Aether Key and disappeared back to safety

He didn�t even have the strength to speak One of Nahlun�s subordinates said softly What the hell did the first Squad need to go through

War Nahlun said shortly And they sacrificed seven lives to get this far Look sharp boys Let�s not let their sacrifice be in vain Let�s lead that pig of a Nether Gatekeeper to slaughter

Everyone nodded

�I fucking hate headaches � Randidly spoke with such acidic vehemence that his own words woke him up from his fitful slumber What was waiting for him was an almost reassuringly mundane ceiling of canvas Then the thundering headache his sleeptalking had reference to made itself known and Randidly winced and pressed his eyes closed

Even after several seconds the pounding didn�t abate In fact Randidly had a terrible suspicion that the pain was growing worse every second Randidly could only forcefully release the tension he was holding in his jaw and neck to relieve some of the worst symptoms

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 108

Great at least this is a sort of pain that I can grow from Randidly forcibly warped his mouth with a manic grin

Above him Yggdrasil chuckled dryly �If you truly hated headaches you wouldn�t continually put yourself in situations that result in them You�ll have to forgive us if we start to suspect that you are a masochist

Randidly barred his teeth while keeping his eyes closed In the brief few moments that he had his eyes open the light raked his grey matter across a bed of coals and he was loathe to experience such a thing again �I�m not even sure if that�s incorrect But it�s all to grow If you know a better way of growing �

Randidly face suddenly twisted into a scowl as pain like few feelings he had ever experienced pierced through to the very core of his being Existence from Randidly�s perspective stuttered to a stop For several seconds he couldn�t even move that pain was like a spear that pinned him to the ground while his thoughts helplessly circled him in dismay at his terrible circumstances

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 109

Now that I think about it why am I gaining Skill Levels Is this not pain from Nether Then what

Something at his core flickered on and off causing agonizing fluctuations to run through Randidly Sensing the sudden shift Yggdrasil�s branches rustled down to alight on his shoulders Warm streams of energy flowed into Randidly attempting to address the vicious pain that was eating at his consciousness and flash freezing his thought processes But for whatever reason those streams of warmth seemed less potent than Randidly remembered They seemed helpless before this pain they could alleviate the symptoms slightly but it wasn�t affecting the broken source

Finally that cracked thing in Randidly core flickered for the final time and remained lit A hissing breath escaped Randidly as he slowly relaxed this time almost helplessly All his Willpower drained out of whatever crack from which the pain originated

�Fuck me � Randidly said Now that the central core of pain was gone Randidly was recovering more quickly under Yggdrasil�s ministrations But he was also shaking from the aftershocks of that strange pain that had left him completely incapacitated albeit briefly Something old and dark from the Grim Chimera seemed to wake as Randidly tried to cope with the knowledge that he had been so helpless for a few seconds

Hatred blossomed like a crimson flower in Randidly�s chest He hated this feeling of weakness If there was away to avoid every being forced to feel this weak again if he could kill everyone who threatened him

Blurred images of Nether Beasts appeared in Randidly�s mind In these memories Randidly seemed to be shooting forward through the Nether barely hanging on to his life The memories themselves floated fuzzily around in his mind and Randidly regarded them with shock These memories where did they come from But that feeling of weakness It�s the same

The memories came to him in sharp fragments There was darkness and the sensation of manipulating the Nether bubbles to rush out and attack something The victim was a blur Then there was a strange moment where a soldier was reaching out and touching Randidly�s shoulder and then the limp and violent form of the Nether Gatekeeper

�Vualla � Randidly spat out with every ounce of energy he had been able to muster while sifting through the memories He sat up quickly smashing his forehead into the knobby elbow joint of Yggdrasil With a groan Randidly collapsed backward as those fragmented moments floated together to give him a picture of what happened

The �Randidly ness� that he possessed had been so strained by utilizing his Willpower beyond his natural capacity that it had cracked Even now that exposed flaw was exactly why he was hit with such an unnatural pain out of the blue The fact that he had been able to continue after that was slightly puzzling but combing more carefully through his memories provided an answer It had been the instincts of the Grim Chimera that had carried Vualla forward to try and escape the base of the Nether Gatekeeper while Randidly was out of commission

Since he was here and in one piece it appeared that the Grim Chimera had been rather successful But Randidly had no memory of what happened when they returned to the Aether side

�She�s fine as far as I can tell � Yggdrasil said warily The energy that he was channeling into Randidly slowed to a trickle and then stopped Yggdrasil creaked as he straightened upward �Vualla I mean Unfortunately I was more concerned with getting you back here as quickly as possible than I was with checking in with her status any more seriously than determining that she wasn�t in critical condition �

�Was I that bad � Randidly asked with a heavy sigh Honestly he could guess what the answer was based on the pain that had just seized him

�Well yes but I was more concerned about the energy you were throwing off � Randidly could hear the smile in Yggdrasil�s voice �I believe it is a way of instinctively healing the damage you�ve taken but you have the distinct scent of Nether wafting off of you currently Easy to explain just as you return but as time went on questions would have been asked �

Randidly checked his inner area and sure enough his two Nether Wells were radiating significant Nether Most of it was gobbled up by the two cores that continued to try and restore Randidly�s exterior to its prior state but some was no doubt leaking out through the cracks Whatever sort of thing had been established inside of himself it had been done completely subconsciously And Randidly had to admit that he wasn�t the most delicate engineer of these things even at the best of times

Especially without the Skills of the main body

Randidly both tightened his control over the Nether Wells and created more powerful currents of Nether in his core to control the energy It wasn�t a long term solution but it would at least reduce the amount of Nether that he was producing

Such actions of course earned him a sharp spike of pain from his persistent headache

�Plus � Yggdrasil continued cheerily �You were only a few seconds away from having enough Nether in your body to reach three stars So I wanted to get you away from Commander Terith before that happened Too many shocks in one day is dangerous for a man his age you should have seen his face when you and Vualla appeared �

Again with trepidation Randidly turned his attention inward and discovered that Yggdrasil had been telling the truth a third star had already formed inside of himself Perhaps even more shocking was that a fourth was also halfway done

However Randidly discovered something extremely annoying about the new produced core Perhaps because of his subconscious actions the third core had recorded a very flawed version of his image He must have moved it to press it against his bubble during one of his dreams As such while two cores were trying to heal himself the third was working against them and trying to keep everything in its murky state Which had halved his recovery speed

Gritting his teeth Randidly touched the offending core and followed his instincts to completely cleanse it of the terrible image it had imprinted Instantly it stopped absorbing Nether to use to affect his bubble Some internal tension Randidly hadn�t even noticed finally relaxed Nether began to flow more easily through him Which made a marked difference in the speed that Randidly felt his image was slowly restoring itself

�How long until the next mission � Randidly asked grimly The healing speed increased but the image body was only half of the battle he still needed for his Willpower to recover And also Randidly needed to find out how gently he needed to treat this cracked psyche that was at his core

He assumed it would heal but if he kept ending up in situations where he was forced to use every ounce of his power

For several seconds Yggdrasil was silent The lack of response stretched for so long that even the bleary Randidly opened his eyes and blinked rapidly at the dim light of the tent�s interior While Randidly tried to get his bearings Yggdrasil quietly said �Two days �

Two days But that would mean

Randidly had an urge to sit up again but quickly suppressed it �I don�t suppose Lady Iellaya was so moved by my generosity in volunteering that she gave us a day off �

Yggdrasil�s leaves rustled as he shook his head �I went into the Great Rift in your stead After being there I certainly can�t blame you for returning with grievous injuries every time And we only encountered three Nether Beasts during our stay Compared to the trials that you have faced �

Even though it hurt Randidly forced his body to sit up Then he turned and regarded Yggdrasil

Likely earlier when it had felt like Yggdrasil�s healing streams were less powerful than before it might not have just been context The current Yggdrasil looked more like a weeping willow with greying leaves than the towering tree that held up the world It was clear that the image hadn�t become any less detailed since Randidly had seen Yggdrasil last but certainly it was less vibrant

Randidly�s eyes flashed as he ruminated on the coldly calculating Iellaya I�ll fucking kill that bitch

Chapter 1080

That violent thought echoed through his mind once then twice while Randidly was suffused with the raw emotion of the impulse Then Randidly felt a rather shocked horror at the sudden vehemence of his thoughts But even though he felt rather alarmed at the instinct the desire to kill Iellaya didn�t fade

Looks like there are changes from my main consciousness weakening Randidly thought with a frown The Grim Chimera�s instincts are closer at hand I�ll have to be careful about that moving forward

But do I really need to be careful Another part of Randidly responded If I�m strong enough to kill everything that threatens me why not get rid of liabilities And based on her blatant disregard for our safety Iellaya qualifies What would have happened if I didn�t wake up in time for the next mission

To that Randidly had no answer Or at least not one that wouldn�t simply infuriate him further And he was honestly too exhausted to get embroiled in this internal debate at the moment Instead he refocused on his meager attention on Yggdrasil �You went with Salazar and Zauna �

Yggdrasil nodded �And both performed admirably Without them �

�Yea I won�t forget that they helped you while I couldn�t � Randidly said lightly Despite their individual quirks Randidly was willing to forgive a lot just for the fact that they had been with Yggdrasil as protectors

With all the gentleness he could manage Randidly brought his claw up to his forehead and held his skull His talons attempted to draw small circles around his temples Truly for all that it was useful for battle the claw and the bone spear were absolutely useless for normal living Randidly was just as likely to inflict even worse damage than he was to make himself feel better like this

Shaking his head Randidly dropped his arms and looked around Aside from Randidly and Yggdrasil the tent was empty It seemed that Zauna and Salazar were busy elsewhere Maybe they were driven away by the Nether that I was producing and maybe that�s why

With gritted teeth Randidly spared Yggdrasil another glance His leaves were simply so much more grey than he remembered The emerald color had become incredibly dull since they had last seen each other Turning away Randidly forced himself to focus on anything else than his fellow image�s wounds

Then Randidly�s eyes caught on a large egg shaped grey mass in the corner At first he was confused but then he recognized the same strange material that Yggdrasil was using to make an isolating structure for Ignition Essence Randidly gestured at it with his bone spear while trying to keep his neck and head completely still in order to manage his headache �So you finished the home for Ignition But why is there a crack in it �

Yggdrasil chuckled �Indeed Not that I truly know it will help but somehow I suspect that it will As for the crack I do not know That appeared while I was busy completing the mission When I came back the crack was already present �

Randidly�s eyes narrowed with another flash of fury �You don�t think someone �

�Snuck in and shook it around to determine what was inside I doubt it � Yggdrasil�s leaves rustled reassuring as he repositioned himself Randidly released a breath and a lot of his sudden tension went with it �After all no one thinks we images possess anything of value I prefer to think that it was Ignition Essence itself Perhaps he was gathering enough strength to break out of the isolation chamber of its own accord After all the main body created Ignition Essence in darkness �

As he looked at the slightly cracked egg Randidly held his tongue It truly wasn�t a crack from an outside force but it was just a thin crack that ran along one of the sides More likely than either his suspicious theory or Yggdrasil�s optimistic one was simply that the material constituting the egg had dried out and cracked for that reason

But Randidly felt no reason to point that out Words were important because they shaped belief and from belief came images As someone who was currently entirely an image he would not casually transgress against a fellow image needlessly

Instead Randidly simply leaned back and stared at the ceiling as Yggdrasil continued you speak �You know there is some good news �

�Hmm � Randidly said drowsily Now that he was laying down again he wanted to return to a meditative state to heal as quickly as possible With the foolishly destructive core switched off the speed of his healing should double

�Your next mission is offensive You�ll get your hands on an Aether Key again � Yggdrasil said lightly �And if my suspicions are correct you�ll be able to synchronize Aether Detection with the main body �

Randidly smiled sharply Knowledge was what they still lacked most And it seemed like every time he meant to ask some questions to learn more an attack came that would distract him for several days with recovering from his wounds But as long as Vualla had recovered Randidly had no doubt that she would be willing to give him greater context for what was going on here at the borderlands That knowledge would be further supplemented when he could use Aether Detection to investigate some of the grand formations in the area directly

Then Randidly grimaced I hope Yggdrasil is right about her being less injured than I was it seemed like she stretched her boundaries too far as well to annihilate all of the Nether Wells at once

Then Randidly shook his head Nothing would come from just sitting here He needed to prepare himself for what was coming next

After taking a long rest to recover his strength Randidly sat up bright eyed and bony tailed His claws and bone spear drew deep scars in the ground as he stretched lazily Then he immediately hopped to his feet and checked the state of his body Finding it to his liking he glanced around the tent

To his relief Salazar and Zauna still had not returned And it appeared that Yggdrasil was doing some resting of his own in the far corner trying frantically to recover enough to assist in Randidly�s own recovery

Shaking his head Randidly started to stretch more vigorously to check the state of his image Yggdrasil was too generous for his own good with his strength If he didn�t have someone like Randidly with the Grim Chimera�s viciousness to protect him such a kind hearted image would likely be devoured by the frontlines

The more that Randidly thought about it the more quickly and violently he moved His body continued to accelerate easily through the motions so Randidly kept on pushing himself while keeping his movements not so violent that it would produce enough noise to distract Yggdrasil Just as Randidly was getting into the silent exertion of testing his body there was a noise from the front of the tent

�B b boss� Salazar stuttered as he walked into the tent �Y you are a a already up �

Randidly just grunted slowed back down to stretching lightly He much preferred the silent intensity of Zauna�s gaze when she walked into the tent to Salazar�s rapid tongue movements and stuttering There was however an accusation hidden there in Zauna�s eyes but it was much easier to ignore something if the person in question didn�t bother vocalizing their feelings

After staring at Randidly for a bit his two subordinates shuffled into the suddenly crowded tent Every time Salazar opened his mouth to say something else Randidly�s sharp gaze would focus on him and leave the words beheaded on Salazar�s tongue as a lesson for those that would come after In that way Randidly could focus on his own tasks and also Yggdrasil�s easy breathing wasn�t disturbed

Yet Randidly had to spare both of the subordinates an extra glance as he continued to check his image body for flaws Because on the first glance it might have been some of the visual effects of this borderland that confused Randidly but as he looked at them again it was clear that they were both changed

Salazar�s case was more subdued but several looks allowed Randidly to determine that Salazar�s neck was quite a bit longer than it used to be So much so that his head seemed to bob up and down with all of his movements

In Zauna�s case her mud color had deepened from shallow and wet mud to deep dried mud mixed with loam and decomposing leaves It was a darker greener brown that caused Randidly to wonder whether he had any influence on the change in shade

Randidly glanced at Yggdrasil Was this due to his ability to heal images Was he also allowing them to grow in the same way that Randidly was Or would all images grow if they were given the ability to slowly heal and recover after fighting If it was the latter option then certainly the Commanders here were vicious for forcing the images to go out and fight even when it would mean they would disperse into nothing and waste their potential for growth

But how many images lose all sense of self when they are ripped out of the host body Randidly licked his lips Truly those are the monsters that deserve to die Perhaps the Commanders can be forgiven but the System�s recruitment methods

Shaking his head Randidly banished his aggression and tried to focus on the task at hand Satisfied that his subordinates would remain quiet for the foreseeable future Randidly turned his focus inward He instantly focused on the three Nether cores revolving slowly around the two Nether Wells

Randidly hesitated for a split second but then he touched both of the remaining cores with his Willpower and erased the recorded image there Suddenly the Nether in his chest began to swirl listlessly no longer able to flow into healing him Randidly quickly tightened the opening of both Nether Wells as tightly as his still relatively tender mind would allow Then he began the exhaustive task of sharpening his image even further

Perhaps Randidly could have skipped this part After all his image had been completely refined almost four full times since he arrived at the battlefield and it hadn�t been a weak image before he had come here Or rather the weakness of the image was due to lack of time and depth rather than a faulty base image The sharp details that Randidly had managed to add since arriving here were just icing on the cake

But Randidly somehow sensed that he could still take it farther And that taking it farther was an exhausting task that would lead to immense rewards So Randidly rolled up his mental sleeves and got to work

The first step as always was just to observe every inch of himself Then Randidly decided to focus his attention on three areas keeping his changes relatively clustered rather than attempting to improve everything at once After all Randidly only possessed a certain amount of time and attention

If there were some area that he could use to extend time Randidly wouldn�t mind putting together a much more exhaustive investigation and going piece by piece through his image to determine the best paths for improvement But Randidly didn�t currently have that time He had two days until his next mission and he didn�t want to waste more of that time than he needed to on his image

After all there was a lot Randidly needed to learn about utilizing his cores Now that he had the general knack he could really turn it into an advantage in his future fights

But that meant Randidly needed to move quickly through his image now So he simply looked carefully and trusted his gut when it indicated he touched upon something valuable

Chapter 1081

After his careful examination Randidly decided that there were three specific areas where a little bit of attention would result in quite a bit of effect to his overall image his arms his skin and his tails

Of the three skin seemed the easiest to use as the starting point In addition it would require the most careful touch of the three areas so Randidly wanted to start before he had expended most of his Willpower So Randidly really focused on the skin that covered the body of the Grim Chimera

As he had slowly incorporated Nether into his body the skin of his chest had become increasingly translucent while the skin of his limbs became rougher and darker So now Randidly began to carefully smooth out that transition from translucent to rough It wasn�t that the change in texture was a sudden thing in Randidly�s mind it was that the skin nearer to the Nether Wells was constantly bombarded with that light energy and purified Meanwhile the limbs were forced to endure the hostile elements of the world and had grown more dangerous to compensate

I�ve become a dermatologist Randidly thought abruptly with not a little bit of remorse Then he shook his head at the strange old Earth joke that manifested in his imagination But still creating the right sort of feeling was an extremely delicate process So much so that it seemed likely that it required an expert�s touch

Randidly worked with both the thickness and texture of the skin�s image Which if he was being honest was not his forte Both Randidly himself and the supplemental bit of personality of the Grim Chimera weren�t exactly experts in softness and smooth skin Their initial attempts proved to be woefully inadequate

It was only after several unsuccessful and frustratingly vague attempts that Randidly stumbled across an answer One that made him feel not a little guilt in his heart

Well I�m only copying the soft sensation of skin Randidly�s mouth twisted at the thought that contained a shade of dishonesty within it But he really could think of no other option at this point It�s not like it�s that personal a thing

So while anxiously glancing over his shoulder at an invisible specter shaking her heavy gauntleted fist Randidly used his brief and sparse memory of holding onto Vualla�s bare shoulder while fleeing from the Nether Gatekeeper as a source of inspiration for what soft skin should feel like Even though the nerve endings in his claw weren�t as developed as those on a human�s hand he could still remember the sensation of holding her shoulder in his palm Even now even despite the mental damage he received and the accumulated weariness of these efforts that sensation was crystal clear With Vualla�s soft skin as a base Randidly rapidly changed his skin to its new form

Because although the skin of his chest that was most often being purified by the Nether Well�s strange light was that soft his body was swiftly corrupted by the environment and his exterior became the rough and grey skin that was more cartilage than anything else It came off and flakes and healed with all the quickness and tenacity of a nest of cockroaches

Which is the balance I need to strike Randidly thought sadly Strength but not so strong that I turn into a stone monster that seeks to kill all threats to my existence Because that�s just fear I would be lashing out only because I�m afraid And I want to be strong enough to live with fear

There was a small disgruntled reaction from the Grim Chimera but it quickly settled back into place without comment It accepted this truth that Randidly had presented

Immediately after finishing refining his image for skin he felt the difference in his body As he sat breathing in the crowded tent his skin felt sensitive It suddenly tingled as he became aware of the movements of air in the surrounding area and the heat of the Aether runes that lined the tent Or at least his core felt these things even as his arms remained completely numb and dangerous

Which was a good point to transition Randidly�s focus from his skin to his arms Mostly he was working on their innate deadliness He lengthened and sharpened the talons on his left arm He enlarged the forearm muscles to improve the grip strength to the point that he could easily imagine himself crushing a skull The bone spear of his right arm became more tapered so the base around his elbow was thicker than the jagged and vicious point

Then again and again Randidly dragged his attention across every surface of the arms and tightened the sensation and muscles connections in the area As much as possible Randidly wanted to make his image not just look like a body but feel and function like a body That would become a source of strength for him moving forward

The more reality there was in his image the less his Willpower would need to be spent to make up the mechanical deficiencies of the image he had created

Lastly Randidly worked on the tails After his experience with carrying Vualla and dealing with the headaches from his constant battles he was becoming supremely fed up with how useless his arms were for normal activities So Randidly decided to add the same dark skin that covered the outer portion of his extremities and line the tails with muscle The lower tail could now move dextrously to grab nearby items and the upper tail had been lengthened so that it could perform most of the deft and reassuring touches to himself that Randidly remembered doing with his body

After carefully layering the muscles along the tail Randidly performed an experiment he used his upper tail to rub the bridge of his nose

It curled easily around his face and pressed up against his nose Then the rest of the tail twisted expertly around that area so the bridge of his nose was completely cupped Still Randidly could only shake his head and sigh

Although it looked like he had accomplished his goal there was no real pressure applied from the tail Like a real snake he would need to wrap himself completely around an object in order to possess the leverage to squeeze it with any sort of strength What Randidly currently possessed simply looked like it was performing those casual human acts

Ah well it�s better than fucking nothing Randidly thought bitterly Then he brought all three of his cores up to touch the bubble and record the image There were a few more areas he wanted to refine but as his headache was coming back it was time to rest

Randidly eased himself onto the ground and controlled his breathing Breathe in breathe out Allow the mind to loosen its grip and relax Very soon his consciousness had dipped back down beneath into that meditative mindset

However a demanding thought kept nipping at him like carefully raised fish might eat the dead skin off people�s toes No matter what Randidly did to try and shake it he couldn�t allow himself to truly let go as long as that thought remained active in his mind It buzzed with intensity demanding his attention like an alarm clock

With a grim expression Randidly opened his eyes Most of his headache was gone but he knew it wouldn�t take much for it to come roaring back to life But he couldn�t help himself This was something that he needed to investigate

After returning from the Nether Gatekeeper mission which Randidly still didn�t even know the outcome of he had slept for a day and a half Then he had required another six hours to recover and had just now spent six hours refining his image All told almost two days had passed since he had returned

And Vualla�s face was very prominent in Randidly�s subconscious He couldn�t get either the image of her triumphantly destroying the army of Nether Beasts or the image of her unconscious in his arms out of his head Both warred in him seemingly pulling him for completely opposite reasons to look for her However those emotions mixed in his chest into something warm and precious now that Randidly was partially recovered he needed to address these feelings

Snorting Randidly got back to his feet

His expression turned frigid as Zuana and Salazar unhesitatingly mimicked him in getting up off the ground Randidly calmly drug a long talon across his lips before he spoke �And where do you think you are going �

� walk � Zauna said quietly Salazar watched Randidly�s expression with obvious fright and simply nodded vigorously along with Zauna�s point

The muscles along Randidly�s jaw flexed His two tails flicked aggressively from side to side making soft thwaping noises as the lower tail impacted the walls of the tent with the controlled ferocity of a predator

�Surely you�ve had enough exercise today � Randidly said with exaggerated patience Both subordinates shook their heads

The Grim Chimera�s hot annoyance exploded to dominate Randidly�s perception for a few seconds but then it slowly faded back into the backdrop of his mind Although the Grim Chimera had powerful impulses it had grown to understand there was a need to suppress them while interacting with others As such it allowed the emotions to run its course while simply enduring them

Then after the emotions had drained it looked upon the situation with rather calculating eyes

Randidly shook his head helplessly Even though his threats worked well enough to stop Salazar from speaking this was another animal altogether His subordinates took their roles very seriously And as he considered their expressions now

Some of their fear was backed by concern Randidly�s lips tightened with guilt

He could understand why they would be concerned especially now A few days ago he had disappeared for several hours and come back unconscious Worse than unconscious From what Yggdrasil had shared he had been speaking in his sleep although nothing particularly intelligible But to have your commanding officer reduced to such a state and being able to do nothing about it

The rest of the annoyance vanished from Randidly and he was simply left with exhaustion That�s exactly why I fight against the System So I don�t simply need to watch the Earth suffer any longer So I can take the future into my own hands

� fine � Randidly finally said Both Salazar and Zauna fell in behind him as he walked out of the tent and followed the familiar path toward the badlands between camps It seemed that it was quickly very obvious where their goal was because Randidly sensed both Salazar and Zauna exchange a knowing glance behind his back

Ugh sometimes I wish Grim Intuition wasn�t so fucking insightful Randidly thought with disgust right as Salazar opened his mouth

Y you know b b boss don�t r read too deeply into Vualla not v v v visiting you during your r recovery Maybe she didn�t know Salazar�s mouth clicked audibly shut before Randidly had calmed himself down enough to turn around and get him to shut up

The thought hadn�t even crossed my mind Randidly said stiffly And completely honestly But now that Salazar had brought it up

There was no way that Vualla wasn�t aware of how dangerous the Great Rift had been for Randidly After all she had protected him through most of their journey only allowing him to join the defensive rotation when there was no other choice Considering the fact that she had gone unconscious toward the end

Unwillingly Randidly�s brows furrowed Unless someone hid his involvement from her altogether Perhaps they claimed that he died or didn�t attribute the rescue to him

Chapter 1082

Randidly carefully considered the mysterious absence of Vualla from every angle Originally he had just vaguely thought that perhaps Vualla was also still recovering somewhat but as that idea was exposed to the light of day it clearly disintegrated into nothing There had to be another reason

As Randidly�s tension mounted Zauna and Salazar exchanged a knowing glance behind his back as though his behavior was extremely predictable Which of course only served to infuriate Randidly further Yet now that the possibility had been planted the leafy shoots of doubt were springing up all through his subconscious

Fuck I wish I had a Nether Beast to tear apart

Randidly continued in his rather grim brooding up to the point that he walked out into the badlands and witnessed that there was a rather noticeable difference from their previous visits to the area a fence had been erected around the Commander Terith�s camp The walls were four meters high and covered in spikes but there was an open gate about halfway along the perimeter

Standing at the open gate were two people talking quietly and although Randidly didn�t recognize either of the figures he began to accelerate toward them Despite their unfamiliarity they represented a connection to Vualla Even if all they would do is carry a message for Randidly that would be enough

The two uniformed humanoid men noticed his approach but didn�t seem to make any sort of preparations for his arrival They simply continued to talk quietly as Randidly strode briskly over toward them

It was only when Randidly was a few meters away that the one individual straightened and held up a hand for Randidly to stop Sorry Commander�s orders to no longer allow anyone from other camps inside We are tired of associating with well let�s be honest Riffraff

Especialy all you fucking images The other man snickered

There was a second where Randidly�s mind slowly mulled over this sort of response Then the Grim Chimera�s fury burned like a forest fire through his chest filling him with heat and ash This time Randidly was very willing to lose control and simply attack the two arrogant fucking guards But to complete the emotional switch the Grim Chimera held Randidly back Its Grim Intuition howled foul play

This was a trap the Grim Intuition urged They were trying to upset him on purpose

That sudden clarity from the Grim Chimera�s instincts calmly Randidly immediately down Although he had arrived while trying to see Vualla if these idiots were actually trying to harm him he would devote his full attention to their antics

But why would they want to kill me Randidly wondered as he considered the two sneering guards Is it general hate against images Or is this targeted

God Randidly dearly wished it was just prejudice against images Because if it wasn�t suddenly he would need to go through the very long list of people who wanted him dead in order to have any true hint as to what was going on here And even then the sad truth was that most of Randidly�s enemies didn�t bother to approach him directly they simply manipulated the circumstances around him

The guards settled back with smug expressions perhaps accepting that Randidly wasn�t simply going to attack them One raised his hand and waved it airly as though shoo ing a rodent Well run along then If you aren�t going to at least be a little entertaining you better run on back to your ah you don�t have a body do you What a sob story Imagine an image without a body

Randidly just looked at the two guards studying them while engaging with an internal dialogue with the Grim Chimera

Even if it�s a trap they only possess a single star each We might still be able to kill them

Perhaps Hard to judge between image and body

We have the cores With three of them the power of Nether we can use to attack will take them by surprise

And suddenly we have killed them with Nether Which might come to light if the scene is investigated Which could perhaps lead to an investigation that reveals our Nether Wells No better to be cautious Withdraw for now

The Grim Chimera image might be enough to kill them

Survive first All else is secondary The Earth

And what about Vualla while we are busy focusing on survival What if this is a plot against her and I am just the soldier who made it back with her

That silenced all of Randidly�s inner voices Gritting his teeth Randidly forced himself to turn away Better to gather some more information before forcing the issue Although they weren�t trustworthy there were avenues in Lady Iellaya�s camp that he could sound out to find out the situation in the neighboring camp

And at exactly that moment that Randidly was turning away Salazar was stepping forward with a vicious expression on his face Bah w weaklings We might all be images b but our C Captain has condensed his third star already He is a p p peerless warrior compared you r rejects

As soon as the words left Salazar�s mouth Randidly felt the mood in the air change Where they had been opportunists before now Randidly felt the abundant bloodlust rolling off the two guards They stood again but there was none of the lazy arrogance in their movements that had been there previously

We know that you fucking puppet We aren�t blind The meaner of the two hissed Which is why we won�t squash him no matter how disrespectful he is At least his body is worth something in this war But you you absolute sack of shit

Randidly spun around with a scowl on his face as the two guards advanced toward Salazar Zauna stepped up to join Salazar in a show of solidarity Salazar�s face was a strange mixture of satisfaction shock and absolute terror The three emotions chased each other across his face as the guards came closer

Randidly stepped forward between them Don�t you have a door to guard like good little doggies

It was Randidly had to admit profoundly satisfying to watch as the two guards� faces contorted in fury Thanks for that one Lyra

At the moment Randidly was very sure that the two forces were about to fight Just as he was trying to make a mental inventory of how much force and what abilities he was going to use for this fight that moment of tension proceeded to the next And then everything was different

All five individuals and likely everyone in the two nearby camps looked directly upward as a wave of sound smashed directly against them and pulled at their attention Randidly felt dizzy for several seconds and the visual variance shot sharply upward as the force smashed against them In the sky above them an invisible dome that had been supported by some grand formation seemed to be crumbling Large panels of brilliant golden glass fell slowly down toward the camps below

Directly toward their current position Randidly realized with a grim horror And what was worse three thick tentacles of Nether rushed downward toward Terith�s camp out of the shattered portion of the dome that they had created From this distance they seemed dangerous but it was only as Randidly�s high Perception calculated the distance to those tentacles and their scale that Randidly began to pale

Those tentacles of Nether were probably as thick as a city block and hundreds of times as long If they struck down toward a camp and their group was outside

Shit the one guard muttered as he looked up toward the descending broken barrier and grasping Nether tenacles with a raw sort of horror He almost looked completely numb after that one word as though his emotions had overwhelmed him

Think it wants back whatever the Commander stole The other guard asked anxiously Randidly glanced sharply at them both

Then a loud snort echoed out and a wave of energy blasted outward from the center of Terith�s camp When that energy hit the panel that was about to crash into the camp it disintegrated into thousands of motes of gold Then those sparkling fireflies of energy reformed into the shape of a huge ax A booming voice that Randidly recognized as Commander Terith followed

Quite sentimental for a monster made of Nether don�t you think

Just as quickly as the Nether Tentacles smashed downward that gleaming golden ax shot upward to meet it The two blows met and the sky shuddered from the combined force Grimacing Randidly felt not a little pain just from the reverberations And as the two forces began to battle there was a piercing shriek and two black wings seemed to materialize in the skies above Lady Iellaya�s camp

Quite popular you are Terith Rumbled outward as the wings became a shadowy blur that zipped upward and smashed one of the tentacles to the side and struck at the trunk of another Commander Terith�s only reply was a dry chuckle

For a few seconds it seemed like the forces of Aether would pretty easily win here But then a huge swarm of blue veins appeared above the chaotic battle by the hole that had been punched in the barrier Very quickly those veins swirled together to construct a powerful formation that pulsed with light every few seconds

And those pulses were becoming increasingly frequent

Randidly stood with his hands at his sides and solemnly looked upward Again this was it Beyond that line fought the people who mattered And here he was on the ground watching helplessly It was infuriating But Randidly couldn�t tear his eyes away from the titanic clashes that were occurring above him

It seemed that both Iellaya and Terith understood what was happening but even working together it was difficult for them to pierce through the thick bodies of the three Nether tentacles to get to the huge formation The ax cut back and forth and Iellaya was the shadow of death in the skies but it was a race against time

Very quickly one tentacle was completely severed another had been so wounded that all of its Nether gushed out of holes in its body and the final one seemed to be swaying dangerously Iellaya used that opening to fly rapidly forward but she pulled up sharply as three more tentacles ambushed her below the grand summoning portal

Her cry was so pure and piercing that it seemed to hum in Randidly�s lungs for several seconds after the noise had ceased But still Randidly breathed heavily and looked up at the sky with worry

Because the portal was beginning to glow with pure light

Perhaps after fighting the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly automatically assumed that whatever was coming through the portal was something like that Some enormous monster that would rampage through the front lines fighting against the Commanders of the various camps Ultimately something that would be resolved but would be insanely dangerous for the short term Especially for those people in Terith�s camp who appeared to be the target of whatever was coming

But what happened was much much harder to understand at first Darkness seemed to gush out from the portal but it seemed like a diverse fractured thing Frowning Randidly stretched his perception as much as he could He willed his Nether Sensation to spread out and touch that web of darkness

But it was simply too far away The only thing he could truly rely on at this distance were his eyes And they told him

Randidly paled and turned to Salazar and Zauna We are moving As much as I hate it we are just putting ourselves in danger by being here We are returning to Iellaya�s camp

It was a difficult decision to make Randidly wished dearly to see Vualla more still to see that she was prepared for the attack that was about to land on the camps But Randidly knew very clearly the difference in their strength If this fell wrong for Vualla and was hit directly she could be able to endure

Image Randidly could not It was that simple

Zauna nodded but Salazar just looked at Randidly dumbly Randidly�s new hair trigger temper flared to life All Randidly�s thoughts of giving Salazar more respect after he had stood with Yggdrasil fled and Randidly simply seized Salazar by the scruff of the neck Because the sad truth is that images are inherently weaker against Nether by those with bodies And based on what is coming down

Randidly looked up at the sky and toward the blackness that appeared to be gushing out of the portal and transforming into tiny manageable bits In the distance the whistling sound of objects moving very very fast reached Randidly�s ears

He chewed on his lips as he considered the sky I don�t suppose you understand what an artillery strike is do you

Chapter 1083

Randidly pulled Zauna and Salazar along behind him while hurrying back to Iellaya�s camp as the noise above them grew increasingly loud Every few steps he cast a glance up over his shoulder toward the darkening sky where Lady Iellaya and Commander Terith frantically tried to shield their personal camps from the reign of Nether meteorites that were spewed out of the portal

Their images were so monstrously large and strong that the reverberations rippled out down and pressed down against Randidly with enough violence he had to grit his teeth But it was only the prelude for the damage that was about to come

An unending stream of Nether corroded the air rapidly increasing the visual variance Even though it was too distant for Randidly to feel his Nether Sensation tingled ominously

The previously present teamwork between the two camp leaders instantly vanished as their individual interests were threatened Not that they particularly tried to deflect the Nether bombs toward each other�s bases but they concerned themselves solely with eliminated the attacks that threatened them

Certainly there is enough fucking Nether to go around

The meteors of Nether were enormous even from a distance The came out in dense obsidian clusters seeming to completely blot out a small portion of the sky Suddenly both of the Commanders didn�t have the spare attention to help each other

Perhaps even more disastrous to their defensive efforts were the four remaining Nether tentacles that harried them while they struggled to destroyed the descending Nether One continually harassed Lady Iellaya while the other three focused their efforts on completely tying down Commander Terith

Randidly was rather surprised to see that the three tentacles were far from a match for seemingly possessed Terith He began methodically cutting back and forth with his impossibly huge golden ax forcing his way through to strike at the vast bombs of Nether that were careening down toward his base

But even though both narrowed their focus neither had much time to spare When most of the black meteors were hit they weren�t simply destroyed They seemed to be designed so that the largest portion exploded and spread an intimidating amount of smaller Nether meteors into the surrounding air And although these were smaller they still appeared to Randidly�s senses to the size of sports stadiums

One of those landing on the base would not be pretty

These meteors too were soon broken into pieces as Lady Iellaya avoided the miserable tentacle that tried to slow her down in the sky Yet after they were destroyed suddenly there were two dozen lumps of Nether the size of two story buildings that were dropping down toward the camp Randidly licked his lips and continued to hurry forward

Lady Iellaya�s black wings swept left and right avoiding the tentacle that was aiming to hold her down while ripping like a scythe through the Nether But even if she managed to catch most of the larger portions smaller ones began to whistle ominously as they made it through her defenses Before she could address these human sized bombs of Nether heading toward her base Iellaya�s attention was pulled inexorably upward by the unending stream of Nether that blasted out of the portal

Looks like this isn�t a one and done sort of scenario

We need to hurry Randidly said again as he turned back to his subordinates I don�t think the bombardment will stop for a while Not until someone comes to help close that portal

As the group resumed their flight the rumbling voice of Terith shook the air Do you think you can stop me ME

The group of three ignored the fights above and hurried back into their own camp Very quickly they made their way through the thin pathways between tents while a warning bell began to ring across the camp As the trio was hurrying past several confused individuals stepped out of their tents and peered uncertainly around trying to understand what was going on

Luckily the descending bombardment of Nether was quite obvious once the muffling influence of the tent was removed

Around them Randidly could clearly feel that the more powerful individuals were coming together and weaving a barrier of images above the camp that would handle the worst of the damage Yet as they did so Randidly could only chuckle with grim humor Heh guess it�s not so much of an advantage to have a body now is it I hope you enjoy relying on your image to directly resist Nether like the rest of us who were torn from our natural bodies Unless you went to take a hurtling blob of Nether directly to the chest

With the screeching descent of the Nether above them reaching ominous levels of volume the trio arrived back at their tent Randidly gestured sharply for the other two to go within while he turned and looked up at the dim sky

The Nether shooting down toward them was sporadic and small but it still possessed quite a bit of power

They must really be desperate after they lost all of the Nether Wells Randidly thought with a frown Or is this because of what the guard referred to earlier Something that Commander Terith was able to steal Which probably means that the ambush went well

Both Zauna and Salazar were hesitating and Randidly aimed a glare at them You�ll get in the way I need to concentrate Get inside and make sure Yggdrasil isn�t disturbed And if you fail to keep him safe

Randidly let some of the Grim Chimera�s cruelty creep into his expression Salazar went pale but even Zauna took a half step backward and wouldn�t meet his eyes

Snorting Randidly turned back and looked up toward the sky His mouth began to curve outward Show me how much you want to kill Nether And then I�ll show you how little your resolve means

The specter of the Grim Chimera growled with pleasure as its influence unrolled itself into the surrounding area Its two violent limbs reached up toward the sky and prepared to worship in the only way it knew how

In the aftermath of the bombardment Lady Iellaya scowled down at the casualty report given to her by Abiodun It had not been a good day So much so that even she felt the subtle tugs of wariness Why would the Nether even do this It doesn�t make any fucking sense

On the one hand Iellaya was rather pleased that their position had once more been under heavy fire from the Nether The more evidence she could provide to parties back in the Nexus that Lord Miln was a fool the better But her camp being the one on the receiving end of the bombardment set her plans back quite a bit

It was hard to earn merits when her forces were limping toward the fight Or when half of her forces were working on repairing the grounds rather than recuperating after missions into the Great Rift

Especially because that idiot Commander Terith actually succeeded in giving the Nether Gatekeeper a mortal wound Iellaya gritted her teeth Lord Miln doesn�t need any excuse for the losses today to the Tier 3 citizens what do the lives of non citizens matter compared to the damage done to a Nether Gatekeeper

Yet even that was only a portion of her frustration because Lady Iellaya was also pulling her feathers out as she tried to understand what the Nether had been thinking by launching such a disastrous attack A bombardment like this hadn�t happened for almost a thousand years

And for good reason After the grand formation to create stars was activated all of that ambient Nether this bombardment had injected into the area would be sucked away and fed into the soldiers across the battlefront It probably wouldn�t be much when it was divvied up among so many people but if it pushed everyone up about one tenth of a star without any danger involved it would certainly be a boon to their forces

Some veterans might need to be retired as they reached near to five stars but that was barely a factor A vast majority of the individuals on the battlefield were fresh that was just the hard truth about how deadly the Great Rift was Most of the people receiving this benefit weren�t even one star And reaching that first star would boost the soldier�s survivability by as much as 10% for the rest of their career as a soldier This attack could be considered a long term boon for Aether

Lady Iellaya flexed her hand and the piece of parchment was reduced to dust Thirty nine suffered serious wounds with another hundred wounded almost one tenth of my total number reduced to nothing in a single day

While Iellaya continued to grit her teeth and make calculations regarding what she could do to keep the group ready for an opportunity to prove her worth on the frontline Abiodun slowly lifted his head to look at her His gaze was solemn but it easily drew her gaze as the light in his eyes faded independently of each other

Iellaya spared him a glance They were alone in her tent so the fact that he was meeting her gaze without saying anything meant that something was bothering him Something that Iellaya wasn�t currently addressing Speak

Abiodun hummed in his thoughtful way as a show of respect before he began mm it is about that variant image The Ghosthound

A sharp spike of annoyance slipped through her ribs and prodded at Iellaya�s heart After all the fucking work I did to free him all for nothing So he died

To the contrary he continues to live with remarkable zeal Quite aggressively so Abiodun shook his head slowly No I bring it up because he significantly contributed to the defense of the base It is only due to his image weakening the bombardment that casualties among the images are so light

Pressing her lips into a line Iellaya considered Abiodun She wished she still had the piece of parchment to wave in his face This can be considered light We barely have fifty images More than half of them are now seriously wounded It is difficult to be thankful for such an accomplishment

Abiodun lowered his head without saying anything If anything it only served to aggravate Iellaya further She huffed out a breath and forced herself to calm down It was with half open eyes that she considered Abiodun�s statement He was correct of course and she was letting her emotions get the better of her When what she really needed to do was follow the slow and methodical lines of Abiodun�s thoughts What was she missing

No he hadn�t brought it up because he thought it was an accomplishment that the Ghosthound should be rewarded for Iellaya decided Then her eyes brightened in realization

He brought it up so I would be aware of the image�s growth So his image continues to rapidly grow eh Then the likelihood of him being a Ritualist is even higher But there is still the problem of liberating his body from Lord Miln

which brings us right back to the problem of unseating that ass as the Supreme Commander of our forces

Can you get any information from the subordinates we provided him About how much he has truly grown Iellaya tapped her chin Before she put any more actual resources behind this it was better to understand what she was gambling on with the Ghosthound After all Lord Miln had already stonewalled her To push it further meant working around him

Of course half of the reason that I want to free him is just to wipe the smug look off Lord Miln�s face

Abiodun hesitated Iellaya�s expression twisted into a scowl You cannot

it is not that I cannot it is that they will be forever broken by the collection of the information Abiodun said slowly There are recourses but they would reveal our hand If I might suggest an alternative

Lady Iellaya rolled her eyes This time she could see his idea When you pretend like I don�t know every flow of your thoughts I�m almost insulted my Abiodun Yes I don�t have any work for Zagnal Perhaps it is time for him to reunite with the Ghosthound He can serve as a partner And now if you will excuse me

Iellaya stood The obsidian feathers along her back and arms flexed I must go visit Commander Terith He owes me a favor

Chapter 1084

The walk toward Commander Terith�s camp was illuminating Probably one fourth of her own camp was lightly damaged but Terith had clearly borne the brunt of the fallout from the bombardment Entire swaths of the previously pristine rows of tents had been razed to the ground Wounded sat in huddles around fires talking to each other in quiet voices

Perhaps most interesting was the strange array Iellaya paused briefly by right outside of Terith�s tent It had been completely annihilated in the bombardment if anything it seemed like quite a bit of the firepower was concentrated here It was clear that an Aether formation had been built in that area but Lady Iellaya couldn�t fathom what it was That area was not her forte

Then she raised her chin and walked into the tent to meet Commander Terith He was annoyingly sitting in his desk as though he had been waiting for her She took a seat opposite him and did her best to keep her posture stiff

To pass the time Lady Iellaya folded her hands across her lap as she sat perfectly facing Commander Terith Because she understood that she held the power here Iellaya felt no desire to end the silence better to give the stickler Terith space for him to make his own decisions as to how he should deal with Iellaya

He doesn�t seem like the type to forget aid freely given but he also is the type to take offense at the smallest thing The less I speak the less chance I give him to change his mind

But also the silence gave Iellaya the perfect opportunity to examine Terith himself Although he did well to cover it up with his sizable armor he was wearing Iellaya could tell how strained and wounded he was His spine was bent forward ever so slightly underneath the weight of the stress that he had been handling the past few days Which for this Commander was extremely telling

Their victory over the Nether had come by Terith�s hands but it seemed that it hadn�t come without cost

thank you Commander Terith finally said to break the silence Both for your assistance when they opened the Nether Gate for the bombardment and also for allowing one of your subordinates to accompany the expedition He performed his duty admirably earning terrible wounds in order to bring his commanding officer back safely Such dedication to duty well perhaps I misjudged him as just an image I won�t make that mistake again

Lady Iellaya smiled An image Who ah somehow the Ghosthound was involved in this as well He certainly has a nose for trouble

Her eyes twitched as the implications of that rolled over her Which means that he proceeded into the Nether Gatekeeper�s base and made it back alive While lugging whatever officer of Terith�s was with him And he recovered in time to aid in the base�s defense Abiodun is perhaps right It is not enough to just say that he�s strong for an image

Randidly Ghosthound is becoming legitimately strong

Aloud Iellaya said We are allies it is my duty to come to your aid I�m sure any Commander would do the same

Terith snorted and leaned back in his chair He brought his hands up across his knees in a strange mirroring of Iellaya�s own position Let�s not insult each other�s intelligence despite the fact that I had two neighbors only one Commander came to my aid The silence to my other side will not be forgotten or forgiven

Reaching out Commander Terith grabbed a pile of papers and straightened them Then he carefully set them back down before he continued to speak Also there is no need to act so coy I disdain the political games that you are playing because our full attention should be on our battle against Nether but I will not let that stop me from repaying this favor

For the first time in several weeks Iellaya released a genuine smile You mean

Commander Terith stood sharply up from his desk and walked over to Iellaya On his way he picked up the pile of papers that he had previously adjusted and handed them over to her For several seconds Iellaya paused to scan the thick papers The page in front of her was covered in a record of all the communications that Lord Miln had sent and received for the past several weeks As she skimmed through it seemed that the entire year had been accounted for

Lady Iellaya was also shocked to note that several unusual names had been highlighted extremely precisely likely by Commander Terith himself Did you really just get up this morning and do some light research

Iellaya raised her gaze from the papers These are

I�m sure you are aware that Lord Miln embezzled an extremely large amount of Aether this year Commander Terith said shortly I figured that I could repay my favor by tracing this vanished Aether it would serve as the leverage you need However I encountered something extremely strange The actors at play here they are so far beyond me that I dared not dig further than this And I warn you to cease digging too deeply as well

This gave Iellaya pause She skimmed through the names that Commander Terith had noted in Miln�s communication Then she looked up at Terith with a frown I don�t recognize any of these names

Commander Terith chuckled How much do you know about those who seek the pinnacle of the Nexus Lady Iellaya You were born in the Sixth Cohort were you not

After she nodded slowly Commander Terith continued to speak And let us be frank you use the benefits of citizenship that you hope to seize to bind potential to your cause But you should know that is only one use for citizenship coins that the System carefully spreads The most fashionable use currently but a relatively shallow one

There are three Tiers of Citizenship 1 2 and 3 These are generally earned by contributing greatly to the Nexus or accomplishing a feat so impressive that even the System takes notice But ultimately citizenship� is a one use token For example you possess Tier 2 citizenship but have not yet turned it in for the benefits correct You aim for Tier 3

Yes Iellaya said slowly I had heard that some consider the difficulty in rising to Tier 3 too difficult so they simply accepted the smaller amount of Domain and Aether reward and claimedTier 2 benefits before they died but from the way you are speaking is there another use for citizenship

Of course Commander Terith sat back down at his seat and remained silent for several seconds Then he sighed Have you heard of Alymiyan

The special district within the Nexus Lady Iellaya frowned at Terith What reason could Terith have for bringing up that overpriced vacation destination Lady Iellaya had been to Alymiyan by using her status as a possessor of a Tier 2 citizenship coin to visit the Nexus since failing her Fourth Calamity It had been a beautiful dreamscape of clouds that had seemed to have been whipped from rainbows and was populated by stunning waterfalls that gleamed aquamarine and turquoise

So you know that it�s not just for the beauty that people flock there Commander Terith said grimly

Lady Iellaya scratched her chin Well yes The System doesn�t function there Or at least you can�t see any of your Stats Skills Paths or Levels You are some people claim freed But really it�s just self delusion And what does this have to do with the issue of Lord Miln

Waving a hand Commander Terith released another sigh I am getting to that This was before even my time as a citizen in the Nexus but it is without a doubt that there is a second use for citizenship tokens they allow you to access the Final Path The open the door to the thoroughfare that leads to the pinnacle of the Nexus

Lady Iellaya blinked as her mind whirred to file this bit of information away Very rarely had she ever heard anyone speak willingly about the history of the Nexus A Path like

In this case a literal path Commander Terith said A difficult one with three doors one for each Tier of citizenship However if you succeed you gain the power to shape a portion of the System You can create Alymiyan the Nostalgic Dream by altering the very System to your will

That�s Lady Iellaya struggled to find the correct words to describe how she was feeling For a second she felt a small flame of greed twitch in her heart With the power to shape the System everything she had ever wanted

Commander Terith�s chuckle broke through her brief daydream You see Even you are tempted However only one person has ever succeeded at reaching the pinnacle starting from the Tier 3 door That individual created Alymiyan showing us all that it was possible Yet no one has since been able to duplicate that feat And all those who use the Tier 1 and Tier 2 doors have died It has come to the point that no one attempts it any longer To the current generation it is not even known as an option

What is the price of failure for Tier 3 Lady Iellaya asked easily

Nothing lucky All of those who use the Tier 3 doors have come back alive Just a loss of opportunity I don�t even think anyone has come back injured Then Commander Terith leaned forward and smiled so widely that Lady Iellaya believed she could see every one of his teeth Yet it must be galling no They say that all who return from the attempt have experienced such trials that their images and stats are greatly strengthened And they refuse to speak of it so none my ascend higher than they did

Yet for all their newfound power they have already used their opportunity at citizenship to seek the summit and failed They remain landless and without followers forever It is a lonely and maddening existence to be sure Especially as they watch less capable individuals become citizens of the Nexus and enjoy superior benefits to their own

Just like those who choose a domain when they obtain citizenship those who fail to ascend to the pinnacle are carefully monitored by the System their Aether is measured and given sparingly Some handle the tedious strain of their strange existence by acting as Administrators for new Cohorts or by pretending to be mere Patrons And then there are others that are constantly plotting ways to make it back to the Final Path

You think the missing Aether is related to that Lady Iellaya said slowly

Commander Terith�s smile disappeared I dare not attempt to confirm this However there is some support for this theory The war against Nether is one of the few areas where the Nexus is rather liberal with its supply of Aether So much so that it is provided to the Supreme Commander with only the oversight of the Commanders And Lord Miln has long held the interests of most of his subordinates close to himself

Yet despite his experience on the battlefield and personal power Lord Miln is a small fry in the war against Nether He is one of the twelve Supreme Commanders on the twelve battlefronts but let�s be honest these are just the bare defensive preparations the Nexus makes so it is not directly threatened The true military strength of the Nexus is in the Xyrt Brigade who perform the deep raids into Nether Territory Those are all the individuals that caught the eye of the Nexus during their Fourth Calamity We posturing fools are simply a citizen militia that tends the fires at home

Lady Iellaya tried to keep her expression neutral but she felt her smile becoming increasingly fragile She absolutely hated being reminded of how powerless she had felt during her home world�s Fourth Calamity Three fourths of her race�s population erased by the power contained in a single cruel laugh while she was forced to watch her people die Again you wander away from your point Commander Terith It is unbecoming for one so exacting in their etiquette

Heh so even the ice queen has sore spots eh Commander Terith didn�t laugh but his mouth twitched toward an expression that might be his version of a smirk What I�m saying is that Lord Miln would be a fool if he attempted to use all that Aether himself He would possess great might for a short period of time sure But ultimately he could not handle the reigns

Yet these names Commander Terith gestured toward the paper What little research I did reveals that they predate the Third Cohort These are old monsters that Lord Miln was contacting These ominous individuals are who might grow annoyed if you dig too deeply These are the ones that now possess half of our budgeted Aether and I don�t think they will have any qualms about using it for their own gain So take care of yourself Lady Iellaya

Chapter 1085

Randidly scowled at Salazar and threw up his hands I can�t tell you how to feel it You either do or you don�t And if you can�t manage to find the core of your star inside yourself then I�m not going to waste time trying to train you

W w well if y you would j just share your t t trick Salazar began but Randidly had dealt with the snake man�s nonsense for long enough He simply seized his rather skinny subordinate with his claw and tossed him to the side like a ragdoll Salazar hissed in alarm and tumbled down the narrow alley behind their assigned tent

Randidly folded his arms across his chest and stared at the collapsed image So this time let me go alone I promise to not put myself in danger without first finding you to be my personal meat shield

Huffing in annoyance Salazar pushed himself back up to his feet Z zauna is staying with Yggdrasil S so

Randidly stepped forward and used Chimeric Avoidance to cut through the intervening space at a speed that shouldn�t be physically possible for him Abruptly Randidly was right in front of the other man With as much gentleness as Randidly could manage while his temper flared he helped Salazar to his feet while making sure his talons wouldn�t cut through his skin

Then his Grim Intuition spread outward to scan for individuals in the surrounding area before he whispered to Salazar We both saw how some of the images were looking at Yggdrasil after he helped heal some of the most dangerously wounded after the artillery strike The recovery he could cause was too stark I fear that some of the image�s greed would get the better of them As strong as Zauna is I don�t want to have her face it alone

This was only partially true After all the stink of Lady Iellaya�s image and Abiodun�s meddling was thick over all of the people that were carefully watching as Yggdrasil did his work among the burnt tents and impact craters sporadically spread around the edge of the camp Plus it seemed unlikely that any image underneath Iellaya would have enough gall to aggressively try to seize Yggdrasil as a resource She would be more circumspect about how she went about acquiring his services

Yet there was always the chance something would happen Even if it wasn�t some greedy image that was the real source of danger the very real Nether bombardment was still fresh in Salazar�s mind So after a hesitation he nodded and walked back toward the tent

Heaving a sigh of relief Randidly finally turned away from the tent so he could find a place to train his ability to use his Nether cores without being constantly worried about someone watching and reporting what he was capable of to Lady Iellaya It was fine for them to hear whispers about it but they would most likely assume that Randidly�s image had adjusted somehow to mimic Nether rather than the shocking truth that Randidly was learning to utilize Nether

And to his supreme annoyance Randidly found himself face to face with Zagnal the soldier who had helped Randidly immediately after he had arrived on the front lines From his stance it was clear that he was blocking Randidly�s path forward

It�s been a while since we talked the dragon headed man said amicably I figured it was time to catch up

Get out of my way Randidly said shortly It did not seem likely at all that Zagnal�s words were even remotely honest His arrival to catch up right after a heavy bombardment seemed completely farcical We don�t have anything to discuss

Zagnal snorted out an ember of flame as Randidly tried to move past him Pretty quick to sever old ties don�t you think

Wasn�t I the one who stuck my neck out for you And afterward you were pretty quick to throw your lot in with Lady Iellaya and conveniently forget about any relationship between us Randidly barred his teeth at Zagnal

Zagnal�s hand snaked out to seize Randidly�s arm That was a misunderstanding Between my new responsibilities and your injuries there hasn�t been much time where we are both conscious and in the base So I would appreciate

The Grim Chimera growled out the barely controlled aggression roiling in Randidly�s chest Back the fuck off How many times do I need to make it clear that I�m not the usual oblivious image I don�t care you chose yourself over me But don�t expect to be able to scamper back to me when your new keeper asks you to

Tightening his grip on Randidly�s arm Zagnal leaned forward Now listen here I didn�t want to do it this way but if you aren�t going to

After feeling uncomfortably guilty for putting Yggdrasil into danger by being wounded being rejected from visiting with Vualla by Terith�s idiotic rules and finally being followed around by puppy duo Zauna and Salazar Randidly had left the tent today with the expressed intent of working off some steam He needed the outlet dearly

He hadn�t expected Zagnal to be the method but at the Grim Chimera�s urging Randidly didn�t think too much about the circumstances

His arm blurred upward and his bone spear ripped through the air like a scythe In his chest Randidly began to resonate his Nether to force his three cores up into the tip of his spear They began to spiral rapidly around each other as they moved from the slow rotation in his chest down through his shoulder and elbow Nether gathered and seethed through his limb

The further that he pushed the cores through his arm the more quickly they spun More and more Nether was sucked in between them to form a core of energy that they circled Still as the cores accelerated the required energy to keep them in balance was also rising sharply With the current supply the rotation was swiftly becoming unsteady

Randidly�s mouth firmed into a line as he cracked open both of his Nether Wells to continue to fuel the attack Zagnal sneered as his other hand blurred up to try and seize Randidly�s moving arm Heh you have no idea what I went through to get here and yet you dare

The image of a dragon of smoke and smog roared behind Zagnal blowing out mist into the surrounding area But the dense ambient Nether that covered Randidly�s bone spear didn�t spare the image at all as it ate upward through the dragon image�s scaly torso Zagnal immediately paled as he watched the attack approach with wide eyes

Randidly could feel the Nether in his limbs weakening as he pushed his attack forward Once more the rotation began to stutter and slow After all it was eating directly through Zagnal�s Aether to hit the infuriating piece of shit in his shocked face But a large amount of Randidly�s Nether was consumed in the process Zagnal wasn�t as powerful as some of the other soldiers on his mission into the Nether Gatekeeper�s base let alone Vualla herself but he was a veteran with an extremely stable image

Honestly Zagnal would normally be a difficult fight for Randidly Although Randidly�s current aggression assured him he would defeat Zagnal in a straight up confrontation it would take a great deal of time and effort but Randidly would ultimately triumph

But Randidly wasn�t playing fair He didn�t need to rely on solely Aether any longer And some part of him longed to try it out

Nether flooded down his limb frantically to keep the rotating cores balanced but the attack didn�t lose any momentum It cut cleanly through Zagnal�s image and ripped viciously into the fleshy portion of his shoulder Randidly felt a strange shock of sensation as he cut directly into a physical body for the first time in a while Real solid blood sprayed onto his torso sizzling strangely as substance and image took the measure of each other

Zagnal the owner of the blood released Randidly�s arm and stumbled backward What the hell

Didn�t you hear me I said move Randidly said coolly Some part of him wanted to strike again while Zagnal was off balance but another part of him realized that one quick exchange could be overlooked but if Randidly continued revealing his Nether capability it would only be a matter of time before someone with the power enough to overcome Randidly would show up asking questions

So instead Randidly swept past Zagnal and continued down the narrow lane Around them Randidly could sense the images that were drawn by the sound of the fight watching with avid interest

Randidly flashed a bitter smile I�m not your posture child for images deserving equal treatment to individuals with physical bodies If you want something to change you need to seize your own fate

Moving quickly Randidly left Lady Iellaya�s camp and thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of being able to breathe deeply without the distinct tang of her image filling his lungs Rather than heading toward the badlands between Iellaya�s and Terith�s camp an area that now filled Randidly with an aggressive bitterness that he didn�t know what to do with yet Randidly headed directly away from the Great Rift

He crossed the pitted track that the supply caravans used and arrived at the pitted scrublands that had the comparative benefit of only being weakly affected by the corrosion of the Great Rift by virtue of its placement behind the camps of Aether�s forces The stones and ridges seemed relatively normal compared to the floating boulder field that was in front of the Great Rift

But as he walked out into the scrublands Randidly had to grimace Well that might have been true until last night

The effects of the Nether bombardment were abundantly clear in the surrounding area While the Commanders had frantically protected both of their camps neither cared overmuch about the Nether meteors that shot down toward uninhabited areas Which meant that the ground that Randidly now surveyed was even pitted and damaged than Iellaya�s base

Most of the ground was warped in a weird combination of scorched and corroded as if the Nether couldn�t describe which one of many destructive substances that it wanted to imitate Some particularly deep craters were still smoking

Suppose there�s no better place to practice though Randidly said as a smile crept across his mouth If I make a few more holes no one is going to notice right

Chapter 1086

The ground cracked and shuddered as Randidly thrust with his bone spear spurring the surrounding space to wildly gesticulate as the Nether in Randidly�s attack destabilized the surrounding area Space seemed to shiver in pain from the passage of the strike even as Randidly frantically fed Nether into the whirling trio of cores that were intangibly present in the tip of his spear

Keeping his breathing even Randidly took a step backward and surveyed his work

The hole was large Large enough that several horses could fall into the broken hole in the ground and with enough leftover that another could tumble down to join them But perhaps even more important to Randidly was the fact that the damage was rather concentrated Perhaps because the force came partially from Nether the aftershocks decreased exponentially as it spread out into this Aether dominated area It was only at the exact tip of his spear where the grim work was accomplished

The ground that Randidly had struck directly had been completely annihilated Naught but a memory was left It was only as that tang of Nether was diluted that the physical impact and corrosion had time to take effect Overall it was an incredibly impressive display Yet Randidly could only grimace as he maintained his breathing and tried to cope with the results

The power was more than enough that Randidly had much more confidence dealing with foes both those of the Nether and Aether However

Hissing Randidly continued to channel power to the three cores as their frantic spinning eased down to a manageable rotation in his arm His image body shivered in distaste as a large volume of Nether was freed up as required Nether to maintain the attack dropped sharply off and Randidly hadn�t yet mastered the easy shift in managing his Nether Wells to match the amount he needed to control his cores Nether spread out in haphazard waves as Randidly struggled to control its motion

That incidental damage would be quickly healed by his cores passively but it was still painful to experience But perhaps even more annoying was the fact that it took time and conscious effort to ease the cores down from their destructive form

More than that Randidly had been able to sense two things while he pushed his cores up to that speed that could annihilate substance on impact The first thing was that it was possible to provide an insufficient amount of Nether during the process and the attack would fail Spectacularly Randidly�s instincts assured him He wasn�t exactly sure what form that failure would take but it seemed likely that it would not be costless

It wasn�t something that he wanted to experience if it could be avoided

The second thing was that there was a qualitative transformation waiting if Randidly revolved the three cores at a sufficient speed The Nether began to move erratically during the height of the attack Just beyond that erratic movement there seemed to be a new plateau present that Randidly could reach if he would just push a little bit more

Yet Randidly didn�t force himself toward that qualitative change in these experiments Half because he feared damaging himself with rampant Nether and being unconscious for another mission and also half because he didn�t quite feel comfortable enough opening his Nether Wells up to the required amount to fuel that transformation

As Randidly slowly acquired more cores and bubbles more and more he felt strangely unphased by the Nether present in himself Yet with three cores it was not yet a complete transformation And because the cores he possessed were ultimately created from an Aether formation his immunity was ultimately a seeming and not a being When Nether was left to press against his image damage would slowly start to occur as it couldn�t quite prevent all damage

Still better than nothing Randidly peered at the slowly dimming Nether flames around his bone spear and shook his head in wonder And for whatever reason my fourth star is already halfway done I suppose it will be pretty soon that I find out whether I�ll be physically affected by possessing too many stars Although it will be impossible to know if that�s because I�m simply an image or because I can sense and interact with Nether

Yet that�s all premised on the fact I won�t be affected Randidly mused The more he thought about it the sourer his mood became Because if I am affected I�ll need to start figuring out a way to get rid of the cores Because with the Nether Wells inside of me more cores will continue to form as long as I stay on the frontlines

Coughing Randidly shook his head ruefully Of course the main body will need to find a way to deal with the Nether without the grand formation once we return to Earth Ha it seems like our work never ceases

Randidly turned away from the hole he had made in the ground and looked up at the sky His thoughts followed the maroon clouds and Randidly willingly allowed them to drift away until his mood had evened out once more After narrowing his eyes he nodded sharply to himself He should still have a few more hours before he needed to head back He had some time to attempt his other new Skill one more time although not a lot

After all his next mission would take him back to Headquarters to engage in a mission with an Aether Key as support Randidly needed to allow for time for the trek back to headquarters to receive his orders

Randidly grinned Gonna be a damn boring mission after fighting in the Nether Gatekeeper�s base

A sound in the sky brought Randidly�s gaze sharply up Then he sighed

Titantically large pitch black tentacles smashed against the repaired golden dome that surrounded the camps From his current vantage they appeared to be extremely manageable but Randidly still recalled how intimidating those tentacles had seemed as Iellaya and Terith struggled against them

The noise was pretty subdued from the distance that he had tred beyond the supply route behind the camps but Randidly could see the reverberations travel from the point of impact across the whole of the golden dome spreading right and left and over like ripples from a stone thrown into a pond

The attacks against the barrier had arrived sporadically since Commander Terith had managed to smash through the Nether bombardment portal and hastily repair the dome The intermittent strikes seemed to be more of a mental attack than a physical one because it reminded the individuals of the two camps of the disastrous artillery strike they had suffered

Randidly turned his gaze back toward the rocky outcropping on top of which the Headquarters sat He had been able to see ripples traveling from the other direction as well It seemed that it wasn�t just this flank that was enduring the attacks

Even as the huge waves slid smoothly outward Randidly turned away from the sky and the frontlines and focused on his own training That tier of struggle was still beyond him He needed to work his way up to that through training

While utilizing Nether offensively and defensively had proceeded well understanding his new Skill Nether Ritual had been nothing short of an experience akin to learning a language from a mute instructor There was a strange instinct that he possessed that enabled Randidly to make some rather half hearted attempts at the process but it had gotten him nowhere Just as soon as he attempted to form his rituals� they fizzled out and left him strangely drained

Nothing was more frustrating than the fact that these early attempts had yielded him Skill Levels even as they had sputtered out and accomplished nothing It seemed to hint that these strange workings were indeed not like Engraving at all where it was repetition and precision that earned him his Skill Levels As the text of Nether Rituals had implied these were a more ephemeral construction

And they required faith to function

Shaking his head Randidly just closed his eyes and attempted it again

First came the desire That much was clear� in so much that the word desire was a clear guide to beginning Which honestly for Randidly was a little bit of a non starter He had tried focusing on Stats and Skill Levels as a desire but both of those rituals� had ended in failure But other than that

No there is something I want Randidly�s eyes blazed intensely green for a brief second I want to see Vualla Just to know that she�s alright

At the sudden thought Vualla�s face popped into Randidly�s mind Tumbling turquoise hair raised eyebrows and curious eyes the quirk at the corner of her mouth that Randidly had taken to interpreting as she was amused With picture perfect clarity Randidly could recall every detail of her every stray hair curling out of her braid and every freckle on her nose

And in a way that he hadn�t before Randidly felt desire

There was a shift and immediately the sensation that Randidly felt as he activated the Skill became a reassuring hum Suddenly his ritual had shape where it hadn�t before This was a desire that the Nether Ritual accepted Vualla�s face became the core and mental grooves materialized around it that seemed to call for Nether

In Randidly�s inner world the core� and the bubble� slowly began to undulate Lines of power stretched and rotated a series of concentric circles spinning about that image of Vualla�s face like a hula hoop would slowly dance across someone�s hips

Baring his teeth Randidly began to feed Nether cautiously into the strange working that was balanced precariously in his mind Again he hesitated at the beginning and fed the Nether into those whispering lines of power slowly But very quickly it became clear that the structure was beginning to warp and wither without sufficient Nether to sustain it

Fucking shit Randidly swore After a split second of indecision he opened his two Nether Wells and allowed Nether to pour out and sink into the shape of the ritual Very quickly it grew steady and dark energy began to grow branchingly upward like a vine on the invisible infrastructure of the ritual that Randidly had created Those hula hoops began to twist each rotating on a different slightly off kilter axis

With a few seconds it had become an extremely thick three dimensional weaving of Nether Yet as it grew Randidly�s attention was tugged away from the details because what he was seeing abruptly struck him as incredibly familiar Not in this particular shape but considering the way it was weaving itself together

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 5

As his attention wavered so did the whole structure Shaking his head sharply Randidly tried to bury his attention back into the process The Nether Ritual stuttered and swayed but slowly its momentum built back up The dark energy spiraled inward and Randidly felt a strange sense of deja vu

All that energy followed the lines and began to congregate at the central point becoming an anchor that held down the image of Vualla�s face that Randidly had conjured As he looked at the bead of energy that everything was being woven toward he could feel Vualla Her presence That tingling happiness that he had started to experience around her That sense that she was someone who had struggled beneath the same sort of sins that Randidly had endured That her enemies shared similar names and faces That she truly understood the reasons that Randidly felt the need to cut himself to the bone every day in order to grow stronger

They craved power for the same reasons And they hated the System with the same chilling intensity

It was an instinctive recognition Randidly felt around Vualla that signaled that they both understood each other In an implicit way that had nothing to do with shared words or cultural expression but was instead grounded by the fact the things in life they believed to be important were significantly similar And because of that their proximity became harmonious in a way that Randidly would never have dared believe

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 6

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 7

Randidly�s attention was transfixed on that bead as it grew more robust and powerful If this truly could give him a vision of Vualla

And it was then that Randidly realized why the Nether Ritual shape was familiar Another image superimposed itself on what he was seeing One he was intimately familiar with

Holy shit Randidly whispered as his distraction caused the ritual to collapse inward on itself Nether blasted outward searing Randidly and causing him to wince in discomfort But of course his three cores rapidly jumped to the task of healing the damage while Randidly hurriedly regulated the amount of Nether running through him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation � has grown to Level 138

Even though his chance to see Vualla collapsed into nothing Randidly was too shocked by his realization to really put much disappointment into the result The truth he had discovered was that important He began to chew on his lip as he looked down at his hands

It seems like Nether Rituals are just like Randidly paused Then he began to chuckle No it�s not that way is it Nether Rituals probably came first

Randidly raised his head and looked at the sky So the question is who adapted the principles of the Nether Ritual in order to fashion the Nexus�s Class System

Chapter 1087

Perhaps the most obnoxious thing about Nether Rituals was the fact that there was a cooldown on their use Especially because his ritual had imploded on him Randidly sensed as he tried to start it again that it was a very bad idea to attempt another ritual now

Earlier the cooldowns had been so short that by the time that he had regained his mental strength it was over But perhaps because this time he proceeded much farther along in the working as he started his instincts warned him away from continuing

He pushed forward anyway again aiming to see Vualla but he ultimately stopped as even his Grim Intuition began to sound its own warning bells So Randidly could only grit his teeth and let the working wither and die before he forced any additional Nether into it In this case it seemed that patience was his only route

But perhaps if I try and visit again Hissing Randidly shook his head and tried to calm his heart During his training his desire to see Vualla had faded somewhat He had been placated by repeating to himself the message that she was stronger than he was She likely had a good reason for being busy they were currently at war

Besides Randidly himself had very important ways to spend his time which did not involve pining after Vualla Namely slowly unpacking the fact that he wasn�t alone in his ability to touch Nether

Perhaps he shouldn�t be so shocked to find that someone other than him understood Nether and was able to use it But likely because everyone Randidly had encountered on the battlefield hadn�t mentioned it some part of him had just begun to believe that he was special That his gifts were unique

Which of course was not only dangerously foolish but extremely unlikely The Nexus and its System had been in existence for a long time It�s reach had grown to a staggering size so much so that individual worlds held barely any meaning to it any longer All that mattered was how many worlds could produce soldiers capable of fighting the Nether That and the continual expansion of influence

Randidly had been blessed by many things but he understood that most of them boiled down to one message he had gotten lucky He might have a knack for using the spear and an innately stubborn will but those things had only grown valuable after honing them for several years he was not a genius that would have gotten to this point without the Creature�s meddling and Shal�s guidance

Was it so strange that the existence who had created the System had the ability to understand Nether Perhaps that individual had needed to understand Nether because as far as Randidly could see the System was designed to fuel the war against the Nether And it made sense that you would steal some of the most valuable techniques a foe possessed and put it to use for yourself

Yet I feel like there is something I�m missing Randidly frowned down at one of the cracked pieces of ground he had created with his Nether infused attacks It�s not just that the shape is similar Classes are a Nether Ritual done with Aether So what does that mean for Fates For reaching Levels

But without having successfully completed a Nether Ritual it was difficult to know what a success would look like And also there was the minutia of the Level portion of the Class that didn�t seem to fit in with what Randidly had seen of Nether Rituals so far

Sighing Randidly could only turn around and carry his perturbed thoughts back with him to their assigned tent it was time to prepare to head back toward Headquarters

Waiting there was a piece of bad news Zagnal But he seemed to have ingratiated himself with Zauna and Salazar and Randidly didn�t have the fight in him to try and prevent him from following after him

This one was a spy that was directly working for Lady Iellaya of that Randidly had no doubt But as they began their journey he couldn�t focus on that issue

All he could do was force himself to look at anything but Commander Terith�s camp and walk straight toward the rocky outcropping

It wasn�t that Lady Iellaya couldn�t do anything to improve the recovery of her camp toward fighting shape it was just a matter of opportunity cost With the frequent attacks continuing against the barrier around the camps she was somewhat loathe to spend her own strength during such a dangerous time by helping the recovery effort

Or perhaps more accurately Lady Iellaya was well aware that her work with Commander Terith to close the grand Nether portal would percolate through the upper echelons of the camps Turning the opinion of the other Commanders toward respect and awe was exactly what Iellaya wanted So rather than helping her camp recover she wanted to keep her strength in case another opportunity to prove herself came knocking

Despite Commander Terith�s warning Lady Iellaya wasn�t deterred from continuing to involve herself with ousting Lord Miln If anything the knowledge of such big fish swimming around the situation only made her more eager to dip her toes in the water

After all if she could demonstrate her own capability it might be possible for her to make her own connection with such powerful characters All she needed to do was prove that she would be a superior ally than Lord Miln And when it came down to it that was basically what she had been attempting to do her entire stay at the front lines albeit with a different intended audience

Lady Iellaya had also been able to learn that Commander Terith had managed to steal or capture some precious formation of Nether which was why he had been constructing a cage of Aether to contain it in the central portion of his camp Unfortunately it had been utterly destroyed by the attack it appeared that it had been the Nether�s ultimate goal with the bombardment

I suppose it truly must have been valuable for the Nether to be so desperate to throw all of that ambient Nether into the air Lady Iellaya thought with a sigh But if their goal is accomplished these flailing Nether tentacles might just be a way to hide their own weakness after we destroyed their Nether Wells In which case focusing on the foundations of my faction is the best way to proceed

So Lady Iellaya closed her eyes and let her focus drift outward to all those lost souls that had bound themselves to her She was the whale and they were the krill joined together in an enormous symbiotic relationship that was truly terrible to behold The monstrous knot of karma that Lady Iellaya managed was a grotesque pulsing thing But she did not look away from it Instead she reached out and touched it

Never again Lady Iellaya swore Never again will I let my people die due to weakness

Generally energy and potential flowed upward from those who offered Iellaya fealty to her With that she would grow in power and capability Slowly her increased power would circulate through the bonds she possessed and have the effect of gradually strengthening her followers But it was also possible for Lady Iellaya to bless her followers much more directly by flooding the connections with her own power

Of course this was not without cost

But Iellaya knew that if she was going to demonstrate her power she needed to be ready for what was to come If the Nether was really as hurting and desperate as it seemed there would be a large operation coming up soon Either an offensive by Lord Miln to seize back recently lost territory or a defensive effort against a tide of Nether Beasts in such numbers that the front lines hadn�t in a generation

No matter what it was Iellaya needed to distinguish herself at that time And once that confrontation started she wouldn�t have attention to spare for her forces If she didn�t do it now it wouldn�t happen

Perhaps it was best to think of Iellaya as a reservoir behind a dam As more individual ponds and streams were willing to feed into her they would connect to the river system that flowed out of her Although their water volume might decrease in the short term the amount that she casually dealt with was so large that even the tiniest bit of favor from her would be the equivalent of what most of these individuals could hope to get after a year of hard work

And like today when she completely opened the floodgates they would experience ecstasy that a normal mind couldn�t even fathom Her mental fingers against that knot of karma tightened Then she twisted and that carefully held reservoir of power blasted outward

Lady Iellaya trembled as she released the pent up energy through the connections It wasn�t something she did often so the sensation always left her uncomfortable It stunk to her of weakness but it was a necessary evil

As she did so a collective gasp went through the camp as everyone experienced the intoxicating rush of power that Iellaya had released She could feel their happiness their joy feel the grainy sensation of despair being slowly swallowed the murky prospect of hope in their hearts

Then after a few seconds of releasing that power Lady Iellaya�s hand on that knot of karma tightened once more She became whole again although quite empty of her usual vigor Hopefully it would prove worth the gamble

With her power still percolating down through those who were connected to her they would experience increased recovery and capability for some time The energy would slowly dissipate on its own but most would likely find a use for it in the next week as they were continually sent on missions despite the fact they suffered an attack

Now all that she wanted was some time to recover

On cue Abiodun rapped on the partially rigid flap that covered her tent Groaning Lady Iellaya straightened and did her best to smooth her bristling feathers Abiodun was obviously aware of what she had just done so the fact that he had knocked anyway meant that whatever it was it was very important

And since he knocked someone else is with him

Enter Lady Iellaya said a few seconds later after she was satisfied with her attempts to hide how exhausting that loss of energy was to her She slipped the hand mirror she had used between her back and the chair on which she sat

Three people walked into the room The first was Abiodun looking imposing and dangerous fortified as he was by Iellaya�s energy Although he wasn�t physically larger his image had such weight now that the visual deviation in the surrounding area was partially suppressed As the first and most important source of her strength Abiodun received the larger share of her expended potency than most

Next to him was a tired looking young woman wearing large iron gauntlets and possessing tightly braided turquoise hair This woman Iellaya gave a second glance after feeling the ambient potency of her image This was just the type of individual that Lady Iellaya would dearly love to have swear fealty to her but based on the power present in her image there was little chance of it happening

Ah well Lady Iellaya thought sadly Then she turned to the third person in the room And she immediately froze

It was a rather short and slight man who was completely hairless His pale grey skin made him share more than a passing resemblance with a day old corpse and the lack of hair didn�t help his ghastly complexion at all But around his body there wasn�t a hint of visual variation due to the Great Rift His image was so solid that the surrounding air stilled by his presence

Abiodun clasped his hands behind his back and stood at attention Lady Iellaya blinked The two strangers seemed to both be waiting for the other to speak

The turquoise haired woman sent a questioning glance at the hairless man who just smiled Shaking her head in something close to disgust the woman turned to Lady Iellaya Greetings Commander my name is Vualla Meteo we are here looking for one of your subordinates Randidly Ghosthound is his name We had hoped Another pointed glance at the smiling grey skinned creature with an aggressively powerful image next to her to speak with him As quickly as possible This man believes it is impossible for an image to possess stars

Keh you leave out the most important part When the hairless individual spoke his voice was quite off putting in shrill pitch and cadence Only by finding another such variant element can you prove that it is reasonable for such a quality recruit such as you to have slipped through the cracks Otherwise hehehe I suppose it will be up to me to persuade you to reveal how you managed to infiltrate the Imperial Aether Army

Yes that dumb theory The turquoise haired woman replied with a stone face She kept her gaze on Lady Iellaya

Lady Iellaya for her part suppressed a shiver and licked her lips On the one hand some part of her was annoyed they both seemed rather dismissive of her rank Yet on the other hand the man�s presence made Iellaya nervous enough not to press the issue Unfortunately Randidly Ghosthound is currently out participating in a mission but I�m sorry I don�t recognize either of you And without knowing more I cannot

Ah Where are my manners The hairless man whistled He opened his mouth in something like a smile and revealed rows of rotten teeth I am Cail Tweocs I am a special investigator of the Xyrt Brigade part of the Internal Affairs division A pleasure I�m sure

Chapter 1088

Randidly fought to keep a scowl off of his face as he looked at the painted on smile on Lord Miln�s face What do you mean I should expect some temporal variations � while participating in the mission

Zagnal who was standing behind Randidly with Zauna and Salazar flinched like he was struck at Randidly�s words Considering how Lord Miln�s smile sharpened with malicious glee some part of Randidly realized that Zagnal�s shock was likely due to the tone that Randidly had chosen to take

But the smug fucking look in this bastard�s eye when he said it Randidly purposefully didn�t let his gaze stray from Lord Miln leaning over his desk to the pods covered in Engravings behind him In one of them Randidly�s own body currently floated

The only reason that Randidly managed it was that the Grim Chimera refused to give this fuck the satisfaction of being the one to break eye contact and look away So his gaze remained fixed on the jailer of his main body

There was a small temptation to take Randidly�s newfound Nether capability as a sign that he should strike and try and free himself but even the Grim Chimera�s aggression abated somewhat when faced with the serene aura that Lord Miln threw off as he held Randidly�s gaze He didn�t want to admit it but this guy was powerful Likely just as powerful as what Randidly had seen from Lady Iellaya and Commander Terith

And considering he was their boss likely a little bit more on top of that

As I explained we are currently under constant siege from the forces of Nether Lord Miln said smoothly For all that his expression seemed to scream that he wanted to murder Randidly in his sleep Lord Miln�s tone was cool and professional Our normal missions involving Aether Keys have had to have been scrapped in order to keep abreast with the developing situation on the frontlines Therefore we have spent extra resources to significantly empower Aether Keys and send them to strategically critical areas

As such not only will your missions tend to last a small degree longer so that the Aether Key can accomplish its mission but it has been noted by respected scholars that the collision of powerful Aether and Nether often result in small deviations to normal temporal proceedings So it might feel like even more time has passed during your mission that has actually occurred I offered it as a well meaning warning soldier

Randidly�s claw tightened into a fist with such force that Randidly felt his own talons beginning to dig into the toughened skin of his hands This hardly seems like the sort of mission you would give to an image then Especially not when I know there are plenty of soldiers who possess bodies that could serve more aptly

Again Lord Miln�s smile grew exponentially sharper But this time an accompanying chill followed the curling of Lord Miln�s lips that smashed into Randidly with a physical force Frost began to form on Randidly�s limbs creeping in toward his torso

Don�t think that your accomplishments thus far mean anything Lord Miln said quietly All you have managed to do is survive A cockroach can routinely claim as much If you disrespect me one more time I�ll show you why such tenacity has earned cockroaches no dominion over the world and why people like me still rule it

A shallow and pathetic rule you have here on the frontlines Randidly thought acidically But he held his tongue

Lord Miln�s smile shifted to something more genuinely cheery But of course you are right you are vastly under qualified to serve as Captain for this mission Yet now one of your subordinates possess a physical body Which barely qualifies you as a suitable choice in the eyes of my superior And you know you and I have a personal relationship We were connected intimately before you even came to the front lines Considering our history it would be heartless of me to not do you this one favor

Randidly frowned This drivel again But then Lord Miln raised his hand and conjured a golden hammer covered in extremely familiar runes and Randidly was left speechless

Do you know how much trouble you caused for my nephew Lord Miln mused as he looked down at the golden hammer he held a hammer identical to the hammers that Randidly�s Judgement had used against him He has his own dominion you know Only Tier 2 Citizenship but still respectable enough He possesses a realm that requires Aether to function which is why he serves as the Judgment underneath the Patron of Frostbite Allowing a Heretic to reach the final conscription Path is not a death sentence but it certainly makes him look incompetent His people have suffered immensely due to your actions Thousands have died from Aether Deprivation while he struggled to cope with your growth while he was limited by the System

Again that cold came this time freezing Randidly�s feet to the ground Then the ice continued to creep upward covering Randidly�s raptor like legs and reaching his waist Randidly simply stood with gritted teeth careful to not reflexively use the Nether bubbles to negate a portion of the image that Lord Miln was radiating

Unlike the individual who served as Randidly�s Judgment it was immediately clear that Lord Miln�s power was not due to the weight of Aether behind him No this was simply someone who reached the pinnacle of power with his image Abruptly Randidly was very glad he hadn�t attempted anything more foolish than disrespect This was not a foe he was ready to face directly

With all due respect Randidly said through gritted teeth hating himself for every word Isn�t the situation on the front more important than our previous differences

Oh I have the situation quite under control don�t you worry Lord Miln said with remarkable cheeriness He glanced to the side toward a specific suspension tank behind him and Randidly was immediately sure that the object of his gaze was the very tank that held his own body I suspect that a very lucrative business deal that has been on the table for quite some time will finally go through quite soon In which case all of my problems will be solved

Then Lord Miln looked back to Randidly In any case I�m a busy man and you are just one of many foot soldiers You have your orders get to it

Two powerful looking guards stepped forward but Randidly looked at Lord Miln for several long seconds His mind was whirring at a rapid clip as he studied the Supreme Commander of this frontline Then Randidly turned away The Grim Chimera roared silently and the muscles of his legs flexed The ice that was binding him to the ground shattered and Randidly casually turned away trying his best to look more in control than he actually felt

If he is really referring directly to my body when talking about that business deal Randidly thought with a sinking feeling in his chest Then it might be that someone is aware that I physically am the Alpha Cosmos And that this mission he is sending me on is especially designed to be deadly

As he left the command tent and stood on the high rocky outcropping over the entire battlefield Randidly had to suppress his desire to laugh Or at least he tried to but then the sheer irony of his solemn vow to avoid suicide missions from now on came back to bite him only a few days later

Salazar reached out and patted Randidly�s shoulder It�s f fine to be a little mentally b b broken by circumstance Even if y you start s stuttering

Randidly waved his hand still chuckling Relax this isn�t a mental breakdown It�s just funny This is how it always happens It�s like there is a fickle god watching over me constantly making my life more difficult than it needs to be

Everyone has that Zagnal said with a scowl Sometimes its someone trying to kill you sometimes its an idiot for a commanding officer That�s just life

Randidly spared him an amused glance The dragon man still was both bitter about his inexplicable loss to Randidly in between the tents and also because he would be following Randidly on this mission designed to kill him

But before Randidly replied one of the guards spoke up Although this mission is difficult that does not mean it is impossible Lord Miln has seen fit to allow you to go to the Armory and remove two weapons before you depart

The armory Randidly asked in confusion Valuable weapons were slightly intriguing but not so much that it would affect the outcome of the battle Even if they were powerful Randidly didn�t currently have a body that could be affected by the Stats or properties of a weapon right now Although some part of him was intensely curious about what sort of weapons the warriors of the System possessed at the high end of things

Sam would probably be drooling right now

The guard nodded Yes the armory It contains thousands of years worth of Fates harvested from those who have died fighting the Nether If you are lucky you might find something powerful in there that can save your life

Chapter 1089

Randidly raised his eyebrows as he looked down into the pit in front of him Gleaming azure waters about ten meters down from the edge of the hole on which Randidly stood seemed to obscure a strange light that filtered up to his eyes This is the Fate armory

In addition to the two guards that had escorted Randidly and his three subordinates down the mountain face opposite the Great Rift there were around twenty nervous looking guards that stood around the pit with their weapons raised defensively These score of guards were as far as Randidly could tell an emergency group that wasn�t generally together based upon their widely divergent uniform and armor choices

But it�s not like the System seems to demand any sort of uniform from its soldiers Maybe I�m reading into their posture too much

When he received the affirmative nod on this being the armory from one of their two guards Randidly turned to face forward once more As he looked down toward the dappled light coming out the pit he wondered idly what had occurred that had convinced Lord Miln to station so many people here

And why are they jumpy as rabbits

It looks like a lake Zagnal said as he rubbed his chin Randidly agreed with him but he was still sour enough at Zagnal�s presence that he didn�t vocalize his thoughts There was a need to keep up a united front of disdain toward this spy after all

The more talkative and dismissive of the two guards snorted Heh a lake Are you fucking blind This is one of the most tightly guarded locations on the frontlines That is no mere lake

it�s liquified Aether Randidly supplied quickly in order to deprive the know it all guard of the satisfaction His eyes widened as he looked down into the hole in front of him trying to judge its size and depth Compared to the Dungeon that Randidly had been led to on Earth that possessed a similar Aether feature this lake� was nowhere near that size But as Randidly focused he could tell that the depth in front of him was deceiving likely the Aether was being used to stretch or shrink the area below

And with the light coming up it was basically just guesswork on Randidly�s part to try and determine how deep it was

Which made a certain amount of sense This was supposed to contain thousands of years worth of Fates Some things could be among the gleaming lights teasing from within that liquified Aether but this armory wasn�t as impressive or militaristic as Randidly had been picturing in his mind

The guard looked at Randidly with a disappointed look likely because he had ruined his moment of verbal superiority over Zagnal All of which was likely fine was it not also wasting Randidly�s time But as the guard glared at him Randidly�s breath caught in his front because he noticed something else about the armory below A shiver ran through his image body starting from the tip of his toes and running to his black hair on his head

There was no evaporation Not a hint of the titanic energy that was contained below was wafting upward Although the surface of the liquid Aether was covered with playful ripples there was no whiff of energy

Randidly slowly spun around on his heel and surveyed the surrounding area To control that amount of energy it�s absolutely insane It�s hard to know how much Aether gets condensed to become liquid but it isn�t a small amount and keeping it there requires pressure The individual who is in charge of this

Recovering some of his haughtiness seeing Randidly�s shock the guard chuckled Yes pure liquid Aether And I don�t even know why the Supreme Commander allowed you to come here Heh maybe it was a sense of humor He even let you choose two fates but do you images think you can handle the pressure of liquid Aether And you

The guard�s focus shifted once more to Zagnal Zagnal could only clench his scaled hands and endure the overt mockery You with all of the strength of my farts can you resist being corrupted by the powerful Fates that lay within this pool

Randidly ignored the talking and continued to survey the surrounding area He had ignored the guard�s earlier boasting about this being one of the most heavily guarded locations on the front lines but after seeing that someone managed to completely keep the liquid Aether well behaved Randidly felt that it might not be too much of an exaggeration Someone with a lot of fucking power was in the surrounding area

Of course I bet the place with the most protections is Lord Miln�s sick fucking body chamber Randidly thought with distaste But then he focused on the task at hand and continued to scan the surroundings

The armory was in a small valley hidden between two steep ravines In terms of location it was one that would have been extremely easy to overlook if they hadn�t known what look for Even with the correct path the way they arrived was through an extremely narrow passage with high stone walls on each side Inside the valley itself the space widened somewhat to allow four or five larger tents to be pressed up against the gentle slope down to the roiling liquid Aether below

But aside from the pit the tents the guards and some common necessities to living there wasn�t anything else in the valley

As Randidly looked around he was once more convinced that most of the guards there were extremely nervous Randidly ignored those people those shaky soldiers were just here as window dressing Instead he continued to allow his Grim Intuition to guide him and spun to consider all of the surrounding individuals

And then Randidly found two people that seemed completely absent to his Perception They sat by a fire quite a distance from any tent squeezed up against the high stone walls of the valley An old man was tending the fire with a stick and an old woman was smoking a bone pipe Although they felt completely ordinary they were anything but

After taking a deep inhale the woman blew out a thin stream of smoke that spiraled up in the air in front of her to form the fluttering silhouette of a bird Its wings beat rapidly and it hovered in front of her with its head cocked to the side

Then shaking her head she raked her hand through the bird and it dispersed to nothing She took another deep breath of smoke and held it in her lungs seeming to consider Then she released her breath this time from the corners of her mouth The smoke drifted downward to form two grey squirrels and due to the coloration of the smoke they possessed a remarkable likeness to the actual animals Randidly seemed to be able to see every individual hair on their bodies comprised of delicate strands of smoke

The old man turned and said something Randidly couldn�t hear and the old woman laughed Grasping with his thumb and forefinger the man pinched a tongue of flame from the fire he was tending and tossed it to the side It hit the ground between the two smoke squirrels and blossomed upward into a rapidly growing flame But as the fire stretched and spread Randidly realized that it wasn�t truly the shape of fire he was seeing

The old man had sculpted a meter tall tree out of a pinch of flame Delighted the smoke squirrels darted up the tree and chased each other frantically The flames of the tree spread and suddenly it wasn�t just the trunk and branches but luminous red gold foliage that Randidly could see The casual display left Randidly floored

Yea those seem like the people who are in charge here Randidly thought nervously After releasing a steadying breath he walked over in their direction in order to speak with him

Randidly�s reasoning was twofold first he wanted more information about the armory And second Randidly couldn�t stay away after witnessing that power It was a small thing not on the scale of what he had seen from Lady Iellaya or Commander Terith but it was this effortless use of imbuing image into smoke and fire with such potency that it became a medium for life that truly made Randidly tremble

These two were stronger than the Commanders And although it was more hope than based on any facts Randidly believed they were also more powerful than Lord Miln

The guards who had brought them here glanced at Randidly but ultimately let him go they were more concerned with the continued harassment of Zagnal But as Randidly began to walk away one of the nervous looking guards stepped in Randidly�s path Although Randidly could sense his unease this tall furry guard seemed much more composed than some of his fellows

He leaned forward and spoke in a quiet voice that only Randidly could hear It is not smart to approach If they do not like you well Many have died in the armory Even guards go missing on occasion

The Grim Chimera instantly was on guard as Randidly met this guard�s eyes but they were completely clear and guileless Slowly Randidly relaxed It was unfortunate to learn but Randidly was still tempted by the casual power he had witnessed At least this explained why the guards in the surrounding area were twitching and exchanging uneasy glances after their party arrived They were likely afraid one of the arrivals would do something to upset these two powerful figures and the negative emotion would be taken out on them later

Even so the Grim Chimera hungered for the slightest whiff of power and Randidly agreed

But it was not selfish worry that motivated this guard Randidly could tell This furry fellow seemed genuinely concerned about Randidly So he offered him a grin and asked And if they like me

Obviously your task of selecting Fates becomes more manageable But I have heard rumors about you You are an image that Lord Miln is sending to his death The guard said slowly The corners of his eyes crinkled Could you have ended up in this situation if you were a likable individual

Randidly genuinely laughed Certainly it seems that Lord Miln is a popular leader His soldiers follow his lead in many areas

The crinkles around the guard�s eyes deepened How could it not be so All soldiers are loyal to their commander

Well well well What have we here Randidly thought with interest as he continued to look at the guard in front of him The man appeared more beast like human likely something akin to a wolfman But his eyes were honest and amused as they spoke with obvious sarcasm Someone who isn�t so keen on Lord Miln Offering me that warning even knowing that I will probably die soon is it kindness or guile

Randidly Ghosthound Thanks for the warning Randidly said as he offered his hand

The wolfman�s long tongue lolled out between his jaws Colhnan Don�t underestimate the Armory Mr Ghosthound

Nodding Randidly moved past the guard and left the circle of idle individuals that were watching the worthwhile pursuit of knocking Zagnal down a peg Randidly kept his pace even as he approached the area where the two old looking individuals were sitting around a fire

Part of the reason that they caught the eye was their tranquil atmosphere but they both also appeared to be completely human At perhaps 10 meters neither of the two had looked up toward his approach and Randidly found himself forced to slow down Both because he wished to be respectful and because the air became distinctly heavy

Too heavy to be natural Randidly thought as he stopped about 5 meters away from the backs of the two individuals The weight had grown to the point that each step took a titanic effort Neither of the two figures looked over at him but Randidly noticed that both of the two had stilled in their movements somewhat They were waiting

But waiting for what

Randidly gritted his teeth and took another step forward Instantly the pressure in the air doubled If Randidly had possessed a physical body a hiss would have escaped his lips as the air in his lungs was physically squeezed out of him As it was he managed to bring his other foot forward and stand while enduring the ominous pressure in the air

The old man chuckled and picked up a stick Rather whimsically he began to draw glowing characters in the air with the glowing ember at the end of his branch What was fascinating is that the light from the flame lingered far too long to be natural Whole strings of runes appeared in the air before the old man waved his stick like a conductor and dismissed them

Randidly grimly considered the two powerful people Having them right outside his reach was maddening And this strange atmosphere seemed to indicate that it was possible to reach them and speak with them Again Randidly remembered that casually constructed image of the smoke squirrels and tree of fire

Their images were so powerful that they seemed entirely real Yet the path forward was both difficult and confusing

Unfortunately the Grim Chimera was just as split as Randidly was On the one hand Randidly wanted to appear respectful and it was pretty clear that this pressure was meant to keep individuals away However this army might be twisted and dangerous but it had been pretty uniform in respecting capability Perhaps the barrier was present for people to prove their capability by pushing through it

The more aggressive part of the Grim Chimera urged action But it also cautioned patience before an individual with this much casual power Those manifestations of life with smoke and fire had left a deep impression on the Grim Chimera

Perhaps Randidly would have stood there for quite a while if a shift hadn�t occurred between the two individuals around the fire All of the old man�s whimsical nature slowly dissolved as time crept past Suddenly his mouth firmed into a line Meanwhile the old woman raised her arms above her head and stretched languidly From several meters away Randidly could her the slow and satisfying pops from her back as she extended her limbs toward the sky

The old man prodded the fire with his stick his expression unamused And as he did so Randidly had to grit his teeth as a wave of unmistakable weight spread outward and buzzed against the edges of his image body

There isn�t one right answer Randidly realized It�s just a matter of which of the two paths I take You either force your way forward and pass the old woman�s test or endure and pass the old man�s And if I have to choose between smoke and fire

Chapter 1090

Youngster my apologies but my vision isn�t what it used to be The old woman said cheerily as she turned around and smiled at him I didn�t even notice you Please come join this old woman next to the fire and talk awhile

Randidly opened his mouth to reply but could only release a groan It had taken a full hour of standing and enduring the waves of force the old man produced before the old woman had deigned to take notice of his swaying presence During that time Randidly was reduced to an extremely groggy state from the constant assaults

They weren�t necessarily mental attacks but without a body Randidly needed to rely on his mental strength in order to resist the mind boggling pressure It was like image but not It was an expression of image without an image It was made possible by these individuals believing in something that had no existence Randidly supposed it was somewhat similar to the myth that those who were extremely powerful with a sword or spear could transform any item they held into that weapon and display fearsome combat prowess

To an exhausted Randidly it seemed like this was a realm of image that was beyond the Tellus understanding It transcended giving sentience to image and allowed these two to give weight to nothing

The Grim Chimera was salivating And it seemed the foolish gamble had paid off Now if only I can get my body to behave

So Randidly staggered up next to the old woman and did his best not to collapse onto the stump next to her It was only by relying on the healing from his cores the defense from his bubbles and Chimeric Avoidance that he had been able to manage to endure to this point and it had been a close thing

Over the hour Chimeric Avoidance Leveled up six times which was a testament to how grueling a trial it had been

For the old man�s part he huffed in annoyance as Randidly approached and walked away with his arms folded behind his back toward slender tent that seemed in danger of toppling into the Armory below The old man entered into the tent and didn�t look back It seemed for better or worse Randidly had chosen his poison

Chuckling the old woman said Now where are my manners My name is Nadia Would you like some tea

Yes Randidly managed to croak He pressed his eyes closed and opened up a bit more of a flow of Nether from his Nether Wells It was somewhat frightening to do so next to such a capable old woman but Randidly didn�t have much choice Otherwise he would just pass out And somehow he sensed that such an action would be considered a failure

Besides after learning that Nether principles were a part of the System Randidly had a bit more confidence in being able to explain away the Nether

To Randidly�s surprise he sensed that to prepare the tea Nadia simply took another long drag from her pipe and blew out smoke into the palm of her hand When he opened his eyes to confirm a grey cup filled with grey tea was swirling on her palm She offered it to Randidly with a small smile With some misgivings Randidly took the cup

The substance might have been smoke but the object felt smooth and cool to Randidly�s overly large claw He tilted the teacup to the side and watched as the smoke tea sloshed around as a liquid normally would Randidly stared down at it wondering what the consequences would be for drinking another person�s image For the first time Randidly hesitated Perhaps talking to these two will end up being more trouble than it was worth

Apparently his misgivings were clear on his face because Nadia chuckled again Relax There is some of my power in it but none of my grip And for an image like you it will be incredibly beneficial to ingest Consider it a gift

So Randidly took a sip of the tea and carefully scrutinized the flow of warmth that flowed into him But his eyes quickly widened as Randidly realized it was an extremely familiar feeling This is the same sort of thing that I receive from the Eidolon Crucible It really is just more potency and weight to an image And so much strength is concentrated

Satisfied Randidly gulped down the rest As soon as the cup was empty it dispersed into smoke once more flowing around Randidly�s sharp talons and dissipating into the air With that extra strength reinforcing him Randidly turned to Nadia with a renewed self control

Although you are but an image you possess three stars Nadia said musingly And you are solid enough to survive Kailm�s trial Interesting I�ve never seen an image with stars you know And I�ve been alive for quite some time Your kind simply dies too quickly to be that tempered by Nether Considering how you are essentially suicide soldiers your growth is nothing short of a miracle

Randidly remained silent during Nadia�s musings

She tapped her cheek Plus you have been given the chance to obtain two Fates as weapons Fascinating It will be difficult for your insubstantial body to endure while in the liquid Nether even with my blessing Harder still for you to not be corrupted by the Fate you choose as it possesses physical form and you do not I would recommend you turn back

You sound like the guard that told me not to approach you Randidly said slowly But I believe it will be worth it to make an attempt

Even if its just the Skill Levels and the image weight I got from the tea it was probably worth the hour of misery

Hell just seeing the way you can shape smoke and fire with your images would have made this trip worth it That�s a goal I can pursue

Fine then you would know your limits better than I Nadia said with a smile that seemed to imply that the exact opposite was the case One more question why did you pick me You started walking forward quite aggressively just the way Kailm likes Yet then you paused What changed your mind

Randidly saw no reason to lie It was your game The squirrels and the tree Once I realized that I could either approach or wait to earn your approval I judged by with whom I was most aligned My image the image that I am is heavily based upon ash So I chose based on your ability to manipulate smoke

What There was something strange in her tone that made Randidly look sharply up Nadia stared at Randidly in slack jawed amazement for several long seconds Her mouth began to twitch Then she was slapping her knee and guffawing her laugh booming out through the entire valley

Even the guards who had been nervously watching Zagnal being continually berated paused and looked over at the booming sound

Did you hear that Kailm Nadia giggled A snort echoed out from the tent that Kailm had walked into hitting Randidly with such force that he was knocked off the log on which he was sitting and sent tumbling backward

Frowning and rubbing his back as he straightened Randidly stood and regarded the still giggling Nadia Is that strange

Not strange just unlucky for you Nadia chuckled I use smoke and he uses fire as a way to mock each other Our relationship is no longer what it once was To tell the truth my image is related to the fires of rebirth and Kailm is the ashes of war So in essence we deceived you into choosing the opposite of what you wanted

Uh Randidly blinked

To make matters worse Nadia continued to speak as her smile quickly shrunk I am well I won�t beat around the bush I am less potent than Kailm Not considerably so but I am not his equal If he truly wishes to kill you while you are in the armory I wouldn�t have a hope of stopping him So it could be said that you made the worst possible choice given your particular circumstances

To be honest I�m only explaining this so perhaps Kailm will find it in his withered heart to pity you and refrain from smashing you between two current of liquid Aether And because this is quite far and away the most amusing thing that has happened here for quite some time Nadia�s cheer returned But Don�t lose all hope There is one benefit I can offer you that Kailm would never be able to equal

Randidly blinked rapidly scrambling to keep abreast with all of the casual revelations coming from Nadia And that is

Our daughter�s Fate Now Nadia�s face was completely devoid of a smile She took her own life so there is some inherent danger to interacting with such a Fate Yet it is based upon fire and it is an incredibly powerful weapon My purview is fire so that weapon is mine to give I guarantee if you manage to completely harness the power of this Fate no one on this battleground aside from Kailm and myself would be your equal

However the Grim Chimera had Randidly narrowing his eyes Not only was Randidly inherently suspicious of relying on external power but the sudden proposition sounded too good to be true But why would you offer such a precious weapon to me

If I�m being honest For a second Nadia�s eyes were filled with flame My daughter and I can both be considered distantly related to phoenixes And I hope that her Fate will devour you and allow her consciousness to be reborn

That gave Randidly pause Well at least that was an honest answer

A split second later Nadia�s cheery smile was back She waved her hand and dispersed a spray of sparks that sank into Randidly�s body and left him tingling

Grimacing Randidly opened his mouth quickly before she sent him away Can you answer me one thing What are Fates truly When I pick them out what am I getting

Nadia paused and studied Randidly Then she shrugged There isn�t really harm in telling you Classes in the System and Fates by extension are prayers for an impossible connection A Fate is a guidepost forward toward that goal It seeks to create a path to make the ideal imagined form of yourself real

Which of course is impossible Nadia continued No matter how real or powerful an image becomes it never is real not in the same way that we well not you but not in the way that physical bodies are real

Randidly was honestly rather shocked by that frank admission What do you mean it�s not real We can use images to affect the real world They take up space they can be seen and felt Isn�t that real

Nadia gave Randidly a disappointed look What a strange thing to say Isn�t reality affected by basically anything Paranoia emotions rumors and culture they all warp our reality But aren�t they all substanceless constructs We are never bound by them no matter how powerful they are We can walk through them if we wish We can transcend the limits of those who seek to define our nature Because we are real

To Randidly�s surprise Nadia reached out and touched Randidly�s face You cannot understand yet To truly understand you need to lose something incredibly precious Someone Because no matter how powerful my image or my ex husband�s became we could never recreate our daughter Not truly Image can mimic but never achieve substance no matter how thin that distinction becomes no matter how much we pray it was not so Just like how the Nether can never return to its glorious past no matter how united it becomes with the memory

Again Randidly had to scramble to try and pull apart the dense train of logic Nadia was following Finally he opened his mouth and asked Then why Why have Fates at all if they are just failed attempts

Has impossibility ever stopped us from wanting the impossible Nadia laughed rather sadly Then her face grew somewhat stormy And eventually with so many failed hopes and prayers piled up who knows what the being who holds all that unrealized power would be able to do Perhaps if quality is not enough quantity will be

Then with a sharp gesture Nadia tossed Randidly over the edge of the hole and into the swirling currents of liquid Aether

Chapter 1091

It wasn�t that Randidly hadn�t believed the guards not to mention his own extremely acute senses that had informed him that his image body would have difficulty within the liquid Aether He certainly believed them what they were stating was unarguable fact Liquid Aether was not only volatile but denser than anything he had encountered in the past

Even if the tight control of Nadia and Kailm meant that the volatility wasn�t an issue the density wouldn�t be easy to overcome So he was aware it would be difficult

But in the same way that Randidly had managed to endure the extremely dense Nether when they went to lure out the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly believed he would be able to endure liquid Aether If the issue was the structural integrity of his body he trusted the trial he had experienced through the last few weeks and what it meant for his image He had been refined to the point of being incomparable to his feeble images during his time on Tellus and later Earth

It hadn�t occurred to him however to think about the very legitimate fact that if there was liquid Aether there was probably liquid Nether And that dense Nether he so struggled with certainly wasn�t liquid

Randidly smashed into the surface of the liquid Aether and realized that this assumption was very very wrong It bowed under him the surface tension refusing to allow him passage Perhaps if he hadn�t been flailing and ripped the surface open with a claw it wouldn�t have let him in at all

As it was the liquid Aether begrudgingly allowed him to sink into it closing up quickly after him and leaving him completely suspended in the Aether

In a way it was quite a bit easier than handling Nether After all the Aether didn�t make any attempts to weaken and devour him This was Randidly�s natural element Although Randidly didn�t currently possess the many diverse Aether Skills of the main body he could still move well enough through the liquid Aether

After the initial shock had worn off a gasp escaped Randidly�s lips The world hidden beneath the surface of the azure energy was stunning

Spirals of gleaming energy danced across his vision providing some variance from the deep pool of azure that surrounded him Small motes of golden light seemed to dance at the corners of his vision disappearing as soon as he twisted to face them Yet Randidly�s face became increasingly red as he took in the sights it was not an easy thing for his body to persist here Every second dragged past as it felt like Randidly was slowly being constricted by a fifteen meter long python that thoroughly enjoyed his torment

Suddenly the beauty became less of a wondrous treasure and more of a final gift from the world to Randidly before his journey to the afterlife His focus narrowed as the crushing force of the liquid Aether demanded more and more of his attention

Fucking shit Randidly panted I refuse to die like this

With burning emerald eyes Randidly marshaled all of the Willpower and mental weight that he had gained from the Eidolon Crucible and from drinking Nadia�s smoky tea His image body began to shimmer with concentrated strength His chest expanded and Randidly raised his bone spear and claw in challenge against the surrounding liquid Aether

Congratulations Your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 228

The Grim Chimera�s mouth spread wide and open Its teeth were sharp and dripping with saliva Its rakish grin was a challenge against the surrounding waters and the herald of an approaching triumph Again this environmental enemy the Grim Chimera would not bow It would only adapt

Of course there was no response from the surrounding azure waters The marvelous bright palette of colors continued their manic dance without any care toward its audience The thin reverberating waves from Randidly�s arrival to this place slowly dispersed and Randidly could see more clearly the spiraling lights leading him deeper toward the true form of the armory The stone walls of either side of the pool sloped quickly inward but Randidly saw an opening spilling white light up toward him

At first he tried swimming but Randidly realized with chagrin that rather than his motions what he needed to do was expend more will in order to proceed deeper into the armory It was only by displacing the rather vanilla image of the liquid Aether that Randidly was able to make room for his image body to proceed deeper Which was much harder than it seemed initially

So he stopped his flailing hearing a noise suspiciously like Nadia�s laughter and focused all of his attention on making himself heavier His jaw trembled from clenching His chest was on fire But a few seconds later he had results

Slowly but surely he began to sink downward

Randidly�s expression was extremely sour as he drifted toward the brilliant light below I�ll be good for now but if I need to move everywhere like this I�m gonna run out of steam before I have time to check out much

Luckily just as Randidly was beginning to wonder what his timelimit in this place would be he felt a flash of heat from inside of himself that quickly sharpened into painful tiny pinpricks of fire seemed to ignite all across his body

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 110

This must be Nadia�s work Randidly twisted his mouth and relaxed his will as he began to speed rapidly downward toward the light without having to constantly think himself into doing so Well I�m just glad that passing their little test turned out to be worth it

Of course whether that was actually the case remained to be seen There was still the issue of her daughter�s Fate which Nadia had offered to Randidly Her explanation had certainly raised more questions than it had answered

But whether or not the assistance turned out to be worth it certainly the information that Nadia had casually provided about Classes and Fates certainly would be Now that Nadia�s blessing took over most of the task of bringing him down toward the main portion of the armory below Randidly could reflect on some of the things that she had said

Classes being a prayer for an ideal self images not being truly real and what that means Fates as a guidepost forward Randidly sighed It�s pretty fucking ironic that the individuals who I�ve seen with the most powerful images are the ones who were the most dismissive of images But I suppose they might be right Images are powerful but that doesn�t mean they are real

But does that really matter

Then Nadia�s words came back to Randidly That he wouldn�t understand until he had lost someone precious to him It stunk of arrogance to say that so boldly without knowing Randidly�s life but his tongue made no moves to defend the experience of his heart

Some part of Randidly wanted to claim that he had lost someone precious to him People he had known had died underneath the thumb of the System after all Individuals from Donnyton had perished despite Randidly�s best efforts to keep them alive and defend the town during those early days

Yet Randidly could point to even more recent examples On the bank of the Hallat on Tellus Randidly had buried no fewer than a hundred companions that he had traveled and eaten with as they slowly retreated back to the capital People he had spoken with had bled and died while he watched furiously battling against the Wights

But another part of Randidly admitted these were relatively shallow losses Even though the tragedy of those deaths had deeply scarred him it was purely external wounds None of the deaths that Randidly had endured had left him hollowed out and empty because someone who was vital to him departed from this life

His relationships with Ace and Sydney had soured and changed into something that felt too strange for Randidly to really address but that was different In addition the choices that Randidly�s father had made left Randidly somewhat shocked and helpless but they had never been very close to begin with His father had distanced himself from Randidly and his mother from an early age

And right now the person closest to me would be Randidly hesitated as he cast his mind around The Grim Chimera grunted agreement to the confusion I suppose Helen Probably more so than Azriel

Certainly he and Helen had spent the most time together and had been briefly intimate at one time She was his knight the individual that Randidly trusted the most If she were to die it would definitely hurt He would grieve for a long time afterward

Yet would that pain and loss be enough that Randidly attempted to recreate Helen using an image That didn�t seem likely And it seemed even less likely that Randidly would be able to approach anything close to recreating her with an image

Because Randidly sensed that the sort of craving that allowed Nadia and Kailm to create such powerful images wasn�t a mundane emotion It was something bordering on obsession Randidly wasn�t sure if it was only such crazed individuals that could reach that tier of image but it certainly didn�t hurt to desire something so strongly

would I seek to revive Vualla if she died

As soon as the thought drifted forward to the forefront of his mind Randidly blinked and shook his head almost to wish it away Certainly he felt strangely connected to Vualla Doubly strange that he felt so strongly because they had interacted on only a few occasions And certainly they shared a lot of implicit understandings Randidly or perhaps the Grim Chimera felt unprecedented freedom around Vualla A feeling of being able to truly be seen as the moderately violent mildly desperate struggler that he was

But it was a shallow thing Randidly assured himself The breadth of their interactions was simply too short

Besides Randidly�s claw tightened to a fist She�s still alive I can still protect her so I never find out the answer to that question But I cannot deny that if I really want to do that I�ll need strength And isn�t that why I�m considering the offer of Nadia�s daughter�s Fate

Congratulations Your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 229

Even if it is dangerous even if Nadia thinks I will likely be consumed and used as fuel for the revival of her daughter if this Fate is as strong as she claimed it might give me the boost that I need to survive Lord Miln�s plot Plus it might show me the sort of desire I need in order to grow even stronger

Randidly kept his thoughts to himself as he finally drifted down to arrive at the opening to the illuminated opening below Rather than this being the armory it looked more like a shaft of liquid Aether that protected the real armory below allowing only glimpses of the powerful light and faint rumblings contained within

Yet the journey was not easy As he proceeded deeper the combined weight of the liquid Aether around him continued to climb Randidly gritted his teeth and continued to forcefully endure it Even if all he was required to do was maintain his body it was beginning to become extremely difficult

Although he hesitated to do it Randidly began actively using the bubbles from his three cores to share an extremely limited portion of the weight He hadn�t wanted to try on the off chance that the bubbles were Nether enough that they would cause an extremely violent reaction from the surrounding Aether But it was swiftly becoming apparent that he had no choice

Luckily it seemed the fact that these were simply knock off cores and bubbles worked to Randidly�s advantage It might only take away 10% of the weight he had to face but it was enough to allow him to relax

Much more comfortable with the assistance Randidly floated down into the light and saw the roiling currents of the armory below

Chapter 1092

The first thing that became obvious was that armory� was used extremely loosely by the forces of Aether Randidly currently was floating above a raw force of nature

If anything the beauty of the armory grew more apparent as he exited the shaft and appeared in a wide crystal cavern Most of what Randidly could see as he descended into the lower area was huge currents of liquid Aether buoying with them the tumbling mass of weapons armor and strange crystal shapes that could only be Fates Refracted light and noise bounced off every surface reflecting infinitely with a luminosity enough to leave Randidly momentarily blinded

Huge currents of Aether carrying thousands of Fates whirled around below in a vast maelstrom throwing of gleaming reverberations of power and light as the Fates chaotically smashed into each other in the violence of the Aether currents For a split second Randidly paused and just watched them move in wonder His breath and thoughts disappeared and Randidly just witnessed

Because truly Randidly was just a speck of dust before an uncountable number of whirling Fates They formed thick columns of light and energy that wriggled across the submerged armory like eels Thick rings of gold beams with that safe refreshing orange as the fruit rind deep midnight blue speckles the spread out and mixed hitting each other and the crystal covered walls It was a vast dance that held Randidly transfixed

His eyes could only follow those vast currents wondering how heavy the will needed to be in order to move such a heavy amount of substance Even more shocking was the fact that they periodically dived down to smash into the bottom of the large area below Randidly sending hundreds of Fates careening sideways

Yet there seemed to be some sort of facet of the dark bottom of this place that Randidly couldn�t make out from his vantage because a little later another eel of Fates would form and rise sinuously from the ground smaller but still similar enough that Randidly could only assume that this was the very same grouping of Fates that had been flowing before

As Randidly blinked some of the refracted light became easier for his mind to parse apart Beauty gave way to a basic understanding

Now that he knew what he was looking for Randidly saw large piles of Fates along the bottom slowly ebbing toward the sides Randidly shook his head numbly as he realized what he had assumed were crystalline walls were really titanic mounds of dim Fates that sat forgotten against the edges of the cavern These were rough and unused but sometimes the roiling eels would pass closely and gather some of the drifting Fates

But not all were picked up In this way those pillars of Fates would grow larger and larger until they turned once more downward and smashed into the ground

Pretty violent way of storing weapons Randidly muttered Again Randidly felt the bits of energy left by Nadia flare to life and he began rapidly descending down Which immediately made him very nervous

Not that he didn�t think he was very tough but being smashed with one thousand Fates pulled by a strong current of Aether seemed like a quick way to die

Thankfully Nadia clearly appeared to be guiding his descent around the more violent of the currents that smashed Fates into the ground Proceeding at a speed that had Randidly wincing they first headed toward the edge of the open area and followed the wall steadily down toward the vast piles of Fates along the edges

Congratulations Your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 230

One thing that Randidly noticed as they moved downward was that he could feel that familiar resonance in his chest while he was suspended in the liquid Aether which meant a Skill might be activated soon Likely it was exactly Aether Detection that he had bided his time for an Aether Key in order to learn

However there was simply too much pressure for the process to happen smoothly in the armory When he tried to leave the feeling along it was shattered by the pressure squeezing him When he tried to protect it his attention made the resonance falter and cease So Randidly could only throw his hands up in the air and turn his focus to the Fates that he sped past in the descent

Most of the ones along the wall appeared to be closer to haphazard crystal than any sort of intelligible shape Quartz and sapphire and ruby and emerald sparkled as Randidly passed looking like some sort of dragon�s treasure trove stacked up here at the bottom of the armory

They produced none of the light that was coming from the Fates in the more violent currents but there was a certain aura of raw power that wafted off of them especially when so many were gathered together Their combined presence pressed against his senses in a way that Randidly hadn�t often encountered

Maybe that�s why condensing an actual form is so unlikely Because the System makes it difficult Randidly thought grimly as he scanned the stacked Fates As Nadia hinted the System is creating a large quantity of them in a very raw form If they guideposts are poorly shaped they are less bound by the rules of their makers I suppose

Which means Randidly looked back to the center of the huge room A dull rumble swept outward as a huge column of Fates smashed unhesitatingly into the ground and some were flung away by the impact That this isn�t a natural phenomenon or even a whim done to pass the time This was designed to slowly grind well formed Fates into a more raw and suggestible form

Soon Randidly�s path was forced inward as the heaps of Fates along the walls crept slowly toward the interior As he did so he could see that he was right earlier the ground of this place was covered in gaping holes Likely a portion of the Fates would continue down after smashing into the ground and find their way through the cave system below which was the source of the Fates reappearing a few seconds later

Some part of Randidly was alarmed as he proceeded down directly toward one of those holes but too much of his attention was distracted by the increasing weight of the liquid Aether against his image As they reached a greater depth the cumulative weight that Randidly had to endure kept growing At this point he dearly wished for weight at the level of what he had faced in the shallower portions of this armory Randidly remembered it quite fondly

Congratulations Your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 231

But at least it�s fueling Skill growth Randidly thought as he shot into a jagged crack into the ground and was immediately surrounded by darkness Several times during the hurried passage through the tight tunnel there were large rock outcroppings that Randidly whipped past far too closely for comfort but it seemed that this was just the reality of the cave system rather than Nadia teasing him

Or it better fucking be Randidly grumbled inwardly

Ultimately however Randidly soon emerged from the honeycomb like caves into a deeper wider thoroughfare It was still dim here but only dim embedded in the walls and ground were luminous Fates

These unlike the Fates that had been piled against the walls were mostly formed as objects A pair of ivory wings fluttered out from behind a low stone in which they were lodged There was a humming ax stuck into the dark stone wall on Randidly�s left Directly in front of him on the rutted stone ground were seven crystal balls the size of the fist Small jumps of electricity periodically flicked out from one to another nearby

Randidly spun slowly around The main portion of the tunnel stretched forward into the darkness dimly lit by other Fates that had become trapped down here like candles leading him forward But Randidly also noticed the presence of small side alcoves Most interestingly each one of the alcoves was emitting a bright light

We don�t have much to do down here so we do separate the Fates worth keeping and tidy up small rooms for them

With annoying slowness due to the heavy liquid around him Randidly spun and saw Nadia standing there

She smiled at him almost shyly Truly impressive that you can manage to move as an image down here Yet how long will you hold up underneath the pressure I cannot help but wonder

Randidly didn�t even twitch staring at her with a rather tired determination After all it wasn�t like he hadn�t dealt with sadistic teasing rather constantly since the System had arrived and whisked him away from his normal life And that was even the main body For the Grim Chimera anything less than an active attempt to kill him was pleasant And even though Nadia had been rather upfront about the fact she hoped the Fate she would give him would devour him the Grim Chimera didn�t take it personally

That was just the way the world worked People died and became food for the next cycle of people seeking to run from death There was no reason to get worked up about it

Nadia chuckled when he didn�t respond to her prodding Fine fine you�re no fun But I suppose it is that iron in your spine that lets you handle the liquid Aether Anyway my daughter�s Fate is right through there in that alcove I won�t force you to take it but believe me it is the most powerful Fate in this place If you want power that is the path forward

I want that power I need that Path forward Randidly showed his teeth to Nadia�s amused expression even while another part of himself was shaking his head at the Grim Chimera�s aggressive choice

This isn�t a matter of fear at all There�s no need to use Vualla�s words to justify this decision In fact doing so is exactly what someone seized by fear would do

Those words gave Randidly pause but ultimately it didn�t change his decision With that typical moving through liquid Aether slowness he walked past Nadia into that small alcove

Immediately the light changed From an airy ambient blue Randidly stepped through the threshold and found himself inside of a harsh red furnace The ground was hot and volcanic with thin cracks in the ground showing the lava bubbling below the cracked stone

But for Randidly the entrance into the room was quite the relief suddenly it seemed like the pressure from the liquid Aether was gone as this Fate warped the surrounding area to suit its image Which certainly made Nadia�s claim that this Fate was extremely powerful much more credible But really Randidly suspected he wouldn�t have the capability of determining if it was truly the most powerful

It�s enough that it can stand up against liquid Aether

In the center of the room there was a pillar of fire running from floor to ceiling The heat flowed upward in a spiral submerging the dark colored Fate in its red light Yet the Fate itself was a plain slate grey Perhaps in an even more mundane choice it was a blade Randidly took several steps forward and examined the Fate more closely but it truly was just the blade of a sword

It was about a meter long and as thick as Randidly�s forearm It spun slowly in the fire pillar revealing the exceedingly sharp edges of the blade But although the top ended in a point the bottom ended in a flat bluntness that was so sharply separated it gleamed

Like your right arm our daughter�s Fate came as simply a weapon when she condensed it It did start with some rather ugly crystallization on the attachment point but as she grew she refined that away She was a genius

Randidly twisted sideways and found himself looking at the form of Kailm crossing his arms and looking up at the naked blade with raw longing His mouth was slightly opened as though he wanted to say more but no words he could come up with were enough to explain what he was feeling

After all words couldn�t truly make Randidly understand It was only after seeing Kailm look on this blade and seeing its light reflected in his eyes that Randidly understood how extinguished this man was now

Chapter 1093

Turning his head slowly Randidly looked up at the blade and then back to Kailm Eventually Randidly was unwilling to allow the silence to remain any longer The raw look of loss in Kailm�s face made him uneasy

You are here to � Randidly started to stay but he held his tongue rather than accusing Kailm of coming to kill him Even for someone as aggressive as the Grim Chimera it was a little much to antagonize Kailm right now

The old man sighed His short grey hair seemed so thin and frail I will not help you claim this Fate nor will I hinder you But also

Kailm let his arms fall to his sides I would not have acted if you had simply passed this place by But you walked into the room and looked upon the grave to my daughter You have stood before her memory I am not fool enough to think that this lingering fragment of her dreams is truly her not in the way that I believe Nadia still hopes But that does not mean that I like seeing the woman who shared with me that debilitating tragedy disappointed Since you came into this place you will leave with this Fate or die trying

Randidly turned his attention back to the grey blade hanging in the pillar of fire His mouth quirked up in amusement Then I suppose there is no reason to delay

Walking slowly to recovery some of his will while he didn�t need to fight off the liquid Aether Randidly approached the hanging Fate Undoubtedly the liquid Aether had been pushed back by a towering aura of heat and fire but these were old hat to the Grim Chimera He had lived through the fires of calamity and then endured the chill of oblivion as the tragedies of his life were slowly forgotten Even though Randidly didn�t currently have his related resistance Skills he did not fear fire in the slightest

Instead he continued forward until he stood right before the blade It seemed to react to his presence spinning faster and faster in its column of lava Before it spun so fast that Randidly�s eyes couldn�t follow it Randidly raised his claw and seized the blade

Immediately he winced Maybe it was a bit early to say that there was no reason to fear fire

Randidly felt the skin of his palm blister and flake away as it was baked by the proximity to the blade There was no discoloration to the blade itself but it was clear that it was the source of the heat The only comparable heat that Randidly had ever encountered was the core of Aegiant�s image Which in retrospect compared to the completely inert and faded Fate that Randidly now struggled to hold in his hand did quite a bit to make Randidly realize the tier of opponents he had been matched with thus far

But there was a positive side effect as the heat that blistered Randidly�s hand sent sharp daggers of pain and then proceeded to follow up with waves of agony Randidly could feel the slight resonance in his chest as one of his Skills activated That resonance grew and grew until

Having trouble Kailm chuckled Take your time I have nowhere to be

Why the fuck are both of these guardians so chatty Randidly thought with a frown as the distraction shattered the resonance This time Randidly closed his eyes and did his best to ignore the mounting pain in his hand as he waited for the resonance to build

Time crawled past as sweat dripped down Randidly�s temples It was a close thing His arm was beginning to tremble as the notification that Randidly was finally waiting for arrived

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 114

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 112

Jesus fucking christ Randidly gasped Instantly the Skill whirred to life and did a lot to blunt the edge of the heat that was making the skin of his claw hiss and pop Yet even if his Resistance Skill was active once more it wouldn�t completely dull the damage done by the ambient heat And it also wouldn�t get rid of constant pain that Randidly already possessed from allowing his hand to get burnt to its current state

Randidly took a few steps backward unsure of what to do next Kailm laughed but otherwise didn�t offer any guidance After sparing the old man a glance Randidly focused back on the blade in his hand Up close Randidly could see intricate runic patterns covering the superheated blade Again Randidly bitterly wished the main body was here Likely then he would be able to learn much more from this weapon than he could currently manage

But the main body has his own troubles Randidly released his breath through his nose This is my own task But honestly what do I do now

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 115

Although it seems like simply waiting here isn�t entirely the worst decision I stay here an hour and I bet I could get thirty Skill Levels

I can see you are confused Kailm said quietly Would you like a hint

Randidly glared at Kailm extremely torn whether he wanted to hear the hint or whether he just wanted to rip Kailm�s throat out for suggesting that he needed it Either way Randidly definitely would need to be the one to make a decision soon He felt his flesh crack on his claw as he continued to clutch the grey blade Yet it seemed like a failure if he dropped it now

Kailm continued to remain silent Randidly grimaced and tightened his grip on the blade Or at least he thought he did Unfortunately most of the feeling was gone out of his hand so most of his grip was guesswork on his part Furrowing his brows Randidly continued to project disgust and distaste toward Kailm�s passive stance

To Randidly�s vicious pleasure Kailm scratched his cheek and sighed Ugh I hate you patient types Fine the Fate is currently in a dormant state Although you can never receive the same benefits from an external Fate you can absorb a portion of its potency and flavor for lack of a better term If you bring it in proximity to your image the Fate will intermingle with you Considering the current state of your image that will boost your strength quite a bit

Patient types You barely lasted two minutes Randidly was so abruptly amused that he almost dropped the grey blade But then his thoughts focused on the last portion of what Kailm said If that�s true why don�t more people absorb Fates Does it happen more than I think I�m not sure I�ve heard of it happening while I�ve been at the front lines

Kailm gave Randidly a strange look Of course not it�s incredibly dangerous to mix foreign Fates with your own And if you do this now and eventually regain your body there will perhaps be a conflict with your original Fate But aren�t you here to gather power enough to live that long Everything becomes moot if you die

But maybe even more importantly do you think it�s easy to obtain a Fate powerful enough to make enough of a difference to be worth the risk of corrupting your own Fate The System watches such things very carefully You might not realize it but this is a chance of a lifetime for you

One which I earned by being sent to die Randidly muttered Kailm shrugged

But Kailm�s previous points did give Randidly pause It was obvious in retrospect that this wouldn�t be a costless process Of course the main body didn�t possess a Fate currently so there wouldn�t be the sort of negative reaction that Kailm spoke about But what that made Randidly worry was that taking in a Fate now would preempt him forming his own Fate later Which would be quite the tragedy

Because no matter how capable this deceased woman was Randidly refused to admit defeat to her Their differences lay in age and experience not in potential

And also in how our stories will end Randidly thought with a tinge of sadness as he looked at the plain grey blade

Still Randidly�s sudden unwillingness to absorb the Fate into himself put him in an extremely awkward position as Kailm had made his stance clear Randidly would absorb the Fate or Kailm would kill him All the while the blade in his hand continued to exert its dangerous influence over Randidly�s hand and arm He initially kept the blade as far away from his torso as possible but as his arm weakened from constant exposure it drifted closer to him

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 116

Very quickly Randidly had an idea Quite like how the maker of the System had taken the principles of Nether RItuals to create Classes Randidly had it in mind to treat this new Fate like a core� of Nether and have himself become the bubble The problem of heat would likely continue but was debatably beneficial in the long term

Plus if he could learn to harness the heat it released it certainly would do a lot to help him survive in the Great Rift by purely burning away Nether

Besides Randidly couldn�t deny that if the blade produced this much heat in its passive state its activated form might be more dangerous than he wanted to deal with at the moment Especially because he expected the protection against liquid Aether afforded by the Fate to swiftly disappear once he took any action with it leaving him once more in the unenviable position of resisting the liquid Aether directly with his image body

Closing his eyes Randidly turned away from Kailm and attempted it as discretely as he could His image for what was about to happen was sharp and clear The burning blade would become a part of him floating in his internal world His will stretched out to accomplish his goal

And of course It didn�t work

Taking a risk Randidly unleashed a bit of Nether and had it circulate through him to more fully duplicate the feeling he was looking for Then he tried again But even with the Nether strengthening the specificity of his desire his mental grip on the slate colored blade could not find any purchase

unfortunately it looks like it would need to be in an active state to be pulled in like that Randidly frowned at the shimmering grey surface Not because of the power required but because an object can�t be a core A bubble can be anything but the core the core needs to be special Vital Connected

Which was valuable information in its own right but didn�t help Randidly in his current predicament

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 117

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 113

Randidly barely kept a groan from slipping out of his lips Then he did his best to school his face into something relatively neutral before he turned around to face Kailm Even though it was probably pointless Randidly refused to show any weakness in front of this powerful man who had forced him into action with an ultimatum

Which Randidly was aware was sweeping under the rug the fact that he had rather thoughtlessly proceeded here in order to become more powerful in a short amount of time knowing the risks Likely he would have made this attempt even without Kailm�s ultimatum he would have attempted it Yet the fact that Kailm did force the issue made all the difference to the Grim Chimera�s pride

Randidly even allowed what he thought was a relatively convincing smile to cross his face as he looked at Kailm No need to play coy Do I really even have a choice in whether I absorb this blade The alternative is death The ultimate failure

With much more weight than Randidly had expected from his flippant remark Kailm looked at the grey blade in Randidly�s hand there is always another choice There are even many who take it

For several seconds Randidly was too taken aback to speak He looked at the blade one more time this time looking less at its surface but more at its shape A blade with no handle I suppose it is fitting that the user bled herself until she died with such a Fate But that does not mean that I will be bound by that future

His resolve firmed Randidly reached out with his bone spear and pressed it against the blade His image raised its head and howled in challenge to the sleeping Fate Ash and the tenacious craving for survival swam down around his bone spear and congregated at the tip Then inspired by his experience with Nether he began to rotate those facets of his image at a high speed until they wove themselves into a deadly point

Then be began to drag that point across the slate grey blade

Chapter 1094

For several embarrassing seconds Nothing happened

Randidly continued to drag the tip of his bone spear across the blade but although the blade itself was long it wasn�t infinite Small motes of ash drifted away from his spear that was currently overflowing with the tang of the Grim Chimera but it apparently wasn�t enough Randidly felt something from the blade but it was a dull and fuzzy sensation this would not be sufficient

It was Kailm�s chuckle that set Randidly off He barred his teeth Fine then let�s stop playing around Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Normally Cursed Appetite of the Wraith would pull some attributes from individuals surrounding him Namely Stamina and Mana in order to help Randidly recover more quickly than he could independently Without a body much of those specific benefits were lost But as Randidly had found fighting in the Nether with the support of Salazar there was a very large benefit to be gathered from using Cursed Appetite of a Wraith on Aether

His first pull didn�t bring him much too much of the surrounding air was dominated by the image of heat coming out of the blade in his hand But the amusement on Kailm�s face instantly disappeared as he felt Randidly�s gentle tug So Randidly pulled again harder spreading his reach to outside of the alcove and tugging at the liquid Aether that was waiting there

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 255

It was exceedingly difficult to pull the liquid Aether toward himself So much so that he barely managed to grip half of a drop even when he threw every bit of attention he could spare behind the Skill

Yet that little bit came and instantly Randidly began to burn

Which was perhaps an unfortunate choice of word as his hand continued to be scalded by the presence of the blade Because the Grim Chimera was not lit on fire by the energy that flooded through it It just swelled and crackled with sudden power quite in the same way as Randidly�s Judgement had become ridiculously potent by being fed enough Aether to drown Randidly in it

With only a small distance left on the blade to go Randidly shoved his bone spear against the delicate patterns covering the slate grey blade with renewed ferocity and the blade instantly flared angrily to life

The wave of heat that followed in the wake of the Fate activating was so vicious that this time Randidly did drop the blade Fortunately or unfortunately depending on you looked at it the same awakening that caused the heat to spike so sharply upward meant that the now cherry red blade began to float up before Randidly like a furious god about to pass judgment

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 118

Energy began to concentrate around the blade clearly indicating that the blade wasn�t going to take this obvious attack laying down Taking a deep breath Randidly drew once more with Cursed Appetite of the Wraith and pulled another small drop of Aether toward himself He shivered in pleasure as it pressed against his skin The refreshing chill and hidden heat of it was addicting As it filtered through his body the slight flickering that had come upon his image with the new advent of the heat ceased

Growling the Grim Chimera rose tall and regal and cloaked with ash and woe Where it couldn�t cut through the heat it simply pressed it downward forcing the aura of unending fire backward before the raw Aether fueled strength it now possessed

Of course this was all a front Randidly was literally burning through his Willpower much more quickly than was intelligent But he was doing this purposefully so what was about to happen wouldn�t seem too abrupt

Why does it always have to be heat Randidly thought sourly as he regarded the spreading plumes of molten stone around him But he supposed that eventually these resistance bonuses would add up It was just a quite unfortunate reminder of how much he had struggled against Aegiant

The Grim Chimera and Randidly with it pulled for a fourth time with Cursed Appetite of a Wraith With his vision starting to spin Randidly stepped forward and raised his claw against the red blade It flared even more brilliantly trying to erode the small advantage that Randidly had seized by relying on the fuel of liquid Aether A brilliant white light flashed outward

Randidly�s eyes narrowed Perfect

Randidly took another step forward and allowed his body to be baptized in the illogical level of heat His skin dried and cracked The pain was back worse than ever and seemingly everywhere Then now targeting an object with legitimate substance and purpose Randidly grabbed the blade and pulled it into his internal world

and promptly doused it with the swirling Nether that he had been furiously stockpiling ever since he had conceived of this plan His body shook and swayed as he was buffeted internally by the violent reaction between the blade and pool of Nether it was thrust into

Painfully Randidly burped out a mouthful of smoke

Seconds ticked past as Kailm carefully watched Randidly and Randidly did his best not to simply keel over

Congratulations Your Skill FIre Resistance has grown to Level 119

Kailm seemed genuinely surprised You are you alright

Yep Randidly growled breathing out another plume of smoke with his statement

Hmm Kailm studied Randidly carefully As the two figures regarded one another the column of lava that the blade had been floating in collapsed hardening to stone and metal The image of heat rapidly dissipated and soon liquid Aether flowed back into the alcove progressively immersing them

Congratulations Your Skill FIre Resistance has grown to Level 120

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 114

Wincing Randidly loosened the control he had over his Nether Wells even further The sword in his chest seemed to have realized the dire situation it was thrust into and it began to burn even more furiously It had lightened from red to orange and was now approaching yellow In terms of pain Randidly had no more useful words to describe what he was experiencing

It just fucking hurt His jaw was numb from clenching

So I suppose you�ve swallowed our daughter�s image Kailm said drily as he continued to study Randidly Congratulations

It uh isn�t quite complete Randidly snorted out a breath black smog as he modestly denied his success Or rather accurately depicted his current continued struggle

Yea well you haven�t died yet For a split second Kailm�s face split in a smile that was warm and shining The years seemed to fade away and suddenly he was just another beaming father She takes after me you know No patience If she hasn�t turned ya to kindling yet you have a fair shot of actually incorporating her into your image

Then the smile faded and Kailm regressed to the wrinkled old guard that had a deftness with images that Randidly dearly wanted Yet Randidly kept his tongue still unwilling to offend Kailm at the moment After all his words made it clear that Kailm was aware that Randidly didn�t necessarily manage to subdue the image from the blade by playing fair But from the way he spoke it was also clear that Kailm didn�t care very much

This was sufficient to satisfy the ultimatum

Unfortunately that didn�t mean that Randidly�s situation was a good one The blade in his chest brightened further to release a white light that seemed to sear Randidly�s internal image with its light His cores were furiously working to heal the damage dealt to his image body but was only a fraction of the power of those iridescent rays

Luckily the flood of Nether Randidly was now pumping on top of the sword seemed to be doing the trick Finally the light was fading away from the blade

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 121

Still fucking painful though Randidly huffed out a breath The smoke this time was blessedly more thin and grey With great care he turned and began to set one foot in front of the other to cross the alcove toward the opening into the broader tunnel Randidly kept his spine straight and moved with purpose across the room that was now thick with liquid Aether

Learning from his prior experience Randidly used Cursed Appetite of the Wraith every few steps to fill his body with strength once more He was somewhat sour that it seemed that he was reliant on this method now that he had started enduring this way but it was too late to back down Besides each use of the Skill made his image heavy and solid in front of Kailm�s watchful eyes

Even if just to hide weakness it was definitely worth it

Unfortunately Randidly still moved at a snail�s pace through the liquid Aether It was simply difficult to force his image there the extremely dense Aether Randidly�s eyes never left Kailm�s But I�m not fucking asking for help from this asshole

After a full minute Randidly had managed to cross the room and passed Kailm But as he did so Kailm spoke softly Wait

Randidly turned and raised an eyebrow at Kailm but as he did so a low rumbled was conveyed through the stone ground to him With a vicious roar the tunnel outside of the alcove was suddenly filled with tumbling Fates The sound of their collisions with each other and the stone walls left Randidly wide eyed

After a few seconds the current of Aether carried them all away A few remnant Fates drifted idly past

Kailm patted Randidly�s shoulder Take your time making it back to the surface You have to pick a second Fate right No rush

Then he disappeared leaving Randidly alone in the deep depths of the armory

Chapter 1095

Zauna tiredly rolled her shoulders as they continued to wait for the Ghosthound to return from the armory As her joint lightly popped as she worked through the kink she considered the people that were gathered around them She could tell from Salazar�s stance that the snake man was nervous but Zauna could do little for him

At the very least most of the mocking commentary from the guards of the armory was only directed toward Zagnal For his part Zagnal had done well enough enduring the constant mocking but it was clear that the more that he was mocked for being a subordinate to an image the more Zagnal forgot what mission he had been clearly given by Queen Iellaya and grew to resent the trio for putting him in a situation like this

Something to watch out for Zauna�s eyes glowed quietly

After all in his eyes it was the Ghosthound�s fault that he was being sent on a mission that he would likely not return from It was one thing to wait for Queen Iellaya to save your people while alive It was quite another to die in her service and hope she kept her word after you were gone

Zauna surprised herself with a long sigh as she confronted the likely truth that she would die soon Despite the fact that she had been long waiting for the chance to die and be liberated from this binding now that there was a concrete chance that would happen her heart seemed to have lost its way

A chance Zauna shook her head ruefully Even I am infected by the Ghosthound�s madness Even if Yggdrasil can heal us if we make it back to camp it is no help to us out in the Great Rift Even if the Ghosthound is powerful on this mission we can not escape our fate This mission is strategically necessary but all know the result for those sent on it We will die without a doubt

Again Zauna sighed at the heavy word die� But this time she didn�t question her instinctual reaction A bone deep weariness that stemmed from her own emotional confusion and the weight of the geas she bore was enough of an excuse for the sigh She simply accepted that as the truth and allowed time to pass

The small distraction of the guards teasing Zagnal was eventually cut off by the return of the two figures around the fire that Randidly went to talk to before proceeding into the armory They had been gone and then suddenly they were at the fire playing with smoke Within a minute the guards scattered like pidgeons fluttering out of the way of a car to head toward more hidden parts of the camp

Zagnal sagged like a deflated balloon after they left displaying clearly the weakness that had been picked bloody by these scavengers Rather than standing he sat on the ground and looked at the dirt Licking his lips Salazar stepped forward probably to try and comfort the man but Zauna surprised herself by moving to touch Salazar�s shoulder

She shook her head strongly nothing good would come from trying to talk to Zagnal right now He was a rusted blade that would be turned on anyone who approached him Trouble enough that they would need to stay with him for their extremely long duration in the Great Rift No need to antagonize him now

Zauna knew only generally that the Aether Key they would be given would last quite some time but she didn�t know the specific amount But either way keeping relations civil know would stave off the inevitable After all Randidly Ghosthound was not a gentle leader Zauna had no doubt tensions would be high during the mission

Despite Salazar�s rather vapid expression Zauna knew that the snake man was quite perceptive Seeing her reaching for him Salazar sighed and nodded nervously then moved back toward the largest of the tents Zauna watched him go with mild eyes

If he hadn�t been so perceptive he wouldn�t so perfectly needle the Ghosthound whenever the Ghosthound�s mood became particularly dark Perhaps even more important to Zauna his actions were also a demonstration that Salazar had an empathetic and kind heart

The kind that usually gets you killed in the army Zauna thought moodily as she returned to her silent vigil outside the armory

The sky above them began to darken The shadows flowing down from the high walls of the valley swiftly engulfed them Zauna clicked her teeth together They hadn�t specifically been given a time limit for the trip to the armory but it had almost been three hours and it was pretty clear that Lord Miln expected them to begin the mission today

Would he come to fetch them after a while Only time would tell

Zauna couldn�t help herself she chuckled earning herself a sharp look from the morose Zagnal But it truly was funny Although they were being sent to their deaths obviously Lord Miln didn�t want to directly kill them himself Otherwise he wouldn�t bother with the fiction of the mission So he could reprimand them for delaying and give them a punishment but that punishment wouldn�t actually occur until they returned from there mission

Honestly then there was no reason to rush Perhaps the Ghosthound was leisurely proceeding below with his training He was just reckless and masochistic enough to think of something like that even with a death sentence looming above his head Therefore Zauna settled in to wait

At about the six hour mark since the Ghosthound had gone into the armory Zagnal finally could stand it no longer

Hey You two Zagnal said as he walked toward the two figures tending the fire Has he when is Randidly Ghosthound going to be finished with his selection

A cold wind whispered through the camp The subtle background noises of the other guards attending their business suddenly became obvious as they suddenly ceased completely Within that moment Zauna saw all the guards turn and look at Zagnal with a pleading look in their eyes But she also saw in their expression the truth that it was already too late The damage had been done They dreaded would result from this thoughtless shout across the camp after the visitors departed

Inwardly Zauna checked her reaction Had her geass recognized Zagnal as an ally of the Ghosthound that she was required to protect

No came the rather malicious answer Nothing compelled her to move and draw the attention of these powerful individuals Zagnal�s punishment would be his own So for several seconds she simply watched Zagnal�s arrogant way of walking toward the fire He opened his mouth again Can you not hear me I asked you

Sighing Zauna stepped forward to follow after Zagnal First sighs and now unnecessary actions today was a strange day for her But she didn�t regret moving because for the first time in quite some time she was completely in control This was her decision to make Even if she required a direct word from the Ghosthound to speak she could at least choose to protect this fool with her own will

Finally one of the two by the fire looked up and tilted her head toward Zagnal The air shifted

Keh Zagnal flew backward like an invisible giant had kicked him in the chest Luckily Zauna was there to catch his broken form and prevent him from crashing and knocking over one of the guard�s tents

Zauna checked the fool�s breathing still alive although reduced to unconsciousness by a single blow That caused Zauna to look carefully up at the two figures by the fire She didn�t really want to consider what would have happened had either Salazar or herself been the one to endure that sudden blow to the chest The fabric of their image would have collapsed immediately

But as Zauna looked at the figures by the fire she could only blink as she found that the old woman was now standing directly in front of her

My my my The woman tutted She reached out and poked Zauna hard in the chest That boy might make a good show of having patience but he can�t understand the deep patience someone like you possesses Aren�t you quite similar to my taste

Even if Zauna wasn�t quite confused by the sudden movements and touch of the old woman she still wasn�t able to respond to her due to the geas that prevented her from speaking on matters unrelated to following orders or answering the Ghosthound�s questions She could only stare firmly at the old woman and hope she didn�t misinterpret the look

The old woman chuckled Don�t be like that I can see the weight you bear with you It would even be simple to well perhaps saying so is a cruel truth Instead

The woman reached out and pressed her palm against Zauna�s chest with her fingers splayed outward There was a surge of burning heat as the woman forced something out between her fingers and into the substance of Zauna�s image But as soon as it arrived it seemed to disappear amongst Zauna�s accumulated images As soon as it disappeared Zauna found herself so abruptly chilled that she gaped in surprise

That feeling

A gift for the future The old woman�s smile was enigmatic Then she turned back toward the pit and the liquified Aether within it As for that boy he should be coming out shortly He well he is a certain sort of monster isn�t he

Zauna set Zagnal down and moved to the edge of the pit to look down toward the Aether below Salazar moved to join her and they exchanged a glance before looking back toward the armory Perhaps on some level they had begun to worry that he would not even make it out of the armory Especially after listening to the guards ruthlessly mock Zagnal They had made a very compelling case as to why such an action was not possible

But the man who walked down into the armory was not the average Even this monstrous old woman who could destroy Zagnal with a look thought that the Ghosthound was a monster

The first thing they saw was the discoloration The pure azure of the liquified Aether in one small area was slowly corrupted by crimson It started as a pinprick before expanding to the size of a fist and then a basketball Bubbles wandered upward in ones and twos and then by the dozen until the Aether was frothing

The crimson color deepened dominating the azure as it expanded Then the Ghosthound�s head broke through the surface and his glowing emerald eyes could be seen He was gritting his teeth and suddenly Zauna could see the slow staggering steps that the Ghosthound was taking to move forward Even if he had escaped it clearly had not been easy

But before Zauna could see much more a wave of flame wafted out away from his body It seemed that it had been restrained by the Aether but now that he had broken the surface it the flames were released The stretched upward like grasping hands greedily filling the sky above him The fires around him pushed the liquid Aether backward becoming a pillar almost five meters high

Zauna could hear the Ghousthound curse quietly to himself and watched as the flames slowly shrank back down to simply fingers of fire against the Ghosthound�s skin He took another staggering step forward then another revealing his entire torso His skin was scratched and burned to an extremely painful degree He honestly looked more than a little disheveled as he moved forward

Again Randidly heaved moving forward another step This time as he ascended out of the Aether he revealed an object he was carrying in his hands A rather sizable wooden trunk kept tightly closed by a shimmering ivory lock

After another step the Ghosthound was only submerged up to his knees Another step Another step And then he was free slowly walking up the slope toward the lip of the armory

H how w w was it Salazar cleared his throat and asked

Randidly�s only response was to glare at the old woman standing behind Zauna who began to laugh loudly in response It seemed that his anger was so palpable that when be hissed out his breath two dark streams of smoke curled outward

Delightful Randidly spat out spitefully

Chapter 1096

Groaning Randidly allowed himself to collapse onto the ground in one of the larger tents Although he knew that he had already wasted quite enough time he couldn�t force himself to head out and get whisked away by Lord Miln�s plot quite yet He didn�t have the strength of will remaining to square off against the Supreme Commander of the battlefield at the moment The armory had left Randidly Ghosthound almost completely drained

It was honestly a satisfying feeling Randidly rarely was able to push himself so perfectly on his own the last time he remembered this sensation was during a training session with Shal

As an added bonus this wariness was much different than his usual damage after a journey into the Great Rift Because there was no actual damage to his image he could feel his energy recovery rapidly once he sat down and took a break Plus his Willpower seemed to come back much more compact and potent than it had been previously The pressure of the liquid Aether certainly would end up being a long term boost to his capability

But there was a single problem

Randidly wiped sweat from his brow and turned his focus inward If you don�t cool it down I�ll drown you in Nether again

A towering pillar of rage blossomed out of the bare blade that was nestled between his two Nether Wells The force of the emotion made Randidly wince However the blade didn�t unleash any heat this time so Randidly refrained from pouring Nether on it in response The two squared off like that for several seconds waiting to see the other�s response Both were running short of patience and understanding

Slowly the rage from the blade dissipated into nothing Sighing Randidly leaned back and shifted his position to something more relaxing The blade was difficult to predict It was only with the help of its flames that he had been able to offset the pressure of the liquid Aether and escape the armory However the behavior of the Fate was extremely erratic

There were times that it seemed to understand Randidly perfectly like it possessed sentience equivalent to a human There were other times however where it completely ignored him or its emotions suddenly dispersed abruptly as though it had reached the edges of its limited consciousness Both of which made communication confusion and frustrating

It did however seem like it was finally remembering where it was and its new relationship with Randidly No longer did it suddenly send out terrible waves of heat to give Randidly internal agony at the slightest provocation Which had led to Skill Levels but it hadn�t made his journey through the armory any easier

If I could figure how to get it to talk that would be even better But I have the feeling I�m going to need quite a bit of time before I acclimate to this Fate inside of me I don�t want to force it before I�m ready

At that thought Randidly turned his attention to the wooden box that he brought out with him as his second selected Fate Of course the box itself wasn�t the Fate the true Fate was locked inside by that extremely powerful lock There were also patterns on the box that Randidly vaguely recognized as Aether Engraving Yet the reason he had chosen this Fate was a sense of familiarity that Randidly felt as soon as he had touched the box What was frustrating was that there was something just a little off about that sensation that kept Randidly from being able to place whose image it felt like

Considering some of the entities that Randidly was familiar with he was deeply wary when he felt familiarity wafting up from the box But it couldn�t be denied that every being that Randidly had met from the Nexus was extremely powerful Perhaps even then Randidly wouldn�t have risked it without first learning how effective his two Nether Wells were at restraining the other Fate so he hoped the risk would be somewhat mitigated

Worst case scenario and the Fate was the Creature�s Randidly could open up his Nether Wells and simply drown the fucking thing until it disintegrated to nothing

Besides the box had saved his life

It was quite soon after he had left the alcove where he obtained the burning blade Randidly was still struggling to control the heat pouring out from his core while simultaneously moving through the dense Aether The pressure was so crushing that his pace was abysmally slow He had made it out into the tunnel but a rumbling made Randidly grit his teeth in furious helplessness

One of those pillars of Fates had struck the ground At that very moment it had been rushing through the underground tunnel system toward him

Randidly had pushed himself as much as he dared ignoring the terrible internal burns his image received and simply dedicated everything to will himself toward a nearby alcove Yet it wasn�t enough

The current around him was growing making proceeding even more difficult Small Fates that weren�t stuck in the ground or walls began to tumble slowly down the tunnel around Randidly as they were tugged forward by the growing current In the distance the rumbling sound of the Fates smashing into each other and the walls of the tunnel grew steadily louder

It only took a few seconds before Randidly realized that he wouldn�t make it it wouldn�t even be close He was stranded in the middle of the tunnel due to his abysmal speed At that time he had immediately prepared himself to use All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth when he saw something approaching rapidly from a distance

A rather large trunk rolling directly toward him spinning end over end With a wild grin on his face Randidly had lowered his body and prepared for its arrival As the rumbling grew louder Randidly�s eyes had glittered More and more Fates were becoming visible pushed down the tunnel by the force of the Aether current behind them The walls of the tunnel had begun to shake

So Randidly had seized onto the large trunk and allowed himself to be carried forward at a speed that he couldn�t duplicate with his body Because the trajectory of the trunk was slightly off center of the tunnel as the rumbling behind him grew louder Randidly and his trunk transportation neared the wall and eventually tumbled into an alcove

In the nick of time too because the whole tunnel shook with the passage of the Fates with such violence that Randidly was jarred and numb afterward It was only then as he was recovering when Randidly examined the trunk and realized how familiar it felt

There was one problem with this choice of Fate however Randidly eyed the ivory lock that kept the trunk closed suspiciously Somehow without even trying Randidly could sense that whatever material was used in the making of this lock was truly extraordinary When he looked at it he didn�t think any amount of physical strength would make a difference without the true key

Well that�s why I�m going to cheat and burn it open with Nether Randidly thought with amusement Better to wait until we are in the Great Rift though But it�s strange Nadia clearly saw the trunk but didn�t say anything about it Is that a good or a bad sign

Either way Randidly closed his eyes again and simply breathed His strength slowly recovered as he could feel time passing

Eventually his eyes snapped open Randidly walked out of the tent and found his three subordinates waiting for him Time to go We can�t keep delaying forever

Zagnal�s expression amongst the three was particularly sour Can�t we We will only be assigned punishments but those won�t take effect until after the mission Might as well savor life now

Randidly sighed and shook his head ruefully Don�t be such a piece of shit about this That sort of attitude doesn�t help anyone

yet what other attitude can I have Looking sharply upward Zagnal spat out his words at Randidly He kept his fists at his side but Randidly could see they were clenched You are naught but an image Where does your confidence in survival come from Even if you have obtained two old Fates it is only a matter of time before they devour you

In terms of survival there is no one in this universe more skilled than I The Grim Chimera laughed Randidly eyes flashed cruelly as he considered Zagnal Besides is there any meaning to having or not having confidence If I am finally insufficient it will all end no matter if I worry about it or not Then it seems foolish to waste our time worrying doesn�t it

You are deranged Zagnal snorted

Randidly shrugged unwilling to admit that this casual insult was likely the most effective of Zagnal�s verbal barbs so far After all he was a fragment of a personality that was becoming increasingly fragmented the more damage his image received The connections between him the main body and the other images were difficult to define

He continued to think of himself as Randidly Ghosthound but whether that was actually the case

Suppressing his mental doubts Randidly moved past the bitter Zagnal and led the way back toward Lord Miln�s base Above their heads the strange half light of dawn slowly filtered downward Randidly shook his head in disgust

An entire day wasted Not that I think it was worth it to antagonize Lord Miln purposefully but making him wait is slightly amusing

To Randidly�s relief the journey back to the base was an easy one In addition they received no questions when they returned apparently their delay was considered par for the course for trips to the armory Without even needing to speak to Lord Miln they were escorted to the staging area and given the Aether Key they would use

Even in its dormant state Randidly couldn�t resist staring at the heavy form of the Aether Key in his hand The power wafting off of it was palpable So much so that Randidly felt his image body tingling just from holding the thing In terms of power

But Randidly�s examination would need to wait The guards hurried them through the gate and with a nauseating twist Randidly was once more floating amongst the blackness of the Great Rift Randidly breathed in and out letting the Nether sizzle against his skin It was almost a nostalgic sensation at this point especially because his three bubbles reduced the damage from Nether in this relatively unconcentrated form to an absolute minimum

Randidly�s claw tightened on the Aether Key and energy surged outward like a stampede of horses But just as quickly as it exploded outward Randidly was there guiding the energy to swirl inward Unlike last time Randidly was prepared for the phenomenon and much more experienced at shaping images especially quickly Therefore a relatively small and solid image appeared in the surrounding area Rather than size Randidly kept the energy concentrated

In addition with a bit of inspiration from his experience with Nether Rituals Randidly arranged some of the lines of the Aether image into a formation that should reinforce the area against outside attacks It was rough work without Aether Manipulation but it would do well enough for now

For the form Randidly chose an old memory It was the small wooden hut that he had stayed in at the beginning of his time on Earth after he escaped from the Dungeon The door was slightly off kilter letting wind and rays of sunlight through to the small interior area There was a cultivated patch of land nearby where Randidly farmed

Randidly was extremely dutiful in his reproduction He created the small dirt path that led down toward the hill of Donnyton proper as well as the track that led out to the place where Sam had been staying with Lyra and the other actresses The soft slope of the valley could barely be seen from the relatively small cross section that Randidly recreated but it felt extremely familiar to his eyes

An old home Randidly thought rather sadly

Chapter 1097

Although he had mostly recovered the first thing that Randidly did in this small nostalgic cabin was rest He spared his two subordinates and one watchdog a glance Salazar was explaining excitedly to Zauna about his skill with herbs while Zagnal was sitting with his arms crossed beneath a tall maple tree

The area was about the size of a football field so there was space enough for the three to wander around in the short term They would swiftly grow bored but it was a diversion for now So Randidly entered into the cabin and settled himself on the familiar straw met pressed up against the West wall

Randidly had gotten a few moments of rest immediately after leaving the armory but what he did now was completely let down his guard With the current Aether density around him Randidly didn�t think it was possible for the Nether to approach without causing significant reverberations Plus his three companions might not have his same Nether Sensation as he did but they would still recognize a significant force heading in this direction

Despite their presence in the Great Randidly felt safe Although it was clear Lord Miln wanted to kill him all he did was send him out here Which meant no one would be able to watch how Randidly made the impossible possible

The tightly clenched pieces of Randidly and the Grim Chimera gradually loosened as Randidly concentrated on breathing and let everything else fall away Some part of Randidly was aware that time was slipping quickly past but he ignored it If anything it was better this way Plus his attention swiftly became drawn into his internal area

Aether became form and motivation while Nether connected the disparate fragments Grim Chimera in a way that Randidly couldn�t quite explain It gave him a core and a surface while Aether filled in everything in between His whole being seemed to be slowly approaching a sort of harmony but the note at the core of this transformation was slightly off key

Randidly�s relaxed thoughts seemed to intuitively follow that strange feeling of dissonance to the source The strange half dream around him whirled and suddenly Randidly was standing in front of the answer He looked deeply at his three cores So it�s because these three things are fake huh but if the cores were real

The dream logic twisted and Randidly mentally shrugged Who could say what would happen if the cores were real It certainly wasn�t like he had seen a true Nether core in action

Well that technically isn�t true Ripples ran through Randidly�s dream as he shifted to the base of the Nether Gatekeeper There was an open doorway he didn�t need to step through and he was there Even in the dream the Nether sizzled annoyingly at his skin Because it was a dream Randidly felt the pain not as the true agony that it had been but just a constant tingling along his skin

Looking around an endless parade of Nether beasts seemed to be pressing in from every side With a haphazard flourish Randidly�s bone spear ripped through large swathes of Nether Beasts In the dream the frustration Randidly held as he was forced to flee without fighting was finally given an outlet

The Nether Beasts died without any noise or struggle but the distinctive sensation of them remained Randidly narrowed his eyes and allowed the sensation of the Nether core to echo through his body His bone spear impacted Nether core after Nether core sending subtle reverberations through his arm His extremely meticulously created skin tingled with the vibrations

Eventually Randidly ceased struggling abruptly realizing that this was a pseudo dream and any information he gathered here might be corrupted by his perception The Grim Chimera was so annoyed at the pointlessness of being here that he raised the bone spear above his head with the intention of shattering the whole area but he paused at the last second

His gaze had caught on Vualla�s unconscious face Even though this was a dream or perhaps because it was a dream of that place she was clutched in his left claw Her lips were red and several of her azure hairs had escaped from her braid and were curling away from her chin To his sensitive claws she was as cold as the grave the body he held couldn�t even be considered a corpse

Slowly Randidly lowered his bone spear For several minutes he studied Vualla carefully What is it about you Why do I keep seeing your face in strange places

Then Randidly woke himself up

Shaking his limbs Randidly stood and stretched Then he crouched down and meditated for about ten minutes allowing the resonance in his chest to slowly build In only a few minutes the notification that he was waiting for appeared before him

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 169

Randidly grinned Was Aether Detection always this high of a Level Seems like the main body truly hasn�t just been sleeping in the meantime well all I really need now is to figure out a way to free him from Lord Miln�s fucked up suspension pod

Shaking his head Randidly turned to the wooden chest and examined it with his newly recovered Aether Detection As he suspected not only the ivory lock but also the whole of the wooden trunk was covered in meticulous Aether Engravings

Some of his original knowledge of Engravings returned with Aether Detection but not all of it So it was extremely slow going to try and interpret what the Aether on the wood was doing Even after spending several hours examining it he couldn�t be entirely sure what most of the more intricate Engravings did But Randidly did have a pretty good idea that the Engravings main purpose was to make the box impossible to open without the key

Which is basically what I already knew

Snorting Randidly crouched down next to the box and reached out with his claw A shiver ran through him as he activated Nether�s Caress With his Nether Sensitivity Randidly carefully examined the process of the Skill That familiar pain came but now Randidly had a better understanding of why it had hurt so much to use previously

Because the Skill Nether�s Caress seemed to open a portal directly to somewhere that was filled with extremely dense Nether It wasn�t as dense as Randidly had experienced in the Nether Gatekeeper�s base but it certainly would have done incredible damage to both his physical body and his image when he used it on Earth

As Randidly experimented he realized that he was able to independently close that small portal in his hand while keeping the Skill going Of course the Skill then quickly failed without Nether but Randidly opened up his Nether Well�s and supplied ample Nether to the Skill Very quickly thin tendrils of black energy danced across his long talons With a much much diminished feeling of dull pain in his hand

Grinning Randidly reached out and began to squeeze the ivory lock

Congratulations Your Skill Nether�s Caress has grown to Level 88

Unfortunately the lock didn�t swiftly disintegrate as Randidly had been hoping In fact it felt like he was doing very little The closest sensation Randidly could compare it to was the feeling of spraying water on a stone in order to wear it down He would get results eventually but it would take quite a lot of water

Grumbling about the typical struggles of his life Randidly brought his three pseudo cores spinning into his taloned claw As they accelerated Randidly was forced to allow more and more Nether to go pouring out of his Nether Wells and flow into his arm

Which unfortunately had the blade Fate in his chest flaring with agonizing heat

Jesus relax I�m not going to dose you again Randidly said through gritted teeth He tried his best to convey his lack of aggression to the Fate although it was becoming difficult as the pain made him strongly consider teaching the Fate a lesson by blasting it with Nether

However the Grim Chimera had more than a little sympathy for the blade It was clear that it wasn�t entirely conscious and it was completely at Randidly�s mercy Despite the fact that it wasn�t a person or perhaps because of it Randidly couldn�t bring himself to use the Nether against the blade unless it was absolutely necessary

The Grim Chimera easily remembered the pain of being weak and afraid In spite of the pain the Grim Chimera�s image swirled protectively around the blade to keep Nether away from it

After a few seconds it seemed that some of Randidly�s emotions reached the blade Like a pouting child the heat from the blade faded to a slow but still painful simmer The Grim Chimera�s patience was almost completely spent but Randidly gritted his teeth and turned his attention back toward controlling the Nether in his left hand Despite the constant distraction of the blade�s heat very quickly the three spinning cores had stabilized

Instantly the dark flames of Nether�s Caress grew to double their size With a renewed determination Randidly once more pressed his Nether against the ivory lock

Congratulations Your Skill Nether�s Caress has grown to Level 89

Well it�s definitely better Randidly sighed But it�s still going to take a while which sort of reminds me shouldn�t we have heard something from the Nether by now

Slowly stabilizing the Nether cores inside of him Randidly walked out of the shack and looked around Whereas Zauna and Salazar seemed to be busying themselves with harvesting plants from the farm Zagnal was still lying underneath the maple tree looking upward toward the deep blackness around them

Randidly approached his fellow images first No sign of the Nether

no Zauna said shortly

Salazar brightened and offered Randidly a tomato N no but I d d did find t these They a appear to b b be a fleshy edible sp sphere

Despite Salazar�s usual nonsense and the difficulty Randidly had with opening the trunk he was still in a good mood So he was opening his mouth to actually engage Salazar�s nonsense when a voice cut across him

Are you daft

Randidly twisted and looked at the sitting form of Zagnal The dragon man was glaring over at him with undisguised contempt So much so that Randidly didn�t even bother to answer He just regarded Zagnal cooly with his emerald eyes

As Randidly expected Zagnal quickly spat out a blob of saliva and stood Why would the Nether attack now The Aether Key is at its strongest right when it arrives They will wait and bide their time until we are weak

Haven�t I been working within the hut for quite some time Randidly growled In fact he didn�t really know how long it had been his strange dozing state had seen him lose track of time and he still didn�t have the Absolute Timing Skill But Randidly felt sure that it had been a significant amount

A week has passed but that�s nothing to this Aether Key Zagnal said dismissively Randidly froze at the revelation of how long he had been meditating and to his surprise Zagnal seemed to take great joy in it Ha Weren�t you informed this wasn�t your usual Aether Key The Nether might not attack early but they will eventually attack because they are insane creatures of instinct And the reason Lord Miln is sure that we will die is these greater Aether Keys the time varies based on attacks from Nether but they last for around one year

Randidly blinked slowly We will be here for a year

Zagnal�s mouth twisted Plenty of time for Nether forces to gather and smother us

Chapter 1098

Like I�m gonna fucking gonna waste a year of time here The Grim Chimera immediately growled With a flinty light in his eyes he ignored the rest of Zagnal�s tirade and got to work

The first thing Randidly did was return to his shack and confirm the truth of what Zagnal had been saying His Aether Detection Skill focused in on every flow and ebb of the Aether around them With a patience that the Grim Chimera rarely showed he carefully monitored the situation of the Aether Key and the energy flowing out of it He carefully monitored the amount flowing out of the Aether Key and the tightly bound chunk of Aether he still felt within it

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 170

Hours passed with agonizing slowness Even though he felt his Perception stretched to its limits it wasn�t enough He still couldn�t make out any change in the quantity of Aether contained in the Aether Key His face twisted in a scowl

It�s an answer If I can�t fucking tell any difference after this long it�s going to last a long time And it�s hard to know if I m going to be away for what I think is a year or a year in real time If what I heard about Aether warping the perception of time is true

The second thing Randidly did was rip the careful but ungainly arrangement of Aether he had added that helped maintain the vulnerable energy once it was exposed to the influence of the Great Rift If he was already going to be stuck here for almost a year Randidly wanted no other forces extending that time limit It was one thing to be away from the battlefront for a year but to also be away from Earth for that length of time

The First Calamity isn�t something I should need to help with anyway but still Randidly�s bone spear lashed out in the middle of the shack gleaming with the baleful flames of Nether The air in the surrounding area warped and rippled but quickly recovered the Aether in the surrounding area was simply too dense

But at least that proves I can actually use my own Nether to deplete the Aether here if I have to Randidly�s eyes burned emerald as he turned his gaze on the Aether Key But his mouth twisted But I doubt it would be smart to attack the Aether Key directly The Engravings that cover it are clearly powerful it was specifically designed to be sent into the Great Rift there is no way the forces of Aether would send it out alone if it had no direct defenses against attacks Which means the safe plan is slowly depleting it

Randidly released a breath and did his best to force himself to calm down Despite that terrible urgency in his chest the cautious way was the best method A year felt like a long time especially considering all the other factors that were in play But it wouldn�t be that long not so long as he kept working at shortening it

Without relying on Nether this time Randidly reached out toward the steady flow of energy that was coming out of the Aether Key and began to try and seize it It was an extremely difficult thing to manipulate directly The familiar icy coldness and burning heat of Aether flowed unwillingly through his fingers like water He could force it to flow in certain directions but he could not control its movements However the difficulty didn�t make Randidly give up If anything he bent over his task with even more determination

After an extended struggle against the Aether he felt the familiar resonance in his chest With renewed vigor Randidly continued Very soon the notification popped up

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 199

Well that Skill Level is certainly much higher than it was previously Randidly looked at the notification with relish What has the main body been doing that made Aether Manipulation rise so quickly

Randidly could guess the details but the specifics really didn�t matter for his current purposes All that mattered was that it was one more confirmation the main body had his own struggle and that he had not just given up and was waiting for his images to return to him

That thought gave Randidly pause Does that mean the main body is severely weakened because all of the images were taken out of him It might be why he can only really work with the Aether based Skills nothing else has enough punch to make a dent without an image behind it

But Randidly�s focus quickly returned to the present It wasn�t like there was a hard time limit on what he wanted to do but the Grim Chimera�s impatience urged him forward

The third thing Randidly did was speak quietly to Zauna and Salazar Around Salazar�s frequent digressions and Zauna�s one word answers Randidly was able to basically flesh out the information that Zagnal had so harshly flaunted in Randidly�s face

It confirmed his worst fears They were using a strategic� grade Aether Key whereas most missions usually involved tactical� grade And this difference would mean that their experience would be vastly different Even worse Zauna confirmed that the time limit for the mission was measured in real time not in the time that they would experience

Tactical grade Aether Keys were genuinely used to destabilize the strange formations that the Nether used to gather momentum for attacks Meanwhile the strategic grade Aether Keys were often used as a smokescreen for large scale operations When a sufficient number were deployed at key locations essentially all of the Nether�s available information was blocked off Nether could send forces around the outskirts to attack but most of the frontline was screened off

Of course the Nether could overwhelm these Aether Keys But why would they Considering the presence in the Great Rift the Aether Keys would eventually be depleted without the main forces even raising a finger Because in the history of this long war between Aether and Nether a year was a pittance

Yet neither side would miss this chance to mass their forces for the confrontation that was to come

The reason that everyone believed that this was a suicide mission was that the Nether would inevitably break through the Aether keys eventually after they had weakened so as to take the forces of Aether by surprise It was partially a question of when but it was also a calculated gamble on the part of the Nether

Too early and they might take the forces of Aether by surprise but the attack would be too costly Too late and the forces of Aether would have basically finished their own preparations anyway and moving wouldn�t be worth it But it also wasn�t like the Nether wanted to let Aether dictate the timings of their engagements

Randidly chuckled darkly as he returned to his shack I suppose both sides will be quite surprised when this Aether Key flickers out early But it might be a problem if the massing Nether forces notice and attack while this thing is still dimly functioning

There was one more piece of information that Randidly obtained from Zauna Unlike the tactical grade Aether Keys which worked off of a timer the strategic grade would only teleport back to the battlefront when all of the Aether in it was completely exhausted or if it was triggered by a powerful force of Nether

Unfortunately for Randidly the teleportation process for the later would be prefaced by a devastating explosion designed to punish those seeking to attack the Aether Key So it probably wasn�t safe for him to trigger the Aether Key the second way even assuming ample preparation time The Grim Chimera was designed for survival but none of its Skills were really defensive in nature He could only deplete the energy the old fashioned way and hope for the best

With everything confirmed he got directly to work

Slowly Randidly�s days settled into a certain sort of routine In the mornings he focused on training up his Grim Chimera images These Skill Levels came slowly but it was the only time that Randidly could rid himself of the insidious hatred that was bubbling up toward Lord Miln and the ridiculous unfairness of the Great Rift battlefront So much had been done to him and Randidly was left with very few ways of refusing

The price of being weak The Grim Chimera whispered The Fate blade in Randidly�s chest hummed in agreement

After exercising Randidly first spent some time communicating with the Fate blade and raising his intimacy To his surprise despite the continued erratic behavior out of the blade he found himself getting along with it quite easy Slowly but surely Randidly could feel some of its defenses lowering and a warmer and more nurturing heat flowing out of the Fate blade to reinforce Randidly�s image body

Of course warmer and more nurturing� was simply a relative term

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 142

It was still an extremely painful process Even if the Fate was slowly feeding Randidly power willingly it was still power from a blade with no handle there was no way to get around the fact that this power would wound the user just as deeply as it would cut the enemy

In addition Randidly was somewhat surprised by the jumbled and contradictory answer he received when he timidly asked the Fate blade why it was willingly giving up its power

Do you think I wanted this power It is the reason I have not yet been able to die Take it all from me Tomo

The Grim Chimera grew very still at that answer and it wasn�t the fact that the blade had started weirdly referring to him as Tomo at some point A deep kaleidoscope of emotions flashed out of the depths of the Fate blade as it spoke a dense misture of hatred and fear and depression and an endless sea of loss drowning all of the rest The blade began to glow cherry red with the force of the emotions and the will behind them But then the emotions twisted and vanished In the next moment it seemed like the blade completely forgot what it had said

Randidly didn�t ask about its motivations again

From midday to midnight Randidly practiced with Nether and wore away at the ivory lock on the chest During this time he didn�t forget to allow a significant amount of Nether to escape and deplete some of the surrounding Aether These were the most tedious of Randidly�s training methods but he had no choice but to simply put the weight of his will against the lock and continue to force the issue Unfortunately progress was annoyingly slow Some part of Randidly worried that the Aether Key would give out before the trunk did

Once every day Randidly would leave the shack and talk to his subordinates To his surprise both Salazar and Zauna seemed quite content to just savor the image and do their best attempts to harvest the image vegetables and fruits that grew in this place They had almost doubled the size of the farm while Randidly kept himself locked away and this action made some deep part of Randidly trembled There were simply too many memories here

Then sharing a meal about two weeks after they had arrived in the Great Rift Randidly realized something He grinned up at the sky The issue of escaping this place and the relative time difference had grabbed too much of his attention He was stuck here but that doesn�t mean he was blind

Randidly still had Nether Rituals

Chapter 1099

From the moment that Randidly recalled Nether Rituals forward he spent the middle portion of his day depleting Aether with the convenient distraction of the Nether Ritual taking his attention to another place It was a surprisingly complex process but it definitely helped alleviate some of the monotony of the task

For better or worse Randidly chose Vualla as his first target Inwardly he justified it by saying that Vualla was the only individual who he had successfully targeted in the past and therefore she was a safe first choice but the Grim Chimera was very glad to have another opportunity to see her Considering the fact that he was forced to leave so suddenly

There was a moment of hesitation as he fed Nether into the ritual as he wondered if it would work from within the Great Rift with the strategic grade Aether Key active but almost immediately the image of Vualla fluttered to life before his eyes

Randidly gritted his teeth If this works is there actually any point to using the Aether Keys to screen the forces of Nether If not then why

But for the moment he let that thought slide away and focused on Vualla Of course this was where the difficulty started

There was a marked time difference between Randidly and Vualla Because his Perception accelerated she appeared to be walking underwater in slow motion Randidly studied the difference for several seconds then clicked his tongue It�s about one third of the speed of what I�m experiencing Shit that means that it will feel like I spent three years here if I let the Aether Key run its course

But honestly it was better than the alternative of time passing too quickly while Randidly was training here At least this gave him more of a chance to work up some Skill Levels But while watching the Nether RItual Randidly couldn�t handle the speed So he breathed slowly in and out and forced himself relax Then he relaxed further With half closed eyes he slowed his heart rate down until it beat only once every five seconds

Slowly his Perception slowed down until the picture he was watching seemed close enough to a normal speed

Vualla was walking along the supply caravan track along the rear of the camps accompanied by two people To Randidly�s surprised this was one of the few times where the supply caravans appeared to be running so large clouds of dust partially obscured their figures But Randidly could see that Vualla�s long strides put her well ahead of the other two who were trailing along behind her while talking to each other quietly

One of the two Randidly recognized it was Lady Iellaya looking particularly well behaved But the other person was a small hairless main with rather pallid grey skin Randidly�s lip instinctively curled upward as he considered the three people filled with a flinty rage that seemed to have no real justification But then Randidly noticed the slight interference and pulled back to look inward

Main body this isn�t funny Randidly�s rage easily shifted to a new target Even if her Aether feels ancient she is a good person Don�t you dare try and influence my feelings any longer

There was no response from the main body but that feeling of disgust and rage directed toward the individuals he saw in the Nether Ritual faded away After waiting a few seconds to be sure the emotions were gone Randidly turned his attention back to the picture in front of him Once more he forced the heart rate that had accelerated with his rage to slow back down

Vualla continued to stride forward gaining more distance between her and the other two Eventually Lady Iellaya looked up with a frown Vualla Mateo As I said he has already departed for his mission There is no purpose in hurrying Why not enjoy the sights

Vualla gave Lady Iellaya a look so disgusted that Randidly snorted After gesturing with obvious sarcasm to the surrounding area that was mostly obscured by smoke Vualla said Ah yes the sights Wonderful Then she turned on her heel and continued to stalk forward

Little missy not much farther than that The hairless man said with a disturbingly high giggle Which was exactly when Randidly realized that there was no visual variation on this man at all He dominated his own image perfectly

With deliberate care Vualla slowed and turned around Bah haven�t the testimony of all those in Lady Iellaya�s camp proven that Randidly was sufficiently singular Which proves that you don�t catch every talented individual called here Which should prove that I�m not maliciously here on the frontlines your stupid Brigade simply isn�t as effective at catching all the talent here as you think it is Don�t be too disappointed realizing your weaknesses is just part of growing up

The hairless man�s smile grew sharper but he only shrugged in response to Vualla�s scathing words This boy is a diversion nothing more I�m sure you realized that I didn�t really care much for him Otherwise would I have simply let him go on his mission without acting

Vualla�s jaw clenched but she didn�t seem too surprised So then Terith keeping me locked up in my tent for insubordination

Games are never fun if they are too easy The hairless grey skinned man grinned wickedly at Vualla His voice continued to pipe up erratically as he spoke If you have a problem with my behavior there is an easy solution just agree to join the Xyrt Brigade I�ll have this Randidly fellow recalled immediately And believe me I naturally possess the clout to order your precious Lord Miln around

Vualla didn�t answer The man�s smile stretched even wider Do you care about him or don�t you girl Is he so singular that he caught your attention or is he an image you will let die like every other image here on the frontlines

Randidly could see the throbbing veins in Vualla�s temple His gaze narrowed to a sizzling point as his focus moved back to the wrinkly and small man This bastard was trying to use him to apply pressure on Vualla Although Randidly didn�t have much information about the Xyrt Brigade he certainly couldn�t think it was a very good place to be if this was how they typically recruited people

But some part of Randidly did snag on the word singular That�s that�s a good way to describe how I feel about Vualla She

It seemed that Vualla�s anger was obvious to this hairless fellow as well because he cackled again Of course there is always the third option if you can defeat me in battle I�ll swear my eternal loyalty to you I will become naught but your humble slave But if you lose you�ll come to the Xyrt Brigade for one hundred years Aren�t my terms fair Ah I know what this hesitation is an older man such as myself propositioning a younger woman are you perhaps intimidated Let me assure you your shapeless and fleshy body isn�t what I desire It�s simply that image you possess That is what will soon be mine

This fuck Randidly�s gaze contained every ounce of condensed hatred that he could manage So much so that the blade Fate in his chest activated in response Its howl for blood exploded outward inside of Randidly scalding his insides His heart rate spiked once more and he began to grudgingly force his rage down so the time difference didn�t grow too great It isn�t enough to goad her into a duel against someone who has lived for far longer in the Nexus than she has but he�s also insulting her

I�m just one more lever in a litany of tools this piece of shit is willing to use against Vualla

Vualla turned away from the man He leaned forward sneering as he walked with Lady Iellaya up toward Vualla Do not believe I will hold up my end of the deal I swear on the honor of my name Cail Tweocs Ah or perhaps this Ghosthound�s life isn�t important enough to you Lady Iellaya made it clear what his mission was yes He will not return alive from the deployment of a strategic Aether Key The Nether will overwhelm him in an endless swarm If you don�t act before that happens

Randidly bit his lip so hard that it bled His gaze went to Lady Iellaya who remained completely passive through the entire conversation In addition this Cail�s statements about being able to recall Randidly it seemed like he was from another battlefield of some sort One that had a much higher standing than Lord Miln

This was exactly the sort of figure that Randidly wanted to get in contact with so he could try and use this power from within the Nexus to get his body back Yet as Randidly watched this Cail Tweocs using Randidly�s own life as a bargaining chip to coerce Vualla

I will kill you someday Cail Tweocs The Nether in Randidly�s body that he was using to erode the surrounding Aether and the ivory lock roiled Time was slowing down in the Nether RItual as his own time returned to its normal progression but he didn�t care There was a strange sense of oneness coming from his chest It seemed that every fibre of his being was imbued with that burning hatred against this man With the strange feeling of parallel time the sensation was chaotic and violent but Randidly found strength in that oneness I will not forget what you are attempting to do here

Only after he had burned his resolution into his mind did Randidly set about the task of reducing his heart rate once more But even once he returned to watching the scene the strange changes weren�t finished

In the periphery of his focus Randidly sensed the Nether Ritual begin to mutate Perhaps it was really a gradual process of evolution but as Randidly allowed his Perception to slow down to match the vision he was seeing in the Nether Ritual the Ritual itself now seemed to bubble and warp at a monstrous pace As his emotions seethed through his chest the Ritual was fueled to a transformation monstrous enough to match them

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 17

Perhaps even more strangely Cail Tweocs abruptly froze in his stalking walk toward Vualla He raised his bald head and slowly scanned the surrounding area Randidly felt a tingling feeling of shock but the hatred was too large to take back now The emotion flowed endlessly into the ritual It had previously filled his being and now it was being fueled by that wild obsession of the Fate blade inside of him The Nether Ritual was coming to a point

who Cail Tweocs muttered but at that moment Vualla raised her head and laughed

Is he that important I actually find myself asking myself the same thing pretty often He couldn�t be right Vualla flashed a dazzling smile toward Cail I haven�t known him long We�ve only been on one mission together taken one walk and had two conversations beside that The amount of time we have spent together is so short And yet

Do you ever feel like your life has been completely laid out for you Like even as you walk and talk you are simply repeating the script that someone else provided to you That�s how I feel Or how I felt Vualla shook her head ruefully I didn�t even realize how stale my life had become until I met Randidly Ghosthound The image who had fought long and hard enough to obtain two stars Something I had never seen before Someone who thew himself into danger time and time again not because he knew he could survive but because he wanted to make a difference He woke me up from a dream that everyone else had for my life

Randidly twitched awkwardly I�m not that selfless a person

Even as warmth surged through Randidly at her words it didn�t stop his emotions from flowing into the Ritual The fuel changed but if anything it only grew more quickly once Randidly�s hatred toward Cail changed into something more tender aimed at Vualla

If Cail had been able to sense whatever it was that was occurring with the Nether Ritual his attention was now dragged back to the young woman in front of him by the same words that had such a profound effect on Randidly Vualla raised her heavy gauntleted fist and pointed toward Cail Tweocs That�s why yes he�s important to me More important that can just be explained by what�s actually happened Because because I believe when we finally get the chance the connection we will make

I shouldn�t feel as connected to you as I do yea I get it But still That�s the way I feel All of the hatred faded into something less violent but the Nether Ritual continued to rapidly inflate underneath the surge of emotion that Randidly felt

Shallow relationships will fade with time Someone like you someone like that you two should not have met Cail arrived next to Vualla Although he was slightly shorter than her his presence was still a towering shadow cast by this strange man Every step seemed to shake the visual cues in the surrounding area into a more frantic vibration You were meant for a higher calling With an image like yours we can finally find what we are looking for

Chuckling Vualla raised her head to the sky Then why can�t I get the warmth of his tail wrapped around my waist out of my mind Why even now do I feel him by my side It�s like he�s looking over my shoulder right as you are blabbering nonsense at me

Yes that�s exactly right Don�t give up and neither will I If we never get up this whole fucked up System Randidly�s eyes burned The Nether Ritual began to rumble ominously The energy spiraled inward toward the core building and building With the time difference Randidly could barely keep track of the changes going through the Nether Ritual It was barely enough for him to continue to peer through it to Vualla

And then Randidly felt it If he raised his hand now

He didn�t hesitate at all Randidly reached with every fiber of his being toward the woman with the azure hair and the will to destroy everything in her path The Nether Ritual exploded but his hand was traveling across time and distance Heat and desire and the memory of the sound of her voice carried that reach forward even as some terrible weight of the universe took notice of his grasp Instantly Randidly felt resistance from the surrounding area The things between them were a wall that prevented the connection The wall whispered to him it was insurmountable

Randidly continued to reach The wall denied him passage and chided him on his foolishness

Yet somehow

It was like Randidly could follow the particular image of Vualla right back to the source The grasp pierced forward through the talkative wall shooting through the Great Rift and back toward the domain of Aether

But as soon as that certainly of arrival reached Randidly the Nether Ritual in front of him withered With the touch sent the vision that Randidly was watching faded The dull ache from channeling so much Nether wildly through his body for so long hit him and Randidly could only groan His heartbeat sped rapidly up as he finally released the tight pressure he had kept against it Nether was visibly wafting out of his body so Randidly hastily closed off his Nether Wells

Collapsing on the ground Randidly�s mind yearned to be with the whatever he had sent toward Vualla But for now it was enough that it was sent

Chapter 1100

Of course whatever had happened with the Nether Ritual meant that Randidly was stuck out of the watching for a while In addition his left claw was extremely sore as it had remained in the drawn out time of this dense Nether flow while his Perception slowed down to follow that sort stint of Vualla�s that Randidly had watched It had earned him several Skill Levels but that might just be a relative time thing

But honestly the pain was a bitch Even with his cores and bubbles it was aggravatingly constant

It felt like not very long had passed but time moved strangely as Randidly used the Nether Ritual More strangely than usual

Sitting cross legged in his shack Randidly dearly wanted to use Nether Ritual again to try and confirm that he had reached Vualla Considering the things that Cail said he was clearly trying to push her toward something Maybe not now but it was building toward something To give in to the more dangerous side of her emotions It was frustrating to be used as a tool by this weird looking man but most of Randidly�s fear was focused on the possibility that Cail would succeed

Yet for the first time since Randidly had conceived of the Grim Chimera it counseled patience If one Nether Ritual wouldn�t convince her more would also not convince her Did you see her spirit Respect that

Randidly closed his eyes and waited for the pain of using Nether to fade He needed to trust in the emotions that he had transferred through the mutating Nether Ritual With every fiber of his being he had sought to confirm the very same emotions that made Vualla say those lines The hatred for those in power the wonder toward their seemingly fragile connection the hope for the future Those emotions had been dispatched For someone who those things weren�t enough more wouldn�t change things

But even as Randidly told himself that he knew that the fear in his heart urged him to send more To overwhelm Vualla with the message until she had no choice but to believe Releasing a breath Randidly stood

To keep himself distracted Randidly continued with his daily practice as the deep wound he had received from letting his attention wander from how much Nether was moving through his body The schedule became law to Randidly Adapt to the energy of the Fate blade Follow through the motions of the Grim Chimera�s moves Carefully examine and tug away the loose strings of the Aether Key with his Aether Skills so this strange prison in which Randidly found himself would tumble down faster

Meditate and calm his emotions while he waited for his claw to recover from the exposure to Nether

Small steps forward Small steps he took alone ignoring the maelstrom of emotions that chased each other endlessly in his chest If feeling something could change the world wouldn�t Nadia and Kailm have been able to revive their daughter No the only thing I can trust is my own strength Vualla and I are in this situation because we are weak If we can take that step forward

After his practice finished he went out and forced himself to spend some time with Salazar and Zauna

For their part it was obvious that they were both savoring the simple life of farming that this image provided them The relish with which they approached the tasks was staggering to Randidly To them nothing seemed more satisfying than continuing their idyllic existence here in an oasis in the Great Rift But in some way he understood

Although it wasn�t fair to say they had given up they had accepted that their fates had been bound to Randidly Their survival was tied to him When it was so obvious that he was furiously training himself it was their job to relax and wait They found harmony in their existence Aside from the continually grumpy Zagnal the dinner of harvested fruits and vegetables that Randidly had with those images become something of a mental sanctuary for him

Which Randidly supposed they understood Which was why they so enthusiastically embraced it

It wasn�t that his hatred for the System that took advantage of him faded but his empathy for the other people struggling in the System grew Vualla might be the one who so perfectly shared his ideology but they did not have a monopoly on suffering from the whims of the Nexus Seeing these people seize onto the small moments of peace was oddly moving

With a calmer heart Randidly returned to his tent and began to weave a Nether Ritual The wound of his claw had finally recovered

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 25

At the number Randidly�s eyes flashed It seemed he had been so wrapped up in the vision of Vualla two days ago that he had missed some Skill Levels But it did make sense that whatever happened yesterday would lead his Skill Level to shoot upward

Slowly the image before him resolved He focused in on Vualla�s figure Once more he detached his Perception and allowed it to slow down to match what he was watching Steadily the figures came into sharper focus

Vualla was now standing outside the tent of Lord Miln with Lady Iellaya Both were looking toward the closed entrance to the tent but Randidly�s focus narrowed on Vualla Her face looked strangely drawn Although she still looked determined it was a much more passive stance than Randidly was used to seeing on her face

What had happened while I was away

Before Randidly could worry further Cail Tweocs walked out of the tent with a huge grin on his face Seeing both of the women looking at him in askance Cail pounded his chest self importantly and piped up Ahem After much consultation I have agreed with Lord Miln that it is best for all involved that the image Randidly Ghosthound remains on the front lines

Randidly studied Vualla�s reaction carefully but she didn�t even bat an eyelash

In fact it was Lady Iellaya who spoke You spoke with Lord Miln for three hours just to reach that result

Cail Tweocs gaze was extremely sharp toward Lady Iellaya I certainly am not in the habit of letting subordinates speak so disrespectfully to me Or justifying myself to my lessers

Lady Iellaya flushed and looked at the ground As Randidly studied her his mind slowly grasped an inkling about what was going on in front of him Probably just like Randidly Lady Iellaya was seeking support from a powerful outside force to help her against Lord Miln Perhaps she had believed that Cail might be exactly that force but she had no choice but to rethink her stance after witnessing how long Cail and Lord Miln spoke to each other

The length of time implied that an accord had been reached there and it was bad for anyone who was aiming to deal with Lord Miln

Of course my apologies Lady Iellaya said mechanically Then shall we

Ah no Cail Tweocs hopped forward to land directly in front of Lady Iellaya While we are here Lord Miln expressed an interest in speaking to you Please head inside

What Lady Iellaya blinked Then an invisible mask seemed to settle over her face and she nodded like this was the most obvious thing in the world Without sparing either of them a glance Lady Iellaya stalked forward

Randidly�s focus turned toward Vualla and Cail But unfortunately they settled next to each other without much comment Both seemed content to wait with their thoughts Randidly sighed and twisted the Nether Ritual to look toward the tent

As he grew more proficient with the Skill he realized that it was possible to move the perspective a bit although Randidly wasn�t sure whether it was his own capabilities increasing or he was finally taking advantage of the options that were already present in the Nether Ritual Either way his focus drifted slowly toward the tent The connection was directed toward Vualla but as long as he didn�t stray too far away

At the edge of the tent Randidly hesitated It was possible that there were defenses in the tent that would keep his Nether Ritual away And in fact Randidly could feel powerful lines of Aether coursing through one side of the tent likely doing precisely that But that was the far side likely where all of the bodies were kept by Lord Miln

Feeling himself stretch away from Vualla Randidly slid through the service of the tent

What�s your game Lady Iellaya hissed

Lord Miln was in his typical place behind his desk looking at Lady Iellaya with an amused expression Aren�t we in the same boat I seek to advance the status of my Citizenship ticket In the Nexus power and influence are everything I simply cannot fail here Why do you act like our interests are at odds

Your leadership is bleeding us dry Lady Iellaya countered Honestly Randidly wished he would have come into the tent a little bit earlier to see what it was that Lord Miln had said earlier to upset Lady Iellaya so much Besides do you not already have the qualification to apply for Tier 3 Citizenship If you wish to retire

What if Tier 3 isn�t the limit Lord Miln whispered

Lady Iellaya froze

Softly laughing Lord Miln cracked his fingers I heard a rumor that Tier 4 is possible Rare but possible It simply requires sufficient qualifications You might see it as bleeding our forces but that�s not what I�m doing I�m setting the stage for my triumphant victory

You are insane Lady Iellaya whispered She shook her head Do you think that Tier 4 could remain hidden if it was true

Do you think people like us are privy to all the secrets of the Nexus Suddenly a shadow came across Lord Miln�s face Then he slowly shook his head I know you�ve been investigating me I advise you to stop for your own sake But I am a generous man The rumor said that the reward for Tier 4 Citizenship is an entire Cohort wouldn�t that amount of land be sufficient for my own purposes and for your own followers to settle

Lady Iellaya stared at Lord Miln The silence stretched until Lord Miln leaned purposefully forward

You have no idea how big this is going to be Lady Iellaya Set down your crown and serve me and you will receive everything you ever desired

except a throne Lady Iellaya raised her head The feathers on her arms flexed And that is the one thing I cannot compromise on I have my integrity

fine we will set aside the issue of fealty for now Lord Miln�s smile was wide and white However perhaps an easier compromise is in order Please send the image Yggdrasil� to die in the Great Rift

Chapter 1101

After his exhaustion from long hours of Nether expenditure starting to build up once more Randidly allowed the Nether Ritual to fade with a furious expression The pupils of his emerald eyes were narrowed to pinpoints Lady Iellaya had left the tent without giving Lord Miln a definitive answer but it was clear that she was considering it

Once more the Fate blade gleeful released waves of heat through Randidly�s core as she reveled in the roiling emotions he was releasing The emotions swirled around with the heat and became something almost physical Randidly�s image body slowly became increasingly heavy as it was weighed down with the solidified emotions

I really can�t waste too much time here Randidly pressed his eyes closed Everyone is too vulnerable without me

But they are definitely stronger than these fucks think The Grim Chimera opened its eyes and offered a promise in the form of a crooked smile They will not go easily into the vast and final darkness Try sending Yggdrasil out on a normal mission and I bet he survives and grows stronger just like I did Hell he�s been around with main body longer than I have In the short term he will probably be fine

Then it�s an issue of how much faster I can push the destabilization of the Aether Key Randidly muttered as he looked down at his hand His left claw now was covered in faint blue veins that pulsed slowly with light exactly like the veins of the Great Rift Perhaps the variation in the form was a result of his distracted usage Nether Acclimation is going quickly upward but to unleash even more Nether

Randidly hesitated He assumed that when he went back he didn�t want it to be leaked that he could freely use Nether Well perhaps freely was the wrong word But he wanted to keep his capabilities a secret from his subordinates in case they would inform someone else on him But if he kept his actions convert

It had been a little over two weeks since Randidly had first come to the Great Rift An unprecedented amount of Nether currently swirled in his chest Due to the rather constant usage of the Nether his proficiency at keeping the Nether and the Aether from eating into each other had sharply risen And in those situations where it couldn�t be avoided Randidly used the bubbles of his false Nether cores to reduce the collateral damage

Releasing more Nether was the quickest method to make a change but Randidly wasn�t sure how much difference it would really make There was simply a difference in quality between the Nether he made and the Aether of the Aether Key Making more Nether would certainly have an effect but it would be relatively small

No what Randidly really wanted to do was increase the quality of the Nether he was releasing If he could refine it a little bit

Of course the only method he really had was to utilize the fake cores but he would need more in order to condense more potent Nether

But then Randidly blinked Well I have a half finished fourth core inside of me and I�ve seen the way they are formed is there any reason why I can�t just make more cores There is the worry that too many will physically restrict me but I believe that�s just because no one else realizes how to manipulate them

Tentatively Randidly focused his attention inward toward the half finished fourth star that was floating in his chest Without the grand formation slowly moving energy toward him it had not grown since arriving in the Great Rift But very quickly Randidly realized that the process of feeding Nether into it was extraordinarily simple

Within a few minutes a fourth false Nether core popped into existence inside of him He rapidly brought it and the others to touch the bubbles so they would record his current image Because it became clear by the physical weight of his burning emotions and the blue lines on Randidly�s claw that his image was progressing both due to the heavy usage of Nether and because of the Fate blade inside of him

Small things but things he didn�t want the cores to wipe away These were Paths that would lead him toward power Perhaps others would worry about purity of image but not the Grim Chimera It was the beast that accepted all evolutions In order to pursue the goal of survival no change was too drastic

A few minutes of practice sufficiently confirmed that Randidly felt no physical impediment from the presence of the new core but it was also true that Randidly�s current image body wasn�t truly physical� in the classic sense

With the four cores Randidly began practicing concentrating his Nether Previously he had sensed that there was a qualitative change that he was approaching as he rotated three of the pseudo cores in order to concentrate his Nether for an offensive attack Now he fully intended to push past that boundary and see if what was waiting beyond would help him refine Nether into a more dangerous weapon

Breathe in breath out Randidly forced himself to relax as the four cores began whirling around each other inside of his chest He eased open the two Nether Wells more and more as the energy required to sustain the motion grew The image of the Grim Chimera appeared hovering over the four cores His limbs were monstrous and he bore the manic grin of Randidly Ghosthound He reached out his claw and pressed his will against it The whirring became faster and faster even as the Nether required skyrocketed upward

A frown tugged at Randidly�s face A keening cry emerged from the humming cores as they spun He could feel them calling out for more energy Perhaps due to the fact there were now four cores as part of the rotation the energy required increased at every level So if Randidly wanted to reach that pinnacle speed the Nether requirements

Gritting his teeth Randidly opened up his Nether Wells further Randidly suddenly felt suspended in the middle of a whirlpool of Nether He deftly used his bubbles to keep the damage from spreading too far but waves of Nether crashed again and again against the surface of Randidly�s image But even as the form wavered he could feel the implacable will of the Grim Chimera growing stronger

The whistling noise from the spinning cores grew louder Between the four whirling cores there was a tremor in the air Randidly�s image body was shaking with the contained power

Just a little more Randidly pushed a little harder feeding more and more Nether into the process It was like an unending hole these four cores continually sucking in more and more Nether Within a few seconds all of the Nether Randidly had built up was sucked away into the process without an end in sight

Narrowing his eyes Randidly came to a decision He opened up his Nether Wells further flooding himself with the dark energy His image distorted and hummed from the feedback from so much Nether but the whirling cores gleefully began to devour it Then something abruptly changed

Randidly�s four cores cracked and shattered There was a horrible feeling of disorientation and then there was a vast sucking sound All of the whirling Nether was devoured in an instant All that was left

The dizziness grew more intense before it got better Randidly had to lean forward and press his hands to the ground in order to steady himself Minutes ticked past and slowly the sense of equilibrium came back allowing Randidly to look inward and examine the source of that terrible feeling

Although he approached with worry weighing heavily on him what he found was a pleasant surprise He blinked and then he laughed Certainly this can be the weapon to cut this realm apart

What he found waiting in his chest was obvious the dark black marble floating there surrounded by seething blue black flames was the true form of the Nether core All of the false cores and bubbles had been sacrificed but now Randidly felt how shallow and empty they had been The new bubble and core probably had an additional 50% power over the combined capability of the four previous ones

More than that though as Randidly spun Nether through the core the energy condensed and more dangerous strands were spun out of it A smile tugged at Randidly�s mouth as he flicked that condensed strand forward and had it sizzle against the ivory lock

Unfortunately it didn�t immediately disintegrate the lock but the damage was obvious In that brief few seconds where his dense strand of Nether continued to burn away at the lock it likely was three times more effective than any of the Nether that Randidly had tried previously even with the help of his false cores

Of course the Nether strand was also depleted in four seconds Before Randidly attempted such a thing again he planned on stockpiling quite a bit of the stuff

With this new tool Randidly�s days entered into a new variable cycle Because Randidly now had to make several hard decisions on how to spend his Nether He still continued training in the mornings but his days were now divided between spending Nether to create additional pseudo cores refining Nether into the dense Nether strands and actually using the Nether he possessed to reduce the Aether of the ivory lock and the surrounding area

Ultimately Randidly decided that while it would hurt him in the short term he would focus on the first option of pseudo core genesis in order to create a second true Nether core and speed up the refinement process Unfortunately the false Nether cores were somewhat haphazard to make

Once the false core had been given shape and was started it was an easy thing to supply enough energy to finish the thing But his early attempts at setting the shape of the pseudo cores ended with no results Randidly was sorely tempted to give up but he knew that being hasty was the wrong decision Even with his most optimistic projections after seeing the Nether strands it would take him perhaps another 6 more months to accomplish his goal

Six months of real world time For him it would feel like a year and a half

Which was five months faster than expected so it was not a small thing Plus Nether might attack in that last month of his stay and accelerate the timetable even further So he could afford to waste a few days seeking that shape for the false cores And then even when days turned to weeks Randidly refused to give it up

Meanwhile Randidly continued to use Nether Ritual to watch Vualla He saw her training underneath Cail enduring that fuck�s constant attempts to undermine her confidence and her relationship with Randidly He saw her internal struggle as another huge Nether attack arrived at the frontlines concentrating its fire on her father�s camp

Randidly also used a few days to check on Yggdrasil and Lady Iellaya but both seemed relatively inactive Despite Lord Miln�s rather ambiguous offer of assistance to Lady Iellaya if she sent Yggdrasil to his death she was not acting Randidly didn�t trust Lady Iellaya overmuch but he wouldn�t forget her restraint on this point

Of course most of Randidly�s focus was on Vualla

Vualla wanted to help the individuals being attacked by the huge Nether assault but she also knew that she was still not yet enough to make a large difference Her father continued to suffer as the Commander on the flank and she could do nothing

Randidly also saw how effective Cail�s training was at strengthening her abilities Vualla�s image was intensifying even as Cail stressed all the destructive and dangerous parts of Vualla�s image

Randidly watched as Vualla snuck out of Terith�s camp and stood on the spot where Randidly and Vualla had first encountered each other She looked resolutely up at the sky and Randidly knew that she was wishing for a moon

I can feel you you know Vualla said

Randidly a dimension away and surrounded by Nether blinked in shock

Maybe it�s just my imagination but ever since the visit to the headquarters it�s like I can feel your warmth Vualla hand went to her collarbone Do you do you feel me too Can you hear my voice

I can hear The Grim Chimera�s eyes blazed as he looked down at Vualla

Shaking her head with a small smile Vualla continued Do you see the struggle Should I stay and train seeking the power to change something or should I go help now even knowing that I don�t yet have the power to change something For how long should I sequester myself and focus on growing my power

Randidly looked sadly down at Vualla That was a question he couldn�t answer Perhaps it was one that Randidly had struggled with unconsciously over and over since his arrival in the System There were so many times that he had regretted not acting to protect the people he could protect Those memories were heavy with regret But also there were times where he was able to protect another and that was only because of the focus he had put toward strengthening himself in the past It was an unending balancing act

As a storm of indecision brewed inside Randidly�s heart Vualla suddenly laughed Well I used to wonder about that but you know after meeting you

Vualla raised her heavy gauntlet and looked at it Then she slowly reached over with the other hand and loosened a buckle The heavy gauntlet crashed to the ground while Vualla also removed a thin under glove and dropped that on top of heavy gauntlet

It wasn�t like Randidly didn�t assume she had normal hands underneath the gauntlet but it was still exceedingly strange to see her like that He had grown so used to her oversized hands that it now felt strange to see her human fingers and knuckles Vualla�s gaze turned upward to the sky and she reached her bare hand as though hoping to put apart the sky and reveal the coy moon waiting beyond

But you know it isn�t just capability we are training Vualla announced We also need to train our desire Our desire to stay involved Our desire to protect Our desire to be connected because if we lose those things how valuable is power Which is why I need to go to try and help Despite the danger

Randidly nodded although she couldn�t see him But he knew somehow that their connection was enough for that understand to pass between them Or maybe Randidly just hoped that was the case Then with a deep sadness Randidly closed the Nether Ritual

Not that he no longer wanted to watch but he felt guilty He had already shown his support for her And just like Vualla said sometimes you needed to cultivate your empathy so all you sacrificed for power was worth it

So this time when Randidly activated Nether Ritual he chose a different target It was time to cultivate empathy His focus had been distracted since losing the main body but even the Grim Chimera felt he owed a deep debt to the planet that birthed the main body

The world swirled and suddenly Randidly looked down at Alana

Chapter 1102

Alana pulled her hood tighter around her face to block off the chilling snow covered edge of the wind It cut off her vision somewhat but her Perception was more than high enough that she was able to keep her feet underneath her on the snowy mountain path

She would not fall here This pilgrimage up the mountain was the goal of how she had spent the last three weeks after all

After being knocked off of the mountain by the terrible breath attack from the Dragon Alana had struggled with every fiber of her being to survive the fall Even with a profoundly reinforced body due to the System there was so much ice and rock tumbling down with her that it was possible to have been buried and smashed out of existence

But Alana had survived And during the fall she had an epiphany

I can�t be all of Donnyton�s image But that doesn�t mean I can�t possess an image of my own with enough power to protect an entire city

So Alana had ignored the messages from the other members of the party sent by Donnyton to this Zone and hunted She had struggled alone for two weeks straight simply letting all of the responsibility she had let suffocate her into failing to create her own image She had relied on her own Skills and refamiliarized herself with her own desires

Without anyone else around Alana�s internal and external worlds finally seemed to overlap Rather than responsibility she could now move confidently toward her desire

The hunting was extremely abundant in the area around the Epic Dungeon which was exactly why the individuals from this Zone had required Donnyton�s immediate help High Level pseudo dragons like wyverns and kobolds bred like flies underneath the purview of the Broodmother that ruled from the peak

Alana�s spear during those weeks drank deeply the blood of dragons And she had grown strong

Class Valkyrie of the Red Dust

Level 69

Health(/R per hour) 3101/3952 (963)

Mana(/R per hour) 1474/1474 (421)

Stam(/R per min) 1927/1927 (642)

Vit 321

End 419

Str 424

Agi 393

Perception 462

Reaction 235

Resistance 215

Willpower 313

Intelligence 199

Wisdom 211

Control 106

Focus 305

Skills Life of Alaihym the Angel with no Lineage Lvl 2249 Ferocity Lvl 139 Running Lvl 203 Physical Fitness Lvl 179 Spear of Red Valkyrie Mastery Lvl 206 Triage Lvl 72 Great Leap � Lvl 129 Animal Skinning Lvl 49 Prey Stalking (Un) Lvl 117 Sun Strike Lvl 209 Advanced Fighting Proficiency � Lvl 180 Hawkeye Lvl 74 Block Lvl 19 Heavy Blow Lvl 132 Herculean Strength Lvl 114 Spear Deflect Lvl 82 Sweep Lvl 51 Mana Bolt Lvl 16 Dodge Lvl 99 Valkyrie�s Clarion Call � Lvl 96 Hot Blooded Lvl 98 Child of the Sun Lvl 205 Crimson Ire � Lvl 74 Avatar Form Lvl 101 Descent of the Radiant Wings Lvl 79 Solar Flare (Un) Lvl 49 Hunter�s Instincts (Un) Lvl 61 Dragon Slayer � Lvl 52

How much have I narrowed the gap between you and I Randidly Ghosthound Alana wondered as she shouldered her way upward through a particularly deep snowdrift Her thighs churned ruthlessly pressing up against the elevation and the weight of the snow around her that was made illogically heavy by the magic of the Dragon Broodmother Or is this still not enough to be able to catch up to you

Over the past several weeks as Alana pushed herself to her limits to find her own image one word kept ringing in her head over and over It was a word with such weight that it continued to press against her subconscious even now

That terrible cry that rang out from the Grim Chimera�s mouth as it condensed around Randidly�s true body on that final stage of his challenge against Donnyton It raised its head to the sky and roared its contempt of Donnyton but more largely that word had been a dismissal of the entire Earth Before that incarnation of the Grim Chimera the humans could not even approach It was only by borrowing the weight of Donnyton that Alana had been able to move to meet him

Yet even then she was still found wanting

Despite the fact that it allowed snow into her hood to land on her face Alana turned her gaze upward Almost there now This time

At least against this monster I

Because the truth was that it was not the message of the Grim Chimera only After Alana had faced the breath of the Dragon Broodmother and then struggled alone around the base of the mountain she realized that message that had been delivered by the Grim Chimera�s mouth was part of a litany of hate that was spewed toward Earth by the System every moment

That was why Randidly had felt it was necessary to make a stand and force Donnyton�s attention to focus Because it had overcome the initial trials of their new world but that was just the beginning of the hell that awaited them

The System had more yet in store for Earth If they rested on their laurels today they would die tomorrow Because truly in the broad spectrum of things

They were weak

Silently Alana trudged up the snowy mountain She broke apart the ice in front of her with the butt of her spear and continued to put one foot in front of the other Broken ridges and long fields of ice arrived and faded as Alana made a meandering path upward Although her high Endurance did a lot to block out the cold her feet were still tingling from the slush that she had hiked through for the last four hours She did not rush but Alana also didn�t hesitate Her pace carried her toward the towering form of the Level 80 monster that waited above

Alana had no doubt that the monster hadn�t been sitting idly either Unlike most monsters these three disasters that had come out of the Epic Dungeon were able to grow relatively quickly compared to most monsters More quickly even than humans could grow at least in terms of Level and each Level above 79 contained a frightful amount of power The Dragon Broodmother was the most visible but the other two were also staking out areas where they were setting up monster kingdoms

Despite the fact that Alana had refused to answer any communication that came her way she still received updates on the status of Donnyton�s expedition Both the Bog Hydra and the Rakshasi had been seen moving and attacking humans In the latest report the Rakshasi was reported to have reached Level 81

Alana barred her teeth toward the summit as she continued upward Don�t you dare disappoint me dragon

Alana maintained her silent pace as she arrived at the familiar top portion of the mountain The clearing was exactly as she remembered it with but a single difference from her first arrival the towering black form of the Dragon Broodmother was not present

This didn�t throw Alana She calmly walked to one of the nearby piles of snow and dug herself a burrow Then she drew her hand along the outside and tested its strength Using the heat of her hand she melted the interior slightly to add some structural integrity Finally satisfied Alana settled herself within the burrow Then she waited for the Broodmother to inevitably return

While she waited her thoughts were completely still Not a single ripple ran across them Time lost all meaning as she settled down to stalk prey

Because that was the image that Alana found She might be a spear but when she stared at the depths of her soul she learned that she wasn�t a warrior not truly She would never lead armies or orchestrate thousands of people She could not carry the banner as the supreme commander of Donnyton�s forces Or rather she could but it would be missing out on her own truth

Because Alana was something far older and more primal than a warrior Her spirit harkened back to the days where small communities were propped up by the daring actions of a single individual that left the safety of the settlement and came back with the meat of a dead beast Tribal instinctual but most of all unrelenting Alana found in herself a Hunter She still was the spear of Donnyton Yet as Alana discovered herself what that phrase meant to her changed

The Valkyrie of the Hunt The being that had guided humanity and protected them long enough that they could settle and shift toward an agricultural society

Eventually the flapping of wings drew Alana�s attention upward Her eyes flicked side to side quickly piecing through the flurrying snow above and seeing the long winged dragons that glided down to land around Alana The young and small dragons opened their mouths and shot bursts of ice toward each other the gentle and primal posturing of siblings

Once they were on the ground they sauntered toward each other stretching their long necks to nip at each other�s vulnerable bellies and sides Their scuffles shook the snow around Alana but she didn�t even blink Her breath was slow and even

Then after a few minutes past the roars and hisses fell silent Now arranged by strength the Dragons awaited their Broodmother

When she arrived she slowly circled before descending It seemed that this Dragon was more than intelligent it was also arrogant Alana could clearly tell that the thing enjoyed making the others wait for her descent But as Alana looked up toward the Dragon Broodmother she was forced to admit that this creature definitely had the capital to make others wait

Dragon Broodmother Lvl 82

Its wide wings spread and beat downward slowing its descent The snow around Alana rustled and was blown away slightly revealing her burrow Still Alana didn�t move Instead she watched the Dragon with glittering eyes

As soon as you land your life is mine

Chapter 1103

Alana�s eyes were almost dull as closely she followed the movements of the Dragon Broodmother�s descent There might be swirling snow between them but Alana�s heavy gaze tore through all the intervening distance Those heavy black claws hovered for a split second then alighted upon the ground As the Dragon began to pull its massive wings against its sides Alana made her move

Great Leap Solar Flare Child of the Sun

Golden light erupted from Alana�s body as she threw herself forward to cross the distance to the Dragon Broodmother�s side Her hiding place exploded and the surrounding snow was blasted outward She would have preferred to choose a place closer to the Dragon Broodmother but Alana had been aware that its arrival would shake the surrounding snow Had she been too close her hiding spot would have been revealed too early to strike

And the one thing that the hunter didn�t fear was some extra effort to secure a kill

Instantly the surrounding dragons twisted around and tried to spew their ice breath to slow Alana down But she was too quick crossing the distance to her target in a single second The golden fire of her body burned away any physical barriers in her path and made the journey a smooth one for her loping stride The Dragon Broodmother�s huge sapphire eyes narrowed as it considered the brilliant light of Alana�s approach

But of course Alana had been waiting for this moment With its wings half withdrawn the Dragon Broodmother was faced with a choice Either extend its wings once more and take off to the sky or pull its wings in to defend its torso And based upon the arrogance earlier displayed by the Dragon Broodmother Alana knew that it would be the former And then with its heart revealed

Despite Alana�s thoughts the Dragon resolutely pulled its wings in the rest of the way to protect its vulnerable torso It came as a shock but it wasn�t as though Alana hadn�t mentally prepared for this eventuality as well

As she neared the burning heat wafting off of her Child of the Sun Skill spiked sharply upward as Alana�s Willpower fully embraced that image of a burning sun It was not yet a concrete thing but it was vast and powerful The vestigates of that sea of Willpower Alana had channeled to fight against Randidly in the challenge had left her with a very peculiar weight to her will That weight settled onto her shoulders and made the golden light around her body strike out with a physical force

Sun Strike Alana hissed Golden petals bloomed around Alana�s spear as she thrust her weapon directly toward the shoulder joint of the dragon the size of an apartment building The shoulder bone itself was the size of a motorcycle The Dragon Broodmother raised its head and howled toward the sky and Alana saw icy armor rapidly condensing around its body but Alana moved too quickly

We are not weak Alana roared as more and more light gathered around her spear The ice armor the Dragon Broodmother tried to condense melted and evaporated before her strike and then the spear smashed into the vulnerable bone of the joint No matter its size a direct hit against the bone was still a dangerous thing The resulting crack made a simple smile of joy cross Alana�s face

But then the Dragon Broodmother roared and reared up on its hind legs to create some distance between its body and this sudden threat Blood was coursing out of its shoulder and the wing hung limply at its side but it was still a huge Level 82 monster In fact the only reason that Alana had been able to inflict a wound that serious on it was because she had taken it by surprise

Now she no longer had that luxury

Alana didn�t panick as the surrounding Dragons screeched and shot blasts of ice toward her in defense of their Brood Mother Their blows whirled together in a blizzard that seemed to cover all of Alana�s escape paths Forward was into danger backward was into danger Danger was on both of her sides And to stay still and allow the swarming dragons to shoot at her freely

On its hind legs the Dragon Broodmother barred its teeth and began gathering a flood of freezing energy in its maw Wisps of frozen wind gathered out of the air and formed a tight ball of power that Alana could see floating above its tongue

It is ever so the wounded beast struggles the most fiercely Alana thought almost sadly But as long as you fight just as a beast

Descent of the Radiant Wings Solar Flare

Congratulations Your Skill Descent of the Radiant Wings has grown to Level 80

As though it sensed what was about to happen the Dragon Broodmother lowered its head and blasted out a torrent of freezing power to try and strike before Alana could dodge out of the way It was the same power that blasted Alana off of the cliff with a glancing blow

But over the past several weeks Alana had grown Even if she had possessed the upgraded Stat Inviolability at the time that didn�t mean she could use it to its fullest potential A portion of having Stats was that proper usage and understanding Now as she surged upward with golden wings springing from her back and a helmet with miniature white wings on her head Alana surged upward without trying to dodge

Her Willpower burned to push her upgraded Stat to the limit and conjure the short term shield that made her Inviolable The pale white fire clashed against the blast of freezing energy and she sliced upward through it like a canoe slicing through frothing rapids

As the breath attack of the Broodmother faded it lifted its head and looked at the floating form of Alana with wide eyes Alana stared solemnly at the Dragon while she gathered herself the golden wings on her back beating softly This hidden effect of Inviolability had a severe mental cost that meant it couldn�t be used very often but obviously the Dragon Broodmother didn�t know that

All it knew was fear as it recognized Alana for what she was a hunter

Which made these Dragons prey And in the System that was a sin that condemned you to death

The Dragon Broodmother�s arrogance crumbled as it turned and shrieked as it tried to scuttle away with a broken wing The younger dragons surged up into the sky and belched spikes of ice toward Alana in attempt to cover their mother�s escape

Alana�s eyes were half closed as she surveyed the mountain top below her Is this truly all a Level 82 monster amounts to Compared to Randidly you are just

Which Alana supposed was why the Earth was truly blessed It was easy for them to see what Randidly accomplished and admire what he had done and chase him but it was only now as Alana had struck the first blow against this Dragon Broodmother did she truly understand the impossibility of Randidly�s existence

There was a strange sense of satisfaction that burned in Alana�s chest as that moment looking down at the Dragons

The only reason that I could inspire such fear was surprise and my evolved stat but It could be done without those things This is a beast that could be killed if we would have beaten this sort of foe without Randidly�s interference our belief in ourselves would rise even further Our confidence would become even more entrenched And the moment that confidence was shattered would become all the more dangerous

How did you display such disregard for the System Ghosthound Where did you find enough power that you could disregard us all But Alana knew the answer It was an image A clear image of a world without fear of the System

As the Dragon Broodmother fled and the minions surged upward toward her Alana�s eyes burned She lowered her spear and dived sharply down toward the ground Most of the Dragons twisted to try and keep up with her movements except for the unlucky Dragon that was directly beneath Alana

Alana�s heels smashed into that poor fool and it was smashed into the ground with enough force to shatter the frozen ground Snow and blasts of ice swished around her but Alana was already flitting forward like a ghost her golden wings burning a path forward through the precipitation so she seemed to leave a wake of mist

A Dragon with a torso the size of a horse and the wings the length of a plane�s crashed down in front of her and lashed out with its claw but Alana didn�t even blink As she ducked under the blow she reached up and seized the offending wing with her left hand while she brought her spear up in her right Without even using Sunstrike Alana�s spear shot forward With the addition sharpness and damage from Dragon Slayer the spear pierced through its scaled skin and stopped the Dragon�s heart with a light touch

Then Alana leaped into the sky her golden wings beating rapidly and the limp body of the dying Dragon pulled behind her When the next volley of ice blasted toward Alana she simply tossed the Dragon in front of that and watched as even its constitution that was adapted to this climate it was stiffened and frozen by the barrage

Alana�s golden wings beat again and she shot forward blasting the flurrying snow in the surrounding area away to clear a path Her gaze was fixed on the still bleeding Dragon Broodmother Unfortunately these wings cost far too much Mana maybe only a minute remaining I need to kill it soon

Alana accelerated further even as two Dragon�s about the size of buses surged up in the air to protect their Broodmother Both were Level 73 higher even than Alana�s current Level

And yet those Levels now seemed insignificant now Their breath attacks surged toward her and Alana solemnly activated Inviolability once more She had wanted to save the second activation for pinning down the Dragon Broodmother but it was more important now to close the distance before her Descent of the Radiant Wings ran out

The breaths smashed against her and Alana�s breath was knocked out of her chest But she pushed forward and raised her spear She unleashed six quick Sunstrikes against the left most Dragon puncturing its torso and ripping a bleating cry from its lips as it groaned and fell backward As Alana turned with burning eyes to deal with the remaining Dragon a notification popped up

Congratulations You have reached Level 70 +2 Strength +5 Stats distributed between Endurance Agility Wisdom and Focus +2 Inviolability +8 Free Stats +15 Health +15 Mana +18 Stamina +4 to Stamina Regeneration

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Valkyrie�s Relentless Crusade Lvl 1

Congratulations Due to the evolution of your Soulskill you have learned the Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God Lvl 1

Chapter 1104

Ice attacks zipped closer pulling Alana�s attention away before she could really read the descriptions for either of her new Skills The first was obviously from her Class and seemed relatively self explanatory but as for that second Skill that was based upon her Soulskill

The Dragon in front of her belched out ice and Alana forced away all of her distractions Her Hunter�s Instincts brought her sharply back to the matter at hand Almost reflexively she activated her new Valkyrie�s Relentless Crusade and felt the expected boost to Agility and Reaction As she moved subtle afterimages followed after her

With a flick of her wings that sent motes of golden light spinning outward Alana twisted under the breath attack and appeared next to the second dragon With the powerful image of a hunter slaying its prey condensed into her attack Alana used Sunstrike and Dragon Slayer to slash open the second Dragon�s throat

Congratulations Your Skill Dragon Slayer � has grown to Level 53

Unfortunately Alana instantly knew that the blow was shallow Why the hell would I get a Skill Level for a failed kill

Shaking her head Alana planted her foot on the Dragon�s face and stomped downward Screeching out its pain humiliation and fury the Dragon crashed into the snowy ground below The Dragon�s behind her had almost caught with Alana but then she accelerated rapidly forward with her step off of the Dragon�s head and left them all in the frozen dust

In fact Alana slightly underestimated the boost given to her by the new Skill and she crashed into the ground about twenty meters behind the Dragon Broodmother with all the violence of a meteor falling to Earth

Grumbling to herself Alana straightened herself and cracked her neck As soon as she did so she stopped the action and frowned Just because Randidly does dumb overly casual stuff like that after being wounded doesn�t mean you need to do it too

Then she pushed herself forward and rushed toward the Dragon Broodmother It spun around at her approach and lashed out with its whip like tail but the new Skill Alana had obtained was really something She was able to lean back and allow the tail to whistle past her nose before continuing to rush forward

Ice blasts from the hurrying Dragon reinforcements crashed around Alana but she ignored them Even if she was hit Inviolability in its passive state would do a lot to prevent any lasting damage The Dragon Broodmother hastily brought its body around to face Alana squarely Despite the fact that its attack had been broken and its wing was wounded it was still a towering Level 82 monster Its neck writhed deceptively like a snake as its luminous sapphire eyes considered her assault

But Alana knew she couldn�t slow down now Hunting was all about momentum Now that she had the Dragon Broodmother on its back foot she needed to finish this beast or risk it escaping and being prepared for her next time

This time when the Dragon Broodmother blasted out its breath Alana relied on her golden wings to completely dodge Combined with Valkyrie�s Relentless Crusade Alana was nothing but a shining golden blur while the blast of ice flowed like a conjured river toward her A split second later she landed on the Dragon�s long snout in front of the eyes that were half as large as Alana herself was Her Mana failed and the wings slowly began to fade but that didn�t truly matter

As soon as Alana landed on the Dragon Broodmother�s snout it flinched in fear and resignation

At first Alana raised her spear but then she paused Well one Sunstrike isn�t going to do much I�m going to need to maul this huge thing to finally kill it Perhaps I should give the new Skill a shot

So Alana activated her new Skill while the Dragon Broodmother regarded her fearfully

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 2

To her surprise Alana�s mouth opened almost automatically and she began to speak words without conscious thought Although he came briefly he asked us all an important question He faced us who had followed him and lived in his shadow and spoke quietly Is this really the strength that you need to surpass this place Because something greater will always await you on this path Endlessly until your strength is not enough �

Shit Alana�s face twisted as her tongue went through the unfamiliar words I didn�t think the Skill was literally a sermon But also

Even though it was a liberal interpretation of what happened Alana could see Randidly Ghosthound standing on that platform surrounded by enemies on all sides They had raised their Levels and sharpened their Skill but he raised his arms and showed them a power that seemed to make all of that completely inconsequential

Warmth suffused Alana�s whole body She felt herself glowing but with a much softer light than had emerged from her Valkyrie wings That same feeling she experienced when she realized how powerful Randidly truly was swirled around in her chest To speak of him felt right somehow

Riding on that strange joy in her chest Alana�s mouth opened and words continued to tumble out And when we didn�t understand his message we fought his shadow until we were exhausted and broken and realized that he had already gone to a higher stage In his wake we felt lost But more than that we felt empty Because in this world the greatest enemy was not the foes in front of us whom we could kill but the very world that led us endlessly forward on this Path of Carnage

There was a strange silent chime that spread out from Alana The soft light around her blasted outward and she couldn�t resist shivering For a split second everything in the surrounding area had been frozen Snowflakes hung in the air around them as Alana stood before two large sapphire eyes and spoke of Randidly Ghosthound

Finally the moment passed Snow began to fall Alana remained silent and tightened her grip on her spear The two monologues might have been brief but gaining her momentum back after taking those breaks

But to Alana�s surprise when she looked at the Dragon Broodmother the eyes were half lidded and filled with a strange light It�s gaze remained fixed on Alana who was standing on its snout What was even stranger was that the Dragons that had been shooting ice blasts at her back had ceased their bombardment With her Perception Alana could sense that they were slowly crawling forward and forming a half circle in front of the Alana and the Dragon Broodmother

Then the Dragon Broodmother sighed

With surprising gentleness the Dragon Broodmother lowered its neck to the ground and tilted its head indicating that Alana should get off The Hunter�s Instinct sensed the lowered guard and urged Alana to strike but some other instinct held her back

This was letting go of a chance to strike It was perhaps foolish But was this Dragon really Alana�s foe

Something else was happening here The light in the Dragon Broodmother�s eyes confirmed it Considering the fact that she had just given a sermon could it really just be

Alana stepped off of the snout of the Dragon Broodmother Then in a rumbling voice it spoke to her We we all wish to escape the thumb of the Nexus But it is impossible Do you truly expect me to believe that someone plans on fighting against that enormous machine

Yes Alana said simply

The Nexus has the power of countless worlds The Dragon Broodmother showed teeth as long and thick as dolphins Numerous heroes� have been devoured by the Nexus My world has already been trampled beneath its Calamities It is very likely that this supposed God of which you speak will end up the same way

Even so Alana whispered Just like she had realized abruptly how powerful images were when she saw Randidly use them another facet of Randidly�s magnetism became clear to her as she watched the light in the Dragon Broodmother�s eyes

He was someone whose existence became synonymous with hope

The Dragon Broodmother was silent for a long time Snow drifted down around them and settled on the rocky ground still stained with the Dragon Broodmother�s crimson blood As Alana�s golden light faded it was the only splash of color on the whitewashed summit During this time Alana gaze remained on the slow coursing of blood down from the Dragon Broodmother and counted how many Dragons over Level 60 were surrounding her

Fifty four There are fifty four of them But at least this gives me some time to regenerate Mana

Finally the Dragon Broodmother opened its mouth again You what is the name of this god

Alana�s face twisted Calling him a god is a bit

But still she opened her mouth to speak His name is Randidly Ghosthound

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 3

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 4

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 5

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 6

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 7

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 8

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 9

please tell us more about this Ghosthound The Dragon Broodmother�s expression was troubled enough that Alana could recognize it even on the gargantuan reptilian face

So feeling strangely foolish to be talking to so many Dragons Alana began to relate what she knew about Randidly Ghosthound

Then when she finished The Dragon Broodmother bent its neck and allowed Alana to mount it once more

Randidly closed the Nether Ritual feeling profoundly embarrassed Technically Alana was talking about the exploits of the main body but still

Shaking his head Randidly turned to look at his work on the ivory lock and his jaw dropped at what he saw In disbelief he reached forward and touched the lock This doesn�t it look like it�s almost one third of the way through the lock I shouldn�t have used any of the refined Nether to reduce it so why

After a bit of hesitation Randidly checked his swirling stock of refined Nether and none was missing Then Randidly pressed some addition Nether against the lock and witnessed as the lock barely decreased underneath the assault as he had expected

So he leaned back on his heel and racked his mind What had suddenly accelerated his depletion of the lock while he was focused on the Nether RItual A couple of days had passed in this time while he was fixated on Alana but that was nowhere near enough to explain the sudden difference in the lock�s corrosion

Randidly spent a few more hours searching his mind for ideas but it wasn�t like there was an obvious answer He could only reluctantly assumed that his instincts had perhaps found a weakness in the lock while he wasn�t focused upon it Yet that explanation seemed profoundly insufficient to deal with the magnitude of the change he noticed

Randidly had perhaps depleted 1% of the ivory lock before this Now suddenly he had pierced through 30% That acceleration was ridiculous with such a flimsy explanation

But Randidly knew that part of his fixation with this new problem was simply a way of not thinking about what Alana was doing right now on Earth

What will change if these monsters listen to stories about me Randidly wondered I mean it�s not a bad thing if more people directly confront the fact that we are being used by the System No matter how skilled we get at dancing their tune we will never evolve beyond their sick dance if we don�t try and understand broadly why these things are happening

Shaking his head Randidly settled back down Now that he had a taste Randidly was curious how other things were going on Earth Some part of him considered choosing Helen next but Randidly somehow understood that there was a significant chance that she would just be fighting or training Despite her influence over his Order Ducis she wasn�t someone to look at to understand broader trends

So this time when Randidly fired up the Nether Ritual he bit his lip and focused on Miranda Hamilton

Chapter 1105

Miranda Hamilton took a slow sip of the pale green tea as she surveyed the surrounding four individuals seated around her in the waiting room Even now her mind wanted to pull her forward toward the careful arrangement of politics that was coming But the delicate touch of mint on her tongue was poignant enough to pull her attention away from her constant calculations and just regard the tea in the small burnt orange cup with obvious relish Despite Zone 1�s rather uninspired lodging accommodations at least they provided high quality refreshment

She took another sip and savored the flavor Then she breathed deeply flooding her sinuses with the refreshing scent of mint It sent tingles through her sinuses in a way that meant that this tea wasn�t something originally grown on Earth It was something far more powerful Powerful enough to be memorable despite the high Endurance of individuals under the influence of the System

It was a welcome break to feel almost human

Only after allowing herself a brief respite from her true situation did Miranda open her eyes and raise her chin And in that moment she was Mrs Hamilton once more

Why are they making us wait Ed grumbled idly rubbing his elaborately oiled mustache as he scowled at the door Why don�t we just start with who all is already here Maybe that way this fucked up World Summit� won�t just be a pile of bullshit

A small portion of the world powers meeting early is exactly what the hosts are trying to avoid Mrs Hamilton thought with amusement But she didn�t disagree with the sentiment

Mrs Hamilton and Ed were seated in an elaborate tea room with the two representatives from Zone Eleven while they waited for the rest of the representatives to gather They had been shepherded here very quickly and likely the only reason that they had been put in the same room was the fact they arrived together

On her way here however she hadn�t been idle Mrs Hamilton�s subtly spread mental threads covered almost the entirety of the garishly opulent hotel that housed this first ever World Summit So she could sense that the disparate government representatives were slowly converging on their location Their wait would not be a long one

Warlord the leader of the strongest Village in his Zone and representative of Zone Eleven rubbed his own beard He glanced sideways at Mrs Hamilton Certainly waiting so long doesn�t reflect well on the organizer But I think we can all admit that this can�t be an easy endeavor gathering this group of divas has taken over a month

I�m simply quite busy Mrs Hamilton said with a wry smile Warlord snorted

Ed seeing Warlord rubbing his own rugged beard snorted dismissively to mock the man and fluffed his own mustache so it appeared almost double its original size Meanwhile Warlord�s swordswoman companion Melanie sighed mournfully and stared blankly at the wall

Mrs Hamilton and Warlord shared a short smile it seemed that both had chosen the second representative from their respective Zones for the same reason rather blunt reason Sometimes it was safer to let short tempered people draw the ire so the two of them could make more deft preparations in the background

It won�t be long now Mrs Hamilton said shortly Then her expression turned more serious as she received a message from the Donnyton expedition that had been sent to help with the monsters that were streaming out of the Epic Dungeon After reading the message several times she quickly sent a reply

Are you sure

Sam�s reply was so quick that Mrs Hamilton knew that he must have begun sending it before she even sent her own reply Alana still isn�t replying but all air raids from the Dragons around Mount Olympus have ceased We�ve sent a party to the summit and they found Dragon�s blood and several corpses Not so many as there should be if there was a flat out fight but it seems like at least one of the Three Disasters has been dealt with

Mrs Hamilton looked up Based upon Warlord�s face he had received a similar message

This frees up our hand a lot Warlord couldn�t prevent a wide grin from spreading across his face As long as we show the capability to take out one of the problems we don�t come as beggars to the table

Melanie yawned and sat up Did something happen

Heh some people possess leonine countenances whose facial hair requires more than a single hand sir Jealousy is quite unbecoming Ed continued to furiously stroke his mustache

Blinking Melanie�s focus shifted to Ed Her lip curled up in disgust What Is there something wrong with you

But dealing with� doesn�t necessarily mean dead Mrs Hamilton said lightly Yet she couldn�t forget the image that Mrs Hamilton had briefly glimpsed while she had been looking at Alana�s back Despite the horrible violence radiating out of the arena that woman had moved to face Randidly in the challenge Wings releasing blinding golden light spread wide and protected all of Donnyton from the monster that descended to teach them a lesson Even if Alana had ultimately failed to rival Randidly in combat that didn�t diminish the trust Mrs Hamilton had in her

That would was the surest of all of Donnyton�s elites that stepped forward to fight against the System If Alana moved Mrs Hamilton didn�t doubt that the Dragon Broodmother would no longer be a problem

Have you not eyes Ed snapped at Melanie For the first time in a while his hand dropped from his mustache as he elaborated flourished Does it look like there is anything wrong with this the gentleman�s pride

Even as Ed and Melanie were glaring at each other the door to their tea room opened and a soldier of Zone 1 entered with a bow Sirs and Madams if you would follow me the Summit is about to begin

Nice timing Mrs Hamilton thought as she hid a smile behind her hand Then she stood and graciously accepted Warlord�s extended arm as he moved toward the door Some part of Mrs Hamilton thought it was a touch forward of him to offer her an arm but she didn�t hate that side of Warlord Besides that with some of Donnyton�s elites accompanying the Zone Eleven forces to alleviate the problem of the Epic Dungeon the relationship between the two Zones had become quite close

There was no harm in implicitly saying that with some human touch

As they walked into a hallway lined with heavy crimson carpet Mrs Hamilton spared Warlord a glance Arm in arm their faces were actually quite close to each other When she spoke her voice was pitched low Have the promised forces from the Orders arrived yet

Warlord gave Mrs Hamilton an amused glance As he turned to regard her their faces were even closer to each other as he replied in the same low tone You also have forces stationed at the same fireline before the monster horde Why bother to ask me I bet you�ve already heard the litany of excuses they�ve fed us about the skirmishes around the Ogre Gorge

Mrs Hamilton chuckled I had honestly hoped the Orders were more forthright in private But I can assure you that while they might be excessively whiny their concerns aren�t unjustified The Ogre Gorge is a problem even considering the fact that a sizable contingent of orcs continue to sneak through the portal and defect to the so called Ogre Holy Land� that we have growing to the East of your Zone Isn�t their presence why you�ve been able to focus all of your forces along the Mount Olympus mountain range and stop the flood of monsters You should understand how strong they are

Sighing Warlord shrugged The warm skin of his arm rubbed against Mrs Hamilton�s relatively cooler skin Maybe so fine fine I just don�t get why it suddenly became a problem now that we are finally making progress on the monster flood

Suddenly some of Mrs Hamilton�s good cheer faded She could only shake her head and turn her gaze forward it is because the personal Order of Randidly Ghosthound used to be responsible for the suppression of the Ogre Gorge And nobody took over for the first few weeks after they left allowing several ogres to discover the portal to Earth Now that the Order Ducis isn�t there to beat the ogres back

Before Warlord could reply the soldier leading the foursome stopped and pointed to a pair of mahogany double doors Without waiting for any more invitation the representative of Zone 32 and Zone 11 stepped through and arrived at the World Summit

The interior of the room was dominated by a long round stone table with an empty space in the middle so that all the people who sat at the table could see each other The diameter of the table was perhaps twenty meters but with the advent of the System growing Perception meant that this sort of distance wouldn�t cause any interference with having a normal conversation

Aside from the heavy stone table the only two other features of the room were the high stone pillars and the spinning mobius of flowing water that functioned as a chandelier in the room Mrs Hamilton�s eyes narrowed as she considered the mobius above them It appeared to be composed of hundreds of thin bands of transparent water that orbited around a dimly glowing light source in the center

No matter how Mrs Hamilton looked at it she couldn�t figure out what was keeping the thing airborne While she studied it it fluidly continued to softly flow in an endless circle the bands of water floating a certain distance from the light source and creating the illusion of some sort of sphere floating above their heads

So cool Warlord whispered

Mrs Hamilton nodded idly Not that she hadn�t expected Zone 1�s technological advancement to continue but even she was baffled by what this object above them was Without using her mental threads to examine it more closely they would need to continue with the World Summit talks with this strange thing hanging above them Which was a bit

It�s like King Arthur�s round table Warlord continued

Blinking Mrs Hamilton looked at Warlord and found a rather goofy grin on his face as he beamed at the heavy stone table in that dominated the room Then she could only roll her eyes Sometimes its easy to forget that all of the people from Zone Eleven are a bit

Several figures were already present as the representatives from Zones 32 and 11 approached And just as Mrs Hamilton was going to open her mouth to speak the door to the room opened once more and a rather short and ugly man walked into the room behind Ed and Melanie

If there is nothing else let�s get to this The newly arrived Phirun ruler of the largest Zone and untouchable King in his floating city Ifrenne said He scratched his belly as he walked forward toward the table I am a very busy man

Chapter 1106

After they were all seated Mrs Hamilton glanced around at the other people sitting at the table In total there were fifteen all neatly spaced around the perfect circle of a table so there was a clear view of every individual Seeing so many of New Earth�s elite in one place Mrs Hamilton could only sadly lament that those individuals at the top were swiftly returning to the trappings of status

Almost everyone with the notable exceptions of Donnyton�s group Zone 11�s group and Phirun himself wore ornate suits sewn from bright cloth Rather than world leaders the people here looked like peacocks Tutting to herself Mrs Hamilton reviewed the identity of everyone present

The two from Donnyton and two from Zone Eleven Mrs Hamilton knew quite personally There was also Phirun who had come alone from his Zone for the meeting Han Yazhu gave Mrs Hamilton a perfunctory smile as she sat down only two seats from him then continued to speak in a low tone toward the two aides that he had brought with him from Zone Seven

Some part of Mrs Hamilton wanted to antagonize him purposefully after Zone Seven had so deliberately set about undercutting East End�s elemental exports but Mrs Hamilton restrained herself Before she had come she had spoken at length with most of the leaders of Zone 32�s Villages including Sydney If anything Sydney had seemed almost pleased that Zone Seven had challenged them even as profits from their business were drying up

Which likely meant that the chill inducing leader of East End had another card to play and that Donnyton shouldn�t try and interfere

It�s a little reductive but Sydney certainly fits the bill of someone who grew up knowing Randidly Ghosthound Her determination is abnormal Then Mrs Hamilton severed her own animosity toward Han Yazhu and turned to some of the other figures at the table

One of the more sizable contingents at the table were representatives at the Orders In total four Orders were present Order Ferocitas the Order Sapientia the Order Sanus and someone from an Order with an insignia that Mrs Hamilton didn�t recognize on sight All bore their brightly colored Order livery very proudly

But it was strange that someone from and Order Mrs Hamilton didn�t recognize was present because although the announcement of the Orders and the growing popularity of them meant that they had blossomed at the beginning the last few months the Orders had begun to consolidate into a few hegemons of power And Mrs Hamilton made it a point to keep track of these things

Ferocity Wisdom and Health the three Orders that Mrs Hamilton recognized were the primary beneficiaries of these reshufflings of power The Orders Fide Caelim Ferrus and Umbra were slowly diminishing down to smaller entities The Order Veritas continued to serve as judges and adjudicators across the Zones but their recruitment was relatively strenuous and they didn�t seek to gather secular power

And the Order Ducis� possessed the almost comically difficult recruitment standard of tracking down an entire moving city well suffice to say that while the Order Ducis was the overlords of the Order they were effectively absent for the time being and had been for a couple of months

There were also two individuals from the newly connected Zone to Earth Zone 19 The man and the woman representatives both had their hair tied behind their head in a bun and shared tanned and wrinkled skin The resemblance was so uncanny that Mrs Hamilton couldn�t help but conclude that these people were related

From what she understood Zone 19 possessed a much smaller population than the other connected Zones In addition the team that had passed the Raid Dungeon had suffered rather grievous casualties in the process So much so that there was no longer much centralized authority in the Zone If anything it was a miracle that this Zone had managed to join onto New Earth

However the reason that they were able to brute force their way through the Raid Dungeon was clear in a way that perhaps only Phirun�s Zone could rival Zone 19 was a treasure trove of natural resources Even though only a few independent traders had made it from Zone 19 to Zone 1 so far the metals and gems they had brought were so wondrous that apparently Erickson Steel�s City had moved through the populated regions and collected all the raw materials it could

Apparently it was precisely these resources that enabled the Zone to succeed at the Raid Dungeon In spite of the fact there was no one who had taken on a role like Sam to lead a forging revolution the clumsy methods of Zone 19 worked All they had to do was sharpen one end of the metals they mined and swing it at monsters That was how powerful these materials were

In fact everyone wanted to establish an agreement with the new Zone But there was one factor that explained why these two figures hadn�t agreed to anything and their frowns were so severe

The bloodless murders

Someone had recently snuck into the newly connected Zone and was freely killing Zone 19�s inhabitants It was also clear from the tracks that Zone 19 had discovered that this individual came from New Earth with no intention of hiding his or her movements Yet even as they pursued the trail day and night no one could catch the ghost like killer And until the culprit could be determined there was very little chance of these two entering into an agreement with any other Zone regarding their significant natural resources

Honestly Mrs Hamilton was surprised that these two had agreed to attend It was no small thing to bring these two very bitter individuals to the table It took quite the force of personality to move them Mrs Hamilton�s gaze shifted to the smiling woman who sat at the head of the table

Theodora Greyman the recently elected president of Zone 1 wore a relatively demure sky blue sleeveless dress and looked on to the quietly talking attendees with obvious relish

The first thing that was obvious about Theodora Greyman was how young and pretty she was Her hair was dark and she had the sort of natural charisma that made it difficult not to return one of her wide and honest smiles

Perhaps more obviously impressive to Mrs Hamilton was the story of the woman�s rise to power Theodora Greyman was a relatively recently liberated individual from the borderlands who had adapted remarkably quickly to System life In addition she had taken the political world of Zone 1 by storm Whereas most powerful individuals were satisfied with setting up bases of power and becoming incumbent Senators Theodora had risen in popularity due to her leadership as a member of Zone 1�s Internal Security Administration and used that to seize the presidency

Although she had only been able to raise her Level to the early 30s around the time she rose to prominence her leadership as the first waves of monsters rampaging from Zone Eleven had protected Zone 1 from a disastrous flood of Raid Bosses into its heartlands With that victory as a launching point she had begun campaigning on the platform of dismantling many of the pre System government administrations and reshuffling the Zone 1 government to engage more directly with the problems the world now faced

They needed to adapt Theodora Greyman claimed And despite the relatively tepid response from Congress the people agreed

She had fought on the front lines she supported science funding and expanded System focused schools and as Mrs Hamilton had earlier noted she was charming She won the seat of President of Zone 1 by a landslide despite having no real allies among the Senators Following that she had cashed in her first political fistful of political clout not to accomplish her stated platform goals but by organizing the first World Summit of New Earth

Mrs Hamilton watched Theodora Greyman carefully wondering what sort of individual she would turn out to be She also didn�t overlook the fact that Theodora had continued to fight to the point that she now was Level 48 Which meant that she didn�t currently have a Fate but getting to Level 50 in a little less than nine months was not possible for someone who avoided hard work

In contrast Mrs Hamilton glanced sideways at Phirun who was only Level 29 It had clearly been quite a long time since he was required to actively fight his opponents A shirtless towering pillar of a man standing with his arms folded behind Phirun noticed Mrs Hamilton�s look and gave her a glower that warned her of being too free with even her glances Mrs Hamilton kept her face mild as she turned her face away

Theodora spread her hands and opened her mouth Everyone thanks for coming The System made Earth a tough place but it�s not something that we can�t overcome if we work together And also I agree completely with King Phirun�s earlier sentiments let�s not beat around the bush We are all busy people If no one has anything else to say let�s get started

Mrs Hamilton�s eyebrow quirked up at the frank admission of Phirun�s status as a King but she supposed it wasn�t surprising This was a woman who didn�t hold the old world order in very high standing Theodora Greyman couldn�t be older than 30 Throwing Phirun a bone cost her basically nothing and it could earn her some valuable goodwill

Which based on Phirun�s expression it had Mrs Hamilton considered the rather lecherously pleased look Phirun was giving Theodora Theodora boldly returned his smile before speaking again The set up is simple each delegation will be given the opportunity to bring up an issue for the World Summit�s consideration After some discussion we will vote for and against Each representative�s vote on an issue will be assumed to be binding on the Zone behind them If that turns out not to be the case well I don�t need to explain why not keeping your word would be a bad idea right

Theodora grinned The four representatives from the Orders laughed nervously Phirun guffawed Even Melanie sitting next to Warlord snorted

Wait a moment I have something I want to say before we start

Mrs Hamilton could have kissed Ed as he stood and stroked his mustache just as Theodora Greyman was building up momentum Not that Mrs Hamilton had anything against the woman but there were a few issues before the actual World Summit could start And she somehow knew Ed someone who was a notorious stickler for status wouldn�t miss the first issue

Ed pointed his fat finger toward the representative of the Orders Who the hell is this Especially that guy Are they really the sort of people that should be at the table with people like us

Mrs Hamilton literally had to cough to cover the bark of laughter when support for the question emerged from an extremely unlikely source

Indeed Phirun nodded solemnly as he studied the four people from the Orders He picked his nose and flung a moist booger into the open area in the middle of the table Most of the rest of you represent land which I magnanimously choose to acknowledge But these people aren�t they just members of a social club or something

A tall man amongst the people from the Orders stood The emblem on his chest indicated he was from the Order Sapientia He bowed toward Phirun Begging your majesty�s pardon but we believe deserve to be here at the table for the World Summit Not only that but we believe that once we explain our position you will agree

Phirun rubbed his chin Mrs Hamilton tutted inwardly Certainly the world has gotten strange So easily we mimick the language and roles of fantasy

The tall man continued to speak to the table You might all represent more powerful forces than us but let me say this most of your power is stationary You require a significant expenditure of resources to protect your territories from the constant threat of Dungeons and monsters A truly magnanimous goal undoubtedly But in some ways the great strength of the Zones means they have more difficulty responding to smaller threats

Meanwhile we Orders are forces that are composed almost entirely of high Leveled individuals with no hard roots in any one Zone Therefore we are uniquely poised to accomplish the will of the World Summit The reason we are here is simple we wish to offer our services as the tools of this World Summit Although each of you controls a capable army it will be difficult to remain confident that the decisions are carried out in an unbiased manner if one Zone�s army performs the dirty work We hope for that role

Mrs Hamilton�s eyes narrowed Perhaps but is that really the tack you want to take You only exist because the Zones allow it And also

But then Theodora Greyman spoke There�s no point in bandying about with words everyone here is aware that your strength� is just leeched off of the Zones themselves And despite your stated neutrality is valuable abstractly this is the real world no one believes you truly have no stake in the game So it�s valuable to have some separation between powers but don�t pretend that your existence doesn�t rest on our generosity You are here to apply for a job nothing more

Even more surprising while the man from the Order Sapientia grew pale Theodora continued to speak And I think that we all know what the Donnyton representative�s real point was you sir are not from an acknowledged Order Can you defend your presence here

The man raised his chin and stood to stand next to the man from the Order Sapientia The issue I wish to bring to the World Summit�s attention is the status of my Order the Order Argentum as an official Order

Argentum Silver Mrs Hamilton tapped her lip Another attempt to set up an Order that was servile to those with power and money huh well it�s not like I can�t understand the desire but

In another move that surprised Mrs Hamilton Theodora snorted You are asking this World Summit to give you the designation of an official Order without the approval of the Order Ducis

Ah but the Order Ducis has missed the last several council of Orders The man said with a greasy smile The other representatives from Orders nodded as he spoke As such we have had no choice

If you want to offend Randidly Ghosthound be my guest Theodora spoke with a smile but her tone chilled the room But this Summit will not be a part of it Besides without having the standing to attend the Summit what gives you the privilege of bringing an issue before the Summit Please leave

I The representative from the Order Argentum began but the air cooled even more considerably at his words When he glanced around he saw the frosty gazes of all 11 of the individuals who were not part of the Orders And to have become the representative of these Zones none of them aside for perhaps Phirun lacked personal power The man squirmed visibly barely capable of resisting the combined

We won�t ask twice Theodora said simply

Mrs Hamilton didn�t miss the way that Theodora spoke so casually for the group She also was aware that in this case the will of the representatives had very quickly solidified behind Theodora

Certainly a capable woman Mrs Hamilton thought with an admiring glance She graciously accepted this man�s request to be here and then used him to align the other representatives with her point of view Quite aggressive too

Chapter 1107

After the unrecognized Order�s representative left the negotiations began in earnest

Theodora Greyman started off the issues� by bringing up the three disasters that came out of the Epic Dungeon Instantly Warlord brightened but that only made Mrs Hamilton increasingly weary After even a few minutes of spending time with Theodora Greyman it was clear that this woman was not a normal sort of leader If she had been Mrs Hamilton wouldn�t have been so impressed with her

She wasn�t the direct blunt type like Donny was or the rather cruel and whimsical brand of leadership that Phirun ascribed to She also didn�t possess the calculating mind of either Mrs Hamilton and Han Yazhu

No Theodora Greyman was more dangerous than that She was the unpredictable charismatic type She accomplished what she wanted by paying attention and valuing different things than the average person And until Mrs Hamilton had pinned down what this woman wanted she wouldn�t let down her guard

Still it was not nothing that the Zone 1 representative brought up the issue of the three disasters It also allowed Warlord to stand and explain that it appeared that the most active of the three was dealt with Then the Orders thawed enough from their companion being ejected to join in the discussion and talk what actions could be taken now to reduce the power of monsters streaming out of Zone Eleven

Very soon everyone offered opinions And with the persuasive arguments of Theodora Greyman and Warlord sentiment slowly shifted toward an agreement

Although Han Yazhu was quite scathing in his comments the discussion proceeded smoothly Even if no one particularly wanted to waste their forces helping Zone Eleven there was an elephant in the room which made them unwilling to not participate Everyone was particularly sensitive to the modifier Epic� that was associated with this Dungeon Perhaps the reward for clearing it wouldn�t be as significant for those that could be obtained from a Danger Zone but all the Danger Zones thus far had ended up being connected with other worlds once cleared If the Dungeon was controlled and could be used as a high Level training ground without the risk of a whole world waiting on the other side

In the end it was agreed that the three disasters needed to be dealt with before they seriously attempted to assault the Epic Dungeon

Theodora clapped her hands together Took a while for everyone to agree She shot Han Yazhu a look The man didn�t even blink Mrs Hamilton smirked Tough bastard

As Theodora turned back froward she continued to speak but the goal for my issue is settled we will work together to destroy the remaining two disasters I�m slightly sad that one has already been dealt with but part of the reason I wanted to bring everyone here was to show you all something Something that our research team has been working on for quite a while This can be unveiling of Zone 1�s most dazzling scientific accomplishment to date

Theodora gestured and a rumble rippled through the room Then the floating sphere descended slowly to sit in the middle area of the table As it was still translucent it was possible to see the other representatives through it But as Theodora gestured again the translucent streams of water began to gather and spiral together Very soon brushstrokes of color appeared on the sphere

Then those brushstrokes resolved themselves into visions of a faraway place Two images to be exact reflected on three sides of the orb so everyone could see clearly

The first was East Providence showing a relatively undeveloped field South of the city While some of the high roofed buildings of the science complex could be seen in the background it was a completely unremarkable vista

Meanwhile the other image displayed was a dense swamp populated by Level 70 Basilisks that were dozing in the water Mrs Hamilton blinked several times finally realizing what she was looking at The marshes seemed to stretch for miles seeming filled with infinite Basilisks And of course seething in the middle was the vast body of murky water was the Level 80 Bog Hydra

Once she had identified the subject of the pictures Mrs Hamilton admired the strange display sphere Certainly an interesting bit of science Does it work like scrying or are we receiving a feed from something on site If this really is a mass scrying device though

In order to protect the Earth we need to work together Theodora continued as the representatives around her stared in confusion at the images Which is why I�m showing you all these two almost divine tools� that Zone 1 has created The first is this viewing orb inspired by the Champion of Zone 32 With it it is possible to track or view almost anything in the world Right now we are relying on the information given to us by Zone 19 to try and find the culprit in the heinous bloodless murders Which is just one of many anti terrorism functions this orb can fulfill

While also putting quite a bit of power into your hands Mrs Hamilton thought with a twist of her mouth But it wasn�t like Donnyton didn�t also closely monitor its subordinates

And the second divine tool

As she waited to speak Theodora Greyman licked her lips There were pink and fleshy and Mrs Hamilton sensed something monstrous from the woman Which was usually the problem with the charismatic sort of leader They generally used logic but they were not bound by it like a true rhetorician was And generally those few slightly off kilter believes were exactly the reason why this type of leader was so dangerous

is Mjolnir

The ground in the picture of East Providence began to shift The grassy field crumbled and ripped as metal panels slid backward revealing a dark opening in the rather idyllic field However as the image continued to roll Mrs Hamilton�s eyes widened She could clearly sense the vast catastrophic danger roiling upward from this opening The viewpoint drifted closer giving a better angle of sight down into the opening

Energy gathered slowly illuminating the interior of the silo For a second Mrs Hamilton worried that Zone 1 had reclaimed and was about to use a nuclear warhead Setting aside the issue of radiation poisoning Mrs Hamilton had some serious concerns about the ecological consequences of using nuclear weapons within the closed area the System had created on Earth

But as the gathering energy illuminated the silo it was clear that wasn�t quite the case There was a tall form within the dark silo but it was a seething mass of movement It looked less like a missile and more like a misshapen blob that was constantly trying to sculpt itself into something presentable

With the energy came light but there was only a brief moment where that light crossed the threshold from dim to blinding and they were similarly isolated from the information Yet for a hair thin split second Mrs Hamilton witnessed a portion of the operations at the core of this Mjolnir And what she saw was actually vaguely familiar

Like the floating orb that Zone 1 had created to display pictures of a faraway place what Mrs Hamilton saw was a towering pillar of thin slug like somethings The wriggled and spun gathering energy to themselves

And then as that light became completely blinding the viewpoint began to back away from the opening A split second later whatever that thing was blasted its incandescent energy into the sky The perspective that had previously shown East Providence shifted and suddenly they could see a brilliant beam of light shoot upward into the sky and then curve Northward Only a few short seconds later that beam arrived at the view of the swamp

Instantly that blinding energy severed the view that the representatives had The display went immediately black the second after that energy arrived Everyone was deathly silent

Exactly five seconds later the display reestablished itself A smoking crater about the size of a small town filled most of the screen Murky water calmly flowed into the newly created crater carrying with it the large and charred corpses of the basilisks that had dominated the swamp previously

The representatives watched in a sort of detached horror as the Level 80 Bog Hydra struggled to its feet and swayed Of its intimidating nine heads seven were completely burned away and one head had been so badly scorched that the bones of jaw were exposed to air Puss dripped from its agonizing burns Its one remaining head cried to the sky in fear and fury

Of course the danger of the Bog Hydra was that it would quickly recover and heal But as the view panned outward squads of Zone 1�s forces could be seen trooping forward preparing to take advantage of the wounded Bog Hydra

Theodora Greyman steepled her fingers with an innocent smile This is just meant as a display of Zone 1�s sincerity We strongly urge everyone in the World Summit to consider themselves as part of a broader world relationship rather than simply as characters in antagonistic Zones And we hope you will soon join us in enthusiastically seeking to accomplish the resolutions of the World Summit

After a pause she turned to the surrounding representatives The orb displaying the destruction wrought by Mjolnir floated upward while maintaining the pictures It was a constant reminder of the weapon that Zone 1 had boldly revealed without batting an eyelash

Mrs Hamilton kept her breathing even as she considered Theodora Greyman This is Zone 1�s Sincerity huh

Randidly eventually withdrew his attention from the Nether Ritual After the display from Zone 1 the other issues brought forward by the World Summit were quite minor Even Phirun appeared shaken by what this Mjolnir had accomplished The only other thing of note Randidly had learned was the fact that another World Summit was scheduled for a month where the group would select a chairman for their meetings

Yet how could he blame the representatives for their reaction Even Randidly was shaken by what he had seen As he slowly massaged feeling back into the claw that had been channeling Nether for the entirety of his time watching the World Summit meeting he gritted his teeth and tried to figure out how to proceed

That weapon that fucked up thing Even no one else had been able to see what was going on clearly Randidly could The Nether Ritual had given him vision that was exceedingly clear Plus a clue to what was going on had been hanging above the group the entire time

Because Randidly had carefully studied the flowing orb with strange flows of water around it before the World Summit had started Even he had been somewhat confused by what it was But soon it hit him The Grim Chimera growled its fury and a fire was lit in his belly as he considered that floating orb and what it meant Then when he had seen the strange Mjolnir activate

I should never have let the government of Zone 1 off so easily after seeing what the church was allowed to do Randidly�s eyes burned emerald activating the energy he had obtained from the Fate blade subconsciously The fire in his chest was so hot it seemed to even warp the image around him that was sustained by the Aether Key These tools they are just thousands of specialized Raid Bosses that have been spliced together to one mass organism

For Mjolnir most of those Raid Bosses gather and transfer energy and then a few at the top blast it outward Even if the Raid Bosses� Levels are capped in the mid thirties the energy that a thousand Level 30 monsters can gather well

The result spoke for itself

Perhaps even more dangerous than the fact that it had been able to critically wound a Level 80 monster was the fact that it had left a rather large area wrecked by the blast All of the Zones or Orders present at the World Summit� had bases that could be demolished by an attack like that It was a barred threat toward every other force in the world just like a nuclear bomb used to be Having that capability for mass destruction once more return to humanity

And Randidly had no doubt that Mjolnir was much more dangerous than a single use bomb After all such a unified usage didn�t seem possible just while relying on the intelligence of monsters Perhaps just like the church the souls of human beings were placed inside of Raid Bosses to make them work in concert with each other Which meant that the more Mjolnir was used the stronger it would become

The System would recognize its progress and allow that horror to grow

Still one fact that most of the watching representatives had missed had been immediately obvious to Randidly What they were seeing from the other amalgamation of Raid Bosses hanging over the World Summit were simply recordings

Based on the way it was shown the attack had been launched and landed only a few seconds later But for all that it was a quick moving attack it wasn�t that quick Perhaps more importantly Randidly had been able to detect the subtle angle of launch that enabled the Mjolnir to strike almost directly downward toward the target Based on what Randidly had been able to project they likely needed to shoot the energy bolt in a loop up into the atmosphere before it slowly was able to turn all the way around and descend Due to the nature of the attack the turning radius would likely be severely limited

Even if the energy blast moved quickly it could not turn quickly And that trip up into the atmosphere with enough distance to curve back toward Earth was significant It would be possible to detect the launch of such a strike and move out of the target area The devastation would be large but not so large that it couldn�t be avoided with a warning

But it did give Randidly pause Because it didn�t seem like this Theodora Greyman was a fool And showing Mjolnir was very clearly a show of force A lot of the population probably thought they were protected from such abrupt destruction with the rise of their Stats But this weapon would remind people of the commodified fear of sudden and violent death Randidly had no doubt that some of the Zones would respond very dangerously toward this sudden power Zone 1 now possessed

Still that�s not so big of a deal Some of the fire in Randidly�s chest cooled The logic of the Grim Chimera eased some of the surging emotions People die Such is life The stronger the weapons they possess the more people of Earth can grow to rival them But the real worry is that these weapons will be TOO strong That they will cripple humanity�s desire to grow by cowing them with a terrible fear of death

Randidly raised his gaze toward the wall of his hut Fearing something isn�t a problem It�s living without doing anything but fear allowing that fear to control you With a threat like that hanging over them it might cause the Earth to collapse on itself and spend too much of its effort crafting grand weapons for murder Which would mean that the Earth was doomed against the Calamities

Besides that power there was no image to that power

Although he had intended to take a break after the long viewing of Mrs Hamilton Randidly was no longer in the mood to rest after seeing Zone 1�s demonstration of Mjolnir After forcefully suppressing the ache from overusing Nether Randidly began to conjure another Nether Ritual

You might not want to cross me Greyman but you�ve certainly got my attention Randidly grimaced as pain lanced up his arm But he ignored it And if you threaten the image that I want the Earth to have well I will just ensure the Order Ducis won�t be shaken by a power without an image

Chapter 1108

As Randidly watched the image in front of him reformed into a muddy training ground To his great relish it seemed he had begun watching the scene in his Nether Ritual right as a large group of people was nearing the image stones that Randidly left for the Order Ducis to use to train Even though Randidly had continued to periodically face the Eidolon Crucible he still worried that his people would fall behind in terms of image without him present to prod them forward

It seemed however that Randidly�s worry was in vain

Naffur seemed to be explaining the image stone to a new group of people who stood somewhat apart from the older potential inductees The reason that the difference between the two groups was obvious was their garb the individuals that had spent the past two months as part of the Order Ducis recruitment camp seemed more like refugees than well trained soldiers Their leathers were ripped and worn from long hours of fighting without the chance of a break

In addition the Order Ducis aspirant�s legs were slathered with mud like they had already trooped to the training field once today already and had done more violent work than that besides Faded bloodstains were clear on their armor and their eyes looked extremely unfocused as Naffur faithfully recounted the information Randidly had given him about the stones It was almost like the Order Ducis aspirants were taking advantage of this explanation that they already understood in order to recover some mental strength

Randidly�s focus quickly shifted to the individual he had focused on to see this spectacle Vye Randidly had considered Naffur as the target but he didn�t really care about what large scale actions the Order Ducis was engaged in right now After seeing the strength of Mjolnir what Randidly wanted most was to confirm that the Order Ducis had continued to furiously train itself while he was away To that end Randidly considered Vye the best target

Vye currently stood at the front of the crowd of people who had clearly been a part of the Order Ducis for a long time Next to her stood two men one of which Randidly recognized as someone Naffur considered to have the highest potential in the camp and the other was someone who Randidly was pleased to see didn�t wear any shoes

It�s good to see that some people understand the simple pleasures of mud on bare feet Randidly grinned Then he released a breath and calmed his heart As he forced his own Perception to slow down the actions of the figures he was watching steadily accelerated to normal speed

But instead of using this chance to listen to Naffur�s words Randidly inspected Vye more closely It was hard to see the image through the lens of Nether likely because of its antagonistic relationship with Aether but Randidly could definitely feel that there was a powerful image slowly taking shape in Vye�s heart

While he had been gone the Order Ducis had not been idle

However Randidly could tell that this momentum would very soon peter out As he looked at the image stones it was clear that a lot of their potency had faded These people had been forced to grow from exposure to his powerful images but they were not permanent items that could hold his image they looked to have depleted to only half of the original power

If only he could send

Randidly blinked Because as he earnestly wished for something he could do Randidly suddenly felt that he could do something The Nether Ritual whispered in his ear some sort of instinctual explanation but he couldn�t quite understand what it was saying The sensation the sensation itself was quite similar to what Randidly had felt when he had been watching Vualla There seemed suddenly to be an obvious path between him and Vye that Randidly could use to reach and affect the situation

There was a humming connection hanging between them built of inky black darkness and lined with pulsing blue veins

But why do I feel this now Randidly wondered I didn�t feel it with Mrs Hamilton If I hadn�t felt the sensation with Vualla I would just assume it was because of my Aether Connection with Vye But this

Shaking his head Randidly didn�t worry about it any further He wasn�t about to look a gift horse in the mouth now He could figure out why later For now he reached

Vye blinked dully as Naffur continued to explain the use of the image stones to the group of people from Zone 19 that had gathered around as Kharon the Wandering City settled down next to their Village After understanding that the city was part of one of the rumored Orders� from New Earth there had been quite a bit of interest in applying which had led to a staggering amount of travelers heading to Kharon�s temporary resting place

Considering that the eight hundred or so applicants that had gathered over the last week for the trial had been narrowed down to two dozen Vye assumed that Naffur hadn�t really bothered to adjust the entrance difficulty to match the fact that these individuals only recently passed their Raid Dungeon

Honestly Vye was a little disappointed she hadn�t been able to witness it After two months of hard training to be a member of the Order Ducis Vye was tired She possessed a lot of pride being a part of the Order Ducis and raising her Level to 49 but to Ajax Naffur and Helen This was nowhere near enough To them Vye had much more to accomplish before her body was allowed to give out and they used her as such

Vye�s dull eyes looked up at the sky I always understood how difficult it would be but I guess I thought about it as struggling against individual enemies I didn�t realize how much of an Endurance game it was to so unrelentingly pursue the dream of independence And I

Hesitating Vye bit her lip She still wanted to walk to the cusp of the world and look over the edge She had taken up sketching to maintain her sanity and now she had a secret dream of mapping the entire world She had already begun to use her precious spare time to make composite drawings of the landscape they passed as Kharon moved

Perhaps these actions just exacerbated the problems but Vye felt wrung out There wasn�t much substance left to her There was just wariness

Maybe it was better that most of the people had been rejected by the Order Ducis She was also certain that many had a very rude awakening when they realized

Vye took an unconscious step forward as her fist clenched in burning desire Then she shivered it felt like someone had struck her with lightning All of her wariness disappeared and suddenly the rather washed out surroundings popped into sharp relief

For a split second it seemed that Randidly Ghosthound had stood right beside her and placed his hand upon her shoulder sending electric thoughts through her body The imaginary spot on her shoulder where she had believed he touched was still warm Vye shifted uncomfortably as those strange currents of energy continued to spark through her limbs

Aldo�s eyes refocused as Vye began to twitch in front of her Folding his arms Aldo unleashed a big yawn The trio at the front of the group from the Order Ducis was currently the top three ranked in the camp and had spent all night hunting entrenched Raid Bosses in the surrounding area as a way to win favor with the local It also had the added benefit of attracting talented individuals to the recruitment Certainly it was a better activity than training with Helen but that was only because that woman was a taskmaster

It wasn�t necessarily hard to kill the Raid Boss but sometimes it was exceedingly tiresome to cut through enough of the subordinates to find the progenitor

Especially so since these Raid Bosses had several powerful lieutenants that possessed superior growth rates to even the Raid Boss itself As such Vye Aldo and Valor were using this explanation time as a chance to recuperate a bit before they approached the image stones Even if image stones had lost a lot of their bite they were not simple things The fact that they continued to hold so much power even two months since Randidly had left

Yet suddenly all the exhaustion in Vye�s body was gone Her hands flexed

Again the shocks spread through Vye�s body She glared up at the heavens unsure of why the hell she was feeling this right now but absolutely sure it was Randidly Ghosthound�s fault I�m not going to just accomplish this I�ll keep improving My weakness its just a passing thing But if your training tools wear down what am I supposed to do I want to find the power to freely explore the world but

Valor also refocused as Vye continued to twitch so obviously as the energy ran rampant through her body He pushed his golden blonde hair back away from his eyes Eager to start Vye This time I solemnly swear that I will overcome you

Vye rolled her eyes not even bothering to answer All three shifted from foot to foot in expectation and turned their focus to Naffur Very soon he would ask for an explanation of the image stones and one of them would be chosen to walk forward through the image as though it was nothing to them so the new arrivals would be suitably impressed Of course it really was nothing to approach now compared to the original strength of the image stones

Ajax had let them known to be prepared last night before they even left to track down the Raid Bosses It was just part of a broader strategy to demonstrate Kharon�s strength for the newcomers so they understood what they were up against And also so word of the impossibilities of the Order Ducis would spread

But in the short term it was a harsh lesson to teach these recent arrivals how hard it would be to stay in this recruitment camp for the Order Ducis

Yet just as Naffur finished speaking and his eyes moved toward Vye the electricity made her shudder once more All the power that had shot outward through her limbs was suddenly spiraling back to gather in her core Abruptly there was this terrible weight on her chest and she couldn�t breathe She could only watch Naffur move slowly to meet her gaze

Am I having a heart attack I thought most normal ailments were just cleared up by the System Vye panicked as she found herself unable to move her body The electricity in her limbs continued to build as her body rigidly refused to move Larger and larger pulses of power blasted outward from the tight ball in her chest Frantically her mind carefully examined the food she had so casually eaten in the last several months cursing herself for not really caring about calories or fat content

No I Tears formed in Vye�s eyes as her only possible movement was blinking I refuse like this Not like this

Vye heard once more Clenching her teeth so tightly that her jaw began to ache Vye wished she could scream at the fucked up energy that bound her

I will NEVER give up

Then the pressure was gone and she collapsed to her knees feeling extremely light Her body seemed practically insubstantial as Vye tried to recover her bearings Strangely when she looked up she thought she saw the figure of Randidly Ghosthound walking forward toward the image stones His steps left the impression of boots in the mud For a brief moment he stopped and smiled over his shoulder at her And then he continued forward to press his hand up against the stone

Something so much more powerful than the electricity passed through Vye�s body then worming its way into her body and then metaphysically ripping itself out of her chest and out into the world Even as her vision went empty and spotty she could feel the huge impossible darkness that stretched between Randidly and herself as she knelt there on the ground and he reached out to touch the image stone They were intrinsically connected

Or to put it another way they were one That strange darkness bridged the distance between them and there were no lines between their existences

As they brushed like this Vye was suddenly swimming in Randidly�s mind She could not hear his thoughts or emotions but she could see an endless string of memories leading back into the past Every emotion or action he had ever taken stored as memories like some sort of DNA for his personality Those brief moments of memory began to flicker in front of Vye�s eyes too quickly for her to follow or truly understand Yet some whole of them seemed to be coalescing inside of Vye�s core as she was exposed to them

Suddenly she understood his determination She saw the long and agonizing moments of his struggle Vye saw how difficult the Path was that Randidly had to follow in order to rise to this point The horrible lows he had experienced at the hands of the powers of the System had taught him valuable lessons that he refused to forget She felt the bitterness he felt as he could only lower his head and endure his situation For years The memories of his thoughts while he struggled against that task of enduring flowed around Vye And one of them

Don�t let this be all you ever accomplish The inky black connection between them pulsed with power

And suddenly she was Randidly standing in front of the image stone with her hand on it Once more her body possessed weight but this heaviness was so terrible that Vye was inwardly shocked The image leaking out from the stone in front of her seemed fragile and mild to her sensitivities Which considering that these stones were made by Randidly

The situation was exceedingly strange Electricity danced through her body Somehow she seemed to be Vye but this was clearly Randidly�s perspective Perhaps the worst part was not the strange heaviness that his presence added to her body but the weight it gave her attention The heavy shift of his focus eviscerated Vye�s mind with spikes of pain as he poured over the state of the three images in the stones The raw weight behind his Willpower

Then Randidly or Vye or whatever mixture of them that stood before the image stone grinned A hand reached across the void through Vye�s body and pressed against the image stone Something bright and precious passed through Vye

Suddenly the sense of Randidly was gone but Vye still couldn�t control her body Her stubborn limbs turned her away from the image stone and stiffly walked back toward the watching group Dazed by the strange series of teleportations she just experienced and feeling incredibly drained Vye wondered what had just happened The whole of Order Ducis training camp looked blankly at her as she walked back to join them

Then the image stone behind her seemed to awaken The seed that Randidly�s hand had passed through Vye to plant began to sprout Huge banks of grey clouds began to swirl outward The air smelled like ash and spilt blood

When she reached the group she stood still for a few seconds Finally after what seemed like quite a long time the electric energy in Vye disappeared

There was a dull roar and suddenly Vye could move again She spun around and looked up at the image hovering about the image stone Although the area was now thick with ash the towering figure that stood in the center of this storm was clear It somehow was the same Grim Chimera of ash and loss from the image stone Vye trained with most often but something had changed within it on a fundamental level

For one thing the image revealed itself clearly before one even approached the image stone The Grim Chimera was no longer obscured by clouds of ash that needed to be pierced through to see him There was a wild challenge in his naked presence that was shockingly palpable For another the Grim Chimera now possessed Randidly�s face

More than that the pale skin of his torso now seemed almost translucent illuminated from within by a strange light coming from his chest Meanwhile the skin around his neck arms and legs was much rougher and almost corrupted looking Long blue veins curled up from his claw like left hand which had been greatly expanded His long dark talons gleamed in the mid morning sun

But setting aside all the aesthetic changes the more obvious change was the feeling The image that Randidly had left here was an unconscious weight that demonstrated to the people of the Order Ducis the power than an image could possess But this

This was a living thinking predator It watched the surrounding people with amusement as the weaker ones went pale and the stronger ones trembled as they more fully understood this ungodly powerful image that suddenly appeared in front of them

Is this is this really the same image Vye wondered as she considered the shudder inducing intensity of the image that had descended before them Its gaze swept back and forth as though measuring them If this image is really from Randidly what has he endured over the past two months to reach this point

and if he can endure I

Suddenly the image smiled Then the swirling clouds of dark matter and ash around him withdrew toward the image stone A split second later the air was clear and the day was bright and warm Even so the ominous feeling remained while you looked upon the stone Everyone knew that the new version of Randidly�s Grim Chimera image waited within for challengers to approach

After several heartbeats of silence Naffur coughed light Ahem thank you Vye for activating the image stone So which of you new arrivals would like to try approaching it first

Chapter 1109

Randidly�s had crossed space He could feel the rough stone of the hastily carved image tone even though he no longer had his physical body and he was quite some distance away He could even feel the thin seed of the seed he had originally left in the image stone

This time Randidly left something much more powerful with his meaningful touch Then the darkness consumed him

Randidly woke up intermittently several times over the next few hours but every time he did so his throbbing headache informed him that it was better to allow himself some more time to recover Perhaps it was due to using Vye as an intermediary but imparting a portion of his increasingly powerful image had taken a lot out of him

Although maybe that�s because I actually passed a kernel of my actual strength and consciousness through to Earth Randidly thought fuzzily I actually sacrificed something to so that they could continue to grow their images in the future But if it keeps them from being consumed by their fear of something like Zone 1�s weapon it will be worth it

So Randidly allowed himself to rest Then there was one point where he had basically restored his mental strength to the point that he at least wanted to get up and speak with Salazar and Zauna but just as he was about to do so an annoyingly familiar drowsiness ambushed him His eyelids slid swiftly down to snap shut as his consciousness was buoyed away toward the waiting Eidolon Crucible

After all I do for you Kharon this is how you repay me

When the surroundings began to resolve themselves Randidly found himself in the vast darkness of the Great Rift The drifting blue veins danced in the air around him adding a little depth to the emptiness around him But the reason that Randidly gritted his teeth in fury was that when he looked down Vualla was lying unconscious in his arms Her eyelashes fluttered as she struggled against the nightmares that seized her in this fake image realm

You were the first stranger who trusted me to protect you Randidly�s claw tightened around Vualla�s shoulder But even Randidly himself knew that it wasn�t him speaking it was the Grim Chimera To everyone else I am a monster But to you

Even as his thought trailed off toward a rumbling sea of emotions the numerous images of Kharon�s people flowed out of the darkness to surround Randidly They wore the form of Nether Beasts strange amalgamations of different physical creatures that were designed to maim and kill those built of Aether These images disguised as Nether Beasts possessed none of the toxic constitution of Nether�s servants but they flowed forward with the same determination that the attendants of the Nether Gatekeeper had possessed

Randidly knew this was fake The reason that this location was chosen was exactly that it affected him so strongly even now Randidly couldn�t even prevent his claw from tightening around fake Vualla�s shoulder But even so

Even so Maybe it was the constant heat that Randidly was devouring from the Fate blade but being pulled here pissed him off in a way that he hadn�t been in a long time

It had been quite a while since the last Eidolon Crucible so these images possessed none of the fuzziness that Randidly had seen previously from the people of Kharon Perhaps because Randidly had so often pilfered some of their image�s weight they took advantage of the preparation time and came with dense and focused images to make up for the lack of weight that Randidly had repeatedly taken from them

But none of it matters The Grim Chimera said coldly His tail snapped back and forth as he considered the approaching images Not when you choose to bring me here For her I will never allow defeat

They came like a swarm of locusts but Randidly roared and his voice and body were suddenly fire He consumed them like beetles rushing toward a bonfire accepting their small popping bodies without comment The terrible intensity of his determination didn�t waver as his image was impacted by thousands of smaller images all seeking to tear him down

Compared to the System you are nothing Randidly�s eyes were neon green lanterns in the fake Great Rift

As Randidly had expected this was the most difficulty that he had triumphing in the Eidolon Crucible since he had acquired the Skill It might have been the preparation time and the growing number of images that seemed to come from Kharon but Randidly could also sense that he truly had lost some amount of his power when he had repaired the image stone for the Order Ducis Not much but it was noticeable

Plus the fights against Kharon�s images were trials of resolve With a weakened mentality those sorts of struggles quickly became agonizing

Still as Randidly also had expected he eventually slaughtered all of the false Nether Beasts and took his due as victor of the Eidolon Crucible Weary and victorious his consciousness returned to his body Then he once again fell into a deep slumber that required a significant amount of time to work through

When Randidly opened his eyes again he was ready to move Hopping quickly to his feet Randidly left his hut and walked out to find Zauna and Salazar continuing to tend their ever growing farm on this Aether built island surrounding by Nether But what brought Randidly to an abrupt halt was how large the lush fields of crops had grown

Almost half of the land was now covered in fields that were flowering or covered with ripening vegetables And it also seemed like Salazar and Zauna had taken the time to build relatively modest lodgings of their own at the opposite end of the island from Randidly�s hut Slightly dazed by their accomplishments Randidly walked up to Zauna who was carefully weeding in a small herb garden This You�ve done a lot

Zauna nodded Inwardly Randidly sighed In some ways Zauna was the exact opposite of Salazar but similarly obnoxious She would usually only speak if a question was asked directly to her Otherwise she kept her own council

How did you accomplish this so quickly Randidly asked tiredly

Zauna gave him a strange look not very quickly

Randidly reached up and rubbed his forehead Well nowhere near as obnoxious as Salazar but still Somewhat of a surprise for her to reply with snark right now

Alright how long did this take you Randidly asked

Three months maybe Zauna replied

Three months Randidly began but then he froze He raised his claw and did his best to gently rub at his temples how long has it been since we have last talked

Almost two months Zauna confirmed

For several seconds Randidly stood still Then he spun on his heel and marched back to his shed and shut the door behind him As he sat and tried to remain calm Randidly tried to remember how much time had passed before he had donated a portion of his image to the image stone He hadn�t gone out to talk with them after using the Nether Ritual to spy on Mrs Hamilton so that could explain several days of the missing time Maybe even a week

Then Randidly had spent a smaller amount of time watching Vye before he had gone through her to repair the image stone Combined perhaps those Nether RItuals could explain two weeks of time Which meant that the combination of what he had done for Kharon and the Eidolon Crucible had taken more than a month from him in recovery time Which was relatively softened by the fact that time moved three times as quickly here surrounded by the dense Aether but that was still a week in the outside world

For Yggdrasil who had been threatened by Lord Miln a week on the frontlines was a long time

Even though Randidly had assured himself nothing dangerous would happen to Yggdrasil previously his inactivity for so long reignited those fears As Randidly wistfully savored the lack of pain in his hand after recovering from Nether overuse he prepared a Nether Ritual Better Nether pain than losing Yggdrasil

Randidly did notice however that the ivory lock was now over halfway corroded And now that most of the structure was damaged it was further corrupted much more easily by his Nether energy Quite soon Randidly believed he would be able to see what was within the trunk he had carried out of the Fate armory based solely on a feeling

Then his focus narrowed to the elaborate weaving of Nether that appeared in his hands The base of anti energy spiraled calmly together Feeling strangely inspired Randidly wove it more tightly than usual creating a branching root system of Nether that would ground the Nether Ritual Then he spun the Nether upward in a thick trunk to cover the distance between them With a smile Randidly regarded the small omage to the Nether Ritual�s target

Congratulations Your Skill Nether RItual has grown to Level 55

As Randidly�s experience with Nether RItuals grew he began to be able to pick out individual differences between the energies and sensations of the rituals as he created them Or rather than the energy it was the flavor that was different Even while only making the Ritual the connection to the target was already partially established Therefore bits of their flavor began to manifest

His experience with reaching through Vye had been extremely illuminating because rather than his ambiguous grasp toward Vualla Randidly had attempted to accomplish something very specific when he reached through Vye So for a few seconds Randidly had been completely aligned with Vye as he accomplished his goal During that time Nether had acted as a conduit to bind the two of them

It had been strange Because although he couldn�t sense Vye�s consciousness itself or images Randidly had swum through Vye�s memories as they were connected by the Ritual

It was a far different way of sensing another than what Randidly was used to But Randidly could begin to see how memories were the inverse of image Or the seed of images Or the price of images Which had given Randidly a weird sense of insight toward what actually happened when Aether and Nether met

Aether and Nether were two sides of a coin An image came from memories memories were born from the continual growth of an image Yet when Aether and Nether typically met each other there was a sharp dissonance as it became obvious that the Aether and Nether present were from different coins� The images and memories that formed them were not complimentary

So Nether denied the image�s memories while Aether denied the memory�s direction So both hissed and spat themselves out of existence by denying each other with every bit of their energy

Which did beg the question was it then possible to have Aether and Nether in harmony

For a brief moment Randidly�s focus turned toward the true Nether core that he now possessed Perhaps someday

Then his focus turned back to the Nether Ritual Very quickly the image of the frontlines resolved before Randidly He was relatively relieved to see that Yggdrasil was still in Lady Iellaya�s camp but there were several facts about the picture that Randidly saw that gave him pause

First Abiodun was standing next to the hunched over form of Yggdrasil The two were in a long and dimly lit tent lined with low cots

Second even though the Nether Ritual Randidly could feel the tang of Nether in the air It wasn�t strong but it was much stronger than Randidly would have expected even on the front lines And the visual effects of the Great Rift meant that the whole tent around them seemed to be buzzing

Third and finally shadowy and blood covered figures lined the costs on the ground in front of Yggdrasil as he bent over them It was clear from the energies around Yggdrasil�s branches that he was pouring energy into these wounded figures in order to heal them And the real kicker that all of these people possessed physical bodies and weren�t simply images

I suppose there is no reason that Yggdrasil can�t heal the images of people with bodies But if all these people are injured Things on the front line took a turn for the worst

When Yggdrasil leaned back from the patient he was tending Abiodun spoke quietly to him Even if you truly can help us recover our fighting strength there is no time Lady Iellaya is stalling but Lord Miln won�t wait forever

I appreciate your candor As Yggdrasil spoke Randidly�s heart broke to hear how weary his voice was But there was iron in the tree�s spine as he straightened Which is why my answer remains the same Agree to give me over once it is confirmed that the Grim Chimera image has perished There is no other way

Chapter 1110

Abiodun�s eyes glowed and faded slowly as he considered Yggdrasil�s words if we do so you will really agree to cooperate You will help Lady Iellaya with her project

Yes It will be difficult alone but I believe I will be able to craft a large enough Class to support the whole of the potential your lady has gathered to herself given enough time to prepare Yggdrasil nodded slowly When Abiodun pressed his mouth together and didn�t respond Yggdrasil couldn�t resist releasing a chuckle

Suddenly you feel remorse over an unfair deal I�m surprised at you Abiodun I had assumed you were more cutthroat than this Have you not been very involved in Lady Iellaya�s recruitment

Abiodun barred his broad and flat stone teeth I will not mourn your death you insubstantial tree But if you agree to support Iellaya I will be forever in your debt Also I worry that this agreement will mean you will be plundered by Lord Miln before you have sufficient time to craft what Lady Iellaya truly desires It is not simply a Class she wishes to be

As one of the wounded patients moaned and shifted onto his side Abiodun fell silent and shook his head

Yggdrasil chuckled again Perhaps better than anyone besides my own physical body I understand the magnitude of what you are asking And you might think it is a risk but it�s a comically safe one to make Both you and Lord Miln are underestimating the Grim Chimera It was designed to endure through the fickle attentions of individuals like Lord Miln and Lady Iellaya As long as there is a way to objectively determine if the Grim Chimera remains alive it is a good course of action to accede to Lord Miln�s demands

Frowning Abiodun slowly inclined his head the process used to extract images from a physical body is extremely intricate Especially in a case like yours where there were three discrete images present The array must constantly remain active to keep the images from naturally returning to the body and that array can be used to ascertain the general status of an image

Well then We have ourselves a deal Yggdrasil said simply as he moved on to the wounded body on the next palette After a few seconds of furious study Abiodun turned away from Yggdrasil and strode rapidly out of the tent to leave the tree to its work

Randidly hummed softly to himself as he continued to watch Yggdrasil focus his attention on the task of guiding his image into the bodies of these people to heal their images directly So what Lady Iellaya wants is basically a vast Class Based on Abiodun�s tone there is some other factor at play but that desire certainly makes a certain amount of sense

If Classes are a prayer to become the ideal version of yourself the ideal� Lady Iellaya currently possesses is an individual And even as she has stolen the potential and images of others to try and move closer to that goal but its still an individual goal What she wants now is to become not just an individual but an entire Kingdom Which would likely possess a much more powerful ideal version of itself waiting down the line

Finally hearing this goal of Lady Iellaya�s did quite a bit to alleviate Randidly�s worries about Yggdrasil�s fate After all Randidly was uniquely poised to help Lady Iellaya achieve something like this Despite the differences in power between Lord Miln and himself Randidly possessed the tools to give Lady Iellaya exactly what she wanted

Which was not a common thing and would explain Lady Iellaya�s previous fascination with his ability to survive

This stated goal might be a lie of course But it at least revealed something about Lady Iellaya�s focus that Randidly didn�t know before Even if it was a distraction there would be something in it that Lady Iellaya really wanted

For a while Randidly continued to watch Yggdrasil gently treating the wounded individuals But ultimately it didn�t give him much more information on what was occurring on the front lines For that sort of information

The Grim Chimera shivered He hadn�t used Nether Ritual to look at Vualla since he had vaguely reached out to reassure her Randidly didn�t even know if it had any effect So as he closed down the Nether Ritual for Yggdrasil he once more conjured his extremely poignant memories of Vualla to establish a connection

Memory and connection Randidly reflected as he wove the ritual together Those are the things that embody Nether

Then the picture appeared and Randidly focused on the figure of Vualla before his eyes

Vualla awkwardly wiped blood from her mouth with her large iron gauntlets Unfortunately what she really accomplished was spreading a large amount of mud across her jaw that made the itching of her face even worse Hissing her breath out of her nose Vualla pressed her eyes closed and did her best to control the tightly leased fury bubbling inside of her

I�m so fucking tired

But then there was another Nether Beast in front of her and Vualla could only let her hands drop back into a fighting stance as she opened her eyes to face it Her will narrowed to the sharp blade of a sword and her azure eyes began to glow With the steadily accumulated intent Destroy

Her will descended and the visual cues of the surrounding area stilled for a split second as the weight of her Willpower simply overwhelmed the instability caused by Nether A gauntlet shot forward The Nether Beast was eradicated to nothing along with its two companions that followed along behind it

Even if the surrounding area was now clear Nether Beasts continued to steadily march forward toward the overworked defensive line around the camp After the Nether Beasts in front of her disappeared Vualla huffed out a breath and turned to a Nether Beast that was clamoring up of the rocky terrain to attack the camp

After a brief hesitation Vualla raised her fist and marshaled her will once more But instead of using the focus that Cail Tweocs recommend she use Vualla tried something else Protect

She punched The Nether Beast staggered but it quickly regained its posture and continued to scuttle toward Vualla Frowning she tried again The shape of the desire was awkward but Vualla put everything she had behind it

We are connected Randidly

This time a huge chunk was taken out of the Nether Beast�s shoulder Her will had come together well but it was still insufficient to cut Vualla punched again and put the Nether Beast out of its misery then turned fo find another whole beast that she could test her edge against

I will wait for you

The top half of the Nether beast seemed to dematerialize before Vualla�s eyes Its legs continued forward for several steps then collapsed backward and began to disintegrate A better result but still not enough Still nowhere near as powerful as the raw and dangerous focus of destroy� Which Vualla supposed was why Cail was constantly pushing her toward focusing her mind toward her destructive impulses

After fifteen more minutes of fighting Vualla sat down on a cracked and scorched rock and looked out over the battlefield It wasn�t that the attack had really ended they were near constant now but the bulk of the Nether forces appeared to have died If the Aether forces wanted to reestablish themselves they needed to act now

Fellow soldiers were slowly spreading out across the wrecked ground and began searching for wounded to carry back to the camp proper Vualla�s gaze shifted back toward the center of camp where her father continued to frantically command and prepare his camp as wave after wave of Nether Beasts continued to invade

But even if I have to become a weapon that can only destroy I at least can remember why it is I need to destroy And as long as I don�t lose that Vualla�s features softened and a fragile smile flickered to life on her face Father I won�t end up like you I won�t let people who are important me fade to nothing but memories

Then the smile was gone and Vualla forced herself to her feet After almost eight hours of constant fighting she needed to get to walking so she could make it back to the far side of the front line in time for her daily training session with Cail Tweocs And although Cail didn�t care how she spent her time away from him there would be hell to pay if she was even a second late to a training session

Is the Xyrt Brigade really such a big deal if you have the spare time to stand around and just train one possible recruit for all this time Vualla thought rather grumpily And if it�s such a big deal why is it that I�ve never heard of it before Although everyone I ask about it seems to be aware of it

Despite her sour attitude Vualla quickly accelerated to make it back to Commander Terith�s camp in time for the training session But while she moved she didn�t stop looking around at the surroundings Her mouth firmed into a grim line The most obvious point that was continually reinforced as how disparate the current status of the camps was due to the Nether�s repeated attacks

The camps on the periphery her father�s and Lady Iellaya�s had been constantly inundated by floods of Nether Beasts for the past week or so To the point that even most of the conservative Commanders set up in the interior of the defensive line were confused by why such a thing was happening Very rarely did Nether launch ground assaults like this where they simply sent Nether Beasts to attack camps Even more rarely while a screening of Aether Keys was in effect

And perhaps the greatest source of concern was the number of Nether Beasts It was acknowledged that the Nether Beasts were more numerous than the superior Aether soldiers but the current flood of beasts was preposterous It was like Nether had somehow been able to double the size of its army overnight And at this point it was just content to spend some of the numerical advantages to whittle down the Aether camps

Still from what Cail had told Vualla Lord Miln had been firm and confident in front of the worried Commanders And as most of the most grievous losses were away from their camps the majority supported Lord Miln�s decision to wait out this desperate offensive ploy�

But Vualla couldn�t support waiting at all For every life lost at her father�s camp all Vualla could think of was her brothers walking out and dying on these very same fields And she had no doubt that her father would think the same thing Her memory of the man was distant but she had been always told there was a certain sort of romantic imagination to him It was by this token that he had won the heart of Vualla�s mother who was widely agreed to be one of the most beautiful women in the Nexus

That imagination combined with her father�s almost savant like capability to recognize patterns on the battlefield meant that he would see the scenes of his sons dying would be repeated before his gaze ad nauseum His heart would be ground slowly down to nothing After spending so many years refusing to even visit home Vualla wondered how much her father had left to lose

Which is why we cannot wait What we need is the capability to eradicate the Nether RIght now Vualla�s eyes burned so brightly that the azure shifted more toward an eery seafoam green And if I have to become a weapon of destruction to accomplish that so be it

Chapter 1111

Randidly closed the Nether Ritual with a twist of his mouth

The Vualla he had witnessed through the Nether Ritual was a slightly different one than he was used to seeing Some part of him was almost numb with shock to see her so positively murderous but another part of him tried to justify it by saying that he truly hadn�t known her for very long

Gone were the bright laughter and sudden smiles Even if she had always been someone inclined to violence the large swathe of kindness he had seen in her previously was conspicuously absent What was left was a grim faced Vualla that had brooded and stared out over a chaotic battlefield before stoically walking back toward her camp

There had been a brief moment that Randidly had seen the same Vualla that had seized his attention For a split second it was like the mask she wore split open and she smiled out toward the world despite the deep wounds that she bore by being vulnerable in this fucked up world But then the mask was back The Vualla he knew seemed suddenly so distant

Still Randidly could understand why she was reacting like this The vast assault of Nether Beasts that Randidly had witnessed was staggering to say the least Perhaps a hundred thousand of the horrible creatures had crawled out of the Great Rift and assaulted the camp of Vualla�s father And even if each of Vualla�s punch could destroy one or two Nether Beasts the numbers meant that casualties continued to pile up around her as she helplessly swung her arms

But still seeing her like this after she said those things about cultivating the part of ourselves that has the drive to use the power we are accumulating Randidly clenched his teeth did my support not reach her This version of her seems like she�s completely forgotten the why of fighting

Such thoughts led the Grim Chimera on a tormenting emotional rollercoaster that he was not well equipped to handle Randidly was no great hand at unpacking recent emotional baggage either so he reverted to the tried and true method he had gotten by with his entire life setting it aside and planning to revisit it later

At the very least observing Vualla for a time had given Randidly quite a bit of understanding regarding the current state of affairs on the frontlines The grip of something was tightening on that area although it was difficult for Randidly to understand the shape of it From the beginning Lord Miln�s movements didn�t make much sense to Randidly but Randidly didn�t for a second believe that meant that Lord Miln didn�t have a plan in the works

Randidly could only refine his power and hope that he was a small piece in the man�s plans not the main goal But if Randidly had been the main goal Lord Miln likely would have taken a more direct route to killing him rather than hanging him out here with this Aether Key

Anyway knowing there was little he could do to help the frontlines freed Randidly�s attention somewhat up to refocus on the Earth�s issues It was strange to have been so swayed by Vualla�s bold statement that the passion to use power was just as important to cultivate as power itself and then have her to abruptly become so grim and serious but he still agreed with those sentiments

And I hope her current hard edges are a result of circumstances not from a change of heart Randidly thought bitterly It is hard to have faith without any evidence of your belief

This time when he began conjuring the Nether Ritual his target was Tatiana As the day to day decision maker behind Kharon and Erickson Steel Tatiana would be much more connected to the broader sentiment in the new Zone than Vye had been In addition a non insignificant portion of Randidly was curious about how the functioning of Kharon itself was going He had spent quite a bit of time creating the Levelable Engraving that fueled the city so Randidly had a somewhat personal stake in checking up on it

Releasing a breath Randidly forced his heart rate to slow as Tatiana�s familiar form sitting in her office formed in the RItual Very soon Randidly settled in to watch

Tatiana limbs tingled as she considered the woman opposite her across her desk Felicia Melbourne had been prior to a few months before the System�s arrival Tatiana�s best friend and a pretty ambitious player at the Department of Education Immediately prior to the System�s arrival Felicia had become Tatiana�s most recent and most confusing ex after a relationship of being undermined and dismissed

We have Levels now Felicia cooed That�s fascinating What Level are you Tati

Fifty Six Tatiana replied stiffly

Like many individuals who Tatiana hadn�t been able to find in Zone 1 after the System arrived a part of Tatiana believed Felicia had died or was a part of one of the many Zones that never would pass the Raid Dungeon Perhaps because her feelings toward Felicia were largely unsettled it was quite easy to set those emotions to the side and write her off as gone forever

Monsters too Felicia mused as she dragged her fingers across the wooden armrests I think I saw someone kill a dinosaur on the way over

Of course this woman being gone was more of a fantasy than the System Because in one of the most recent missions the Order Ducis took on to save individuals newly freed up from the rapidly expanding borderlands Felicia had been part of the group that was considered to have high potential and was brought back to Kharon to be interviewed in more detail

And Tatiana objectively agreed that Felicia possessed a lot of the traits that they were looking for in recently freed refugees But

Titiana licked her lips and tried to decide what to say After experiencing a physical jolt after seeing Felicia in the crowd of refugees she had given the order to have Felicia brought up to her office They had hugged like old friends when Felicia realized who she was meeting greeting Tatiana with that same magical gaze that had seemed electric early on in their relationship

Yet now no words would come to Tatiana Instead she simply watched Felicia play with the rather large amount of moss spirits that gathered curiously around her Tatiana couldn�t help but smile Felicia always had a way with animals

So Felicia cupped her hands and the moss spirits filled her palms it like they were liquid Then Felicia twisted her hands and threw the spirits upward For their part the floating green lights were happy to erupt into sudden dance The world is like a video game now

Grateful for finally finding an appropriate topic Tatiana nodded It�s a bit of an oversimplification to say so but yes There are now similar systems in place to what you would see in role playing games Stats Classes Skills that sort of thing

And the monsters Felicia chuckled It feels like I�m in Lord of the Rings Are their magic rings and elves

Tatiana sighed Yes there is magic everything now

After a few moments of silence Felicia began to fidget Then she blurted out Are you strong Like you have a lot of Stats or a high Level or whatever

After blinking Tatiana began to laugh Oh yes this was the Felicia that she knew Always quick on the uptake and even quicker to identify the person in the room who was in charge The walk to the penthouse suite and the rich decor of Tatiana�s office wouldn�t have escaped her notice Well I�m not the strongest Most of my Skills are geared toward management But strong enough yea Why

Well I�m just wondering like how strong you are How strong everyone is now you know It�s just such an abstract thing Felicia shrugged

Struck by a sudden impulse Tatiana stood from her chair and walked around to stand in front of Felicia Felicia straightened as he approached but otherwise just watched Tatiana curiously like a cat that was ready to take offense And Tatiana reached out grabbed the wooden armrests of Felicia�s chair and lifted the woman up into the air

Honestly it wasn�t even that hard to do

Wow Felicia watched Tatiana in fascination as she continued to hold Felicia up without apparent effort Then Felicia slowly turned around ran her fingers over the flexing muscles of Tatiana�s forearms Only after examining Tatiana�s arms for several more seconds did Felicia flash a smoldering smile That�s kinda hot

Feeling exhausted for a very different reason than the physical exertion Tatiana set Felicia back down and walked around her desk once more Suddenly Tatiana wondered if it was such a good idea to bring Felicia here for a personal chat She really was so busy And soon she would need to make a decision over whether to send someone from the Order Ducis to help catch whoever was committing the gruesome bloodless murders

Then Felicia spoke and her question took Tatiana by surprise

Who is Randidly Ghosthound

I�m surprised you already have heard his name Tatiana said slowly Then she shrugged Perhaps it wasn�t so strange But to hear Felicia say Randidly�s name now it was like her two lives were colliding with each other Seeing Felicia wreathed by moss spirits it was extremely surreal He�s our leader

Like the mayor of this town This place really looks like it�s something out of a fantasy novel Felicia replied as she gestured and the moss spirits spun to follow her gestured commands Felicia�s eyes crinkled at the corners as she clearly enjoyed the control

Like she always did

Tatiana snorted looking away from the almost sadistic gleam in Felicia�s eyes No not the mayor We aren�t very governmental And wait until you see the city when it moves It has these giant legs

Interrupting Tatiana with a look in her eye that was oh so familiar Felicia continued All I�m saying is that its weird how everyone speaks so highly of him but he left you all to just go somewhere else That�s not really a very enjoyable leader to follow right Besides it seems like you are the one doing all the work But I guess I don�t really understand the situation

That bone deep weariness that Tatiana felt came surging back It�s really been so long for me but it hasn�t been for you has it Felicia

Tatiana leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers You are right you don�t understand Hopefully you someday have the pleasure of meeting him but he�s a very busy man Speaking of which I need

Oh don�t get grumpy Felicia waved her fingers at Tatiana Then she curled up in the wooden chair with all of the arrogance of a spoiled cat and stretched her arms above her head I�m not criticizing your decisions I�m just asking questions I think need to be asked Don�t pretend you haven�t thought the same thing

Felicia Tatiana gritted her teeth

Oh now I�ve made Tati grumpy Felicia made a face Well I can see why you are stressed by this job but that�s no reason to

Felicia

Felicia froze Because when Tatiana spoke she wasn�t just speaking as an individual She was suddenly the individual who had risen to become the de facto leader of Erickson Steel and the one that Randidly Ghosthound trusted implicitly Despite the fact that Felicia had spent several months talking to Tatiana just like this telling her she shouldn�t need to sell herself so cheaply to the Washington politicians in a way that should have been a compliment but really just made Tatiana feel like shit Felicia didn�t know her any longer

When the world changed and the System arrived everyone had a choice Change or die

Tatiana had changed The System gave weight to things that had been insubstantial before so now when Tatiana glared at this woman who had been such a negative influence on her life Felicia couldn�t even move That was what it meant that Tatiana had lived in the System for the past two years

You Felicia tried to begin but her voice was a small and weak thing She was trembling still shocked by the sudden steel that Tatiana had shown so it was quite easy to speak over her

We should catch up later Tatiana said with a fake smile But for now I�ll have to ask you to join the other new arrivals We have some experienced staff that will help explain some of the rules of this new world that you should listen to

Just like Randidly Ghosthound had things that only he could do there were things that only Tatiana could do as well The very reason that the Ghosthound was freed up to leave Kharon was that he had absolute faith in Tatiana to manage things while he was gone Such was the breadth of capability that the most powerful man in the world held no qualms with leaving her to manage things while he was gone

Tatiana gave Felicia one last razor sharp smile I wouldn�t want you to make a mistake you would regret Our new world is not as forgiving as the old one

Chapter 1112

After watching Tatiana handle most of the day to day necessities of Erickson Steel Randidly returned to his small shed on the island of Aether and chuckled for several minutes to think of the way that Tatiana had handled this individual from her past Randidly understood very well how difficult it was to have been transformed by the System and somehow expect the people from the old world to understand So much had changed that couldn�t be communicated with words

The strange wonder and horror of the System was something that needed to be experienced first hand

However Randidly�s amusement was very quick to ebb away and leave him slightly exhausted Although he definitely trusted Tatiana to keep a handle on things seeing her work gave Randidly a much more concrete idea about the status of Earth

Seeing the rising numbers related to stress tests done on metals made Randidly feel that at least the quality of steel was increasing but watching Tatiana also revealed reports on sickness and unconsciousness in the wake of the Eidolon Crucible It was treated as a minor thing that would quickly pass but Randidly felt not a little guilt due to the face that he had caused the sickness and benefited materially from that sickness

Every time they went unconscious Randidly probably grew stronger

Just like had been perhaps more wounded than he had expected by giving away a portion of his image to the image stone of the Order Ducis it was not without cost to claim a tribute of image from the people of Kharon when he was victorious And perhaps Randidly would have reconsidered his position on the Skill had he not noticed a line in the reports that had done a lot to alleviate his worries

Confirming prior hypothesis only 12% of those currently affected by Image Anemia were afflicted during the prior Eidolon Crucible Only 1% of all recorded cases have experienced Image Anemia more than twice It appears that the image reforms more steadily after being fully depleted �

I already accepted that I would lead you all through hell to become the demons to tear down the System Randidly pressed his eyes closed This is just another Path you need to tread in order to grow strong Even if you hate me for it it�s better than dying without being able to accomplish anything

Shaking his head Randidly checked in on his own condition after the extended Nether Ritual Although some of the pain was back it appeared that his true Nether core was doing much better at regulating the energy that he was throwing off into the air In addition Randidly was pleased to find that he was very nearly finished cutting through the ivory lock that sealed the trunk containing his second Fate

Some part of him felt a thrill of excitement about that but then Randidly winced and had to turn his attention inward to regulate the burning energy that the Fate blade he already ingested was flooding his body with Although that energy would eventually be absorbed into his image body in the meantime it would hurt like being slowly devoured by poisonous fire ants

The sad truth was that the heat didn�t decrease much once it was absorbed into his image body but it was still better than nothing In addition Randidly had been carefully monitoring any changes from absorbing the energy but the Fate blade seemed perfectly willing to continue to give over its power freely with no more contamination to him than the heat

But because of the reminder Randidly�s enthusiasm for forcing open the chest was somewhat dampened It would be slowly depleted by all the ambient Nether that he threw off now that it had degraded to this point Instead Randidly focused his attention inward and continued his ongoing attempts to remember the exact pattern needed to create pseudo Nether cores

Every time that Randidly felt that he was coming close there would be a weird moment of inertia and then he would lose the delicate balance required to form the fake cores But at the moment the fake cores were the only way that Randidly knew to form a true Nether core And after seeing how much the true Nether core changed his raw Nether power and his ability to manipulate Nether he dearly desired more

Even if he didn�t need Nether to burn through the ivory lock Randidly still wanted to burn away the Aether Key�s vast amount of Aether and return to help at the front lines

So while Randidly allowed his body to slowly take some more time to acclimate to the presence of Nether running alongside the Aether in his veins he carefully began work trying to get the fake core to condense so he could fill it in with the abundant Nether that filled him Which Randidly was annoyed to notice was extremely difficult to due while the Fate blade continued to flood his body with more energy when he wasn�t actively conveying his will to the Fate to slow down its energy expulsion

But I suppose it�s good I�m not trying to cope with all these things while also fighting against Nether Beasts or Lord Miln Randidly thought with a sigh But after the name Lord Miln crossed his mind all Randidly could remember is Lord Miln�s sneer as he asked Lady Iellaya to sell out Yggdrasil so Randidly�s body would be completely devoid of images

Well as long as Ignition Essence is doing well Randidly thought with a twinge of panic Then he shook his head He needed to keep his focus on what he could do right now If he had the room to experiment with his Nether abilities he needed to do it now rather than worrying so he wouldn�t regret it later

Randidly was still too small a figure on these cosmic battlegrounds He needed to rapidly strengthen his foundations so he wasn�t so constantly at the mercy of the very powerful Commanders that populated the battlefields

Especially with the constant attacks being launched against the border camps including Lady Iellaya�s Even if Randidly somehow overcame Lord Miln and reclaimed his body he would still be just as dead if he were obliterated by a rampaging horde of Nether Beasts And the Nether Beasts wouldn�t care at all about his careful images or the value of his body that contained the Alpha Cosmos It just wanted to destroy Aether

There were plenty of ways Randidly could choose to die And it was a very thin Path that Randidly walked to survive

So he trained Time began to pass more quickly as Randidly quickly found a pattern to his days First training his Skills that he had access to in his partial main body incarnation Then some time spent trying to condense the false Nether cores Finally Randidly would use Nether abilities he was slowly growing to understand in order corrode the surrounding Aether directly and passively working on the lock

Although the ivory lock was basically almost destroyed Randidly�s attention was mostly directed toward depleting the Aether Key and managing the Fate blade he had already ingested Based on the steady stream of energy that continued to flow from the dull grey blade Randidly could sense that he wasn�t in danger of depleting it anytime soon There was quite a bit more than he could absorb within its mysterious metal depths

And this was just ambient energies of the blade Randidly hadn�t even gotten near the cores images that had formed it yet He had a long way to go

Then after practicing with his energies for a full 24 hours Randidly would open up a Nether RItual and watch someone for 8 hours of their time and restart his two day cycle Mostly he focused on Vualla and Yggdrasil as they continued to endure the brutal attacks of a constant flood of Nether Beasts He could see wariness building in the expressions as their postures continued to strain underneath the weight of their responsibilities

Yggdrasil�s generosity was put to the test time and time against as more and more people in Lady Iellaya�s camp learned of his ability to help alleviate image damage Yet to the Grim Chimera�s clenched teeth shock Yggdrasil never turned anyone away If anything he continued to push himself harder and harder in order to make a difference where he could

The emerald leaves of Yggdrasil began to fade and look positively wilted as he constantly pressed his image to the limits of what it could endure Yet Randidly could not find fault with Yggdrasil not after he had done similarly dangerous things as the Grim Chimera It left him feeling rather suffocated

Vualla was even more aggravating to watch Most of her time was either spent alone fighting against Nether Beasts or enduring the constant physical and verbal abuse of Cail Tweocs She began silent and unreadable often leaning forward to allow the veil of her azure hair to fall across her features while maintaining her silence As Cail harassed her she simply endured

When Randidly didn�t look at either of those two people he watched Earth and remember exactly why he was willing to sacrifice so much time and effort to protect this planet He watched Donny and Dozer continually serving as an example of exemplary leadership by example He watched Mrs Hamilton making frantic preparation for the next World Summit He watched Simon sleep but with the Nether RItual he could follow the line of the human turned Champions dreams to witness the entire Zone reacting to the sudden threat of Zone 1�s weapon

Randidly�s gaze moved to Hank Howard who was ruthlessly rushing after the trail of bodies sucked dry of blood in the newly arrived Zone 19 His understanding of Earth grew His gaze grew solemn

As days turned to weeks and then months Randidly began to finally have some consistent success with creating fake Nether cores It was still a delicate trick to pull off but once Randidly had it happen once it quickly happened twice Within a week of his first success he now had the four fake Nether cores he needed and he tried to push his energy to the next level

At least that was the plan It quickly became apparent that the true Nether core had too much of a stabilizing influence over the Nether so he needed more fake cores to get the energy to reach the requisite density and instability to condense into one whole

So Randidly created two additional cores before finally succeeding at condensing a second true Nether core with six fake ones and feeling his ability to work with Nether skyrocket once again

Now however the density of Nether that was swirling through his body became a problem With all of the ambient energy the delicate balance he had gradually got the hang of for creating the false cores was thrown off Randidly was forced to start the learning curve from the bottom which was not a little frustrating

In addition the Fate blade was deeply suspicious of the increase in Nether density and behaved erratically for quite some time Even as Randidly did his best to reassure it the intermittent consciousness of the Fate blade wasn�t interested in his excuses It was much more directly concerned with Nether

And what really bothered Randidly was that the Fate blade between burning rage and a subdued relief at the possibility of its existence ending Randidly could only shake his head and spend quite a few days working on his control of Nether so it wasn�t such a problem

Then after Randidly believe he had reached an equilibrium Randidly confronted a fear that was building in his heart that his father Ezekiel was the one who was committing the bloodless murders

With a tired expression Randidly wove together a Nether Ritual and studied the scene that appeared in front of him

Chapter 1113

Ezekiel sat completely still and savored the feeling of the shade of a wide oak tree against his skin and his back pressed against the pitted bark of the trunk Those sensations helped separate him from what he was here for Below him on a low hill was a rather quaint looking log cabin with smoke wafting upward from the chimney in puffy gasps

Aside from the wind running its fingers through the foliage on the tree lined hills there was no other movement in front of Ezekiel as he fixed the cabin with his intense gaze Almost reflexively Ezekiel activated his Eyes of Avarice that would let him see what were the likeliest Skills he would earn by killing someone Unfortunately they could not pierce through physical objects So Ezekiel could only wait

The familiar hunger of his Class gnawed at Ezekiel�s stomach but he had endured the constant need to feed for so long that this relatively shallow iteration of the hunger that defined his current life that he didn�t even respond His eyes remained trained on the house below waiting for some proof that he was right

Are you sure this is the right place

Ezekiel glanced sideways at the man named Ace who was reclining with a lazy arrogance against a pile of leaves It was doubly aggravating because Ace didn�t care at all about the answer to the question Ezekiel�s tanned and muscled companion only asked because he knew how much it bothered Ezekiel

Yes Ezekiel said shortly The few short seconds of looking at Ace with his Eyes of Avarice had returned the answer Brutality Mastery Level 170 Steel Grip Level 101 and Savor Pain Level 122 Ezekiel quickly turned away from Ace It was always something of a shock to look at Ace and constantly different Skills It just spoke to the depth of power that Ezekiel�s companion possessed Better by far for Ezekiel�s nerve to focus on the task at hand

Based on their calculations their only chance to catch this very valuable quarry was here They had already waited for several hours and soon it wouldn�t be worth it to remain But Ace was determined to strike here These days Ezekiel rarely went more than several hours without eating and he wouldn�t have even considered this mission if he hadn�t been tempted by the payment that Ace had offered for his very peculiar assistance

And even if Ace was blatantly ignoring all of Ezekiel�s attempts to remain stealthy there was a reason that Ezekiel didn�t bother to reprimand Ace A very straightforward and primal one

Ezekiel had already discovered to his horror that Ace was stronger than him

It had been months since Ezekiel had last missed a meal and had his Stats decreased from the side effect of his Class Combining his maintained Stats with the high Level Skills that Ezekiel had been able to gain with his daily kills he had grown into something of a monstrous all rounder He didn�t often start fights that he wasn�t confident of winning but there weren�t many individuals that Ezekiel encountered these days that triggered his Danger Sense Quite like his son Randidly Ezekiel Ghosthound had walked the Path of having so many Skills that he wasn�t too concerned about what his opponent did

Although admittedly their similar styles were due to very different reasons

Even as Ace was about to open his mouth and let out another lazy needling comment the door to the cottage opened and both men�s gazes both sharpened A tall woman with short red hair walked out of the cabin and twisted her torso lazily as if to crack her back

Ace chuckled darkly Ezekiel looked at her with sad eyes She is so young Is she the one that

Don�t think about it Ace rumbled lightly Better to play it safe Just think about her The greatest healer of Zone 19 one of the three people of the original twenty that survived the journey into the Raid Dungeon

Clenching his hands Ezekiel tried to speak again If we wait

We need the assistance of those Skills of hers Ace�s eyes flicked sideways to Ezekiel There was almost something like amusement there Are you thinking of backing out

And what comes after you will handle it Ezekiel whispered as he closed his eyes Too much had happened since the System arrived He had made too many decisions that he couldn�t escape from Although he tried his best to keep his hands clean it was impossible The world constantly pushed him toward darkness He needed to kill to survive

How long had it been since Ezekiel had really considered starving himself so other people didn�t need to die

A while

Obviously Ace pounded his chest with a hand There aren�t many people on Earth who can last long in a fight against me If things go South I�ll take care of it Have some faith will you

Ezekiel slowly nodded his head And no sooner had he agreed than the woman began walking down the low slope of the hill toward the treeline below Both men slowly got to their feet and began to make their way down their own slope to meet her among the trees Based on the research they had done over the past two days there was a thin stream hidden amongst the trees that was the woman�s most likely destination

And if this healer was to be murdered the stream was the best place for the killer to strike

These days the highest combat Skill that Ezekiel had taken was Axe Mastery so he flexed his hand and instinctually produced a steel ax from his interspatial watch Ezekiel couldn�t help but spare Ace a glance and inwardly sighed as he watched the only preparatory action that the young man took was to remove his motorcycle helmet and hold it under his arm as they wove amongst the trees

To Ezekiel�s relief Ace at least was utilizing a high Level Sneak Skill in order to move through the brush toward the stream Which combined with their high Agility Stats meant that both had arrived at the edge of the stream with time to watch the woman�s form winding its way down the game trail toward them

She wore jeans and a dark green linen shirt providing a stark contrast for her cherry red hair Her eye catching head was like a fishing floater bobbing through the green underbrush sinking down toward the stream

Ready Ace said but there was none of his usual amusement in his tone It seemed that most of the teasing indulgent Ace had faded away leaving only the frosty monster that lurked within his core His eyes were flinty and grey as he considered the woman approaching the stream

Ezekiel straightened and tightened his grip on his ax as he looked at Ace again almost reflexively activating Eyes of Avarice This time Ezekiel saw Overriding Will Level 199 Audacious Charge Level 76 and Savor Pain Level 122 Idly Ezekiel wondered whether his eyes told him what he would currently get or just gave a few possible options

And then there was a soft splash and both Ezekiel and Ace were surging to motion

Roaring Ace ripped forward as the stream between them and the woman turned an increasingly dark shade of red By the time that Ace reached the stream and leapt across the waterway the liquid in the surrounding area was the crimson shade of blood As Ace was blurring across the meandering waterway the liquid began to bubble and seeth

The woman for her part reacted surprisingly well Her eyes quickly widened as she noticed Ace�s rushing form but Ezekiel also saw her take in the sudden shift of the stream She kicked backward creating about five meters of further distance that would give her time to react to these strange new developments Although they had received word that she was a healer she obviously possessed a decent amount of physical Stats to respond so decisively

Likely she had been required to fight on the frontlines in the past

Ezekiel�s eyes flashed Honestly your experience is more of a hindrance than a help when we are trying to save your life Blink

In a flash Ezekiel appeared behind the woman and activated Stunning Grasp Electricity crackled around his claw like hand as he sharply smashed his palm into her back Immediately the woman gasped and staggered forward Narrowing his eyes Ezekiel raised his palm to prepare for another strike her Endurance and Resistance was enough to stay conscious after the first one

But before he could move the foe lurking in the stream made its move As Ace landed on the far bank the same side on which both the woman and Ezekiel now stood a crimson blur cut out of the water and toward Ace�s back

Without a care in the world Ace raised his arms and slipped his helmet over his head Then just as it seemed like he was going to be punctured by the blur Ace�s body contorted and he twisted out of the way Then his hands shot out and grabbed the blur

Sudden Recovery Status Inoculation The woman in front of Ezekiel muttered Ezekiel�s eyes jumped back to her and his mouth twisted in annoyance If she would have just gone down easily we could have begun their escape plan immediately

My my my Ace drawled as he heaved on the limb he had seized and dragged a huge monster out of the stream It was a huge crimson scorpion about the size of a motorcycle Floating above its head was the name Bloodbeast Scorpion Level 50

But again Ezekiel�s wavering focus allowed the woman to spin away and dodge his second Stunning Grasp And when Ezekiel stepped forward and followed up with a third the woman�s arms twined forward in a judo esque move to avoid his attack and throw him This time however Ezekiel was ready Maybe against someone else this would work but against me

Bristling Ferocity

Ezekiel�s body rapidly increased in size to the point that he was about 1 5 times larger than he had been originally As the woman�s hands sought out leverage against him Ezekiel simply smashed into her and sent her stumbling backward The Skill would only last for a few seconds but in that few seconds Ezekiel was rather unmatched in physical contests The opponent would need to be quite a bit stronger

Eh Ezekiel blinked as the woman leaned back as he smashed into her rolling onto her back and kicking him up over her body For a few seconds he was sailing in the air looking back at the woman in shock This his mouth twisted in determination Blink

As the woman rolled back to her feet Ezekiel was standing there waiting his body shrinking back to his normal size Noxious Fumes

Stretching his hand forward he blasted the woman directly in the face with something akin to mustard gas Most would be reduced to a coughing sneezing fit from the direct hit with the Skill but this woman gritted her teeth and used her momentum to continue into another backward roll to open up space between them

Damnit if that Status Inoculation Skill is this powerful I knew I should have spent more time Leveling up my Skills Ezekiel thought bitterly But he had never found it easy to force himself to train not like everyone else Because the Skills he obtained came at high Levels anyway finding the motivation to grind them was a bit

But with the bit of space Ezekiel�s eyes blazed as he activated Eyes of Avarice For a split second he could feel the Skill sinking into the woman and then there was a strange sense of wrongness A notification popped up in front of Ezekiel

Warning Your Skill has failed

Oy not that I want to stop your fight Ace�s voice cut across and dragged Ezekiel�s eyes back to the stream But I think I we were a bit wrong about the reason that this fuck is taking all of the blood from his victims

Ezekiel�s eyes widened as he looked over toward the stream The water had turned maroon by now and crimson forms dragged them out of the water one after another Three especially large bodies already surrounded Ace

Bloodbeast Grizzly Bear Level 53

Bloodbeast Vulture Level 57

Bloodbeast Cannibal Iguana Level 55

But as Ace quickly dodged out of the way of a slash by the Vulture�s talons more room was made for additional Bloodbeasts to crawl up onto the shore At this point there were almost thirty of them lumbering out through the surrounding trees to try and box the people into the area

As Ezekiel was torn with indecision the woman eyed him and then the Bloodbeasts warily

Finally Ezekiel shook his head We need to fall back At least then

Retreat Ha When Ace�s barked out his laughter it was like his voice drummed against the air in a way that sent reverberations throughout the area No We won�t retreat It�s time to drag this fuck out for his reckoning This is proof that he values this woman just as much as we do And he is a fool for taking me so lightly that he doesn�t come out himself to fight

As the Bloodbeasts� focus narrowed to Ace Ace raised his arms and transformed

Come you fodder let me show you why they call me Dauntless The masked man said with such violence that the air shivered in response

Chapter 1114

Lightning Blast Ezekiel yelled A bolt of cobalt electricity forked out of his hand and smashed into the chest of a Bloodbeast Wolf that hopped out of the nearby treeline with gnashing jaws It whined and stumbled to the side giving Ezekiel the chance to follow up with a sharp cut with his ax cutting the skull of the thing in half

Fresh blood began to dribble out of the cleft in the beast�s flesh which would eventually cause the Bloodbeast to shrink but the real problem with these monsters was that they didn�t possess actual bodies Ezekiel wasn�t sure how they were made but the process certainly produced beings that were difficult to put down If he could find the maker and Take those Skills

Just as Ezekiel was raising his ask and working up his noise to strike again the woman was next to him making the sign of the cross and then pointing to the Bloodbeast Rest in Peace

The Bloodbeast hissed and thrashed but the spot where the woman had pointed began to go black Very quickly that black blood turned to ash and flaked away Within a few seconds the Bloodbeast had faded to nothing joining the growing piles of ash that surrounded the two of them

Ezekiel favored the woman with a sidelong glance This woman is obviously important but if I had these Skills it would make everything much easier

The woman noticed Ezekiel�s glance and returned his gaze with obvious venom Still Ezekiel didn�t have any intention to make any move to kill the woman With his Eyes of Avarice an Ancient rated Skill failing to read the woman a lot of Ezekiel�s confidence drained out of him Better to stick to Ace�s plan

A gorilla Bloodbeast that was barreling toward the woman from the side was twisted sideways as she shifted smoothly to meet it The woman rapidly destroyed its momentum and then she kicked the side of its knee so hard that the joint ruptured in a gush of liquid The Bloodbeast collapsed and the woman stepped over the body to continue backing up the path to her cottage with Ezekiel

That made Ezekiel speculate that there was a limit to the number of times she could use the Rest in Peace Skill She certainly seemed pale and exhausted in a way that Ezekiel hadn�t noticed before

Although it was destroyed in the short term the joint was ultimately built with blood It would quickly heal The past ten minutes had been a harsh lesson in how powerful the man behind the murders was and why he had been able to move through the new Zone with impunity They likely would have been overrun if it wasn�t for the woman�s Skill and Ace�s nascent image absolutely overwhelming the Bloodbeasts

Is this really all you can manage Dauntless rumbled disappointment clear in his voice The black visor of the motorcycle helmet was a cruelly reflecting the struggling face of the Vulture Bloodbeast as Dauntless seized its wings and began to pull them apart from its torso Compared to the intimidating wingspan of this Vulture Dauntless was relatively small He could only barely stretch his arms wide enough to grab both of the shoulder joints

Yet Dauntless� grip was heavy in a way that couldn�t just be explained physically it was also energized by the power of images That rumbling and sloshing picture hanging in the air above him made it so that even foes above Level 50 were nothing

The Vulture screeched and thrashed as it tried to shake off Dauntless� grip But very swiftly those screeches devolved into whines as Dauntless physically tore off the wing with a wet thwak that sounded like someone pulling a boot out of deep mud Hot blood sprayed out of the ripped limb covering the surrounding area

The Iguana Bloodbeast righted itself from the crushing elbow Dauntless had smashed it with a few seconds earlier and charged to save its companion from further agony Dauntless simply glanced over his shoulder and brought his leg around in a vicious kick that smashed the Iguana�s face inward Blood spurted out of the Bloodbeast�s skull and drenched Dauntless�s leg Then the masked man calmly turned and faced the headless Grizzly Bear he had already decapitated as it staggered toward him

Weak Dauntless said simply completely covered in blood and surrounded by the dying remnants of the lion�s share of the Bloodbeasts that had attacked them So terribly weak

Behind him Ace�s image was slowly coming into focus It came in fits and starts but now that most of the Bloodbeasts had been dealt with Ezekiel had time to set his feet and consider the shifting color in the air above the distinctive motorcycle helmet

The image that flickered as Dauntless moved was a towering figure of iron bound wood and brackish water As he twisted and stomped down to smash the head of a lesser Bloodbeast that was creeping up behind him Dauntless seemed to be a drowned ship in the sea at night Waves of forced crashed everywhere around him The world he inhabited was characterized by stormy chaos And yet Dauntless was implacable capricious shifting and dangerous Everything that came his way was devoured by the infinite depths of the sea that surrounded leaving him the only enduring entity

Then there was a shift The remaining half dozen or so Bloodbeast cried and began to limp back toward the creek Ezekiel felt an ominous feeling as he looked down at the water of the creek and noticed that it had shifted to become completely black

Heh about damn time Dauntless grinned

Even as Dauntless stepped up to stand before the creek Ezekiel was glancing sideways at the woman who was slowly backing away Stay We cannot protect you if you leave our side And I doubt that those monsters would have much hesitation to strike while you are alone

Protect me Is that why you attacked me earlier To protect me The woman asked sarcastically But at the very least she did stop moving away Reminding her of the threat was likely much more helpful to them now than trying to force her to stay with violence Ezekiel held the woman�s gaze until she looked down at the ground with gritted teeth allowing her hair to swing forward and block her face

Well yes I never said we were gentle people Ezekiel turned around right in time to see a figure emerging from the water To Ezekiel�s surprise the man was extremely old Although his slick backed hair was still black his face was lined and wrinkled His limbs were covered with liver spots and frail looking Perhaps strangest of all he was sitting in a wheelchair made entirely of bone pushed out of the stream by a humanoid Bloodbeast that was such a dark red that it appeared almost black

The man�s gaze was a pure chilling blue Hovering in the air behind the man much more condensed than any Ezekiel had ever seen was a vivid image of a wan looking man with a long black cloak riding a horse As the man appeared the rider seemed to shiver and then slowly look up toward the waiting trio

You are hunting for me Rather than annoyed the man seemed genuinely curious And yet I could not sense it You used the woman

Dauntless began to laugh and didn�t even acknowledge the man�s question Ahahaha This is too much are you serious I looked and there before me was a pale horse Its rider was named death and all the wild demons of Earth followed behind him � Certainly your horse� is pale but isn�t this a little underwhelming

The man favored the blank featured helmet of Dauntless with a sharp smile You may call me Straud boy No need to be so formal sd to address me as my higher calling I�m only Death to my friends and certainly this is an unexpected meeting How did you learn that I was going to target this woman

Lucky guess Dauntless chuckled

Suddenly Straud�s face creased into a deep frown Don�t assume evading my Skill and you defeating these common beasts will change a single thing boy If I wanted it you would all die without any recourse Such is the mandate I carry And that woman is necessary for my purpose Stand aside and I will let the matter drop

If you truly possessed that sort of power to take life would you try and talk with me Dauntless rolled his shoulders But actually our aims are not entirely opposed If you pledge yourself as a subordinate to me I will let you do whatever you want to the woman

There was a frozen moment as Straud�s eyes widened Even from the distance Ezekiel couldn�t believe how icy blue that gaze was The fury contained there quickly became evident The air around the man chilled Of course Ezekiel was mostly focused on the woman next to him in case she wanted to run away Her glare tightened into something like hatred as she regarded the two men so casually discussing her fate as though she were naught more than chattel

Some part of Ezekiel felt a small urge to reassure her they didn�t think about her that way but he couldn�t bring himself to Ezekiel had killed so many people for simply crossing his path while he was hungry Feeling empathy toward the weak was a luxury he had forced himself to abandon Otherwise

Instead Ezekiel opened his Eyes of Avarice and looked at this Straud The Skills he saw were Bloodbeast Gestation Lvl 301 Blood Syphon Level 212 and Blood Manipulation Level 341 Which were truly the highest Level Skills that Ezekiel had ever seen Yet most of his shock was to the fact that even this strange figure couldn�t stop his Eyes of Avarice in the same way that the woman could

Impudent Straud finally said as he seemed to measure Dauntless before him Raising his hand Straud pointed at the other man Suddenly the imaginary figure riding a pale horse behind him was even clearer than it had been in the past It seemed like there really was a rider there suddenly cantering forward toward Dauntless over the ground and raising a scythe above its head Ezekiel could hear the sound of the horse�s hoofs hitting the muddy ground Those hooves seemed to muffle and suffocate all other noise in the surrounding area

This level of image

But before Ezekiel could even be shocked the image already swung its weapon down toward Dauntless There was a horrible roar torn from Dauntless� mouth as he exploded upward to smash into the blow and then the two forces collided and Ezekiel�s Perception was blinded by the impact

Dauntless was launched backward and crashed into a nearby tree There was a sickening crack as Ezekiel watched Dauntless�s body impact the wide trunk of the tree and bend like a shrimp Then the tree collapsed landing on top of the limp form of Dauntless Ezekiel blinked slowly as he the completely split helmet of Dauntless rolling on the bloody ground

Straud�s cold blue gaze turned toward Ezekiel Now the girl Bring her here or you will be next

How the fuck is his image so strong Ezekiel trembled as he regarded the broken form of Dauntless Even even though I�d heard about how powerful Randidly�s image was but no one else but Randidly had managed to have a condensed image like that How does this man

My patience has already been tested Straud barked out You have three seconds If you do not act

Ah There was a moan from the side and then a limp shadow straightened and shoved aside the tree trunk that collapsed on his body Did you know how furious I was To watch him standing up there burning with an image Standing at the pinnacle of humanity daring challengers to step forward And for me to only be an observer

Some part of Ezekiel had always wondered what face Ace was making under his helmet while he allowed the persona of Dauntless to take over his body And now he saw it Ace�s wide and expressive eyes were completely glassy like that of a taxidermy stag His mouth was open in a slight grin and his tongue was hanging out of it Huge panting breaths had Ace�s shoulders heaving as he stared at Straud with murderous intensity

For his part Straud�s eyes slowly narrowed as he regarded Ace

I should have been on that stage Ace hissed and the air trembled The dark water and unlit ship in Ace�s wavered with the intensity of the words It should�ve been me fighting against him not that pup Alana Only I only we we were best friends We shared and now you are telling me that I get to experience an image almost that powerful Even if its a knock off I�m so happy You have no idea For giving me this experience I�ll remember your name after I�ve crushed your skull

A knock off Straud said coolly Hmph I hope you�ve made your peace boy Accept oblivion

Straud pointed again and the image of the rider cantered forward once more But Ace only threw back his head and laughed I am Dauntless Finally Randidly I�ll be able to see the view that you surveyed from that stage while the ants watched Finally I

The image struck The dark form of the wild sea behind Ace threw itself forward to impact the rider of the pale horse before it swung its scythe Even so the rider didn�t slow in its attack The two images clashed and Ace�s surprising resistance was quickly ripped to shreds The attack sliced downward and cut open a deep gash in Ace�s chest

Ace stumbled backward two staggering steps but he did not fall Instead he laughed again louder and louder as the joy in his chest built toward a crescendo Yes Yes this is it So this is what an image should feel like The weight the density it�s completely different To think Randidly has sharpened himself to this point while I was just

You impudent shit Straud hissed This time when he extended his hand threads of red violet energy seeped forward into the image Very soon the pale rider appeared completely present without any of the usual insubstantiality of an image Fine then I�ll show you why this world will soon be mine

Chapter 1115

Randidly�s jaw dropped That that man is actually empowering his image directly with Aether

It was enough of a shock to see someone with such a firm and detailed image on Earth that was not him Not that Randidly believed he was particularly special but his experience on Tellus gave him a huge advantage in developing an image It was due to that experience that he had seen how problematic Donnyton�s image was and took actions to rectify it

Honestly before Randidly came to the frontlines and spent so much time refining his Willpower he wasn�t sure who would have won in a direct confrontation against this image But that was nothing compared to the shock of seeing that this man possessed the capability to manipulate Aether even if it was the blunt sort of manipulation similar to what the System did so that his Judgement overwhelmed Randidly

Randidly�s gaze sharpened as he looked at this Straud more closely with Aether Detection activated Definitely Aether Does that mean he also possesses an Aether Crossroads Then he might be one of the other experiments supported by the Creature

The more Randidly looked at the man�s cruelty the more it seemed like this connection to the Creature was the only logical explanation for his shocking strength With his mouth pressed into a thin line Randidly�s gaze shifted to Ezekiel and Ace A really strange combination of people and although dad didn�t end up the one who was committing the murders it is also obvious that he�s been killing something to maintain his Stats and gain all these Skills

Then Randidly focused on Ace And you Ace why

Do your worst Ace roared The image behind him roiled and rejoined from its bisected form As it spun a figure of seawater and metal came back with an even more imposing presence Randidly couldn�t help but be impressed to see how much Ace was improving with each strike It really was like every attack he received gave Ace a bit of insight into the power of images that he could make his own

As always Ace�s talent was monstrous Much more than Randidly had ever been his former best friend was something of a genius

Then let�s settle this now Straud said as he poured more Aether into his rider Even through the Nether Ritual Randidly could feel the heavy pressure that radiated off of the image However Randidly also noticed how pale Straud was becoming as he channeled energy into the attack It seemed this process was not costless for him Then we

Ha are you an idiot

Ace hopped lightly backward all of the power in his image dissipating He landed next to Ezekiel who had rapidly activated a Skill with several sharp gestures Ace shook his head sadly at Straud Remember you are just a stand in for the real deal If you won�t serve me Why waste time dealing with you

You Straud was so furious that he spat saliva out with the word But Ezekiel already raised his arms and a strange formation filled the air

Long Distance Teleportation

With a pop Randidly�s focus was dragged after the three as they crossed space and time A half second later they were standing on the rocky beach of an island as waves crashed below and sprayed salt into the air Of the three the woman took the arrival the worst When they suddenly appeared she took a steadying step and stuck her foot into a tide pool

As she was windmilling her arms to keep her balance Ezekiel stretched out and put a steadying hand on her shoulder to help maintain her balance

Get your hand off me The woman said stiffly but it was clear that a lot of her earlier fire was extinguished Looking around she asked And where did you take me

A place that�s safe Ezekiel said We wanted to ask you a favor To help heal someone So

Before Ezekiel could continue Ace swayed and then collapsed Ezekiel had to hop forward and seize the other man so he didn�t fall off of their perch into the water frothing around the rocks below

The woman raised an eyebrow is he the one who needs to be healed

Well not more than you can currently see Then Ezekiel shook his head and gave the woman a firm glance Look I�m not gonna try and hide the fact we want to use you but it doesn�t have to be a one way street I understand that you hold quite a bit of resentment to the sibling duo that currently rules Zone 19 after the actions they took in the Raid Dungeon

For the first time the woman seemed genuinely surprised How did you

Lucky guess Ezekiel said with a sharp smile He heaved Ace over his shoulder and walked next to the woman For now follow me back to our cabin We can rest for a few hours then we can talk business And if you don�t agree I promise on the life of my son that I will take you back to your cabin You can return to face down that Straud all by your own if you want

Randidly�s most twisted at Ezekiel swearing on his life but the woman slowly nodded The two proceeded in silence across the rocky shore toward the interior of the small island which was covered in trees But Randidly had seen enough Both to reassure himself that Ezekiel wasn�t going on a murder spree and that his father had once more given into the temptation of killing in order to survive

As Randidly allowed the Nether Ritual to fade and his heart rate to return to its normal speed he couldn�t help but ask himself if he was truly any different He closed his eyes as the rather fresh memory of Ki Kunot came to him Can I really judge him for killing to remain strong and grow

Perhaps the main body would have more difficulty admitting such a truth but the Grim Chimera was too practical and honestly didn�t care very much about morality to quibble about whether the father son duo was the same sort of immoral Instead Randidly simply sighed and stretched

If he had time to dwell he had time to train

But when Randidly stood he was surprised to find the ivory lock had completely been corroded and fallen to the ground The lines of Aether through the chest had faded to nothing slowly worn away by constant exposure to Nether As Randidly examined the raw physical object of wood he was struck by how fragile it suddenly seemed The wood was clearly worn down by time despite the fact that it had been reinforced by Aether speaking to how exactly how much time it must have seen

For some strange reason the main body�s vehement warning against the strange ancient Aether around Vualla came back to Randidly as he looked down at the chest Likely for some of the same reasons the main body would probably strongly dislike this trunk For Randidly had chosen it mostly because it felt familiar to him

And Randidly did not have many friends within the Nexus Hell he barely had anyone who was ambivalent about him Everyone he encountered wanted to kill him or use him

Taking a deep breath Randidly reached out with his claw and opened the trunk Instantly the Aether in the surrounding area fluctuated as waves of intense imagery spread out and appeared around Randidly Such was the strength of those images that even the Fate blade in Randidly�s chest reacted with heat

It was power in a way that Randidly hadn�t felt except when he had come to the attention of that being that was suspended in a continent of solidified Aether His blood seemed to freeze as the weight of that power spread outward

But like light a sigh escaping an old and empty wallet suddenly there was nothing but the extremely frail seeming trunk Very quickly Randidly�s limbs thawed and he leaned forward to examine the object further The interior was lined with velvet or had been but most of it had disintegrated to curling wisps of fabric due to the passage of time And laying in the center of the trunk was a mahogany brown glove

It was small and leather and didn�t cover the fingers There was also a large hole in the palm that went had a matching hole in the back of the hand As Randidly studied it he could sense absolutely nothing from it And in fact when he gently picked up the leather glove no explanation appeared No power at all seemed to reside in the glove

If he hadn�t felt that sensation earlier Randidly might have been completely fooled

Randidly�s mouth twisted as he used his talons to deftly turn the glove over At least it�s for the right hand so I can wear it and Chulroon�s Chisel at the same time when I recover the main body And perhaps that�s why I don�t see an explanation If I can examine it physically with a body

Even if it was rather useless as long as he wore the Grim Chimera�s body it�s not like Randidly wanted to force the issue and try to absorb the power from another Fate Not when he was constantly struggling to manage the hiltless blade in his chest Sure it generated a lot of Fire Resistance and Pain Resistance Skill Levels but the struggle was starting to wear on Randidly�s nerves

Although perhaps slightly disappointed in its mundane shape Randidly felt that same sensation of familiarity as he stared down at the dark lustrous color of the glove This trunk had saved him from quite a bit of trouble as it randomly rolled out in the Fate armory to give him something to hold onto Was that just a coincidence Somehow this familiarity made Randidly feel like that wasn�t the case

And it was just so damn reassuring Randidly pressed his eyes closed This feeling why couldn�t he place it

Shaking his head Randidly set the glove down reverently back into the trunk and closed the lid He likely would need to absorb it eventually but Randidly didn�t want to forcefully activate it before he needed to Instead Randidly walked outside waved toward Salazar and Zauna then began to practice his Grim Chimera Skills

When he had exhausted himself there he returned to the hut and activated a Nether Ritual checking in on Yggdrasil When Randidly aligned his Perception with his fellow image Yggdasil was meditating in their tent clearly exhausted Sighing Randidly was about to shut down the Nether Ritual when he noticed something else

In the corner of the room Randidly could clearly see the weird orb shelter that Yggdrasil had made for Ignition Essence out of the byproduct of Aether and Nether Focusing on it through the Nether RItual Randidly was surprised to find that it completely blocked off his Perception on what was happening within

Even stranger the orb was riddled with cracks It seemed like the exterior of that strange orb was barely held together

Hang on Ignition Essence Randidly�s heart fluttered He dearly wished he knew how he could help but he couldn�t come up with anything Everyone had their own battles The best way to help Ignition Essence would be to make sure Randidly himself didn�t fall behind by wasting time worrying So Randidly closed that Nether Ritual and prepared to open up another one

For a few seconds he wondered if he should look more at what Ace and Ezekiel were up to but they were just one of a dozen storylines that Randidly had tasted on Earth and was trying to keep track of For today Randidly chose to look deeply at Sam

Chapter 1116

Sam wrinkled his nose as he stirred the cauldron and waited for the impending arrival of the sun over the horizon Timing was extremely important with things like this which was why Sam had prepared for almost two full weeks before he had made this attempt This was the culmination of weeks of work that would hopefully give them the weapon they needed to assist with the rising threat of the Ogre Gorge

Even if a significant percent defected away from the invading forces and snuck through the portal to plead for sanctuary everyone involved knew that there would be spies planted amongst the ogres that were crossing over Yet the combined forces of Zone 1 Donnyton and the Orders didn�t want to start turning individuals away

Well some did It was brought up quite a few times by the insufferable man who led Zone 1�s forces in the area But Donnyton and the Orders agreed that allying with as many ogres as possible was the correct long term strategy Otherwise the ogres would simply fight their way out in order to have access to the abundant Aether of Earth

Instead of closing off their path for sanctuary each of the allied forces made their own preparations for the eventuality they all feared an attack that would result in the ogres gaining a foothold on Earth Once the Earthlings lost the chokepoint of the portal it would be very difficult to capture it again

Sam�s response was to forge a weapon A weapon that could become the keystone of their new defensive efforts Which was why he had spent the last week coming here at dawn to stir the cauldron As the seventh day this one would be the last

Yet the time dragged even after Sam covered his mouth and nose with a rag the entire time he could only look down at the cauldron full of ogre blood and do his best to not breathe deeply This had better be worth it

After seven days in the sun the smell was horrendous And yet somehow it hadn�t occurred to him to manufacture a legitimate mask

Sam was standing in the shade of one of the sharp ridges of the salt flats several miles to the West of the Ogre Gorge Although he had been sent North to help with the enemies from the Epic Dungeon after Alana had dealt with one and Zone 1�s Mjolnir dealt with another a lot of Donnyton�s forces had been diverted to the East to help with the escalating problem of the ogre invasion

Sam fought a little but most of what he did was equip their forces Essentially Earth�s strategy was to maintain an elite force at the portal at all times with a larger group standing ready a larger distance away Therefore fights were usually short and probing as the ogres tried to understand Earth�s defenses

At the moment Sam was trying to equip someone who he had never created a weapon for in the past Specifically the leader of a very special division that had been given Status as an honorary Raid Group under Donnyton�s auspices Which was why Sam was slightly bitter about the presentation now and Mrs Hamilton was quite jolly and insisted on calling Sam�s personal efforts proof of Donnyton�s sincerity �

The first rays of the sun made over the sparkling top of the ridge and began to illuminate the gulley in which Sam worked Sam continued to calmly stir as the warm yellow light of the sun slowly began to flow down the far side and toward his feet His movements were stable and practiced his grip on the wooden poll was firm By this point Sam was an old hand at ritual And although he had felt nothing special for the first six days that he did this every morning he began to feel it now

Sam�s Skills began to stir as the light flowed inevitably closer

It was a learning curve Sam reflected to create meaningful things You could rely on activating the Skills to force the ritual and weight of meaning into an item but Sam had ultimately concluded this led to half assed results after a long series of experiments What Randidly had taught all of Donnyton was that what they were doing with every aspect of the System was tellings small bits of an infinitely large story

You could activate the Skills to get a result of course But it was better still to tell a story so well that the image of what you wanted marshaled the Skills to action without you having to lift a finger

When the sunlight finally rose high enough to peek over the edge and shine down into the slowly whirling cauldron of blood Sam could feel something change a story had been planted here So he pulled out the wooden spoon he had used to manipulate the liquid every day for the past week and used a mesh next to fish out the metal biding its time within

As Sam did so he could visibly see the blood in the cauldron sinking away It was subtle at first but as he caught a ingot and pulled it to the surface the blood level began to visibly dip downward Sam�s grin was sharp as he pulled up the first ingot

The metal itself wasn�t what he had originally planned on using for this project but a single day before Sam was to start the project a package had arrived from Kharon Inside Sam found quite a few examples of rare metals that Erickson Steel had pulled up out of Zone 19 Of them all the one that left Sam completely shocked were the White Phosphorus Steel

Rather than the usual dull grey of metal these looked almost silver plated their exterior reflecting the surrounding area with sharp clarity And when an ingot was sliced cleanly in half which was not an easy prospect even with Kayle�s assistance the interior was just as vividly reflective

Perhaps that was what pushed Sam into using this metal He could intuitively feel from it that this metal could hold meaning if it was planted deeply enough within it So he had shaped the reflective silver white metal into ingots and got to work

Now however after sitting within the cauldron and having been slowly woven together with ogre blood and sunlight the first White Phosphorus Steel ingot came out just as reflective but dyed scarlet Suddenly the world reflected within was no longer reality it was a bloody and horrifying dreamscape of endless maroon clouds and war

One by one Sam removed the heavy ingots from the cauldron and each one he pulled out seemed to suck out a little bit more of the ogre blood from the cauldron Which continued until Sam pulled out the last of the twenty ingots and the cauldron was abruptly bone dry all the blood was gone

Humming softly to himself Sam carried an armful of the new scarlet reflective ingots over the portable station that Sam had set up in full view of the sun Although Sam couldn�t bring his station with him here he had spent some of his preparation time improving this station so it would suit his purposes

It might be superstitious but Sam preferred to physically carry the metal than storing it an interspatial ring for the movement Especially because the sun continued to shine above And since he was the Dawn Smith maintaining the sun�s light on the metal could only help him in the long run

Still Sam was slightly surprised as he carried the scarlet ingots because of the feedback he received from his hands the metal was warm Heated to the temperature of luke warm milk Perhaps pushed up by the blood to reach the temperature of a recently deceased body

Good metal Sam thought with a smile

If metal was the most important ingredient the second most important was heat With almost obsessive intensity Sam considered the structure of his banked fire and added several thick and valuable oak logs that had grown large and fat in the dense elemental energy around East End

Very soon a high and vaguely blue fire was roaring in the furnace and Sam began to put the scarlet ingots into the heat to melt Unfortunately it was difficult to tell how close these ingots were to melting due to their newfound coloration but Sam�s eyes had grown used to the different visual cues of heat to try and predict when it would happen

Not that it really mattered The damn things were so strong that Sam had to pump the bellow and push up the temperature in order to get them to soften and melt And in the case of this metal that had drunk blood and dined on sunlight Sam wasn�t afraid of ruining the metal by pushing it to a temperature that was too high If anything the additional heat would strengthen it

As his eyes followed the softening forms of the ingots in the furnace he picked up his heavy hammer from the table and prepared to work Sam had considered using a mold to form the desired weapon but he ultimately decided that it would be better to hammer it into shape And his reasoning was rather simplistic Sam simply liked the sensation of hammering

Nothing gave him a better read on the development of the story within the metal than the reverberation through his palm

So while keeping an eye on the temperature of the ingots still in the furnace Sam began to hammer the first pieces of metal His blows started high above his head and smashed downward like a meteor falling to Earth slowly flattening the two ingots that Sam had pulled out Some people speculated that there was value in hammering in a specific pattern and that pattern would then be imbued into the weapon Of course Sam agreed that this was a case And that a pattern was worth pursuing

But he didn�t know a good pattern for this metal Or rather Sam didn�t know THE pattern For something to truly matter nothing could simply be lazily supplied Reality had the natural advantage that any coincidence could be supplied to an instance because that coincidence was true

Details in stories needed to be much more sparingly added

Perhaps paradoxically Sam let his attention spread out It didn�t waver but it didn�t bother so much about the specifics of where he hammered Instead Sam listened to the clear noise of the noise of his heavy hammer smashing against the heated metal Rather than coming with a pattern prepared Sam listened

The primal portion of the human brain was an old hand at picking a pattern out of random noises after all And then when the human mind empowered by the System heard and believed with enough weight that belief became true That was an image

Tang

Sometimes the noise would just be right so Sam followed his instinct and stopped hammering that portion But sometimes there would be an off note At that point Sam pushed the partially heated metal back into the furnace for a few minutes and then continued to hammer until the noise rang true In Sam�s experience nothing was more important than purity of purpose Staying true to the goal of creating a weapon to slay ogres was all that Sam�s hammer sought to create

It was for those noises that Sam listened most closely With his spread out attention that goal of killing remained omnipresent But of course this weapon was truly meant to guard Earth Those two truths twined slowly together as Sam worked

It quickly became clear that the form of the weapon would be a shield Something large to deflect and thin to cut

Ingot by scarlet ingot Sam pulled out more and more of the metal and added it to the growing whole Spread out to be thin and strong the weapon grew to the size of a dinner table It was somewhat difficult to maneuver around its growing size but Sam was careful to be sure the interior was completely perfect before he moved outward Circling slowly around it and expanding the weapon soon a gleaming scarlet shield was laying on the worktable in front of Sam

Once the relatively simple portion of creating the weapon itself was done Sam toiled for an almost equal amount of time creating a handle for it Although the handle would eventually be wrapped in leather the first iteration of the handle was just a cold cylinder of metal Shaping the metal Sam could see his own face reflected in the handle To his own eyes Sam�s countenance looked warped into a demon�s

Chuckling Sam attached the handle to the shield He used some fire based Skills he had obtained to heat the metal around the attachment point and hammered the handle down Then he sat back on his heels and considered

Just as quickly as he began Sam stopped moving completely His hammer was lowered The fire cooled as Sam remained transfixed in his study of the shield The sun had completely crossed the sky and was now setting Sam sent a message and then considered the creation he had made

Perhaps three meters long and two wide the scarlet shield was an impressive creation Even someone like Dozer would have a problem managing the sheer size of this weapon The final shape ended up being a hexagon with six rough sides that hadn�t exactly been sharpened to a razor thin blade but were still quite sharp enough that Sam regarded them warily More than sharp enough to cut through flesh

Sam�s eyes glimmered as night fell and left him completely alone with the shield He didn�t bother to examine it yet because it wasn�t yet finished The metal had been given a story but that was only half the battle Instead of simply waiting Sam reexamined every inch seeking the weak point When he couldn�t find one he began his search again When he searched for flaws three times without any results Sam began using his sensitive fingers pouring over every inch of the scarlet steel

It was about an hour before dawn before the man who would use this weapon showed up

Obyrn Myyr former Ironfist of the West in the Ogre world and now the ruler of the Ogre Holy Land that rapidly grew from defections from the entrenched powers of the Ogre World walked over the hill and down the thin path that required him to carefully place his large feet one in front of the other When he arrived he smiled down at the large weapon Although it would be difficult for any human to wield the huge shield was perfect for the newly appointed leader of Donnyton�s Ogre Raid Group

Behind Obyrn Myyr was his assistant Duaal who was dragging behind him a beaten and bound prisoner Sam�s lip twisted in distaste as he saw it but its not like he was guiltless he was the one that had recommended this course of action

After all it was the best way to ensure the weapon came out the way they wanted The story was already in the metal they just needed to make the weapon awaken to its true story

The timing Obyrn rumbled as he picked up the scarlet shield He passed it from one had to another then moved it through the air while twisting his arm From his sparkling eyes it was clear he enjoyed the weight of it in his hand

Right when dawn comes over the ridge Sam replied Then the four people turned toward the horizon and waited Time slowly slipped past under their watchful eyes Only Obyrn continued to be active playing with his new shield When twilight came Obyrn approached the unconscious ogre with the shield raised but Sam shook his head Then Sam showed the two ogres where to position the body

You�ll want to cut with the edge of the sun Sam scratched his beard As if the cause of death isn�t the shield but the light of the sun that strikes the blow Of course the sunlight will flow downward in a line but you will only be an edge So you need to be the blade hidden in the light moving perpendicular with the spread of sunlight Get it

Obyrn scratched his own scraggly beard he grew to mimic the human style Bad beards had abruptly become weirdly fashionable for the ogres of the Ogre Holy Land Sam sighed and waved his hand helplessly Then he turned to Duaal Just make sure to hold him still He will start to struggle once the operation starts and the effect will be diminished if the cut is diverted from where the light is touching

The operation which is basically a brutally torturous execution Sam thought tiredly

When the sun finally came Sam gave the signal and Obyrn began to slowly cut into the captured ogre�s neck As Sam expected the sharp prospect of death quickly woke up the captured ogre and caused him to struggle But Obyrn moved the deadly edge of the shield with an intense and dispassionate control that reminded Sam of Regina Northwind

This ogre cut not a hair more than what was necessary in the moment

During the whole of the process Sam didn�t look away He could sense something changing with the shield And he didn�t miss the fact that not a drop of blood dripped down off the shield onto the dried ground below

All healthy babies are born thirsty Sam thought darkly

And of course by the time the bloody business concluded and the ogre ceased struggling Obyrn had calmly sliced all the way through the other ogre�s neck Then Obyrn examined the shield unleashed a booming laugh and then shared the details of his creation with Sam

Thirsting Bloodsteel Buckler Shield Lvl 81 A shield forged to protect by drinking the blood of ogres Worked by a master craftsman for a very specific role and the purity of purpose greatly enhances its effects When facing ogres Strength Agility Reaction and Willpower +40 Will not break underneath the attack of an ogre Bloody Shield IV Blood Drinker IV For the Defense of Earth V

Bloody Dawn Shield IV Forged of White Phosphorus Steel and soaked in ogre blood for seven dawns the shield has greatly strengthened its structural integrity Endurance and Resistance +40

Blood Drinker IV Wearer will experience a minute of a berserk status when the weapon drinks the blood of ogres During that time the wearer will experience a 1% increase in Status for each kill up to a cap of 40% Each additional kill will refresh the one minute duration Health Regeneration will be doubled in the berserk state

For the Defense of Earth V Forged by a master craftsman to be held by a defector from the enemy it was an act of faith to give this weapon away Yet there is value to that faith especially when the survival of a world is on the line Wearer gains the Skill Defender of Earth � Skill slightly increases the effectiveness of all Skills when they are used to defend Earth Skill Level will rise to equal the number of foes that the wearer faces capped at the highest Skill Level the wearer currently possesses

I suppose it will have to do Sam said while coughing into his hand to hide his pleased smile

Chapter 1117

Vualla spat out a mouthful of blood and cracked her neck It was the only show of weakness she allowed herself having rushed back from the frontlines to stand at this position Because for the last two days during any downtime she received Vualla resumed her zombielike vigil with mechanical dedication

Cail Tweocs regarded Vualla carefully For the first time since they had met the small hairless man seemed unsure of what to say as he studied the younger woman You as I have said what you do in your own time is none of my business

Relax Vualla said harshly I�ll be back for your damn training

Perhaps because of the situation Cail ignored Vualla�s disrespectful words that would normally set him off Instead he released a high pitched cough into his hand and nodded sagely Ahem then I must go There is quite a kerfuffle as Terith was able to locate and capture the Nether Prince that previously escaped his grasp Truly an auspicious thing but the fact that the Nether Prince was briefly freed is troublesome Even if it could not escape it seems very likely it contacted a Nether King

Cail Vualla breathed out and some of her destructive tendencies leaked out from her mouth Her hands flexed The ground around her began to sizzle and seeth Now is when you leave me the fuck alone

Blinking in shock Cail seemed to consider Vualla for several seconds before he nodded and hurried away Vualla glanced toward his retreating back with her nose wrinkled up in disgust Do you really think I don�t know that you are doing this on purpose Swearing at me when I�m calm prodding me with inanities when I�m upset Every chance you get trying to get under my skin driving me toward rage Perhaps I understand why you think my rage will lead to more power but the fact that you want to try that shit today

Vualla turned back to the front Her eyes ached and her face felt long and stretched The body of her father lay before her solemn and very dead His hands were clasped in front of his chest hiding the gaping wound that had stopped his heart

In the end it hadn�t mattered how much she had struggled against the unending tides of Nether Beasts that flooded out of the Great Rift Cail Tweocs� demands and Vualla�s continued service to Commander Terith meant that there were times where Vualla couldn�t remain on the East end of the battle lines to protect her father�s camp She did what she could when she could but it hadn�t been enough

I�m not enough Vualla thought bleakly It was an old thought one she strongly associated with her father It hung above her head now fat and wet and heavy like an attic lost to rot and mold

Yesterday while Vualla was training the invasion against her Father�s camp had included two Nether Gatekeepers He was forced to step up to face them and although he had been able to slay them both he had paid for this valor with his life Despite his long service in the army no other Commander had reacted in time to help against the Nether Gatekeepers

Vualla�s fist clenched If I had been there

But then her thoughts stuttered to a stop Would she have been able to make a difference against Nether Gatekeepers She had certainly grown but her power was short of being able to stand toe to toe against that level of foes Even though the constant fighting against Nether Beasts had pushed her to just short of condensing her fourth Nether star that only protected her

It was only by refining her image further that she would reach a place where she could dominate a battlefield Which was why she endured Cail�s training for so long despite all of the very obvious consequences she suffered

What was even more infuriating to Vualla was that no one else had really come to visit her father�s body after it had been interred here on display for a week as was tradition His subordinates could be excused because most of them were either dead or still struggling to hold back the Nether Beasts but it was galling to find that most of the other Commanders seemed completely unfamiliar with her father

He�s been serving out here for fifty years Vualla gritted her teeth And yet none of you can be bothered to remember him Was all of his struggle for nothing

Yet this only happened because I was too weak to make a difference This danger came too soon Vualla�s eyes dimmed as she stared at her father�s body without even seeing it Does that mean that there is no choice but for me to give everything up and become a tool of destruction I had thought

And what made Vualla deeply afraid was that even thinking about becoming an empty tool of destruction filled Vualla with a sense of inevitably Yes her body told her this was always our fate This was always the Path that you were going to walk Although the deviated from it for a short time it is time to return to the true Path

Embrace your Fate and destroy everything that stands in your way

It was that same sleep walking sense of living that Vualla had experienced for almost her entire life Like nothing came as a surprise as long as she continued forward Like she wasn�t even a living being but a machine proceeding forward on a track that had been designed by someone else for her Deja vu was her constant companion

And then she met Randidly Ghosthound Suddenly Vualla felt an intoxicating sense of freedom Somehow Vualla knew that Randidly Ghosthound was not something that should have happened to her life His presence gave her the resolve to leave that camp and go see her father He had shown her a Path toward reassuring herself

If she hadn�t gone the guilt and concern over her father would have burrowed into her heart and turned rancid when she simply waited guided by that horrible track before her Eventually that malignant growth would taint the entirety of her being pushing her deeper and deeper into darkness

But Randidly had simply pushed all that away by being there He showed her another Path

Even more attractive was the fact he clearly possessed the same hatred for the System that she did He simply expressed it in a different way Vualla�s destruction image was a much broader tool that she sharpened to strike against the System Meanwhile Randidly seemed almost uncaring of the tools he sharpened but rather his main focus was improving himself He possessed a strange arrogance that indicated he was sure that if he grew strong he would eventually be able to overcome the System

It was refreshing

But Vualla couldn�t help but feel slightly betrayed by that bright ideal that Randidly had shown her If she hadn�t followed him if she had instead remained on her pre written life and focused on making her power increase

I wouldn�t have even been there to help him if I focused on improving my power Vualla�s eyelids fluttered At least at least this way I was there I don�t regret going But I wish

A tear gathered in each of Vualla�s eyes She wanted to blink but some part of her wanted to hold that salty liquid in the corners of her eyes As though as long as she didn�t actually shed the tears they wouldn�t matter She was so very very afraid of being weak She felt so very very weak Somehow to release the tears was concrete proof that she was weak Yet even now Vualla could feel the warmth of Randidly�s hand on her back

There is another Path Vualla Randidly seemed to whisper

She began to cry First sniffing then sniffling then sobbing as more and more tears poured out of her and fell over her father�s grave

I wish I would have said something to him I wish I wouldn�t have just enlisted as a nameless soldier to fight and defend his camp I wish I could have talked to him about all the things I did in school all the friends I had I wish I wish I told him how much I missed him

Vualla was dimly aware that some other soldiers were crossing on the supply track behind her and slowing down as they heard the sound of her cries The grand and endless cemetery of the Aether forces was directly below the headquarters spreading almost as long as the frontlines despite the fact that the bodies were mostly thrown into mass pits

However time had seen that these pits soon became insufficient The only bright side was as a Commander that had achieved great merits before he died her father was prominently featured As was his due

Yet to be seen here so visibly emotional

I told Randidly once you couldn�t consider yourself alive if you always lived in fear and that includes fear of being weak Vualla wrapped her arms around herself Being weak isn�t something to fear None of us are perfect So so I shouldn�t feel this bad I was just just being human So why

So why

Father

Vualla fell to her knees and continued to cry

There was so much that she still wanted to say to him So many things that she wanted to share about her life that her father had been too distant to ever hear from Vualla as she was growing up And despite the fact that her mother had expressly forbidden it she had snuck out of the Nexus and enrolled as a foot soldier

Now she was almost strong enough that her father would have been proud So why did he die now

Randidly looked down at the Nether Ritual that displayed Mrs Hamilton Frowning he watched as she cast her vote without even batting an eyelash Then only a few seconds later as the votes were tallied by unanimous decision Theodora Greyman was crowned as the first Chairwoman of the World Summit

Although the position only had a tenure of one year with an explicit rule against consecutive terms it felt like a strange move to Randidly for Mrs Hamilton to not try to seek the seat for herself He hadn�t watched Mrs Hamilton very often in the intervening month since the first World Summit or three months for Randidly but from Mrs Hamilton�s satisfied expression it wasn�t that they had capitulated to the implied threat of Zone 1�s Mjolnir

No Mrs Hamilton was playing a longer game than that For now all Randidly could do was trust that Mrs Hamilton knew what she was doing

Once they had selected a Chairwoman the meeting moved much more quickly They discussed the recent successes at the Ogre Gorge following Donnyton�s outfitting of an Ogre Raid Group Everyone was also relieved that the bloodless murders had abruptly stopped although everyone was still on edge because no one took credit for putting an end to the murderer Then the discussion turned toward the Rakshasi

It�s rapid growth combined with the fact that it was often moving meant that Mjolnir was not an effective weapon to deal with it And aside from the absent Alana no one wanted to suggest that any single person was capable of taking it on Hank Howard�s name was brought up before the World Summit but Theodora Greyman indicated that he had been granted the authority of special investigator which mean that he chose his own projects She would recommend it to him but he would make the final decision

Which is a smooth way of admitting that he refuses to listen to you Randidly thought with a grin

Although the World Summit continued Randidly closed the Nether Ritual The world moved in wide slow cycles He could tell from a look that there were a lot of undercurrents of tension on Earth but dwelling on them now was a waste of his time They would manifest on their own soon and it was an open question how long it would be until Randidly could do something about them So instead Randidly returned to the rather tiresome task of using Nether to deplete the Aether Key to hasten his return

Today whimsy struck Randidly and he played around with using Nether�s Caress to try and actively damage the area around the Aether Key He was careful that none of his attacks ever struck the Key itself and triggered its defenses but he made sure the Nether was as dense as possible within the area

Congratulations Your Skill Nether�s Caress has grown to Level 111

It is strange though Randidly thought with a frown as he continued to corrode the surrounding Aether Is the Mythic ranking due to its power The rarity of the effect Or is it just something dumb like the fact that the Skill intuitively opens a small hole to

Randidly blinked Then he activated Nether�s Caress again this time allowing the portal that had caused him so much pain in his physical body to open rather than simply supplying the Nether himself from his cores Thick Nether came through forming to his will and sizzling against the ambient Aether

Randidly examined the portal closely then began to laugh

Chapter 1118

Time passed rapidly for Yggdrasil as he was now the only active image of Randidly Ghosthound remaining on the frontlines At least on the Aether side

During the day he hurried back and forth across the battlelines to repair the images of individuals wounded in the constant attacks against Lady Iellaya�s camp Then when night finally fell and usually Lady Iellaya or Abiodun took over most of the defensive efforts for the camp Yggdrasil returned to his tent and meditated on the Class he was making for Lady Iellaya

Without the presence of the Grim Chimera or his subordinates the tent was abruptly quite lonely It had been almost three months since they had been sent on that mission by now and the situation at the frontline was continuing to escalate toward a final confrontation Although Yggdrasil was growing stronger he inwardly worried that it wouldn�t be enough

The fall of the Easternmost camp had taught Lady Iellaya a valuable lesson about showing herself and the danger of a Nether Gatekeeper ambush but she had refused to back down Honestly she seemed to be baiting out Nether Gatekeeper attacks which had resulted in several strikes against her Luckily for her Yggdrasil was willing to head over to Lady Iellaya�s tent several nights to nurture her image and while also continuing the work of creating a Class

Lady Iellaya appreciated the help recovering but her questions always pointed back to the task she had set to him to create a scaffolding of Aether large enough to support all of the potential she had absorbed into her self

Unfortunately it was difficult to work on it without the main body So what Yggdrasil had no choice but to focus on was capturing the feeling of Lady Iellaya As long as he possessed that the rest of the detail work would go much more quickly once they were able to recover the main body

Lady Iellaya was currently a Level 100 Raven Winged Vanguard which left Yggdrasil somewhat shocked Lady Iellaya had also given Yggdrasil the tidbit of information that Level 100 was the hard cap of Leveling in the System but you continued to grow after that by Leveling up the Great Fate you obtained at Level 100

Which was why upgrading her Class was such a hard ask It would require sufficient energy not only to break apart her Class and remake it but Lady Iellaya speculated that it would be necessary to also adjust her Great Fate as well

Yggdrasil was the first of Randidly�s images to be born and likely the one most closely associated with growth But the growth that Yggdrasil possessed was a steady and natural grown Grim Chimera governed the area of forced evolution in order to adapt Ignition Essence was the bright flash of inspiration that could set off a chain reaction of growth All three were heavily involved with growth and combined to create the kind of capability necessary for the creation of a Class

On his own

Yggrasil rustled his leaves in irritation and shook his canopy There was no point in getting worked up over this He knew in his heart that these Commanders were vastly underestimating the Grim Chimera�s ability to survive It was only a matter of time before the image that bore Randidly�s personality most closely returned to assist him In the meantime what really worried Yggdrasil was

He turned to look at the cracked egg in the far corner of the room Yggdrasil avoided looking at it as much as possible because it was clear that the egg where there was once light flickering within there was now none

In addition the egg was so cracked that it appeared ready to collapse from the slightest breeze During the worst of the Nether attacks Yggdrasil was agonized by the possibility that the shaking of the fighting would shift something and the egg would collapse to dust and reveal the situation within

Because so long as he didn�t truly see that Ignition Essence was gone Yggdrasil would not give up hope

We�ve been apart from the main body for far too long Yggdrasil thought tiredly We have grown for it but if we don�t reunite soon

Shaking his canopy Yggdrasil dug his Perception into the ground and began to pull energy out from the world beneath him with Golden Roots of Yggdrasil It was only by heavily relying on this Skill that he had been able to survive to this point through all the accumulated Nether damage

Yet even as the Skill Level rapidly increased Yggdrasil felt tired

Closing his eyes Yggdrasil sighed This is my role however To endure even as the world slowly dies around me I am the tree that holds up the sky and the roots that support the Earth If I cannot manage to survive in these long moments how can I expect the other images to

I am Yggdrasil And I shall never fall By my hand the great saga of our existence is writ and it will be my will that this all will end

Congratulations Your Skill Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 209

Yggdrasil sat silently allowing the vivifying strength to return to his branches

Congratulations Your Skill Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 210

Unfortunately the night was too soon over Even here at the edge of the world where the very fabric of the stone ground shook from the constant grating presence of Nether dawn always came and Yggdrasil wearily raised his body and prepared for another day of healing But as Yggdrasil was reaching for the tent flap to return to the horrible conditions of the camp he felt a presence on his mind

Be prepared The voice of the main body whispered in his ear Then the impression was gone fled as quickly as it had arrived

Yet it made all the difference

Congratulations Your Skill Deific Mien of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 249

Finally Yggdrasil whispered as the weariness of enduring alone for the past three months fell away Although it had been nothing but a single phrase Yggdrasil could hear the main body�s determination And with that reassurance he went about his tasks with renewed vigor

Days passed ceaselessly into each other until they became weeks Then the weeks grouped together and became months Even as the total time that had passed since the Grim Chimera had left with the Aether Key for the Great Rift was six months and since Yggdrasil had heard from the main body had been three months that hope didn�t fade or ebb

If anything it grew surer Yggdrasil continued to push himself focusing more fully on Yyrwood Body and Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil to prepare as a return gift for the main body when he finally liberated himself These Skills were the most difficult to practice in image form but it also gave Yggdrasil an excuse to become more involved directly in the fighting on the frontlines Which in turn led to him becoming even closer with Lady Iellaya and Abiodun

Perhaps for that reason Yggdrasil thought nothing of it when Abiodun showed up one morning at the edge of his tent

The Class Abiodun asked shortly as he faced Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil shook his leafy canopy I believe I have accurately been able to capture Lady Iellaya�s spirit However without the Skills of my actual body

There is no more time Abiodun rumbled But rather than angry the stone man seemed deeply agitated Lord Miln has just announced that one of the Aether Keys was likely defective Its energy deteriorated faster than should be possible significantly faster to the point that the Aether in the area was almost completely dispersed in only six months

Perhaps sensing this weakness and also motivated by that bastard Terith continuing to keep the Nether Prince alive Abiodun�s eyes abruptly glowed together becoming piercingly bright as he examined Yggdrasil Then his eyes slowly faded back to a dimmer illumination The Nether King broke through the blockade with his army and is proceeding directly toward the front lines Initial estimates put his total forces at one million with at least one hundred of those possessing the power of a Nether Gatekeeper

A tremor went through Yggdrasil That was a lot of Nether Beasts but he doubted that Abiodun would grow so agitated from that information So

The Aether Key that was defective it was the one assigned to your fellow image Lord Miln made it known to Lady Iellaya that you were to be brought to the emergency council that is being called to deal with the approaching army After the council he will likely demand that you be handed over to him as per our agreement

In a rare display of emotion Abiodun reached up and grabbed Yggdrasil�s shoulder This is why I tried to warn you If we had insisted on another deal but we no longer have the capital to protect you And without you Lady Iellaya�s dream

Abiodun Yggdrasil cut the other man off Although Yggdrasil was aware that most of the concern was only due to the benefit that he could bring to Lady Iellaya it was still rather touching that the stone man displayed this much emotion I stand by my decision and I suspect that when we go to this council you will be very surprised by how this turns out We still have the array to trace the status of images yes

Abiodun looked at Yggdrasil blankly You believe that an image is able to survive in the Great Rift When the army of a Nether King came marching directly overtop of where he was stationed

The reminder about the army made Yggdrasil wince inwardly but he didn�t let his hesitation show As long as the Grim Chimera didn�t get it into his head to challenge the Nether King to a direct confrontation Yes

Sighing Abiodun shook his head You have a lot of faith in your fellow image

Yggdrasil chuckled Maybe so But don�t you have faith in me for the same reason We can help you create a Class to make sure Lady Iellaya becomes truly powerful It is a very rare ability indeed I suspect its why our body is being coveted even now

To that Abiodun just grunted sourly Chuckling Yggdrasil followed after the stone man toward headquarters

Chapter 1119

Vualla folded her arms to hide her hand that had balled themselves into fists This farce of a meeting had gone on for far too long for her to sit still Yet she was bound here brought by Cail Tweocs who stood beside her looked as just as content with bored as the rest of the assembled Commanders

Yet right now Vualla�s gaze flicked toward the door to the meeting tent

Lord Miln favored Commander Terith with a sharp look I must insist that you had over the Nether Prince Surely your current results have made it clear that your methods are incapable of breaking its will With the threat of the Nether King looming over us it is time to put aside this foolishness

I think I�ve already made my refusal clear Supreme Commander Commander Terith replied frostily Although he was certainly someone who was loyal to his commanding officer Commander Terith�s pride made it so that he very easily took offense to this very direct dressing down Especially when it occurred in front of his peers

But still now is not the time for this infighting Vualla did her best to breathe out her nose and control her emotions

Yet this specific argument wasn�t the reason that Vualla was so furious she was biting her lip hard enough to make her mouth taste like copper Well that was technically not true Because it was this argument that was infuriating It was the fact that they had time to bicker about this stupid thing while a million strong army of Nether Beasts sent detachments of ten thousand to assault the Aether Force�s forward defenses

Luckily the fact that the Nether King broke through an Aether Key directly gave them an early warning and they had pulled out their emergency defensive armaments It gave the forces an Aether another edge in a defensive battle which was much needed

Yet even though the initial numbers were extremely rosy in terms of loss ratios that entirely missed the point the Nether King was a foe far beyond the capability of any one individual on this frontline to battle Even Cail Tweocs seemed somewhat leery at the prospect And the forces of Aether only had about one hundred thousand troops stationed here with at least half of those currently on rest rotation

The early numbers might look good but the forces of Aether would tire out With numbers at their back more and more Nether Beasts would keep coming and killing And then they would all

Vualla had to press her eyes shut as the image of her father�s pale and deceased form appeared before her eyes She bit her lip even harder I will not cry here I cannot

I�m afraid I must insist Lord Miln said lightly

Commander Terith glared at Lord Miln but remained silent A heavy moment passed between them as their gazes remained locked Everyone else sat in various positions of polite listening while not particularly willing to get involved on either side

Seething inside Vualla looked away until her gaze settled onto the bushy and verdant form of Yggdrasil Vualla had met the treant man a few times in passing since Randidly had left for the Great Rift and overall she hadn�t given him much attention in her mind he was only another one of the images that was a part of Randidly

Yet now looking at his serene expression

That familiar warmth of Randidly�s touch on her back returned to her Peace and tranquility seemed to radiate off of the emerald leaves of the treant And perhaps most poignantly the emerald of the leaves reminded Vualla of Randidly�s pure eyes The color of the leaves was slightly lighter but

But I can�t be tranquil Vualla looked at the ground Not when so many die while we waste our time here

One of the other commanders coughed light Ahem Perhaps we can table this matter for now With the forces of the Nether King marching on us

Breaking the will of the Nether Prince is of tantamount importance Lord Miln said

The Commander that had seen fit to speak frowned at the brusque reaction from Lord Miln But our forces are currently grossly underprepared for the assault At least issue an emergency recall of those on rest leave so we can

The foot soldier�s job Lord Miln said sharply as he rapped his knuckles on his heavy desk Is to buy time so that we the decision makers can move with the wisdom and clarity that befits our position And let me tell you the Nether Prince is how we win this war So Commander Terith

Those people will die Vualla cut in sharply No longer could she stay silent not when someone else had tried the argument gently No now that a Path had opened she would smash into it with everything she had That was her choice to make She straightened her back and prepared to meet Lord Miln�s gaze Does that mean nothing to you

Silence fell in the council as everyone turned to look at Vualla Although many of the Commanders had brought attendants to the meeting they all stood as far back as possible and kept silent This was a place where only the Commanders had leave to speak So to suddenly step forward meant that Vualla abruptly experienced the heavy gaze of all of the assembled Commanders

The pressure against her built and built but Vualla�s neck did not bend Her time training with Cail Tweocs was something very near abuse but that didn�t mean that she hadn�t grown from it Especially in the last three months since her father died she had been able to internalize many of Cail�s lessons to great effect Pressure flowed closer but the tightly leashed aura of destruction Vualla controlled ate it away

Just as Vualla�s jaw was clenching from enduring the strain Cail stepped forward and spoke with his piping voice This woman is here with me If she truly wishes to express her opinions so be it

Immediately the pressure vanished like a veil had been drawn around Vualla Some part of her wondered if Cail Tweocs had done something directly but she suspected that wasn�t the case Even at the best of times Cail was extremely arrogant too much so to bother with both speaking and acting on her behalf No the more likely answer was that Cail�s words were enough to completely distinguish the ire of the Commanders

Sorta fucked up I was so focused on my father being gone that I never paid attention this Xyrt Brigade Vualla thought bitterly

fine Even Lord Miln seemed to pull back somewhat He looked her up and down before shaking his head Say your piece girl

You know what There was a fire in Vualla�s chest now put there by Lord Miln�s indulgent tone Fuck you You don�t deserve for me to point out that you are a shriveled empty husk of a person who is too afraid of letting your carefully laid plans fail than saving a life Someone like you should never have been chosen as the Supreme Commander of a battlefield If we have to wait for you to order us to live everyone but you will die

Vualla could feel it in her gauntlets The aura of destruction that Vualla carried with her began to leak outward Compared to when Vualla had activated in an exhausted state these past several months this destruction fueled by rage was incredibly dangerous The fire of rage ignited her and the world around her brightened into sharp clarity The beast in her chest called for a hungry destruction with grasping claws and red rimmed eyes that would dismantle this useless command structure that bound it

So she lashed out almost hoping that Lord Miln would move to meet her in combat At least then they wouldn�t simply be sitting here while soldiers died At least then she could let this growing fire out of her

There was a second of numb silence as everyone heard Vualla�s words and realized that it was a bared challenge against Lord Miln In this second of confusion Lord Miln displayed the same look of confusion Then as the words were given time to sink in his face became warped by rage

Hah Cail sighed Immediately Lord Miln�s face went blank

Vualla�s rage spiked upward I don�t need you to protect me isn�t this what you always wanted For me to just give in to rage and let everything go So why

If that�s how you feel Lord Miln said slowly That is something you have to settle with your own conscious Are you truly angry at us girl or are you angry at yourself To be weak is a tragic thing is it not

I�m Vualla began but then she snapped her jaws shut with an audible click This fuck obviously didn�t understand the first thing about her but that didn�t mean he wasn�t right Part of Vualla�s rage was because she was forced to come here to this meeting by Cail Tweocs but had he really forced her to come

Right now she could go fight

But the enemy was a Nether Gatekeeper Even if she had grown

Even so this destruction that she felt now around her so hungry and familiar seemed to whisper that she could do it As long as she gave in to her most destructive impulses Vualla could rival a Nether Gatekeeper Hell maybe that wasn�t her limit at all She could rival all of them so long as she trusted in this destruction

Then I guess I�ll be going Vualla said shortly Without another word she turned on her heel and walked out of the command tent and looked up at the sky The air above the Aether forces was dense with the weight of the Great Rift And beyond that she could see the rippling sea of blue tentacles that stretched outward from the Nether King�s assembled forces

Then she lowered her eyes toward the horizon and looked at the column of troop smashing into the hastily assembled defenses that the camps had created The grand formation that gave the soldiers their Nether stars had been activated defensively for now giving up the creation of stars and instead projecting a heavy restriction against the forces of Nether

Even so screams and rumbles echoed out from the front lines The Nether Gatekeeper was making his presence known And in the absence of a Commander to stand against that foe the forces of Aether had no choice but bunker down and endure

With the increased pressure from the Great Rift large chunks of land were beginning to levitate upward from the rocky ground So it seemed like as the Nether forces marched forward the lands themselves were rising to give them aid The high metal wall fortifications that the Aether forces brought out for emergencies appeared to have been constructed without issue The grey metal barricades were sturdy things but they began to warp and bubble as Nether crashed against them and Nether Beasts dug their claws into the physical substance for purchase

Images clashed against the Nether Beast sweeping them off the wall For a few seconds the forces of Aether had time to catch their breath and prepare for the next battle But then Vualla spotted the Nether Gatekeeper and her stomach dropped like a stone

It was a humanoid figure with six tails lashing back and forth Each swipe of the tail left a deep gash in the metal barricades Then the Nether Gatekeeper paused and gathered all of its tails together in one large swing The Nether energy gathering in that tail caused electric distortions in the surrounding physical space with its power When it cut the entire barricade split and a sea of Nether Beasts forced their way forward to fall upon the shocked defenders

Chapter 1120

As Vualla stood poised on the rocky outcropping of headquarters and looked down other the battlefield time seemed to slow She could pick out every single detail of the Nether Beasts that were leading the charge against the Aether defenders She could see their inky black fur and talons hear the reverberating noises of their battlecries

She could feel their fierce joy as they killed And she wanted to stop it with every fiber of her being

This is what Randidly taught me Vualla thought with remarkable lightness Her hands clenched into fists ThatI always have a choice Everything I thought everything I feel I can choose to do whatever I want I can follow those desires toward my goal no matter how unlikely it is That�s what freedom is

Surviving if she went down to face that Nether Gatekeeper seemed entirely unlikely because that familiar voice that showed Vualla the track in her life was whispering now that this was too soon She was too weak If she went out now she would die And even if that was true Vualla knew she would step forward Because she wanted to that was all the reason she needed

If she wanted to become the person who would make her father proud

I won�t stand back and wait for when I know the perfect thing to say Vualla looked down at her gauntlets I won�t become like these Commanders who wait for their perfect opportunity Sometimes you just need to step forward and shape the world to become the opportunity you need

And if I see you again Randidly I�ll tell you that to me you

But Vualla stopped herself there because the urge to cry rose up in her chest once more Instead she fixed her eyes on the Nether Gatekeeper

For the sake of your lives I�ll bear the burden of destruction Vualla whispered quietly Then she took several steps forward Then she was running then sprinting her legs blurring as the distance between her and her target was devoured by her long steps Soon she had built up so much momentum that each of her steps left a large crater in her wake as she hurtled down the mountain toward the battlefield below

When she arrived her image billowed outward and prepared to rip and tear

For a time after Vualla�s abrupt departure the discussions of how to address the threat continued But it was immediately clear that many of the Commanders present were swayed by Vualla�s words The fact that they shared her opinion was evidenced by the fact that one had spoken up Despite Lord Miln�s insistence that the Nether Prince was of paramount importance to their strategy they refused to voice any support of him against Commander Terith�s stance

Yggdrasil felt rather happy that his treant face was rather naturally unexpressive Otherwise he would need to use a branch to cover his smile as Lord Miln�s annoyance became increasingly pronounced

so you will not surrender the Nether Prince for anything less than a direct order Lord Miln said grimly Just as tight lipped Commander Terith nodded slowly The terms of the ultimatum were laid out Now it just depended on which path Lord Miln took

Lady Iellaya had given Yggdrasil some background on the behind the scenes politics of the battlefield Most of the time the Commanders were perfectly willing to look the other way from what personal projects the Supreme Commander used their influence for as long as the Supreme Commander refrained from issuing any direct orders to the Commanders

There seemed to be some sort of code of honor at work to make such a rule workable to the effect that most Commanders would obey requests even if they didn�t like them as long as they were reasonable But it seemed that for whatever reason everyone in the room agreed that handing over the Nether Prince crossed that unspoken line It was not a reasonable request to make even with the Nether King breathing down their neck

Perhaps especially with the Nether King breathing down their neck

Which made Yggdrasil extremely curious about the Nether Prince He had just assumed that it was a moderately powerful individual within the Nether hierarchy but they wouldn�t have such a bitter argument over this individual if they weren�t special beyond that

After a long glare Lord Miln looked down at the table well I suppose that�s enough for now There is an army at our doorstep ladies and gentlemen We all have work to do You are dismissed

Then after a pause Ah Lady Iellaya and retinue stay We must speak on a personal matter

Perhaps because of Lord Miln�s obvious pressure on Commander Terith during the meeting and the fact that she had earned significant respect for enduring the lion share�s of the attacks thus far several Commanders exchanged glances and then looked at Lady Iellaya for guidance before they left the tent She smiled in thanks for their concern but shook her head slightly Seeing her decision the lingering Commanders left

Very soon there were only five individuals left within the Command Tent Lord Miln Lady Iellaya Abiodun Yggdrasil and the strange Cail Tweocs

Lord Miln wasted no time The image of Randidly Ghosthound that was sent into the Great Rift has fallen heroically in battle Truly who could have expected that his Aether Key would be assaulted by the army of the Nether King His sacrifice will not be forgotten but per our agreement the other images of Randidly Ghosthound will now come under my jurisdiction Believe me I will remember this favor Lady Iellaya If its in my power in the future I will make your dream come true

Cail Tweocs chuckled darkly but Lady Iellaya just stared at Lord Miln for several seconds Then she spared Yggdrasil a meaningful glance The feathers on her arm flexed and then settled back against her skin as though she was considering something Finally she opened her mouth and said Does it really need to be this way

Twisting his mouth Lord Miln said coldly Are you trying to avoid our deal Lady Iellaya

No I�m just trying to add an addendum to the deal Lady Iellaya�s face was carefully blank This image owes me a favor And let�s not beat around the bush you plan on disposing of this man immediately once you possess jurisdiction over his adrift images So I would ask that you briefly allow the images to reunite with the body so this man can repay this favor before you take what you want from him

Lord Miln stilled His eyes were strangely haunted as he stared fixed at Lady Iellaya What a novel theory That I would covet the body of a Heretic

Just private speculation Please forgive me if I�ve overstepped Lady Iellaya barred her teeth toward Lord Miln Even with a body and reunited with his images there is no possibility that this man would be a threat to you right What is the harm in allowing me this

The atmosphere became increasingly cold Once more Cail Tweocs chuckled a little louder this time Abiodun gave Yggdrasil a meaningful look that said something like this is all we can do for you Please take this chance �

Yggdrasil shook his leafy canopy in amusement Truly what a farce

While the heavy atmosphere remained heavy Yggdrasil took a step forward and entered into that powerful battle of wills before we decide anything I would advise that neither of you jumps to conclusions Wasn�t it part of the original deal that you would use the array around the body to check the status of the Grim Chimera image

Both powerful figures blinked at Yggdrasil

is there any meaning to doing that Even I cannot stand against the forces of a Nether King Lord Miln said with a twist of his mouth The image has definitely died

Yggdrasil performed a short bow and clasped two branches together Then I suppose there is no harm in checking Please

Lord Miln sighed Lady Iellaya remained silent but she was looking at Yggdrasil with a burning intensity as her feathers slowly fluffed upward Her eyes begged him to allow the new deal she was arguing for come to pass rather than pursuing this foolishness Because once Lord Miln followed the request he would be much less willing to agree to another

Yggdrasil didn�t waver He had faith He had been told to ready himself and now it was time for him to act

Hopefully I�m reading this right Yggdrasil admitted to himself inwardly

Fine then Lord Miln turned away from his desk and scanned the rows of pods behind him His eyes flicked back and forth for a few seconds but then he smiled wickedly at one in particular He raised his hand and swirls of purple energy gathered around his hand With a light gesture those swirls of energy formed a complex series of geometric lines and flowed toward the pod in question

Those strange purple energy glyphs flowed into the pod and

nothing happened

Lord Miln blinked Then he coughed awkwardly and made another series of sharp gestures with his hand This time when the purple glyphs formed they were much more brilliant and blinding these had been loaded up with power With a flick they flowed forward But again when these glyphs sank into the pod nothing happened

The pod failed Lord Miln muttered Then he turned his sharp gaze toward Yggdrasil Although the glance was laden with suspicion and killing intent Yggdrasil did not waver He simply remained in his half bow position and let Lord Miln come to his own conclusions

Slowly Lord Miln settled down He turned toward Cail Master Tweocs it seems the body has managed to cut off the bindings of the pod I am unsure how this would be possible but it might mean he has a few tricks up his sleeve Can I trouble you to suppress anything that he attempts

Of course Cail Tweocs piped up with glimmering eyes I have long wished to meet Randidly Ghosthound This is just some extra anticipation Hehehe I do hope he has something extraordinarily special planned for this Otherwise well I have been told my disappointment is disastrous for those who betray my faith

Yggdrasil shivered But he believed The main body knew what he was doing

Much more assured now that he had Cail Tweocs� agreement Lord Miln moved For the first time since Yggdrasil had seen him Lord Miln left his desk and walked directly over toward the offending pod which continued to stand completely unresponsive Once he was right in front of it Cail tried to open it once more with the purple energy The sigils disappeared once more without a trace Shaking his head Lord Miln began to conjure a set of heavy purple armor for himself out of that same energy

When he bristled like a lavender fortress of neon light he reached around the side of the pod and engaged a hidden mechanism There was a terrible grinding noise as Lord Miln forced the gears to move and then there was a light pop as the pod cracked open

Energy crackled outward as a dense wave of Nether spread outward The air began to vibrate and warp The metal of the pod hissed and steamed as the energy rushed outward and immediately began to corrode the surrounding pods Alarmed Lord Miln took several steps backward and glared at the opening

The hissing slowed to a sigh as more and more slate grey smoke billowed out of the opened pod Snorting Cail Tweocs waved his hand These sort of amateur tricks

A gust of wind whipped away all of the smoke revealing the contents of the pod to everyone present

Lord Miln�s jaw dropped The body is gone

Chapter 1121

WHAT Cail Tweocs bellowed Faster than Yggdrasil believed possible Cail was sudden right in front of the pod reaching in and feeling around inside of it Despite the horrifying speed that Cail displayed it was somewhat amusing to see him so frantically searching the pod for the main body as though it was simply hiding in a nook

After an intense minute Cail took a step backward His face was contorted with fury and Yggdrasil could see his worm like veins wriggling in his forehead His hands were pale hairless claws and his fingers wiggled ineffectually like luminescent pale worms Luckily all of that anger was not directed toward Yggdrasil

You imbecile Cail Tweocs hissed as he rounded on Lord Miln In a way that made the frost between Lady Iellaya and Lord Miln look like a melting ice cube the entire tent was plunged into an artic glacier Yggdrasil barely was able to move while the fury of Cail was on full display How could you allow this to happen My investment

Mr Tweocs please Lord Miln raised his hands This should be impossible Besides can we not simply recover his body How can he escape your esteemed capture And I hope this doesn�t mean our other deal is off the table

We CANNOT simply capture him once more Cail Tweocs eyes were twitching as his high pitched voice wavered wildly Jabbing his finger toward Lord Miln�s chest he stalked forward The temporary punishment as a heretic divested him of his rights as one who possesses the qualifications for Tier I citizenship but as soon as he recovered his body those rights

Cail Tweocs paused and hissed through his teeth Then he straightened and adjusted his cloak Instantly the fury was gone He calmly turned and regarded Lady Iellaya Abiodun and Yggdrasil Leave Now

Lady Iellaya put her hand on Yggdrasil�s shoulder bowed and then hurried the trio out of the tent before they heard something that would mean Cail Tweocs was willing to kill them But Yggdrasil believed that they had heard more than enough already for it to have been worth it to be there

But it was only when they were out of the small tent that Yggdrasil realized how powerful Cail Tweocs truly was and the knife edge along which they had walked after leaving his presence it felt like Yggdrasil could finally breathe again

You were right about your body and likely the other image Lady Iellaya said quietly Chewing on her lip she studied Yggdrasil Apologies for doubting you

Yggdrasil shrugged I can understand why you didn�t believe me Because what I was saying didn�t make sense But that is just who Randidly Ghosthound is That�s why we are the ones that can give you the Class you are seeking

With a rare genuine smile Lady Iellaya nodded Then her expression shifted to something more serious Now where is your main body They seemed angry but I believe what Mister Tweocs was saying is correct once a Heretic has recovered his physical body the punishment portion of the stay on the front lines has been served� If we begin working on the Class now do you think you can have it finished before the main force of the Nether King arrives

Awkwardly scratching his face Yggdrasil could only say Well

The two regarded him with heads tilted to the side as Yggdrasil shifted awkwardly side to side Then Abiodun released a barking laugh you are saying that you also don�t know where your physical body is Truly a troublesome individual we�ve involved herself with

It�s not like I don�t have any ideas where he might be Yggdrasil winced The main body but especially the Grim Chimera image has an extremely bad habit of running directly toward the most dangerous place An old habit that we�ve never really been able to shake So if I had to guess

They were walking down a stone path from the headquarters toward the front of the battlefield but Lady Iellaya stopped abruptly and stared at Yggdrasil The most dangerous place I hope you don�t mean

Yes Yggdrasil sighed and raised a branch to point directly forward I suspect that the main body has disguised itself and is now a part of the Nether King�s army

But how Lady Iellaya hissed

Yggdrasil could only use his verdant canopy to shrug

After a split second of stillness all three turned and hurried down toward the chaotic battlefield below them

Vualla roared in fury and raised her hand as the Nether Gatekeeper lashed at her with one of its deadly tails Her image of destruction condensed into a hard core and smashed into the tail but Vualla was still knocked several steps backward Without setting her stance correctly coping with the Nether Gatekeeper was a struggle

In that opening two lesser Nether Beasts about the four star level ambushed Vualla from behind With a single backhand she shattered their bodies and cores but it gave the Nether Gatekeeper the space to take another few steps forward and followed up with another whip like strike with two more of its tails

Groaning Vualla forced herself to hastily stop and raise her heavy gauntlets This time her defense was strong enough that she didn�t take a step back But as she panted and lowered her arms Vualla was stricken to see that the Nether Gatekeeper had finally pushed Vualla back enough to step through the iron barricades Nether Beasts began to swarm around it to attack the forces of Aether that had been able to huddle behind them

When Vualla had originally arrived at the battlefield almost fifteen minutes ago she had built enough momentum and image with her descent to the location that she had struck the Nether Gatekeeper and smashed him backward out of the rupture in the iron barricades The Nether Gatekeeper�s body was thrown back and crashed into one of the floating islands caused by the Great Rift�s invasion Stone and rock rained downward burying the Nether Gatekeeper completely

Using that opportunity the forces of Aether rallied and rapidly slaughtered all of the Nether Beasts that had made it through the gap before Vualla had arrived and plugged it up But she knew that it was only a temporary thing Her blow hadn�t been enough to deal serious damage to the Nether Gatekeeper only surprise it

And after the floating pillar of rock collapsed to the ground it only took a few seconds for the Nether Gatekeeper to rip apart the surrounding ground and stand back up Its eyes tight with fury it began to stride purposefully forward toward Vualla Lashing the surrounding ground with its tails it made its intent extremely obvious

Vualla had tried her best since then Every tip she had learned from Cail Tweocs over the past six months came to her strengthening her immensely from her power before Her image was uniform and strong It could stand against a Nether Gatekeeper�s corrosive and dense Nether barely And with every blow she endured from the terrible foe she could feel her image being refined into something even more capable Right around the corner an epiphany was tantalizing her She was so close to being powerful enough

But when she had to handle the ambushes from the lesser Nether Beasts as well

When she had to give up ground in order to not take a wound serious enough to diminish her current combat capabilities

After fifteen minutes Vualla was exhausted and the levies against the Nether Beasts were overwhelmed Once again the terrifying mass of numbers the Nether forces possessed surged forward to overwhelm them

Even if she was very close to becoming strong enough to make a difference she wouldn�t make it in time Those same soldiers that had rallied when she saved them now began to die as more and more Nether Beasts slashed their way forward With every Aether soldier who died the hole got bigger and Nether seized more of a foothold on this side of the barricades Very soon they would be overrun

And with the Nether Gatekeeper and its lackeys pinning her down she could not help them

You aren�t enough That poisonous voice that was born by her father completely ignoring her as a child whispered You will never be enough Everything you want to protect will die

And strangely Vualla could feel it in the air All around her she could feel the small exodus of lives around her and the small burst of energy that was released when a soul was extinguished permanently The small gasp as a whole slew of images ceased to be But Vualla gritted her teeth and concentrated her Willpower She ignored the strange flood of information that was coming to her

No I will I have the freedom to choose my fate And I choose to save them all

The Nether Gatekeeper gathered its six tails into a single focused blade and thrust it forward at blinding speed toward Vualla Relying on her instincts all of Vualla power of destruction went into her left hand and she unleashed a brutal left hook toward the Nether Gatekeeper�s core The two blows crossed between them in a flash and then both landed heavily

Fuck Vualla said as the thrust from the tail pierced completely through the center of her right gauntlet and continued to rip forward Luckily the quick defense was enough to divert the blow slightly and the tail just bored a huge hole in her shoulder rather than skewering a lung Still this is what she had tried so hard to avoid now her right arm would be out of commission for quite a while

Yet Vualla�s blow had also landed And this time she felt the Nether Gatekeeper�s body shuddering beneath the assault But before she could follow up the lesser Nether Beasts smashed into her and knocked her backward

It�s you fucks that are the problem Vualla thought furiously If you all just gave me the chance to strike

Tumbling through the air Vualla quickly flew backward and crashed into a medical tent that had been hastily set up near the frontlines Most everyone who could walk had already been evacuated so those that remained in the dim tent were afflicted with deadly wounds Her chest heaving Vualla looked around at the dying soldiers around her and then looked back at the Nether forces

At least it seemed that fucker was just as hurt as I was Vualla thought bitterly as she looked as the several Nether Beasts that were hovering around it worriedly Then her eyes refocused on the Nether Beast that was walking slowly forward to face her

It possessed a tall and relatively graceful form for Nether Beasts possessing two huge hands lined with long talons And with five star strength it was nothing to sneeze at The air around it crackled with particularly dense Nether energy Even if this one wasn�t six star yet it wasn�t far from it Certainly it would be enough to buy time for the Nether Gatekeeper to recover Hell considering Vualla�s current injuries it might be enough to kill her itself

I cannot die here Vualla�s eyes narrowed I cannot I cannot afford and even if I need to

The five star Nether Beast leaned forward and rushed quickly forward Despite its size it seemed to move with uncanny grace Vualla�s instincts were screaming she needed to lash out against it but her thoughts kept following that strange sensation of death around If she could only just find

A realization struck her Suddenly she looked around at the surrounding bodies with a baleful light in her azure eyes That energy that is released when they die when the images cease to exist isn�t that the purest energy of destruction If I take that power and make it my own

Even if its not mine they would think it worth it if I take it from them right They will die anyway So if I just

Vualla

Vualla�s entire world froze at that single word spoken in a voice that was so impossibly familiar to her Eh

The Nether Beast in front of her rippled The black fire around its body dimmed and fell away The long talons became normal fingers There was black hair a striking face strong and wiry limbs and of course piercing emerald eyes

Randidly Ghosthound But you are

In the flesh finally Randidly said with obvious relish Then he gave her another look one that was laced with a deep sadness Shaking his head he turned around and looked back toward the forces of Nether that were surging forward To her surprise Vualla felt so strangely reassured having him standing next to her against the coming horde for now let�s not waste time with small talk Shall we We have a miracle to make from scratch

Chapter 1122

Once Randidly really thought about Nether�s Caress he had a whole host of questions But he also had one very tempting idea that sprung out of his musings

Why not use the portal to return to his body and surprise Lord Miln by breaking out of the suppression pod

Of course this idea had to be swiftly abandoned When all he been able to learn was how much the main body was struggling to manage against the Aether bindings of the pod it wasn�t possible that Lord Miln wouldn�t have other defenses in place to prevent exactly that from happening But that didn�t mean the inverse wasn�t possible

Why couldn�t he use that portal to bring the main body out of the pod and into the Great Rift

It required the main body sustaining quite a bit of damage from Nether in order to loosen the restrictions on it in the pod itself but it worked out in the end As an image Randidly easily abandoned the Aether Key especially when he could sense the oncoming assault of a huge army and flowed through the portal into an unfamiliar part of the Great Rift Then the main body opened its own portal and with a lot more difficulty forced its way through

And once the Grim Chimera merged back together with the main body Randidly Ghosthound had the full benefit of both an Aether Crossroads and the five Nether Cores that he had condensed while preparing in the Great Rift for this very occasion

He had been somewhat worried about what would happen when the two energies were present at the same time but there was no negative reaction Because for the first time the Nether and Aether were aligned completely It didn�t feel like he had grown stronger but a weird sort of understanding had grown in him from the harmonious combination

Aether held his images and gave him a physical presence Nether provided the history of his memories and connected him more intimately than ever before with the other images and histories of those he had bound himself to

Abruptly Randidly felt solid in a way that he never had before His energies had united

But of course he didn�t have much time to examine the changes that were happening inwardly there was a war going on Randidly quickly located a nearby blue vein in his portion of the Great Rift and had to spend almost a week jumping along resting and then jumping along the vein some more to traverse the vast distance to the frontlines

Then using his five Nether Cores to disguise himself Randidly had joined in the assault of the frontlines to finally return from where he came after spending what felt like a year and four months in the Great Rift

I�m so glad you made it An extremely bedraggled Vualla took a staggering step forward toward Randidly Due to her right arm being almost completely useless she reached up with her gauntleted left hand to touch his face I without you Randidly I

Pressing her eyes together Vualla shook her head I suppose it can wait Yes let�s fight to save as many as we can

Randidly�s gaze contained immeasurable sadness as two truths warred with him as he looked at Vualla The truth of the Grim Chimera who possessed deep feelings for Vualla was perhaps stronger and purer Because Randidly did indeed share those same feelings for her The qualities the Grim Chimera admired Randidly also admired And even now wounded and exhausted Vualla was beautiful and bright as an iris growing wild on a mountainside

Yet Randidly now also knew the truth that the main body had been able to sense about Vualla He couldn�t yet understand why her Aether was so familiar but he knew why it was so ancient And why it would be a tragedy to let his emotions for Vualla to develop further than they already had

Cail Tweocs ha what a joke Randidly gritted his teeth I�ll make you pay for this did you do this on purpose to toy with my emotions

Aloud Randidly said blithely No we will be saving them all

Blinking Vualla didn�t react for a few seconds Then she began to laugh You ha fine then I shouldn�t have expected anything less from the man with the emerald eyes Her braided azure hair swayed behind her back as she favored Randidly with a pure smile Let�s save them all then Randidly

Well it�s not like we won�t have help Randidly said as a smile tugged at his mouth Even if I know the truth if you smile at me like that God it feels good to smile back

Right on time three figures smashed into the ground nearby Lady Iellaya and Abiodun looked in wonder at Randidly but he ignored them Instead he smiled at Yggdrasil and opened his arms You were almost late

Heh please forgive me We were held up Yggdrasil said simply Then he became incorporeal and phased back into Randidly A warm familiar feeling spread through Randidly and he unleashed a relieved sigh

That two down one to go but for now this is enough

Then Randidly turned and looked at the battlefield The familiar feeling of Mana began to boil in his veins as he saw countless small battles across the clashing armies where Nether Beasts used their superior numbers to strike and slay soldiers of Aether Dark octopi bears hedgehogs wolverines dinosaurs werewolves and slugs lashed out and ate away ate the Aether in the air I will not let this turn into another tragedy like the Hallat River

Like an old friend when Randidly pulled his oldest and most influential image came Within a split second a towering image of Yggdrasil rumbled up out of the ground behind him Even if it was only a brief break before Randidly called on it again there was a very distinct difference between being a physical image and being an image that was based in a real body

It roared upward parting the ground on the Aether side of the battlefield as the deep brown trunk lined with golden script forced itself up into the sky Then the emerald leaves began to sprout so large and broad that a family could sleep under those leaves like they were a broad and comforting roof

Across the battlefield both sides paused as the enormous image weighed over them The Aether soldiers began to cheer The size difference from Yggdrasil�s form as a solo image was staggering The long shadow cast by the vast trunk and gleaming leaves of Yggdrasil covered the entire battlefield

Even Lady Iellaya raised her eyebrows as she looked upward at the towering tree This

I�m not done yet Randidly said grimly Then he released a deep breath and forced that image to evolve For this battle Randidly didn�t want just fingers And with the next batch of PP from his Soulskill right around the corner it was time to set the stage for the Growth of Yggdrasil (III) Path

Warning Your Skill Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil Lvl 258 is attempting to evolve Warning a significant amount of life energy will be consumed

If you possess an insufficient amount of life energy loss of Stats or death may result

Oh don�t worry I have life energy to spare Randidly�s eyes burned as Aether roared through him But it didn�t escape his notice that there was the smallest drop of Nether that flowed along within the Aether he poured into the Skill becoming the core of his wish

Desire hope image and intensity wove themselves together There was an internal harmony Randidly felt pushing his power higher and higher The Skill in his Soulspace shivered then began to mutate rapidly into something much more imposing

Congratulations Your Skill Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil has evolved into Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Skill Levels will be maintained Calculating Rarity

Congratulations A great result Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has been given the Rarity Transcendental

Now then Randidly said aloud even as he felt extremely excited to see the Rarity spike upward Shall we begin

The tree towering above the battlefield groaned with obvious pleasure After so long it finally had the chance to run wild And then it reached and there was nothing on the face of the world that was not within its absolute grasp

Although his experiences on the frontlines had done a lot to improve Randidly�s images and his image power in direct confrontations that was not where Randidly�s Stats were actually focused His main strength was in Control and Willpower and no one could rival the effect that he could have on a vast battlefield aided by his evolved Grim Intuition

It was not just a matter of being about to grasp it all Randidly Ghosthound could clearly sense and process every detail too

Across the entire location of this vast clash the ground beneath the combatants split and thick emerald vines with vaguely golden thorns ripped up and stabbed into the limbs and torsos of the Nether Beasts The first wave contained about one hundred python thick vines that rapidly slithered up through the Nether Beasts� bodies and wrapped around their vulnerable cores

Just as those cores began to crack from the vice like constriction of the vines another wave of grasping plant matter shot upward this time consisting of about one thousand vines Randidly�s Mana burned and seethed as he forced more and more out of his body and into the surrounding ground The third wave came with a horrifying rumble and the vines were almost uncountable the battlefield had transformed into a gleaming emerald and green jungle in only three seconds

Of course there were weaknesses in using solely this Skill

The Nether Gatekeeper roared and lashed out with its six sharp tails Although Randidly�s roots were powerful they were not near hearty enough to withstand the strikes from the Nether Gatekeeper Its tails quickly scythed through the surrounding area and freed up many of its minions And in fact any Nether Beast that had four star or above strength was able to fight their way free of Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil given enough time

These Nether elites began to gather together forming a tight column that pushed forward toward the place were Randidly�s group was standing to end this vast assault on their forces Yet Randidly simply smiled

Although Randidly couldn�t eliminate the elites this way those elites were a distinct minority in the sea of Nether Beasts Just like that Randidly�s Skill had scraped an army of ten thousand down to a little less than one hundred

If its just these I Vualla began but Lady Iellaya placed a hand on her shoulder

You�ve done enough Rest so we might fight together tomorrow Then Lady Iellaya�s eyes focused on Randidly Amazing So this is your true ability Randidly Well don�t mind if we help ourselves to some share of the glory Abiodun it�s time to sniff out the ambush

Of course my Lady Abiodun bowed shortly and began to walk forward Randidly watched him with a sharp gaze Although Randidly now possessed a physical body and two of his extremely powerful images he didn�t allow that to go to his head To feel the heavy weight of each of Abiodun�s steps as he strode boldly forward it showed Randidly that there was still a small difference before he could become powerful enough to rival even the assistant to a Commander

But even if that�s the case there are some things that only I can accomplish

When the first group of elites charged forward to meet Abiodun Randidly struck at them from below with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil With that small distraction Abiodun had no trouble ripping his way through ten of the weaker elites Then a wave of stronger forces arrived but although they faired better against Randidly�s perfectly timed ambush it still hampered them

Like a boulder rolling downhill Abiodun gathered momentum as he crashed forward Very quickly Randidly barely needed to assist him Abiodun�s power was enough that he simply crashed forward and blasted Nether Beasts out of the way by simply relying on his building momentum Screaming in fear and fury the wounded Nether Gatekeeper forced itself to rush forward to meet Abiodun with its tails raised

Randidly�s Grim Intuition tingled His gaze locked onto two of the weaker elites that had been knocked aside by Abiodun previously that had suddenly regained their feet and were charging at his back

Got you Lady Iellaya whispered with obvious glee As the Raven winged Vanguard spread her wings she spared Randidly a sly smile It seems like it will be quite the pleasure working together Mr Ghosthound I hope for a long and fruitful relationship between us

Then she glided forward and Nether Beasts began to die

Chapter 1123

As the ground vibrated and buzzed around them the combination of Randidly Lady Iellaya and Abiodun quickly ended the Nether offensive Yet by the end of it Randidly was grimacing

Even if Randidly was glad to be back in his body with all of his faculties the separated and now reunited perceptions made the whole experience of the reunion rather uncomfortable Mostly the fragments of consciousness that were previously just images now were chafing under the constant physical sensation of exhaustion that came along with a physical body

Although the images experienced a rough go of it on the frontlines they had shed the rather troublesomeness of a physical body and had been too preoccupied with the other problems to notice But now all those tiny experiences and sensations that were a constant companion to a physical body came right back and weighed down on Randidly

Which was to say nothing of the extremely significant mental exhaustion Making it back here had not been a simple or easy process

Just as Randidly was getting so frazzled that he barred his teeth toward the sky Vualla swayed next to him Turning quickly Randidly was there just in time to catch Vualla�s shoulders as she collapsed sideways

The first thing that Randidly noticed was how light she was it barely took any effort on his part to support her slowly to a laying position

They were still standing on the broken wreckage of the land directly in front of the headquarters while Lady Iellaya mopped up the remnants of the Nether army Several collapsed tents and overturned supply wagons were scattered around them Nearby Abiodun stood by the warped remnants of the emergency battlements and barked out orders to the soldiers that were still doing well enough to follow them Under his direction they began to search the battlefield for the wounded

They saved the Aether soldiers and took great relish in killing the Nether Beasts

Seeing that there was no threat to them in the immediate vicinity Randidly allowed his attention to focus directly on Vualla But he did trust that his Grim Intuition would warn him if the situation changed

Vualla�s eyelids fluttered and Randidly couldn�t help but notice that even her eyelashes were that vivid shade of azure Almost unconsciously his hands tightened on her shoulders as he allowed her to lean all the way back against the ground There she remained for several seconds clearly struggling to get her bearings

After taking several rapid breaths some of the fogginess from Vualla�s gaze lifted and she was able to focus on Randidly Her eyes crinkled at the edges and Randidly wasn�t sure if she was smiling or about to cry

Sorry She whispered Her hand reached up and curled around Randidly�s forearm Or maybe she tried to reach his face and her hand ran out of steam and collapsed limp against the highest limb she could reach My Fate was damaged against the Nether Gatekeeper So I might be a bit it will take a while for me

Then she smiled but it was forced and awkward an obvious invitation for Randidly to join in Vualla�s self mockery Fighting a Nether Gatekeeper It was too much even for me And I It was bad So so dark I could feel the way death while I was fighting it before you came I could feel

Vualla bit her lip Despite Randidly�s resolution to carefully control his emotional response toward Vualla he felt his gaze softening Even though the separate consciousnesses of the images that had been forcibly pulled apart were only starting to be blended back together it was hard to fight against the genuine purity of the emotion Grim Chimera felt for Vualla

To the Grim Chimera Vualla was singular

And it was precisely against that premise that Randidly felt so helpless Because it was simply not the case that no one like Vualla had ever existed Yet to say that to the Grim Chimera

But now�s not the time to have that internal fight Pressing his eyes together Randidly allowed some of his throbbing headache to pass Then he dropped his hand from her shoulder to her palm It was still sticky with dried blood as he squeezed it Rest It looks like everything is solved here

Randidly I have to Vualla struggled to sit up to bring her face toward his but she truly seemed feeble at the moment Her shoulders flexed but her neck seemed as limb as spaghetti Randidly wasn�t sure about the details but based on what he knew about Fates the fact that it reduced Vualla to this was worth noting I need I swore that if I saw you again I would tell you I�m so glad I met you Truly You you�re beautiful You changed my life

ah Blinking Randidly considered Vualla for several seconds But it seemed that phrase had released the tension from Vualla�s body and she slumped back onto the ground Her eyes fluttered and her mouth opened but then she was asleep

You�re beautiful The Grim Chimera that swirled around Randidly�s chest was buzzing like an entire powerplant�s worth of electricity had been run through his body There was happiness confusion glee suspicion and mostly a dangerous anger directed at Randidly for continuing to keep his realization about Vualla from the Grim Chimera

But it�s not that simple There are so many problems to solve let�s worry about this one later Randidly could only sigh and massage his temples But damn it was good to have real human shaped hands against Even if one of them was metal

So Randidly was just sitting blankly over Vualla when Lady Iellaya and Abiodun returned from their work

Lady Iellaya cracked her neck with a huge smile on her face Heh it�s been a while since I�ve been able to let loose like that You being able to sweep aside all the small fries Truly I�ve underestimated you Mr Ghosthound

Perhaps because he had been forced to completely deplete his Mana pool which was extremely impressive considering the small Mana expenditure of the Skill Randidly smiled thinly but said nothing to Lady Iellaya�s comment Truthfully his harassment had relied on momentum and image by the end of it Plus his joints ached Having a body was decidedly troublesome

Even if it only took a scant few points of Mana to launch a deadly attack with a thorny root when there were ten thousand Nether Beasts to deal with Randidly quickly ran out of gas to slaughter open a path to the Nether Gatekeepers And that didn�t even take into account the mental strain that Randidly incurred while trying to manipulation the innumerable roots

But if nothing else this experience of existing as several images in addition to my body has prepared me adequately to deal with all manner of mental strain Randidly thought with a sigh But even so the Nether cores in his chest spun Aether radiated outward slowly restoring life to his body that had been so long suppressed

Abiodun bowed deeply while Randidly was catching his breath Thank you for assistance both with this victory and with the issue of the Class We will not forget these favors

It�s no problem but I feel like we haven�t even bought ourselves very much time Randidly said lightly while looking up at the swirling mass of darkness above Nether Beasts had briefly ceased their assault with the deal of three Nether Gatekeepers but that was likely akin to bandaging a man who had been run through As long as the stomach wound remained that man would slowly die no matter how many bandages he possessed

Then he turned and looked up at the headquarters where Lord Miln and that fuck Cail Tweocs waited Enemies on all sides

Which is why we should use immediately Lady Iellaya said with a smirk Nodding toward Vualla she continued by saying After you drop her off somewhere come to my Command Tent I�m willing to begin the ritual immediately The sooner I have the strength worry of my status the better

Scratching his ears Randidly ran through Yggdrasil�s memories to try and get a grip on what had been promised The more time passed the more the images began to integrate back into him As he familiarized himself with Lady Iellaya�s situation he chewed his lip From what he could remember the prospect was daunting to say the least And Yggdrasil hadn�t been able to get much prep work done

For his part Randidly�s consciousness had largely been consumed with an elaborate and losing game of chess with the suppression array inscribed on the pod inside of which he had been trapped Although early on he was relatively free to act it slowly created complicated Aether constructions to bind him

When Randidly had broken those it would create more sophisticated ones that would eliminate the weakness he had exploited Certainly it had pushed Randidly�s Aether Manipulation Skills to the limit and earned him the Runic Rarity Skill Aether Surgeon but it had also left him increasingly unable to follow what was happening with his images So most of the details that he was now learning from Yggdrasil came as a surprise

It wasn�t just that she was stealing Aether from her subordinates Rather she was stitching all these individual�s Aether directly into the substance of her� Dangerous but I suppose I somehow managed something similar with the Alpha Cosmos To make a Class large enough to encompass all of that isn�t impossible but without time to experiment

or more importantly rest

Outloud Randidly said I think it�s best that I take a little more time with my physical body to acclimate myself before we can commence with your new Class� creation Especially due to the matter of adjusting your Fate I�m admittedly unfamiliar with the inner workings of Fates but I have a few ways to address that

Before Randidly could continue Abiodun stepped forward with glowing eyes and heaving shoulders His rocky fists were still splattered with the dark matter of the Nether Beasts After everything that we have done for you If you think the return of your body means

Abiodun peace Lady Iellaya laid a hand on his arm and considered Randidly I don�t believe our friend wants to back out of his promise he simply wants a chance to rest Truly having the images separated from the body is not an easy thing To have them return is a boon but there are costs with that too I�m sure

That is correct Randidly said simply to Lady Iellaya His gaze at Abiodun was heavy For all that he is a stone man he has quite the short temper

However perhaps we don�t have much time Randidly continued Turning around Randidly looked up toward the rocky outcropping on which the headquarters sat and gestured sharply If Lord Miln attempts to come after me even with the threat of the Nether forces here

Ah at the very least I can assure you that Lord Miln will no longer be an issue Lady Iellaya said with a smile She flexed her feathers along her arms and flung some of that same Nether gore that covered Abiodun off her body As a heretic your punishment was to be completely separated from your rights upon arrival But reclaiming your body has seen you once more elevated to your rightful status under the System and not even Lord Miln is so bold as to antagonize the Nexus Tribunal Even with an old monster backing him he will take some time to stabilize his position before he comes for you

Randidly nodded slowly to that It was reassuring to hear but Randidly had difficulty believing that it would really be that easy Lord Miln didn�t seem like the type to give up

Perhaps noticing that Randidly didn�t seem entirely convinced Lady Iellaya chuckled and shook her head But rather than pushing the issue she instead asked So how do you plan on addressing the issue of Fates If there�s anything I can do to help please ask

Randidly waved his hand No need it�s just that I�m only Level 49 I believe I should have at least condensed my own Fate before I attempt to change yours

You Lady Iellaya gaped at Randidly and leapt a full meter into the air like she had been thrown by the stone ground beneath her All of her feathers were sticking up as she regarded him Randidly could only chuckle wryly in response

After a few seconds Lady iellaya managed to gather herself Again she shook her head now almost helplessly Indeed You aren�t even Level 50 How how are you able to no I suppose that�s not a fair question to ask Yes please take your time in preparing We will be waiting back at the camp

Without waiting for an answer Lady Iellaya gestured sharply toward Abiodun and began walking away from the smoking battlefield Randidly chuckled and watched them go

Yes I still have a few handicaps keeping me from rivaling some of the powerful people here and it�s time I get rid of them But for now

Randidly picked Vualla up and began to whistle While he slowly walked back toward Lady iellaya�s camp he examined his Status Screen

Level 49 (51%)

Health(/R per hour) 5046/7628 (3679)

Mana(/R per hour) 3986/7384 (2177)

Stam(/R per min) 4713/6244 (1325)

Vit 725

End 645

Str 602

Agi 1020

Grim Intuition 790

Reaction 662

Resistance 672

Willpower 1072

Control 1111

Focus 619

Skills (Soul Skill) Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 10100

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 209 Heavy Blow Lvl 124 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 121 Fighting Experience (Un) Lvl 165 Block Lvl 77 Calculated Blow Lvl 117 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 87 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 126 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 86 Talon Strike Lvl 90 Counter Lvl 94 Flowing Momentum Lvl 15

LoBW Class Skills Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 27 Sharpness Lvl 132 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 48 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Reach of the Jade Slag Lvl 119 Erode Image Lvl 71 Spriggit�s Tinkering � Lvl 139 Aether Understanding Lvl 128 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 44 Visualization � Lvl 224 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 45 Absolute Timing Lvl 100 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood � Lvl 43 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 110 Lantern of Harsh Truths � Lvl 34 Sigil of an Approaching Fate Lvl 29

Descent of the Grim Chimera Chimeric Avoidance Lvl 216 Cursed Appetite of a Wraith Lvl 260 Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality Lvl 233 Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe Lvl 101 Molten Fang of the Pariah Lvl 195 Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes Lvl 180 The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Lvl 157 All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth Lvl 150

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 170 Aether Manipulation Lvl 199 Living Aether � Lvl 151 System Interference Lvl 88 Aether Surgeon Lvl 65

Spells Yggdrasil Soul Seed � Inspiration � Ignition Bolt � Lvl 126 Verdant Nova (Un) Lvl 85 Burning Footsteps Lvl 23 Nether�s Caress Lvl 111 Influence of the Molten Core � Lvl 103 Eruption of the Blazing Leyline Lvl 111 Ignition of the Emerald Essence Lvl 139 Mana Physique (Un) Lvl 19

Crafting Potion Making Lvl 73 Farming Lvl 34 Analyze Lvl 29 Refine Lvl 106 Extract Lvl 92 Mana Engraving Lvl 245 Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity Lvl 68 Touch of the Ghosthound

Yggdrasil the Tree of Upheaval Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 173 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 210 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 190 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 238 the Deific Mien of Yggdrasil Lvl 249 the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil Lvl 202 Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Lvl 189 Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Lvl 258

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Pain Resistance Lvl 139 Fire Resistance Lvl 179 Sewing Lvl 11 Digging Lvl 9 Cooking Lvl 101 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 30 Aether Connection Lvl 21 Soul Bond Lvl 135 Chef�s Palette Lvl 36 Nether Acclimation � Lvl 190 Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 59 Chosen of Ash Lvl 141 Engineering Savvy � Lvl 154 From Darkness Genesis � Lvl 17 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 148 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos Catalyst of Agony Lvl 10 Nether Sensation Lvl 35 Nether Rituals Lvl 55

Chapter 1124

One fact that immediately jumped out to Randidly was the fact that Nether Beasts counted toward experience A significant amount of it Which put into question some of Randidly�s theories about how experienced was gathered

Killing them today on the battlefield with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil had earned him enough experience to grow to Level 48 and then 49 before stopping halfway to 50 And considering the sharply increasing experience requirements to reach 50 it was clear that he had gained a huge amount of experience in a very short amount of time Most of it was probably gobbled up by the half Level toward 50

In addition as was indicated by the notification that Randidly received as he repaired his Class Level 48 had given him no bonuses All of those were used up in order to repair the damage to Randidly�s prayer� that had resulted from that brief moment of the attention of that being seeking the Creature But the Level up gains for 49 were as they should be so at least the brief damage was repaired now

With the knowledge that Randidly had gained from his extended use of Nether Rituals Randidly made use of the return walk to examine his Class with an even more exacting gaze But it seemed to him that his previous efforts weren�t in vain the ritual had been prepared Once more the core desire of his Class had been restored All that remained was to see it to the end

Which in the System�s eyes meant condensing a Fate

But of course there were quite a few things to do before then

When he finally made it back to his tent having been left in the dust by the shocked Lady Iellaya and Abiodun the first thing Randidly Ghosthound did was set Vualla gently down on the ground and gaze meaningfully at her With a trembling hand he did his best to corral the mass of her azure hair

Then he shook his head and turned away This is a problem for another day For now

Randidly�s Perception turned inward At the core of him where an Aether Crossroads still calmly flowed four cores of Nether spun slowly around the Aether Crossroads Where there should be violent rejection there was just calm contentment The Aether animated the communication and synchronicity between the cores and the Nether added weight and balance to the crossroads

Even now looking at it and sensing the strange symmetry and balance of the arrangement Randidly was thrown Although the evidence was clearly before him it was difficult him to currently understand what was going on It was like showing algebra to a child You could believe it worked from seeing it work but there was no true understanding

But that was also an issue for another day So Randidly moved forward with his Perception the balance between Aether and Nether was interesting but not why he came

Deep within the four swirling cores was another small pseudo core made not to hold Nether but to hold image And Randidly quickly popped it and gritted his teeth When the core was shattered what was held within quickly exploded outward Trembling Randidly fell to his knees as the strange sensation rocked him

And then there they were Salazar and Zauna blinking and disoriented

We are b b back Salazar exclaimed excitedly The p place that you p put us was a b b bit

It was the best I could do on short notice Randidly said quickly to cut off Salazar before he could work up a head of steam And honestly I�m exhausted from it Please give me some peace to recover

While both nodded shortly after a brief hesitation Salazar seeming extremely disappointed by Randidly�s brusque response Yet it escaped neither of their eyes that Randidly had reclaimed his body since they had seen him last And it didn�t escape Randidly�s notice that Zauna was looking at him with eyes that were burning with questions

Perhaps due to his change in status now that he had recovered his body both listened when he looked pointedly toward the door They filed out casting slow glances over their shoulders as though they expected Randidly to change his mind halfway seeing the pitiful state of their departing forms But Randidly just stared forward with his mouth in a thin line

What he had to do next he wanted to do alone

Although maybe the reason they are listening to me now was because they are afraid of me Randidly thought rather sadly It wasn�t exactly me but the Grim Chimera but he did leave Zagnal there with the Aether Key so that the Nether forces wouldn�t believe something was wrong when there was a dramatically weaker Aether Key that also possessed no defenses

But it�s not like I wouldn�t have made the same decision Randidly shivered at the certainty of the knowledge My situation in the pod With those learning restraints it was only a matter of time before they would have overwhelmed my ability to manipulate Aether And then there weren�t just restraints there those Aether constructs were designed to fish out secrets Certainly a chilling reception for Heretics here at the front lines

A decision had to be made and shortly And I was in no shape to fight my way through the army of the Nether King But I sacrificed a life for my own I cannot deny that There�s no point not when this is the Path I�m walking

Taking a deep breath Randidly sat next to Vualla and rubbed his thumb along the ring that was still present on his metallic left arm Rather than dwell on Zagnal his first priority was preparing for the future Immediately Randidly grinned because his equipment was all dutifully stored within Some part of him was somewhat worried that the equipment would have been kept separately from his body so it was a relief to find it all here

Randidly carefully removed Acri and Sulfur both of which cooed happily and wriggled across him Only when they settled down did Randidly begin to remove his other equipment from the ring

His White Steel Greeves Iradak�s Tinglesilk Gloves Sun�s Teardrop Belt The Ancestral Circlet of the Broken Ridge Piece by piece Randidly slid the equipment back onto him Although he hadn�t gotten the chance to wear this equipment for long it was still his equipment Wearing it was part of who Randidly Ghosthound was

Finally Randidly produced Chulroon�s Chisel and the fingerless leather glove with a hole in the palm and placed them on the ground in front of him Hissing his breath out through his nose Randidly then began to concentrate After quite an exhausting series of mental conversations Randidly pulled the hiltless blade out of his image area and laid it on the ground next to the two gloves It flared up briefly but Randidly was able to convince the will within to enter into a dormant state

The weirdest part of the whole process was how abruptly cold Randidly felt after he removed the blade from his chest Shivering he leaned forward to stare intently at the three Fates I�ve gotten more reliant on the blade�s energy than I thought But it might be time to think about how to use these Fates for my own benefits If each one forms the core of one of my images to help me condense my own Fate

Randidly wasn�t sure it would work like that But from his experience with Nether and Nether Rituals he suspected it would be possible assuming he was willing to put a sufficient amount of effort into the attempt

And faith It would take quite a bit of faith

The only problem with this strategy was the indeterminate Status of the glove Fate that Randidly had found in the trunk It had clearly saved his life and it felt extremely familiar to him but that didn�t make him want to use it at all

Right now sitting in the lonely tent with Vualla�s wounded form next to him Randidly could practically taste that sense of familiarity in the Aether of the glove It was uncannily familiar But no matter how much he cast his mind around he couldn�t figure out of whom it could remind him

The complicated part of it was that considering the three Fates to the three images plan the glove would go to the Grim Chimera Yggdrasil and Chulroon�s Chisel seemed matched together and Ignition Essence could use the heat and power of the phoenix fire in the hiltless blade

To have the Grim Chimera who seemed to have become the most dominant of Randidly�s image be possibly influenced by whatever familiar sensation was in the glove it was difficult for Randidly to wrap his mind around it It seemed much riskier than necessary

Randidly sighed Too many questions One thing at a time

Gingerly Randidly reached forward and picked up the hitless blade As his fingers touched the slate grey metal his skin began to hiss and spit as the heat rapidly overwhelmed his body�s defenses But Randidly didn�t waver Still keeping a careful grip on the blade he turned and cautiously walked to the far end of the tent

There waiting was the thoroughly cracked almost paper mache ball that housed the wounded Ignition Essence With a sense of solemnity Randidly approached the cracked egg with the blade raised above his head

Although you meant well Yggdrasil you aren�t the best at things you don�t understand Randidly�s eyes glowed emerald as he looked down at the cracked egg You are a creature that grows from sunlight and water Your growth is even and considered Inputs follow outputs It possesses none of the erraticism of Ignition Essence

Because Ignition Essence is perhaps the true wildness of my personality It is the part of me that believes I can stand against the System Yggdrasil and Grim Chimera provide me the backbone and bravery but Ignition Essence gives me the spark I need And that spark can�t survive in a vacuum

It was hatched in darkness but it was birthed from the memories and desires I held from my time on Earth and Tellus

As he raised the blade above his head Randidly�s bare foot moved forward and he tapped the egg lightly with his big toe From a single touch it sighed and scattered to ash and flaking paint In a split second there was nothing but a pile of expended and dried gunk on the ground in front of him If Ignition Essence had been hiding within there was no outward sign

Yet Randidly�s grin was vicious Your second mistake Yggdrasil is that you were afraid of the wrong thing It is not such a terrible thing for the light of inspiration to flicker on and off Inspiration is not a constant companion no the most terrible fear should be the death of progress That the will that drives toward that epiphany should disappear That the soul will no longer crave that the world be better than this

Which unfortunately was exactly what had happened Cut off from memories Ignition Essence had forgotten itself Yet Randidly didn�t feel any sadness Ignition Essence had vanished But it was still an image that he had made Although it would expend quite a bit of energy it could be recreated And in this case he didn�t even need to use his own energy during the process

When Randidly�s personality had been removed from the Ignition Essence that drive had disappeared The fire had slowly faded All that was left was emptiness and darkness those same elements that had given birth to Ignition Essence in the first place

Yet that wasn�t all that went to this solemn moment of holding the blade high above the ashes of his image Randidly now had his understanding of Nether to guide his hand The gunk egg had been the bubble and those sensations of emptiness and darkness had been the core With the egg shattered now emptiness and darkness expanded to fill that same space Those qualities became the bubble

And there was always another core laying within

The hiltless blade began to glow cherry red and release heat as though sensing Randidly�s emotions His grip tightened on the weapon so much so that it cut his palm open and blood began to drip down onto the dust in front of him

Slice through the darkness cut apart the emptiness Randidly�s face twisted and he laughed Rise for me Ignition Essence

The blade left a red trail through the air as it cut The wind of the blade�s passage blew away the remnants of the egg and cut a deep gash into the ground Those ashes that were blown away quickly ignited into a shower of sparks that exploded outward and singed small holes in the canvas of the tent

For a second there was silence Randidly�s hand tightened on the blade as the fire in it continued to build His skin even with the benefit of his Endurance was quickly being overcome His brain warned Randidly that soon his muscles would be damaged And he was oh so tired

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 180

Yet sometimes all you could do is wait Inspiration might only visit those who worked for it but that didn�t mean it was predictable

Then as Randidly watched a small emerald spark began to glow in the scar on the ground The visual variances in the air slowly stilled as that emerald tongue of flame began to flicker unevenly upward

Randidly smirked and tossed the burning blade to the side He flexed the hand to the side waiting for Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil to heal the wound Welcome back Now let�s get to work

Chapter 1125

Of course the first real order of business for Randidly Ghosthound was a nap In more ways than he could count he was drained to the limits of his endurance So a long nap one that finally allowed Randidly�s physical body to rest and settle back toward equilibrium

Because he had not been able to take even a second break while he was locked within the pod resisting the steadily learning Aether constructs If he had he likely wouldn�t have been able to escape so easily from the bindings

So Randidly laid down next to Vualla and slept letting his internal merge and settle

At his core he was still Randidly even after his images had been allowed to grow independently of him they still were born of the same shared history Randidly was still the boy who had sat alone on his bed while he listened to his mother�s drunken laughter in the other room He was still the boy who followed Sydney across state lines only to surrender her to his new best friend and then he was the same young man that kept Sydney�s illness a secret despite the fact it created a rift between him and Ace

He was still the same man who learned from Shal�s knee and then returned to Earth to plant the seeds that would become Donnyton He was still the one who lost his temper and hurt Tessa his ex girlfriend

He was still the one that returned to Tellus twice once to fight for Shal�s honor and the second time to fight for the Fate of the planet And he had won both times Not alone but he had rapidly grown to the point that he could affect the outcome of the contests Hell from the way Shal talked before he went through the portal to Nexus� trial it was only due to Randidly shifting Shal�s perspective that this outcome became possible

Randidly was still the same man who with a growing sense of responsibility and the weight of his prior Soulskill�s collapse on his conscious returned to Earth and analyzed Donnyton�s characteristics He found them wanting So he destroyed their confidence and cast Donnyton aside switching to the Order Ducis as the main vehicle for the influence he wanted to have on Earth

He was the man who created Kharon the moving city He was the one who would guard the Earth from themselves creating an influence that would stand apart from the established practices He was the blade that hung above the Orders watching for the inevitable slide toward the abuse of power

Very few of Randidly�s actions earned him goodwill from the people he left behind But he felt relatively confident in his choices on Earth There was a reason for all this and that was the terrible existence of the Nexus that hung over all their heads Because they prodded Earth toward a doom Randidly had no choice but to grow callous in order to prepare to buckle the yoke thrust upon them

But he was also the man who had killed Ki Kunot because he was distracted and sure of himself And that continued to temper his outlook

That was the man who Randidly Ghosthound was slowly being woven back together from the three core images that formed him That history had set them on a path and now they returned having had the opportunity to follow that path on their own

From Yggdrasil Randidly earned the trait of kindness in the broadest sense kind in the way nature was kind that if you weren�t tragically unlucky you could make a life in the wild Also from the World Tree Randidly learned about steady growth and progress He learned about the importance of a strong base that could support a world Because of Yggdrasil Randidly had an endless desire to live

From Ignition Essence Randidly earned his faith in the impossible Although he sometimes didn�t know how some goal would be accomplished the Ignition Essence was the endless nuclear reactor that powered Randidly�s drive forward He also learned how danger and beauty could walk together as one from the fickle and aggressive image

The newest arrival the Grim Chimera brought with it less new personality traits but more accurately license to finally unleash parts of himself that Randidly had long buried in his heart His natural aggression buried by a childhood alone and the fixation that he had for Sydney Defiance buried inward as Randidly�s childhood logic steered him away toward rebellion and toward slow sedition

But the Grim Chimera was not a patient creature not when it didn�t need to be And perhaps that was the greatest strength that the Grim Chimera brought an absolute certainty in his own judgment Self confidence earned from a life of surviving Or in Randidly�s case years of struggling not to be turned into a tool or killed

These personality traits were like wide bands of colors slotting together to form Randidly In his dreaming state Randidly watched the idly was they wrapped closely together lively eels of energy that wove themselves through his Skills and Class

Forest green and gold from Yggdrasil Emerald and scarlet from Ignition Essence Grey black and a dark purple that looked like the sky at dusk from the Grim Chimera

And when the colors finished weaving themselves together Randidly�s eyes snapped open to see the bland canvas of the tent on the frontlines

Once more he was whole He sat upward and brought his not metallic hand to his face closing his eyes for a brief second with the fingertips of his pointer finger and ring finger In a way that hadn�t been true before he was finally recovered from the ordeal Everything inside of him finally settled back to its full recuperated state

now we just need to hope that Lady Iellaya was right about Lord Miln taking it easy for a while Randidly thought idly Then he glanced at Vualla and couldn�t stop the small smile from creeping across his face Shaking his head Randidly stood and stretched

God it feels fucking good to have a body again A body that can move Randidly muttered Then his eyes widened abruptly Does that also mean that once more

Randidly checked his Skill Absolute timing told him he had been asleep for a little less than six hours 1

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 101

Grinning viciously Randidly walked out of the tent and put his hands on his hips Knowing exactly about the passage of time couldn�t be underestimated Especially considering the fact that they were on an active battlefield

Randidly glanced up at the sky Since Lady Iellaya had driven them back and weakened the Nether forces infringing upon the Aether�s land the blue veins had withdrawn somewhat from the air They no longer transformed the edges of the Nether army into a forest of spectral algae But certainly the Nether army wouldn�t stay passive for very long

Randidly rubbed his forehead So many fucking things to check

The first thing he did was open up a Skill description for Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil which was the evolved form of Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil

Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil A powerful Skill that allows the user to channel the near infinite energy of Yggdrasil and create powerful roots and vines to attack the target As long as the user can sense the target plant matter can extend near infinitely to chase In addition it is possible to extend roots from any dirt stone plant matter or object that the user has touched in the last twenty four hours Mana cost decreases with Skill Level Damage vastly increases with Skill Level Limits on range ludicrously increase with Skill Level

Nodding to himself Randidly�s eyes focused on the line about any object he touched in the last 24 hours He turned around as he spun the possibilities slowly in his mind But there was simply so much other reflection to do Returning back into the tent Randidly lay himself down next to Vualla and entered into his Soulskill

With a light pop Randidly found himself standing in a familiar office towering like a titan amongst two dozen Spriggits who stood around wearing brightly colored party hats As he suddenly appeared they all leaped back with gasps and shots scrambling backward in order to avoid whatever calamity had suddenly descended upon the office

But as the crowd of Spriggits parted Randidly was given a straight path forward to view a single individual who was sitting primly behind a desk In front of that individual was a cake covered in lit candles Her cheeks were puffed out as though she was about to blow out the candles and make a wish

Due to Randidly�s arrival Wendy could only sigh The candles wavered but didn�t go out

Happy birthday to me I guess Wendy grumbled She pushed the cake to the far side of her desk as though the whole ordeal now disgusted her Her gaze on Randidly displayed a clear irritation Likely because he had promised to visit quite soon after he had brought her back to his Soulskill I suppose you�ll be wanting something yes Maybe a mechanical planet that has the ability to shrink Or better yet a perpetual motion machine that also generates energy and can play the piano Well I�m not interested in such trivialities any longer

Randidly�s smile was forced even as he felt a thread of irritation at the obviously hostile reception Not that he could blame her he had broken his word Look Wendy I know I promised to check in more often and provide you resources for your research but I was removed from my body for a time This is the first chance I�ve had to rest somewhere safe

Uh huh Wendy said skeptically Her thin face wrinkled up as her paranoia demanded that she be suspicious of everything that Randidly said Randidly waited

Eventually she sighed Well that�s fine then I believe you But this is a private event I�ll be perfectly happy to have a normal discussion with you as soon as you schedule one with my secretary For now I�m sure you know this building well enough to see yourself out

Although her words were still grumpy Randidly could easily tell that this was just Wendy reacting to the suddenness of his arrival not the fact that he had come altogether Which is why he smiled confidently and leaned forward But it�s your birthday Surely

You can�t seriously expect me to believe you remembered it Wendy said with a shake of her head

Randidly didn�t even bother to lie But does it matter if I brought a gift

At her core Wendy was a simple woman who was motivated by her curiosity and desire to understand the world Beyond that she was simply a stubborn scientist There were a few seconds where suspicion and desire warred across her face but the victor was obvious from the beginning

Well Wendy said slowly She stood up from her desk I suppose you�ve come all this way and if something was enough to bind you it must have been troublesome and about this gift

Chuckling at her sudden change of heart Randidly stretched his hand forward He wasn�t sure about both whether it was possible or his chances of success in a short time frame but he had faith that the result of his efforts would be a gift that Wendy would find fascinating

Nether roped together once and failed But on the second attempt the pieces intertwined perfectly and set and a pseudo Nether core appeared in Randidly�s palm The small thing appeared like a royal blue marble already warping the surrounding air with the energy that it threw off It might be a very much watered down source of Nether but it was still an energy that reacted very violently toward almost any substance

And it was something that Wendy had never seen before

Just something I picked up in my travels I would treat it carefully Randidly said with a small smile It releases a powerful energy field that will neutralize and corrupt most normal energies and substances

Wendy�s eyes were sparkling as she took step after shaking step forward Her fingers flexed and trembled as she stared at it It�s so pretty

Randidly closed his hand I just hope you could answer a few questions I have about the current state of the Soulskill I�ve been away for seven months after all

Chapter 1126

Despite Randidly�s worries it seemed that things had been relatively peaceful in the Soulskill Under the Monster Prince�s guidance it seemed that the denizens of Randidly�s old Soulskill were almost entirely integrated at least theoretically into their new home country of the Shelly Kingdom

Of course the looming threat of war with the neighboring Armgrast Empire was a danger but it wasn�t an existential one that Randidly felt needed his involvement He obviously couldn�t completely eradicate war in the Alpha Cosmos nor did he want to spend the time to do it His only job was to determine whether the undercurrents in his Soulskill were the result of someone else meddling or simply the inhabitant�s ambition

Yet to Randidly�s great irritation there was more than enough present in the report from Wendy to make Randidly suspicious that something unusual was happening Mostly his suspicions were based on the state of the lighthouses

They had at least historically always existed in this world that was the Alpha Cosmos But Wendy noted that presence� was largely theoretical and ritualistic in nature they hadn�t provided the functioning Classes before Randidly became connected with the Soulskill a little over a year ago

Since then nine had been discovered And due to the Classes strategic worth to the countries they were generally hotly contested Three were present on the new continent that Randidly�s people arrived on which now served as the land the Monster Prince ruled In addition there was one in the far South high in a snowy mountain range that was largely considered too much trouble to try and monopolize by either of the two major powers of the Shelly Kingdom and Armgrast Empire

Aside from those three belonged to the Shelly Kingdom while only two belonged to the Armgrast Empire And the reason that this fact caught Randidly�s attention was that less than a month ago a Class Lighthouse was discovered with the rather vicious Class Warrior with the Grim Smile� It was even on the border between the two major powers

Yet the Armgrast Empire had not dispatched more than a token force to contest it Some political figures were saying it was a gesture of goodwill between the nations to not constantly feud with the Shelly Kingdom over every little thing but Randidly thought that smelled like bullshit Even if the relationship between his Soulskill�s refugees and the people of Shelly Kingdom was less rosy than everyone said there was no way that this Armgrast Empire would allow the Shelly Kingdom access to six of the total Class Lighthouses

At the very least the Armgrast Empire should have supported Halio a minor city state located between the two superpowers and right on top of the Class Lighthouse in their bid to declare that the Class Lighthouse belonged to them The fact that they didn�t meant that there was something very strange going on in the governing of the Armgrast Empire And it wasn�t just the weird impression that Randidly had of Lazareth Armgrast the lion headed man that had tried to impersonate a diamond merchant to get close to Azriel

Luckily enough Randidly suspected that if anyone could give him the information he needed it was Azriel Which was why for the second time Randidly was sneaking into a courtyard in the capital city of Armgrast Empire as the last light of dusk faded

There were a few reasons that this visit was different than his first however First and perhaps least importantly the courtyard Randidly was infiltrating was much nicer filled with vivid violet blues and warm oranges Plus the courtyard was part of the sprawling central palace at the center of the Armgrast Empire�s capital It seemed Azriel was moving up in the world

Second and also relatively unimportant was the fact that the guards were now Level 51 and 52 around the courtyard And despite the only eleven or twelve Level difference these individuals were much better at their jobs It seemed that people were finally realizing the importance of Skill Levels

But even if they had higher Skill Levels they couldn�t compete with Randidly�s

Third and most amusingly Randidly arrived to see that Azriel and strung together a rope by tying sheets together and was repelling down from a third story balcony Which was such a strange visual picture that he couldn�t control his laughter

What the hell are you doing Randidly chuckled and stepped out of a perfectly manicured treeline as Azriel alighted on the ground in front of him

She glanced at him sideways with a familiar an amused smile on her face Then she raised her hands above her hand and spun lightly causing her floor length black dress to spin playfully around her It�s about sending the right message A disappeared lady without any signs of a struggle their imaginations will run wild But a rope of sheets hanging out from a balcony I�ve obviously run away And manipulating their perceptions is very important so

For several seconds Randidly just blinked at this version of Azriel who stood in front of him one who was just as frank and forward but much more feminine Smirking at him Azriel lowered her arms

Jeez couldn�t you be at least a little surprised to see me Randidly said with a shake of his head Chuckling Azriel threw her bone white hair over her shoulder and shrugged They both came together on the manicured lawn and hugged each other then took a step back But what I really meant why did you actually climb down the sheet For someone like you a jump like that should be nothing

Azriel gave Randidly a frank stare like he was being an idiot Randidly I have never had the opportunity to climb down a rope from a balcony before Experiences are the building blocks toward the future Besides it turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable The sheets were quite fine and provided a more than adequate grip

Randidly could only laugh at Azriel�s frank answer It�s good to see you To talk to someone who is so direct and honest I�ve had a tiring few months

Who hasn�t Azriel said dismissively With practiced delicacy she reached down and pulled up the train of her gown so it no longer trailed on the grass She leaned her head forward toward the wall Now can we talk while I flee

Azriel Randidly could only roll his eyes as he examined the black lace gown lined with pearls Which Randidly couldn�t help but notice Azriel seemed completely at ease while wearing You cannot seriously expect me to believe you plan on fleeing while wearing that

Randidly Azriel replied mimicking his semi disgusted tone with remarkable accuracy This is a disappointing mistake to make As with the other novel action I took tonight never have I had the chance to flee a city while wearing

Okay I get it Randidly said with a wave of his hand He began to walk toward the far wall and Azriel followed with quick steps Both barely had to exert themselves to leap over the rainbow colored garden and reach the walls But I have to ask does this have anything to do with the fact that the Armgrast Empire didn�t bother to fight for that last Class Lighthouse

As the landed on top of the courtyard wall Azriel nodded Yes it does During the mobilization of the team to intervene in that conflict it was discovered that there is a vast and strange ruin underneath the border between the two larger countries Based on what we discovered no one else has found explored it or even uncovered its existence And initial scouting reports indicate there are treasures like we�ve never seen before inside of it

So instead of mobilizing for the Class Lighthouse the Armgrast empire or more honestly Lazareth Armgrast has been secretly preparing an expedition to explore that ruin To which I have been invited as a member

That made Randidly�s eyebrows shoot upward as they lightly flitted across the rooftops of the city And you are running away from that I know that you said you wanted to find another type of strength but I never thought

God no I don�t run away Azriel said dismissively Her scarlet eyes flashed in the darkness as the passed over a street that was particularly well lit by lanterns when Randidly gave her frank look Hah Well I don�t run away without a reason But me fleeing will be what they assume at least at first and I suspect they will spend some time searching for me and wondering why I fled so suddenly Perhaps Lazareth will even suspect I defected to the Shelly Kingdom Either way it should delay the expedition

during which time Randidly said slowly as it dawned on him You are going to go into the ruins alone and explore

Exactly You�ve certainly gotten sharper since I�ve seen you last Much more engaged as a listener Did something traumatic happen Azriel said with a sidelong gaze

I�m somewhat disturbed that my listening made you assume something traumatic happened Randidly said rather sardonically

Shrugging Azriel said Well you were quite oblivious in the past Debilitatingly so Too focused for your own good on your own problems And now well it seems you�ve truly grown up Congratulations

Thanks

They both hopped down off the roofs after they vaulted over the walls and the buildings became more sparse along the road With his bare feet on the dusty ground Randidly turned and regarded the Azriel turned lady As he looked at her face half hidden in the shadow of the night he wondered how her pursuit of a non martial strength was going Seeing the confidence in her stance and the lift of her chin he had to assume it was going well

But how well must it be going that they are inviting her on this dangerous expedition Randidly wondered Maybe it�s because of her relationship with Lazareth but still Yet I suppose the real question is what sort of ruin is it If it�s just a cave with more than one Class Lighthouse that�s one thing But if it involves something deeper a remnant of a past Soulskill for example

Do you want company for your expedition Randidly asked quietly

Azriel pursed her lips How much spare time do you have Even traveling quickly it might take us a day to reach the ruins from here Once there the exploration itself seemed like it would take at least a week Can you be away for that long I have seen your track record at enticing individuals to kill you You are practically irresistible when you put your mind to it

To that Randidly could only wince I wish you wouldn�t have put that so bluntly

I wish so many people weren�t out there trying to kill my friend Azriel admitted frankly One of my oldest friends now Because Then she shook her head well before I met you I didn�t give myself much time for friends So look out for yourself

Friends Randidly nodded slowly as he studied Azriel She boldly met his gaze not looking away Due to the movements of her Master they had been on opposite sides for Randidly�s second visit to Tellus but that was only late in the game Leading up to that point Randidly never would have gotten as far as he had without Azriel�s extremely pointed guidance on how he should improve

And to hear the word friends made some part of Randidly still and reflect on it Because he couldn�t forget the vast gulf of awkward and unsaid things that existed now between him Ace and Sydney Especially so after Randidly had watched Ace saying all those extremely envious things as he confronted Straud

Because Randidly also didn�t have many friends Perhaps subordinates and those he trusted but friends had somehow become a complicated word As the most powerful Earthling his supply of friends was dwindling And despite the strange struggle of the feelings Randidly felt toward Vualla now that was a completely separate relationship issue

There were so few people that Randidly could meet truly as equals They all seemed to slowly align themselves behind him or against him He was a polarizing figure and his sway meant that the intermediate tier of relationships was slowly pushed away

Fine then Randidly said lightly He offered Azriel a hand But as friends you be safe too huh I don�t think I need to tell you about having some extremely dangerous individuals influencing me in the past so don�t take risks you don�t need to

Obviously Azriel said dismissively She took his hand and shook it I will weigh every choice and select the most optimal option But due to that very danger you are referencing there is no need to have a dozen of the locals die to your hidden demons Randidly Ghosthound It is safer for me to proceed alone

Randidly chuckled but now it was a bitter laugh Heh Let�s hope you aren�t being prescient about what is hiding within the depths of these ruins Because if it really is my demons then opening them up is extremely dangerous

Chapter 1127

The first thing Randidly noticed when he returned to his body was that Vualla was gone from her collapsed position next to him It was honestly surprising that she had been able to get up and move without him noticing but Randidly supposed Grim Intuition didn�t recognize her as a threat

She did however leave him a note that was laying next to him The corner of Randidly�s mouth quirked upward as he saw how messy her handwriting was Did she not even take off her gauntlets to write this

Randidly

I�m returning to Commander Terith�s camp to check in and rest some After I�ve recovered I�ll return so we can talk

Don�t disappear on me again

Vualla

Which at least means I have one less problem to worry about in the meantime Randidly thought sourly as he did his best to release all of his tension with a deep sigh Right after finding a moment of peace in that dark night while speaking to Azriel Randidly was back with a pile of issues he needed to address

Randidly was sitting cross legged and trying to make a mental checklist of the order in which he needed to proceed when Salazar pushed open the tent flap and stuck his long neck into the dark interior

S sir Lady Iellaya says we need to muster Another attack is coming f f from the Nether f forces If you are tired Abiodun s said

Actually Randidly cracked his neck and stood The runic engravings on his metallic left arm flared to life as he flexed the fingers one by one and savored the sensation Maybe some exercise is exactly what I need to clear my head Is there word for how long they expect it to be until the attack

A h h half hour Salazar stuttered Then he hesitated Will Z zauna and I

Yep you�ll be coming Randidly chuckled at the way Salazar�s face immediately paled And get yourself ready in half that I expect that the Nether attack won�t let us sit easy and calmly muster up in front of them

Bobbing his head wildly Salazar pulled himself out of the tent and Randidly could hear his rapid footfalls as he hurried away After chewing his lip for a second Randidly turned his attention inward Because of the intensity of his struggle against the Aether mechanisms in the pod toward the end he hadn�t been as free to utilize his PP So now he took the huge chunk that he had gathered and considered his options

Still about three hundred short of the next wave of benefits from the Alpha Cosmos Randidly rubbed his chin But more than enough to give me an edge for the current situation

Congratulations You have finished the Nether Adaption III Path Few traverse this dark and twisting path fearing that their bodies will be corrupted by the strange energies of Nether Yet somehow you seem to thrive and emerge ever stronger the more that Nether becomes present in the fabric of your existence The energies are slowly being woven together Please know that there is a secret at the end of this Path it is recommended that you don�t continue any farther You have been warned

Congratulations Endurance and Resistance +40 Effectiveness of all Nether related Skills per Skill Level is slightly increased Due to synchronicity your Skill Nether Nether Acclimation � has evolved into Nether Modification Skill Level has been lost as the Skill has become Unique

Nether Modification Your body has been so seasoned by the presence of Nether that it has developed natural resistances to its warping effects that are so strong that there are practically no negative effects that result from exposure It might not be your natural habitat but it will no longer slow you down

Randidly could only sigh as he read the notifications These ominous messages slipped into Path completions are starting to get quite old but at least there wasn�t an overt threat included Only an implied one

Still the Stats gained from the completion of the Path combined with the 1 Endurance he earned for every 10 of the 600 PP he spent on the Path meant that this Path came with a 100 strong Endurance boost Which was nothing to sneeze at Losing his Nether Resistance Skill as something that could Level up was somewhat annoying but it certainly helped that he wouldn�t be oppressed by the presence of Nether any longer

Randidly looked down at his hand in wonder Although maybe the secret it speaks about is one that I already know that Nether and Aether can complement each other Yet I almost think that is too light of a truth to merit that ominous assurance of remorse should I continue

Randidly glanced at his Path options and there was the Nether Modification IV Path But at 1000 PP it would be a long time until he finished that Or at least it would wait until he earned the 300 more PP he needed for his Alpha Cosmos to pay out a large amount of PP

Okay all prepared Randidly spoke brightly into the air Inside of him his images began to stir as he gathered his power to his will After all portions of him finally being given a rest it was amazing how heavy and sharp his Willpower seemed to him Time to try something different today eh

Abiodun scowled and gestured sharply with his hand for the forces around him to fall backward from the sparse defensive fortifications and be relieved by the reserved troops Aether soldiers gradually retreated doing their best not to stumble over the cracked and seething ground of the borderlands

Seeing the opening that had been created by the heavy bombardment of Nether against the minor fortifications the Nether Beasts surged forward with their strange limbs flailing The waves of bodies began to concentrate as they forced their way through the openings in the fortifications

That damned Miln Abdioun scowled Taking half of every camps fortification gear to strengthen the center might protect your ass but it�s going to get the rest of us killed

But despite Abiodun�s suspicions that it was a directly crafted attack to expose Lady Iellaya to additional danger as hers was one of the two most vulnerable camps it was a reasonable order The prior attack on the central camp at least made Lord Miln�s theory plausible So they had no choice but to comply And now they were forced to accept the fact that their fortifications had gaps in them that the Nether Beasts could use

The gaps at least funneled the Nether Beasts into densely packed columns but it was hard to take advantage of that fact when the Nether had opened three vast portals for a vast bombardment of the frontlines The covering fire made it difficult to mass any attack to cut the dense columns apart So while Lady Iellaya and Commander Terith dealt with the Nether Gatekeepers maintaining them above Abiodun was in charge of managing the below

Could be worse Abiodun thought with a sigh Then he returned his vigilant glare at the commander of the Nether forces as both were bound to remain still until the other moved toward the battlefield The only hope of Lady Iellaya finally actualizing her dreams of becoming one whole entity with all the potential she gathered could be here on the front lines endangering himself pointlessly

Just as he was thinking that Abiodun her the strange sound of hooves and turned around Then he sighed this bastard But at least his Skill can be used from a distance

Yet even as Abiodun thought that Randidly Ghosthound continued boldly forward while riding a strange creature that appeared to be made entirely from roots Behind him almost thirty knights riding strange almost insectoid camels came after him with their leafy spears raised toward the sky They painted a decidedly farcical picture

Huge shells of Nether continued to crash into the fractured stone ground of the frontlines but the entire column that Randidly was leading moved with surprising grace as they winded their way forward Even as the Nether bombs impacted the ground around them the group moved as sinuously as a cobra through the dangerous landscape of broken and scorched sandstone Abiodun was surprised to see that even Randidly�s two attendant images were attached to the end of the column following along with the same smoothness

There is a Skill here Abiodun thought with a frown A weak one but Skills that impact the battlefield are relatively rare Few people utilize one of their finite Skill slots for such an ability With his Willpower behind it pushing it toward an image

Yet Abiodun couldn�t help but grow angry as Randidly clearly did not intend to slow down as he approached the Nether Beasts that were scrambling forward through the gaps in the heavy grey fortifications If something happened to him

At the very least the bombardment stops near the Nether Forces But if he doesn�t turn around soon he�s going to be smack dab in the middle of the enemy army

But Randidly did not slow down If anything he accelerated the root beast he was riding launching itself forward as he moved toward the Nether Beasts And his retinue seemed almost pulled to follow him accelerating behind in a long elastic line

A huge crab Nether Beast at the front of the invading force leapt into the air its six sharp arms stabbing downward toward Randidly Slowly Randidly�s gaze drifted upward toward the thing Without even missing a beat Randidly�s arm blurred into motion and the leafy spear he held flicked outward once twice four times six times knocking every attack harmlessly away

Which meant that the Nether Beast used that opening as Randidly defended the arms to rip downward with one of its huge claws aiming to physically crush his body and the weird root mount beneath him And just as casually as before Randidly reached up and deftly grabbed the claw with his metallic left arm

It was clear that Randidly trembled from the exertion but he stopped the blow dead Neither the strength of the beast nor the corrosion of the ambient Nether seemed to slow Randidly down at all And by the time the crab Nether Beast realized what had happened that leafy spear Randidly wielded punctured the crab�s shell shattered its Nether core then bent and flicked the huge body to the side like it was a deflating balloon

In a blur of motion Randidly was gone moving rapidly forward to cut down Nether Beasts faster than they could realize he was coming for them He was a reaper of death leaving broken Nether Beasts and motes of drifting ash in his wake And his army followed him finishing off those he left wounded but living

Abiodun�s expression was serious as he watched Randidly move In terms of image the effect is marginal at best but those movements his Agility Stat is over 1000 Or he possesses an upgraded version of Agility and a fucking good one

His craggy face grew more fractured and hesitant as he watched Randidly Ghosthound move like a ghost among the Nether Beasts His body twisted and contorted in impossible angles moving at speeds that left afterimages But is it truly so simple to have Agility reach that level while also being able to display that power with his potent root Skill and also he can create a Class for Lady Iellaya

Yet there was no argument quite as convincing as the truth So Abiodun simply stood still pinning down a helplessly furious Nether Gatekeeper and witnessing Randidly Ghosthound engaging the beasts in front of him directly

In terms of the beings below the Nether Gatekeeper tier of strength Randidly was practically unstoppable But that missed the point

If you didn�t have a Nether Gatekeeper to slow him down Randidly might be able to wipe out the rest of the army all on his own And that filled Abiodun with a strange sense of fear

Chapter 1128

Of all the abrupt changes that Randidly had experienced in the world of the Nexus it was the sensation of having reached 1000 with his Agility that was the most pleasurable Nether Beasts roared and charged toward him but Randidly could calmly use his Agility and Control to manipulate Acri in small ways to intercept their attacks His body seemed supple and explosive The instant acceleration he could manage when he ever needed it was enough that most Nether Beasts were left dazed

Maybe it�s the combination that�s the real reason Randidly reflected I already had Willpower across the boundary of a thousand but that generally functioned as a way to keep my images strong while being on the frontlines Willpower often worked alone to keep me alive But Control and Agility they are combining right now to make me practically unstoppable

A giant dog shaped Nether Beast lashed out aiming to rip into Randidly�s root mount with its fearsome teeth Randidly almost laughed Cutting sideways Randidly brought Acri directly across the beast�s eyes� blinding it for a short second and allowing Randidly�s mount to step to the side

That small opening gave the opportunity for a tall Nether monstrosity to raise its arm to smash down at Randidly but Randidly�s left hand already was sliding down Acri With a sharp jab Randidly hit the Nether Beast in the chest with the butt of Acri At the very moment that the butt touched the Nether Beast however Randidly activated Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes His muscles with the acceleration of 1000 Agility exploded

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 181

For a split second all the sudden force of Spear Advances Ash Trails was transferred through Acri to this unfortunate Nether Beast Roaring in panic it could only tumble helplessly backward after having all that force transferred directly into its body And Randidly also noticed that the flesh of its torso ruptured and sprayed Nether goop on the ground

While Randidly�s attention shifted to the more immediate threats in front of them his Riders boldly rode forth and began to would and maim the Nether Beasts that were knocked to the side by the launched Nether Beast�s wild trajectory

In addition not all of the energy was transferred to that Nether Beast Because Acri retained enough force to stab down into the body of a viper Nether Beast that was slithering closer The stab ripped through its scaly skin and cut sideways toward its core With obvious relish Acri smashed into the core shattered it and then devoured the experience

Shaking his slightly Randidly adjusted his seat on the root mount as he instructed it to continue to smoothly lope forward into the thickest grouping of Nether Beasts It�s for the best that I don�t go over Level 50 before I�m ready for it but is it really fine for Acri to so wildly devour experience

Obviously Acri�s consumption was still much less than Randidly had gathered with his Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil on the day of his return This attack by the Nether forces seemed more of a probe than like the real vanguard assault that had been launched on the headquarters So perhaps Acri had only been able to get one fourth of the experience that Randidly had on his own

But still as Randidly gazed down at the positively humming Acri in his hands he could tell that there would be a qualitative change that came over the spear soon The tier of experience that they were now gathering with each foe was just different than what could be hunted for on Earth

Sulfur mewed piteously as though sensing Randidly�s thoughts Chuckling Randidly patted the grey torso covering sympathetically I know buddy But it�s just not the sort of pressure that you can grow from It�s an existential threat you know An energy thing

Sulfur�s subsequent constriction across Randidly�s chest clearly conveyed that it did not know if that was correct because it hadn�t been exposed to danger but Randidly�s attention was almost immediately pulled away by a huge overhand strike from a Nether Beast wielding a giant obsidian ax

Rare to see them use weapons Randidly reflected Even as his thought flitted across his mind his body was exploding into motion

But rather than dodge Randidly simply raised his hand and activated Nether�s Caress Dense Nether energy flooded out of Randidly�s core and wrapped around his metallic left hand like a glove

Congratulations Your Skill Nether�s Caress has grown to Level 112

Even though its face was largely featureless Randidly savored the obvious expression of shock that appeared as he stopped the Nether Beast�s ax dead Whereas usually Aether and Nether colliding was a slippery strange interaction Nether�s Caress allowed Randidly to meet the Nether Beast on its own terms And with four Nether cores fueling him

Like a javelin launched out of a cannon Acri screamed forward and split the Nether Beast open Its core became naught but dust and Randidly lashed left and right blindingly quick cutting through the ax wielders supporters and giving him some additional space to consider the broader battlefield Behind him his Riders continued to harry and strike but it was rapidly becoming obvious that unless they outnumbered Nether beasts four to one they weren�t able to do much to the extra substantial enemies

Congratulations Your Skill Riders of the Baleful Court has grown to Level 117

Congratulations Your Skill Flowing Momentum has grown to Level 35

With a soft click Randidly�s mount launched him up onto a floating stone

Randidly had intentionally struck out at a dense grouping of Nether Beasts that was surging through a tight opening between two of the defensive fortifications Then Randidly had continued to push forward attacking the rather more spread out forces that waited beyond until he was able to hop up onto a large boulder floating only a few meters above the ground and survey the scene

Honestly the group Skill Flowing Momentum might be the only reason that the Riders were barely able to hold their own even after Randidly cracked the formation of the Nether Beasts wide open With space the Riders could maneuver around the Nether Beasts but their attacks weren�t able to puncture the bubble of their energy Behind Randidly was mostly a cleanup crew even if the respectable number meant that they also protected Randidly�s back from being mobbed

Gaining twenty Skill Levels in only ten minutes really show the quality of the foe but it�s going to take a lot more of this before Flowing Momentum has enough punch to turn the Riders into a real rival to Nether Beasts Randidly thought with a sigh Much more efficient just to use Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil but if I want to avoid gaining the experience from them

Randidly�s eyes began to glow better to just aim for maiming the Nether Beasts with the roots

Vualla stood on the dusty slope behind Commander Terith�s fortifications using her extremely acute eyesight to follow Randidly�s figure as he swam through the chaotic battlefield

Strong Vualla thought And she couldn�t deny that when she looked out over the battlefield she felt a flicker of envy at the easy grace that allowed him to be all but invulnerable among so many chaotic and hostile elements Truly strong

Honestly Vualla had always supposed that if Randidly�s images were so capable his body would be doubly so And there was also the realization that despite the fact they ultimately became less useful and effective than images at their Level returning to his body would mean that Randidly would receive the benefit of his Stats

Yet how could Vualla watch Randidly now without acknowledging how high his Stats must be Almost shockingly so Vualla had vaguely had a sense of superiority when viewing Randidly�s images previously but now

It was akin to admiring several gleaming ceremonial blades and then giving them to their true owner and watching them be used Randidly�s images had always been sharp but Vualla had easily recognized that they were not long or extremely sturdy blades As a solo image the blade that Randidly Ghosthound had wielded had seemed fragile The rigors of battle had rapidly worn it down

Yet now Vualla realized her mistake Although the blade of her image had been made primarily to crush and destroy Randidly Ghosthound did not aim for that with his images It was not an image that was designed to be overwhelmingly powerful No he relied on the flexibility and capability of his body in order to create an opening where that image could cut and bleed his opponents to death

More than that Vualla could only look at the way that Randidly used his images and realize that they might be geared toward killing right now but they were so much more than that She watched him utilize his Grim Chimera image to make small impossibly quick adjustments to avoid damage She witnessed his Yggdrasil image lash out and weaken the surround Nether Beasts with roots so his followers could finish the enemy off

She saw Randidly�s eyes glow with the emerald fire of his third image as he arranged a situation just so with soft touches and innocuous half steps so that Randidly seemed to just canter forward and his foes bled and fell and died in his wake

He�s a man who picked up the sword out of necessity Vualla understood as she watched him move Her eyes followed the minute adjustments of his hands and spear and the way they seemed so perfectly in sync with each other Both were beauty in motion death spun with gold and ash He seeks strength to accomplish his goals not to possess strength

Vualla wrapped her arms more tightly around herself Her eyes narrowed

Because it was clear that it wasn�t stats that truly made Randidly strong They allowed him to display his abilities sure but it wasn�t what made his blows heavy or his images so suddenly solid Watching him here it was clear that his images across the board had taken a qualitative step forward

No because Randidly had told her In bits and pieces he had hinted at it with his abilities when they went to fight against the Nether Gatekeeper

Randidly Ghosthound could use Nether Every one of his images was grounded in a way that Vualla had never seen before And it was so obviously powerful that Vualla was at a loss

And how much more can you grow Randidly Ghosthound Vualla thought tiredly Her wounded Fate throbbed and she clenched her fist And how long will I need to recover before I can stand by your side on the battlefield

Chapter 1129

If he continues to grow he will soon eclipse you in strength my dear And once he passes you well I don�t have to explain do I

Vualla wasn�t particularly surprised by Cail Tweocs� sudden arrival nor did she worry overmuch about the fact that she hadn�t noticed him approaching Of all the things that she had learned from the long six months training with him the obvious lesson was that Cail Tweocs was much more capable than he let on He might very well be the most powerful individual on the front lines aside from the newly arrived Nether King

You are smart girl Cail Tweocs purred I know what I�m talking about More than anyone else in this fucked up war zone I can see how these events are going to play out Right now you are about to be left behind

And sometimes she wondered how vast that difference in power between Cail and the Nether King actually was

Vualla stayed silent simply casting Cail a sidelong glance He stood with his arms behind his back obviously intending to seem like a wise and trusted teacher to her After clearing his throat he continued But competition is the spice of youth It is not too late to act Use this opportunity to pull forth your vast potential Because I know that you have an advantage over that foolish boy

You Vualla are a killer Raised on death homegrown to seek vengeance against the Nether threat As long as you embrace those parts of your personality this so called competition

Cail trailed off giving Vualla a knowing smile

A killer Raised on death grown to seek vengeance Vualla�s mind slowly turned those accusations over in her mind They were heavy like that had been cast from lead But she dutifully kept withheld her judgment and carefully inspected them

When she continued to remain silent and watch Randidly fighting amongst the Nether Beasts Cail favored her with an indulgent smirk Oh come on now Be honest with yourself Seizing strength strength enough to avenge your father has been your dream I know you girl Your current capabilities isn�t it embarrassing How can you feel adequate when you keep watching people around you die And didn�t that boy save you from death yourself

That finally got a reaction out of Vualla The muscles of her arms flexed and spasmed Clenching her jaw she lowered her gaze to the ground

Cail noticed her distress I honestly don�t know how you act friendly with him when there is a sea of jealousy seething inside of you Suppressing that darkness is not a smart choice girl You crave that power he has You would do anything to possess the same It galls you that you can�t even protect yourself You hate yourself for being weak Just admit it

Vualla could see exactly what Cail was talking about The same way that she sleepwalked through her life before she met Randidly Ghosthound she saw how she could slip back into that same dozing state and follow Cail�s logic

Her dream was to reunite with her father Yet he had died Her ultimate goal was to destroy the System And yet even these minor figures within the hierarchy of Nether were enough to wound her so much that

Vualla�s right hand tightened Her Fate throbbed

It would be so easy to hate herself for her weakness To pick at all the chances that Vualla had to grow stronger or to make some other choice and be stricken by fear that the next time that those chances would come around that she would miss them just as surely It would be simple to let the fear of failure and her sense of inferiority drown her

It would have been so easy to be swayed by the threat of punishment and not go on that walk to visit her father after the first time his camp had been attacked And if she hadn�t gone she likely would have regretted it for the rest of her life Had she been alone she likely would have been too worried about the consequences to move from the camp

But Vualla hadn�t been alone Randidly had been there And to him it was the most natural thing in the world to follow her on a walk for now more reason than she wanted to go

It was an affirmation that Vualla had needed for years without even noticing it And it had changed her life

Not that you should worry about this shitbag surpassing you for long Cail Tweocs chuckled I�ve seen thousands of fools just like this They flash brightly now but their luck always runs out Someday soon Randidly Ghosthound will die

And you you might be weak and jealous now but I�ve seen the Path you can follow As long as you are willing to listen to me and put in the work

Vualla forced her fingers to loosen her grip on her arms so they dropped and swung at her sides Very carefully she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth That�s not true

Immediately Cail�s expression turned gloating The more you deny it the more you hurt yourself Are you so immature that you feel threatened by honesty You are jealous and weak Heh and here I had thought

Randidly won�t die Vualla said quietly She raised her gaze and found him immediately blazing like a verdant sun as he led his strange riders back around toward Lady Iellaya�s camp I�m not saying I�m not weak I am But you know I�m getting stronger every day Because of him

That part of me that cares the motivation for my growth That�s growing stronger every day Vualla�s Fate throbbed again but it was the warm itch of a scab slowly starting to heal over

Are you doubting me Cail clicked his tongue I know you better than you know yourself You think this random boy knows how much you cried for your father after he left you How you sobbed as brother after brother went to the front lines and never returned I know how your mother�s soul left her body and you were raised by a husk of a person And that�s why you need to listen to me

Oh shut up Vualla said in irritation I�m not following the Path you want Do you really think that my entire life is defined by the fact that my daddy left me Please It fucking hurt of course And now seeing father die I don�t know if I�ll ever fully heal But life goes on

Cail looked blankly at her for several seconds S so you admit it That you All that pain you have that�s what you need to turn into power And not just your own pain everyone�s Every soul on this battlefield You know how to grasp it don�t you I bet if it�s you you can sense their lingering emotions If it�s you they can become fuel You�ve likely already felt

That�s what this has been about the whole time Vualla said in wonder You you�ve always known You�ve always pushed me toward that realization That I can steal the life energy of beings as they die and take it for my own And you�ve pushed me to stretch myself so I would feel like I would not have any choice that I needed it And that it was justified to take that energy That since they were dead anyway there was no ethical dilemma to speak of

Why are you being difficult Cail Tweocs snapped He leaned toward Vualla and leered at her Vualla could see his mind spinning as he backpedaled to a past conversation Can you not see it as you look at him In a short amount of time that boy�s power will grow explosively Everything you�ve ever wanted will be his How long have you lived with the absence of your father How long have you craved for him to notice you And before you got the chance your father was killed Everything is lost Fight for what you want you stupid bitch

Hah Again do you really think that people are so simple Vualla said with a flinty smile Is this the best you can come up with Was I someone who responded well to threats

But now Cail�s temper had been ignited When he jabbed his finger at Vualla she couldn�t help but grunt as some of his formidable power leaked out and smashed against her I know your life You stupid cunt everything you are everything you could be All these souls are in the palm of your hand And you are wasting it If you know about the path to power what are you waiting for

Cail�s lip curled upward His aura began to rumble ominously and Vualla was forced to grit her teeth Her Fate spasmed once more Are you going to tell me it�s love That you fell in love with this foolish Earthling and suddenly you are willing to waste all of your potential To throw away every bit of your dreams What fickle creatures are women How flighty and emotional Don�t mind me then if I squash you like a bug so I don�t have the distinct displeasure of staring at the disappointment of your existence any longer

You�ll regret killing me Vualla said softly

Heh if I don�t know you there is no way you can know me I already regret making you Cail muttered as he raised his hand A very rare mistake indeed I suppose it was always a risky gamble

All the palpable energy of Cail�s aura concentrated on his hand Her instincts immediately began to hum warning her away from that hand Yet for a split second Vualla considered remaining silent in the face of her imminent death

She was so tired All her life had been building toward a reunion that could no longer happen Her father was dead All her strength ended up being useless It was likely due to the damage to her Fate but for the last few days Vualla also couldn�t seem to muster up much of a will for revenge This was a war where the lines might shift but tragedy was inescapable Hating the enemy that only fought because of its obvious hatred toward the forces of Aether left Vualla numb and tingling

And yet as Cail Tweocs� had his hand raised high above his hairless head some part of Vualla stirred When her Fate trembled it was that same warm itching of a healing wound And she saw Randidly�s solemn eyes

If I can be wounded then I can heal I cannot just give up

Not now

This life is finally mine That Path Cail Tweocs wants me to take he can�t force me to choose it

I can live how I want I can live without sacrificing everything for strength

Yet to get Cail to stop only one method came to Vualla�s mind To prove him wrong If she could just prove she was right about one thing Cail would withdraw and reconsider And with that chance

Well Vualla wasn�t sure what would change But she was absolutely sure that something would All she needed was the opportunity A secret floated to the surface of her mind in that long drawn out moment as Vualla looked at the execution hanging over her A secret of Randidly�s One that wasn�t hers to share

And as she opened her mouth she hesitated If I say this and people learn about this Randidly

There was a warm hand suddenly on her back Her Fate began twitching rapidly Vualla could hear Randidly�s voice in her ear

If the situations were reversed and there was a secret about you that I could share to survive would you want me to say it

Vualla�s jaw clenched Obviously but would you do it Would you betray my trust

The warm handprint on her back intensified Wouldn�t you want me to Is that desire less important than our individual pride

Vualla closed her eyes

Just before Cail was about to strike Vualla spoke softly into the air freezing the man who was much much more powerful than she was even though she didn�t open her eyes Do you know why Randidly is so strong And why he won�t die

Cail paused He slowly raised his hand back toward its starting position and looked toward the battlefield with a serious expression For a second the duo considered the form of Randidly Ghosthound easily ripping through the three and four star Nether Beasts Then a wicked smile that stretched from ear to ear emerged on Cail�s face Yes yes I do That boy has a secret so powerful that even someone like me was tempted His body is an entire world He

You�re wrong Chuckling Vualla shook her head Then she shrugged as her eyes opened and she faced Cail with a clear gaze Well perhaps you are not But I think you are missing the point Look at how the power flows through him He is entirely connected with his subordinates With his body with his images Everything he does is slippery smooth When he fights he doesn�t have several independent images they are all woven together

what is your point Cail said quietly But Vualla knew that he saw it now Slowly his hand began to drift downward toward his side

I don�t know much about the Xyrt Brigade but I bet you have a lot of strategic grade intel on the fight against the Nether Vualla said casually Like the greatest strength of the Nether the connections between its forces That they can move their entire force across the entire Nether empire in a split second because of that powerful interconnective infrastructure If you unfocus your gaze can�t you see the same qualities present in Randidly

Finally Cail Tweocs fell silent

You don�t know us Cail Vualla said quietly She flipped her hair over her shoulder and straightened Maybe you are very very good at predicting Maybe you can see our pasts with perfect clarity But the past isn�t the future It has to pass through the present first and this present it�s a magical thing

Cail spat to the side

Now if you will excuse me Vualla flashed a bright smile at Cail I need to go offer my congratulations We won this battle And the war is a much bigger thing than the two of us but I think that one victory in this battle is exactly how we want to start

Chapter 1130

Randidly glanced sideways at Vualla then looked at the grave in front of them He shifted from foot to foot wondering what to say to the lovely and exhausted woman next to him But then the Grim Chimera stirred inside of him urging him to stillness

This was not a moment when Randidly should fill the air with words Besides Randidly felt so incredibly connected to Vualla as they stood side by side There seemed to be a burning warmth running between them that filled the air with building electricity It was along this connection that Randidly could so clearly feel the emotions that surged through Vualla

Her exhaustion her sadness her hesitation and a newer feeling a deep guilt But there was also a resolve in Vualla that had the Grim Chimera buzzing with energy

Vualla interlocked the heavy fingers of her gauntlets and bowed her head in front of the grave of her father Randidly stood beside her and waited feeling a vast and vague guilt that was all his own swirling around in his chest It would not be long until he could no longer avoid this issue

No sooner had Randidly returned from the clash against the Nether Beasts with his Riders than Vualla had turned up and asked if they could talk Seeing her solemn azure eyes and feeling the strange empathy that burned between them Randidly was almost helpless to reject her And he was also slightly shocked to notice that Vualla had somehow grown to possess five and a half stars Despite the fact that that the array was currently engaged in its defensive mode

But there were so many strange things pulling at Randidly�s attention that was one that he let drift away as more pressing matters kept rearing their heads Like the cauldron of emotions being mixed in his chest as he looked at the long messy braid of azure hair down Vualla�s back

So he had followed Vualla back out of the area between Lady Iellaya and Commander Terith�s camp walking to the vast graveyard below headquarters

Honestly Randidly had walked past the graveyard before but it was another thing entirely to walk amongst the tall graves for the Commander and the low pits they kept for the foot soldiers and remain calm This place was heavy with death that even Tellus wasn�t able to match And the difference was simply the depth of history that it had

This place had seen too many souls perish That energy seemed like a physical thing weighing on Randidly and Vualla as they walked calmly toward their destination Weirdly the energy of it seemed to follow them swirling like a building hurricane above their heads

When they had arrived Vualla had remained silent and Randidly did not begrudge her this But as he stood before the grave of Vualla�s father Randidly�s thoughts shifted from their current situation and turned ominous Because he wondered whether when he returned to Earth after fighting on the frontlines he would need to bury his own father for his sins

A man who so directly grew stronger from killing likely Ezekiel Ghosthound would love living on the frontlines This was the sort of place where those dangerous impulses could be turned against a foe But on Earth especially while the planet was in a state of peace that man was just a liability

Randidly pressed his eyes together But he did save that woman I just wish I had more information

Blinking Randidly looked around Vualla was staring at him with her brow furrowed That strange heavy energy of death that had been around them was abruptly gone Releasing a breath Randidly waved a hand I�m fine I was just this is insensitive to say but I was wondering how long it will be until I stand in front of my own father�s grave He he is not a good man I might when I go back to my home planet

Seriously What the fuck are you saying to someone in front of their own father�s grave Randidly thought as his mouth continued to blithely pull the focus from Vualla�s pain to his own theoretical pain in the future

But to his surprise Vualla just smiled He felt the warmth passing between them pulse reassuringly Randidly relax I can I know how concerned you are for me And also I feel how truly worried about your father you are But I think you are misunderstanding something my father was not a good man either If he had been

A tear made a break from the corner of Vualla�s eye aiming for her chin and then escape to the wide world But she rubbed it away with her heavy gauntlet before it had made it to freedom if he had been it wouldn�t have ended like this And I

Then Vualla shook her head and laughed helplessly And honestly that wasn�t really what I was asking You�ve been I don�t know different since you came back from the Great Rift How long did you spend there Did something happen It feels like something happened That you aren�t telling me

It was a year and a half Randidly said slowly But after a hesitation he followed those words up with pressing his lips together Obviously he couldn�t say that nothing had changed especially with the way that he treated her She would see he was lying in a second That warmth running between them would reveal him in a heartbeat And then if she asked what had changed

Nothing had really changed

Randidly�s budding feelings toward Vualla had just been faced with a truth about the Vualla in front of him

And that had changed his perspective Which changed everything

Vualla sighed as though she had watched the entirety of Randidly�s past few thoughts play out across his face Some of the light in her eyes dimmed maybe I really am just being emotional Ever since I fought that Nether Gatekeeper I came up barely short you know And now with my Fate being injured

how long will it take to recover Randidly asked glad to hop on this tangent

Vualla shrugged but some of that brightness returned to her eyes Then she began to carefully unbuckle her gauntlets Here I�ll show you There�s already a bit of crystallization along the edges of the wound Which means its changing likely to something not as pure But you know I almost think it�s better this way Because as it heals it feels like I�m growing Growing in a way that well considering the weird sleepwalking I�ve done through the rest of my life seemed impossible

With a heavy crash Vualla�s left gauntlet fell to the dusty ground Then she began to work at her right gauntlet Randidly�s breath caught in his throat

Something clicked into place in his mind as he watched her working with the gauntlets to reveal her Fate In that instant the Grim Chimera�s heart trembled Even Randidly couldn�t help but feel a vast sense of loss as he stared almost blind at Vualla�s serious expression as she removed her equipment

Suddenly several things Randidly knew connected He had known Vualla�s identity was unique But he hadn�t known

The second gauntlet hit the ground

The truth that the main body had brought back with it that led to such a conflict with the Grim Chimera�s emotions stemmed from a relatively simple premise that the individual who had taken an interest in Shal�s world and Randidly by extension was the same one interfering with his arrival to the frontlines

It wasn�t even a clever anagram Cail Tweocs

Ileot Swacc

Or more importantly the nickname that Randidly had been given for this individual

Ileot Swacc the Duplicator

And what does he duplicate

In front of the slightly numb Randidly Vualla began to pull something off of her right hand God I wish my Fate would heal as quickly as my palm did

A person And if Ileot Swacc did duplicate someone he would duplicate someone who would get close to me Does he control the person It doesn�t seem like that�s the case because duplication� doesn�t usually involve modification but it�s impossible to tell And if he simply hasn�t been exercising that control thus far

Vualla offered the fingerless leather glove she removed from her right hand to Randidly with a teasing smile It�s a very intimate thing you know to let someone else touch your Fate They say you can see someone�s secret desires that way

Randidly�s own right hand was burning as he carefully reached with his left arm and took the glove from Vualla There was a large hole in the center of the leather glove The soft brown material was so intimately familiar And as Vualla had indicated crystals had begun to form on the edges of the hole perhaps indicating that it would soon heal inward

Looking solemnly at the glove Randidly�s mind continued to race It was rapidly becoming obvious that he had been altogether too self absorbed in his initial assumptions about the duplication

Even if Ileot Swacc had duplicated someone to get close to Randidly Ileot Swacc was someone who was playing a much larger game that just Randidly The person he would duplicate would serve multiple purposes for him Vualla was more than just an individual who Ileot suspected of possessing compatibility with Randidly She also was someone who had a very high potential for growth And for a very specific type of growth

Which explained why Vualla had somehow risen to the six Nether core level even while the grand array was turned toward defense instead of growth Because she

Randidly pressed his eyes together The glove in the trunk that had saved Randidly�s life was Vualla�s Fate from the original Vualla who had lived an untold number of years in the past And also Randidly suddenly knew why the Aether around the glove felt so ancient and so familiar It wasn�t because he had met Vualla because the Aether of the her� Randidly interacted with hadn�t yet developed that distinct flavor

But there was a distinct tang to the Aether that Randidly immediately recognized as having been submerged in at the frontlines The Aether on the ancient Fate was the Aether of the grand array that condensed the Nether stars

Randidly shook his head helplessly A brief conversation from the first time that Randidly had met Vualla popped into his head

Is there an upper limit on Nether stars then Randidly had asked aloud

So someone�s gotten all the way to ten huh

Vualla had shaken her head causing her braid to bound back and forth across her shoulders No I think the actual record is eight stars After that the individual couldn�t even move properly and retired from the frontlines

Frowning Randidly asked Then why did you just say ten

I honestly don�t know An instinct maybe Vualla flashed Randidly a smile

An instinct or a subconscious memory from a past life And Randidly wasn�t sure what the relationship between Vualla and the array was but some part of him knew that it did not mean rosy things for ancient Vualla�s health or sanity

Randidly is something wrong You�ve just been Vualla trailed off Then of all things she blushed Uh it�s not true that you can see my desires in my Fate right Maybe you should just give it back

Randidly passed it back over unsure of what to say And as she looked at his expression her eyes crinkled at the corners in sorrow As the blushing face cracked Randidly realized that it had been a forced joke Something to push away the heavy truth that lay between them

With the steady beat of a heart that warmth that connected the two of them pulsed with the truth of what they felt Fear surged up from the bottom of Vualla�s heart spreading through the connection between them After licking her lips Vualla spoke So so it�s true I started to have my suspicions after talking to Cail today but

Vualla did her best to smile Tears coursed down her cheeks I�m I�m not real am I

Chapter 1131

I�m I�m not real am I

In those few words that Vualla said Randidly felt an existential exhaustion that he could only barely comprehend from his months struggling along as solely an image It was a question asked with the raw vulnerability of one who is about to collapse

Randidly opened his mouth before she even finished asking the question Where his emotions might be in a tumult his instincts were not You�re real Vualla

Perhaps it was because Randidly had lived a lonely childhood where being ignored and dismissed was common There were times he had looked at the dusty mirror in his dark bedroom and wondered what he had done wrong to be so universally isolated To that reflection partially obscured by a t shirt hanging over the mirror frame Randidly had asked repeatedly what he had done to deserve this

And in fits and starts Randidly had learned that these dark emotions and whims of fate were all just fear wearing the guise of truth The walls he had built were hollow designed to reassure him that his current state was not his own fault And in fact the fake walls he built were the very reasons that such long shadows lay across his Path

Yet then the System arrived and gave him another shot The necessity of survival slowly guided Randidly to knock down all the mental and emotional blocks he had placed over himself And the whole process had been liberating To the point that Randidly remained conflicted over the fact that the System brought significant benefits to his life

Yet now to see Vualla struggle against that same loneliness and to realize that everything Randidly felt about being singled out and doomed as a child was actually true for this Vualla

No I will not let this happen Heat and certainty spun in Randidly�s chest Outloud he repeated himself although some part of him knew it was just as much for himself as for her You�re real Vualla

When Vualla looked up at him her eyes were glassy and hollow She released great gusting breaths her shoulders rising and falling with each exhale But

You�re real Randidly replied again even more firm this time His own breaths accelerated as that heat in his chest rose to the point that it seared his chest and constructed his lungs It seemed like fire was jumping back forth between them pounding and urging their hearts to accelerate along with the heat of the connection You�re real

Vualla blinked There were tears in her azure eyes as her gaze lowered back down to the ground Randidly you don�t need to

You�re just as real as I am Vualla Randidly hissed But the violence and urgency of his words surprised him He could feel the Grim Chimera raising his head and howling in fury gnashing his teeth toward fate In addition Randidly couldn�t claim to have any understanding of how someone could do something as powerful as duplicating a person Especially when it seemed likely that the person in question was already dead

But even if he had suspected that Vualla was something else to face that truth now

And even if Randidly�s breath hitched for a second and he allowed the air in his lungs to hiss out toward the ground Then he derailed that sentence and continued to let his words tumble off his tongue and into the air between them No matter what we can find a way

The word was so heavy with genuine bemusement and not a little impatience that it stopped Randidly dead And so Randidly slowly looked back up at met her gleaming eyes Vualla was still crying but she rolling her eyes with a fragile smile traced across her mouth We aren�t children anymore We are soldiers right We need to face the truth Of what I am It�s only if we do that we can

Fuck truth Randidly whispered and he meant those words more than he had meant anything in a long time To his surprise he was smiling widely at Vualla and her own smile grew in response

Because this was what caught the Grim Chimera�s eye and now pulled Randidly closer to Vualla There were times where it was very difficult to be strong This was one of those times Yet now here even as Randidly was doing his best to reassure Vualla it only took a few seconds for her to shake herself out of the tragedy that gripped her and turn her empathy toward him

Fuck truth Randidly said again

Vualla shook her head We already have said that we will be the ones to tear down the Nexus and now you want to upend reality Randidly Ghosthound I almost suspect you are simply talking a big game to try and impress a lady during her moment of distress Which would make you quite the opportunist

So you are saying this is an opportunity Randidly�s mouth boldly replied even as his mind scrambled to keep up

Vualla blinked and then blushed

That heat between them intensified further Randidly could feel the two Fates the same Fate that disfigured glove roaring between them as they were soon carried away by the growing heat and smolder But it was only when the heat began to spiral around the two of them that Randidly realized it wasn�t just emotions that he felt It was desire and affection and shared loss and shared discovery and shared sense of powerlessness It was a craving to change the world

It was a prayer

The Nether Ritual

Randidly�s concentration on the heat was broken when Vualla brought her fist slowly up and bumped it into his chin But then after the skin was touching she held her knuckles there pressed against the rough stubble along his jaw Don�t be dumb Wanting something can�t make it so

But you can feel how much I want it Randidly breathed and he wasn�t sure exactly what they were talking about anymore Maybe it was the moment seeing the iron of Vualla�s spine emerge even as she was forced to question her own existence but a strange explicit honesty was born in him as he stared at her annoyance in her scrunched up nose and furrowed eyebrows And that matters

Is this me talking or the Grim Chimera Randidly wondered The Grim Chimera chuckled

Is there a difference between us

Some less emotional parts of Randidly felt stirred to action This is a bad idea Becoming further involved in Vualla

But look at her now proud and defiant against her doom Randidly shivered Even if it�s an act I refuse to take a step back now Not when she fights against the same tyranny of the corrupt power of the Nexu that I want to end

Then the Grim Chimera opened its eyes and sneered toward the less emotional parts of Randidly And in terms of bad ideas how does this compare to challenging the entire System

Vualla leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Randidly�s collarbone All his swirling thoughts were blasted away by the impact Before she leaned forward Randidly hadn�t even realized how close they had gotten Yet what really struck him at that moment was how much warmer her skin was than even the heat of the Nether Ritual humming between them She was on fire

I might just be an image Vualla muttered into Randidly�s chest All he could see as he looked down was the long mane of azure hair that covered the top of her head And we both know that no matter how powerful the image it isn�t the same as possessing a physical body I might fade eventually

I But Randidly stopped that part of him that he shared with the Grim Chimera from speaking It was the part that urged him to say something grand and romantic and confirm all of the swirling emotions into something straightforward that could be stated in three words It demanded a strong stance be taken against those hesitations he still had

But that was just fear To overcompensate was not the answer So Randidly settled himself down as best as he could slowly being devoured by the heat from Vualla�s close proximity

And things weren�t simple between them There was so much that Randidly didn�t know about Vualla And even if he wanted to learn those things that didn�t mean that there wouldn�t be answers that made him sad or jealous or disappointed in her They barely knew each other To move to grandly now would be to ignore all the normal pitfalls of becoming close to someone due to the existential pitfall of what Vualla was

So following the Grim Chimera�s aggressive instincts in speaking was not what Randidly wanted to do Instead he thought about his own uneven and frenetic relationship history He thought about the pursuit of Sydney and his time with Tessa The Nether cores in Randidly�s chest hummed and began to slow in their rotation

There was a buzzing and Randidly was back standing in his sun drenched yard looking up at Sydney�s elbows as she leaned out the window and watched him He was back in the messy dorm room at Rawlands University And at that moment Randidly could remember with incredible clarity what he had wanted to hear when he was at his most lonely and isolated

It boiled down to one single thing

He had wanted Sydney to acknowledge there was a meaningful connection with him

He had wanted Tessa to acknowledge that she was just as unhappy in their awkward relationship as he was

He had wanted them both to tell the truth in their hearts But he had been too afraid to ask for it or force them to reveal it So both in the yard and in the dorm room he had turned away and continued to live He had hoped these things would reveal themselves with time

Everyone deserves the truth Especially Vualla Especially considering Randidly pressed his eyes closed Because although people sometimes became very skilled at lying to others you could never truly lie to yourself And the truth your paranoid heart created would terrorize you worse than almost anything imaginable would be able to manage To leave her alone with that suspected truth and provide vague platitudes was the worst disservice that Randidly could do

When he opened mouth to speak he felt Vualla shiver As someone who spent a lot of time in the past year as an image I can say with assurance that I won�t treat you any different if you end up just being an image

And what if I end up being a puppet What if everything I say even now is meant to manipulate you

Randidly laughed hollowly Then I think the mastermind behind this is a damn bit smarter than I would have guessed

Vualla raised her head slightly and then brought her head back down on Randidly�s shoulder in a headbutt Don�t joke

I�m not joking Now Randidly smirked wickedly I obviously wasn�t there but my image Yggdrasil was Cail�s face when he realized that my physical body had escaped you could have fit an ostrich egg through his mouth His bald head was covered in sweat He is not an emotional chessmaster

Hah Vualla released a laugh that sounded more like a sigh I wish I could have seen it So now what

Randidly turned and looked at the grave of Vualla�s father Then he turned again to face out toward the Great Rift Intermittent comets of Nether continued to rain down along the frontlines concentrated primarily toward the edges The war hadn�t waited at all for their private drama Well it�s not like the Nether invasion will stop now that we we have learned about you There are still battles oof

Vualla brought her fist into Randidly�s stomach with enough force to cause him to release a breath She lifted her head from Randidly�s shoulder and glared at him Her eyes were red rimmed and intent No Not the battlefront Just this I�m I�m not what you thought right I might feel like I have a body but

After furiously rubbing the tears out of her eyes Vualla continued to speak S so this is your chance to well to return to something normal You can just walk away from me if you think it�s too dangerous Because neither of us really knows what I am I mean shit if I was a really an image why can I

With both hands Vuall reached up and grabbed Randidly�s shoulders She began to lean forward and before Randidly could respond their face was only inches apart At the last moment it seemed like the physical and emotional ramifications of what was about to happen hit Vualla and she just hung there inches away with her mouth open and her eyes widening

It feels so real Vualla muttered But from the way she said it it was more for herself than him

She�s right though this could all be more manipulation Even if Aether Detection can�t pick up anything suspicious doesn�t mean it�s not there Randidly admitted to himself But then he finished leaning forward the rest of the way toward Vualla and bridging the gap between them His lips pressed against hers

Vualla�s lips were warm What felt like a second later there was a tremor that shook Vualla from her head to her toes Randidly could distantly feel her fingers tighten on Sulfur�s shoulder protections Tighten so much that Sulfur cooed in pleasure

The Grim Chimera roared Heat wove together and tightened into a knot that left the two of them bound

Then Randidly leaned back They were no longer touching but the distance between them still felt entirely bridged The air buzzed

Maybe you�re right but Randidly licked his lips as he looked at Vualla You can be afraid most of the time but if you claim to be alive you cannot be afraid all of the time So let�s not run away

Twisting her mouth Vualla punched Randidly again But it was a light blow

Chapter 1132

Hours later still mildly tipsy from the excitement of the encounter Randidly studied the note that Abiodun had given to him while he stood at the open flaps to his tent Although the content was vague it did a lot to cool Randidly�s outlook for the day

I think it�s time we talk Meet me below the Great Rift in three hours

You don�t have to go Abiodun rumbled Then he folded his arms across his broad chest Lady Iellaya will stand behind you in this There is a present threat of Nether attacks Going to the Great Rift at a time like this it is a bad idea

No I should go Randidly said quietly Emerald fire danced around his fingers and consumed the note in a heartbeat Ash spun around his hand and drifted down to the ground There really is a lot for us to talk about

Congratulations Your Skill Ignition of the Emerald Essence has grown to Level 142

Cail Tweocs is a member of the Xyrt Brigade and also has close ties with Lord Miln If this is another attempt to take your life

Randidly raised a hand Believe me I wouldn�t put myself in danger if I wasn�t sure

Which isn�t true at all a more pessimistic portion of Randidly thought sourly Are you sure about Vualla And you still kissed her And now you keep thinking about kissing her again And despite you putting on a stern face aren�t you only going to meet him in order to find out what she is

Are you dancing on the palm of Ileot Swacc even now

Abiodun�s eyes continued their eerie independent waxing and waning I suppose you must certainly be sure then At the very least I will be patrolling the surrounding area during your meeting If there are any energy reverberations I�ll know something is wrong and proceed to your position immediately

Forcing a smile Randidly said So now I�m deserving of the VIP treatment now that I have a body eh

Abiodun�s face didn�t even twitch Please remember that we have made a considered investment on your behalf several times An investment from which we haven�t yet seen any yield You will forgive me if I find your callous disregard for your life rather disturbing And if it makes me pessimistic about your usefulness to Lady Iellaya

Eventually after several more stern warnings Abiodun left Some part of Randidly wanted to use the intervening two hours before his meeting to train his images but the combination of the tingling buzz from kissing Vualla and the heavy weight of the meetings that lay before him kept Randidly�s focus consistently distracted

Now was not a good time for growth Some part of him was simply waiting Waiting to understand the magnitude of what he had done by kissing Vualla

You followed your emotions Randidly thought tiredly to himself You followed the clear beauty of a moment where despite staring a daunting truth about her own existence in the face she turned to me and lifted her chin She had an unrelenting strength that made me just let everything else go

Randidly pressed his eyes closed But now it�s time to find out the truth I�m just surprised that it is happening this smoothly Who would have thought that Ileot Swacc would be the one to seek me out But I think that it definitely confirms that he still has some skin in the game

Time crawled by apparently free of the web of tension that knotted across Randidly�s chest cavity The moments plopped like heavy stones creating chaotic ripples through him Even when there was still an hour remaining until the appointed time Randidly couldn�t take it anymore He huffed out a breath and hopped lightly to his feet After checking every inch of his equipment Randidly calmly left his tent and began to head toward the Great Rift

The further he got from his tent the more his legs accelerated The ground around him began to warp and blur

But as he was walking his attention was tugged toward his right hand which now was conspicuously uncovered Also was there meaning to giving Vualla her own Fate Or I suppose the important question is whether there was any danger to doing so Even when Vualla touched it the Fate was largely unresponsive Yet to have both Fates so close together

Then Randidly�s eyes flashed Also the older version of the Fate�s wound was similar but not exactly the same And it possesses none of the budding crystallization that is slowly healing this iteration of the Fate who exactly was the original Vualla

Of course this question was exactly why Randidly was willing to take the risk of meeting Ileot Swacc Or rather it would be more accurate to say that without the aura of the term Duplicator� Randidly would do his best to keep interactions with a powerful member of the Nexus like Ileot to an absolute minimum And only have them in environments where he had a much more reliable safety net than Abiodun

Capable he may be but this was a whole order of magnitude beyond the vice Commander in one of the many frontlines

Even a day ago Randidly�s response to the invitation would have been extremely different The feeling of Vualla�s lips on his own the warmth and the electric current that froze their physical bodies for the brief moment while the emotions ran rampant and the newfound course of Randidly�s life all meant that he refused to miss this chance

Perhaps because Randidly feared the worst And if Vualla was truly a puppet of Ileot Randidly wished to find out as soon as possible Otherwise

Randidly shook his head and accelerated forward The ground began to fall away and seethe beneath him as he moved toward the edges the land controlled by Aether forces

To Randidly�s surprise Ileot was already standing there at the edge of the Great Rift when Randidly started traversing the broken ground fully a half hour before the agreed upon time Again Randidly�s eyes flashed Truly it seemed like the meeting was just as important an event for both of them Which implied that Randidly would have some leverage to get the information he wanted out of Ileot

It was just a matter of figuring out what Ileot�s goal was

As Randidly hopped over a deep fissure in the ground he studied Ileot Currently Ileot was wearing the same slight hairless form that he had taken when he used the name Cail Tweocs Which made Randidly wonder whether this was his natural form or that Ileot felt no need to reveal what he looked like to Randidly Either way there was unfortunately no way to leverage what he looked like for more information

Ileot Swacc still didn�t turn as Randidly began to rapidly stride forward flexing the muscles of his legs to make each of his steps cover a dozen meters It was only when the two figures were right next to each other both looking into the vast darkness above them that Ileot Swacc cleared his throat

You came quickly Good I suppose that means you understand how important an issue this is

Randidly slowly nodded yes

Ileot gave Randidly an amused look then continued to pipe up in that high pitched voice of his Heh you are probably wondering why I invited you here Or rather you are probably wondering what my game is And who I am The truth is I am not Cail Tweocs I am not a member of the Xyrt Brigade My true name is

Ileot Swacc Randidly said softly Some part of him considered hiding his knowledge but there didn�t seem to be any real point to doing so And Randidly was quite looking forward to Ileot�s face when he revealed that he knew who he was

Ileot�s gape didn�t disappoint Eh Am I truly so well known that you have heard of me I suppose I shouldn�t be surprised

Randidly spoke again interrupting a line that seemed to be veering toward boasting Ileot Swacc the Duplicator Who who duplicated Vualla an ancient warrior

Ha Truly you have caught me by surprise with your knowledge Ileot rubbed his chin This will go much easier if you already know this much Yes with Aether that Lord Miln borrowed from the frontline I duplicated Vualla I created a replica that was supposed to quickly make back the invested Aether or at least return the Aether in a more potent form that would make up for the lost efficiency And yet

Ileot�s face twisted into a leer That didn�t happen did it The project was largely a cover to explain my existence without revealing that I was here to study you but it seems that this project has cost me quite a lot without netting me any benefits

Clenching his fists Randidly tensed up as Ileot�s eyes burned with naked avarice As soon as their gazes met Randidly felt a physical weight settle on his shoulders The air around them stilled and the ground underneath Randidly�s feet groaned ominously A split second later it cracked a hair thin branching crack revealing the strain from Ileot�s gaze was a physical presence

The moment stretched between them a rope rapidly fraying as two forces pulled at it without budging Then just as Randidly was marshaling his Willpower to activate his own images to resist Ileot�s overwhelming force all of the pressure in the air faded Ileot Swacc sighed

However I do not blame you for how things turned out Rather it would have been a miracle if things went as I had wished them to go No one knows better than I how temperamental a power I possess So if you came here afraid I would seeking vengeance You can relax In fact I would much prefer for you to think of me as an ally

The Grim Chimera immediately wanted to rip Ileot Swacc�s face off for so casually asking to be thought of as an ally when Ileot was clearly aiming for Randidly�s body but Randidly restrained that impulse Although he largely agreed that the notion of being an ally with Ileot was nonsense that didn�t mean there wasn�t value in keeping things civil between them

When he spoke Randidly�s voice was cool As long as our interests align I don�t think we need to remain antagonistic toward each other

Apparently Randidly�s phrasing didn�t escape Ileot�s notice but the hairless man just smirked Indeed Such a relief to hear And I can understand that it will be difficult to build trust between us but I would like to take the first step and build our relationship by sharing two truths

The first I�ve already given to you Ileot held up a finger and leaned forward As I said earlier I am not actually a member of the Xyrt Brigade And let me tell you they would not be happy to hear that I said that I was They hmph even to their elders they are a group of entitled little shits Not that they are all so powerful as to threaten me but there some among their number even I would avoid So me admitting this to you can be considered an act of good faith

While Randidly was slowly digesting this first piece of information Ileot held up a second finger And the second thing I would like to tell you the story of Vualla and why I chose to duplicate her Then afterward we can finally talk business

Chapter 1133

Randidly lifted his chin at the tone in Ileot�s voice when he said business� but he didn�t comment He was too busy struggling with the rising tide of excitement that had surged forward as Ileot so readily stated that he would tell the story of Vualla To have Ileot put that on the table himself so quickly it certainly made Randidly�s job easier

Yet perhaps because hearing this was exactly what Randidly wanted all of that excitement quickly turned sluggish and then froze in his veins Randidly scanned Ileot�s face Ileot had said it himself he wanted Randidly to think of him as an ally With that statement at the very least Randidly believed that Ileot had been completely honest

All of this was designed to turn Randidly�s opinion toward Ileot around Yet again Randidly was faced with the question of why Despite the Grim Chimera�s innate suspicion toward this figure whom Randidly had watched put Vualla through absolute hell it was Yggdrasil�s even patience that won out for control of Randidly�s emotions

One thing at a time Randidly chided himself First let�s hear the story of Vualla

It was clear from Ileot�s rather superior looking expression and crinkled eyes that he was waiting for Randidly to prod him forward Perhaps for that reason Randidly hung back and just sifted his way through the information that Ileot had fed him thus far After all this was shaping up to be a glorified sales pitch and should be treated as such Randidly should take everything with a grain of salt if he should even believe it at all

Upon reflection Randidly could make some shrewd guesses as to why perhaps the information provided in Ileot�s initial two statements was less valuable to him than Ileot would have Randidly believe

First of all there was no guarantee that the Xyrt Brigade would be upset at Ileot for using its name For all that Ileot Swacc was relatively unknown to Randidly and everyone here on the battlefield it was clear that the being was an old and influential individual Trying to play the Xyrt Brigade card as a threat could be an elegantly laid trap A trap designed to test his dedication to whatever deal Ileot wanted

Perhaps even more dangerous was the possibility that Ileot was in fact a member of the Xyrt Brigade and any attempts by Randidly to report him would lead to him being marked as an enemy of the Brigade Again Randidly had no real trustworthy lines of information on who was a member of the Brigade but everyone agreed that these individuals were the real deal in terms of power Randidly wouldn�t offend them lightly

Besides for all that this information might very well be valuable there was the actual logistics of such an avenue to consider Although Randidly had been able to glimpse that there was a large amount of respect for the Xyrt Brigade obviously none of their members were here Even if Randidly wanted to make good on the threat he had no idea how to go about it The best he could do was to talk to Lady Iellaya but even she seemed rather awed and mystified when Ileot had claimed to be a member

Basically there was no real way for Randidly to verify that information Which left him with very little useful

But there was also a story coming THE story Randidly�s eyes sharpened as Ileot took a breath and looked contemplatively up toward the sky Although Ileot seemed to be considering his words carefully it still was so obviously forced that Randidly gritted his teeth �Vualla she is not just any warrior She is perhaps the most influential warrior in all of the history of the Nexus �

Rolling his eyes inwardly Randidly kept his face composed as he listened to Ileot begin by complimenting Vualla Now that Randidly had started listening to his suspicion it was tough to tell which of Ileot�s words were true and which were designed solely to try and cajole Randidly to look at him in a more sympathetic light

But then Ileot�s next question gave Randidly pause

�Do you know this history of this place This location �

Randidly shook his head as he looked around at the broken stone of the battlefield

Leaning forward Ileot continued with an almost fond reminiscence in his eyes �This place it was one of the first locations that we conquered of the Nether Our Aether arrays were much less established and uniform in those days so it was difficult to create any lasting footholds to raid Nether territory But this was our first big victory Finally we had an avenue that would allow the Xyrt Brigade to conduct some deep raids into the Nether And Vualla was one of the first footsoldiers sent here to hold the location �

Randidly slowly blinked �This was originally a place ruled by Nether �

�Well obviously not ruled It was simply within the domain of Nether It was likely just some backwater place filled with only a few wandering spirits � Perhaps just as surprising to Randidly as the news that this was originally controlled by Nether was the vague sense of annoyance in Ileot�s tone as he waved his hand �Perhaps you are too young to know but Aether was the original instigator of the war

Completely justified of course Rumors are that something incredible precious was taken from us by the Nether Although we fight defensively now that is just because we are fighting defensively to maintain control of the in roads toward the core of the Nether domain We are glorified civil servants paving the way for the Xyrt Brigade

�But as I was saying � Ileot coughed into his hand �Vualla is truly someone special Obviously a child born of loss and hatred but incredibly gifted in terms of energy utilization Too gifted Her time here at the most blood battlefield in the history of the war left her indelibly marked by violence And as more and more of her comrades around her died she began to warp underneath the strain of death To the point that she became permanently tainted by death She could not escape its flavor no matter how hard she tried �

�What does that mean � Randidly interrupted

Perhaps some of the genuine concern that Randidly felt had leaked through to his voice because Ileot looked at him with pity �Boy you might think you understand war from being here but that was an entirely different time in our history A whole different type of war was fought A primitive bloody war We well you will soon hear about its making but we did not have the grand array to arm us with Nether Stars There was only physical bodies and pounds of flesh available as the last bastion against the Great Rift When images failed the physical existences of our soldiers were also spent to buy the survivors even a single moment more time That was the world where Vualla came into her own

�And there � Ileot�s eyes flashed as he gave Randidly a meaningful look �Vualla became a creature of hate How could she not As she was abandoned by her father and mother perhaps it is fair to consider the war itself the only parent that cared for her And the lessons that Vualla learned from war well �

No Randidly rejected immediately She might hate but she is no creature It was because she cared so deeply that she was scarred She felt weak and hated herself for feeling weak She felt fear and hated herself for fearing But perhaps as more and more people died around her what Vualla truly grew to hate was herself For surviving when so many others could not For feeling like she had failed somehow by not putting herself in more danger For knowing that she had only made it this far by walking on corpses of her allies

As Randidly followed the logic he sighed Once she was on that Path to survive How could she step off of it It would invalidate all the sacrifices that she had walked over to get to this point The momentum of sacrifice propelled her forward With just a few words of background from Ileot and what Randidly knew of Vualla he could almost see the arc of her Path in his mind Once more the heat in his chest flared to life

So then as Vualla�s heart grew heavy and numb to death as she grew stronger and more and more foes tried to kill her to remain true to those sacrifices would become everything And so

� it was shortly after a disastrous loss here one which shook the Grand Commander�s belief that this location could be held that Vualla had her breakthrough to become a Heretic The first that the Nexus had ever seen �

�Too gifted in energy utilization � Randidly said softly

All that death that had stained her became her fuel She reaped lives like wheat to grow stronger Sometimes waiting until they would be killed by Nether but sometimes simply taking the wounded or maimed who she deemed useless All were fodder for her flame of hatred Ileot�s smile was sharp �As I have said things were very different in those days Although she was stealing the energy from her allies most were willing to overlook it After all so many died anyway and so much of those deaths were used to buy the survivors time What difference did it make that Vualla was taking the initiative to kill

Randidly�s heart twisted painfully It was difficult to imagine Vualla killing for power

Heedless Ileot continued to speak Some were impressed at her ingenuity And even if they couldn�t copy what she managed it was proof of concept In fact the diabolical experiments that followed this discovery are perhaps Vualla�s most enduring legacy �

�Is it really necessary to say that � Randidly said And now he could clearly recognize how rough his voice sounded

As though he won a small victory Ileot shook his head with a smile on his face �Of course There is no need to dwell on the grimy details But as I was saying with her new status as a Heretic Vualla rapidly grew in power So that soon the situation on her battlefield stabilized with her as the heavy blade to bleed the Nether for their attacks Aether finally had the capability to establish themselves And as Vualla�s attention was freed up from existential concerns she began to focus on her ability to manipulate energy Specifically how to learn from the existence of the Nether Beasts �

�As I�m sure you�ve guessed the grand formations of the frontlines from every frontline across the whole of the Nexus were only possible because of Vualla She was truly a genius and the hatred at her core meant that she could never give up in her quest for power �

Chapter 1134

Truly was Vualla such a monster borne of hate Randidly wondered And to him it seemed like a completely legitimate question although not one that was very helpful to think about Because History had a way of vilifying the atrocities of the powerful Her relatively innocuous albeit likely Heretical actions could have been blown out of proportion as time passed Setting aside the supposedly real proof of her genuinely good character that Randidly learned by interacting with the duplicated Vualla

But either way he forced himself to relax rather than respond to the allegation in Ileot�s words Although he could somehow imagine the familiar parts of her personality acting in these ways this Vualla was not the one that Randidly had known He should not take it personally This was not the one that he had chosen to embrace despite the consequences

An open question whether I would have been foolish enough to embrace this one too Randidly thought with not a little bit of humor

Yet Randidly currently felt that heat in his chest the one that had been burning since he kissed Vualla slowly surging to life as he thought about her And as he released a breath something strange happened

When he had stopped trying to force the two to be the same woman suddenly the image he had in his head of the other Vualla became crystal clear Suddenly he was witnessing this alternate Vualla this true Vualla this beautiful azure haired and eyed woman who was crushed by the weight of a vast darkness as though he was standing next to her as she was mobbed by corpses and Nether Beasts

As this specter of the true Vualla appeared in Randidly�s mind illuminated by the heat in his chest she wasn�t driven by a mad desire for power She was a woman slowly crushed by her fear and pain the weight of all of the death she had witnessed and then profited by That knowledge that she only grew power because of the deaths of others strangled her just as certainly as a noose Kindness was the knife with which she bled herself much more than hatred

So she found a distraction experimenting with energy A flimsy distraction compared to that constant emptiness she felt that was so vast that she couldn�t help but be flattened by it Yet it was all she had She was alone her family dead her companions dead and devoured by her for fuel And due to the constant presence of Nether in her life it made sense that she turned to that as her default with which to play It was what was always there threating her It was what laced the Path she had walked Hell without any surviving family or friends it might have been the most constant presence in Vualla�s life It became a bitter comfort when all other existences abandoned her

Familiar and certain By those qualities it had earned the place in Vualla�s march of death

Randidly could see it so clearly Vualla�s profile the bright deep sea color of her hair standing in that darkness that would someday drown her As her hands moved she guided the dark energy in strange patterns The skin of her arms was pale She seemed so alone

Randidly�s hands clenched into fists

Heedless to the internal vista that spread out before Randidly Ileot continued blithely along �Of course her obsession with her experiments was her downfall Obviously there are significant advantages to the grand formations you are currently experiencing the apex of them with four stars condensed But you will soon find that as soon as you develop a fifth there are unintended side effects to that borrowed power Physical limitations as the Nether even diluted to almost nonexistence reacts poorly to your body As she was the first and the best at developing the Nether cores Vualla discovered this before anyone else She was able to develop eight cores before she retired and after that it is rumored that she continued to experiment �

She reached ten Randidly thought lightly But there was no need to say it aloud And he almost suspected that Ileot knew much more about Vualla�s fate than he was letting on

Then Ileot�s face brightened �Luckily her experiments bore unexpected fruit For some reason there is a strange resonance effect that occurs when a sufficient amount of Nether and Aether is gathered together and not allowed to destroy each other It hasn�t been able to be reliably reproduced but Vualla�s existence changed the entire face of the Nexus For you see �

Pursing his lips Ileot appeared to think about something for several seconds Then he shrugged �Well it matters not if you know The real Vualla was born a long long time ago So long ago that the underlying System was present but it wasn�t as easily accessible One of the many skills you needed to hone during those days was the ability to understand the information that was contained in your inner world Otherwise you wouldn�t even understand what you were capable of �

The fingers on Randidly�s right hand tingled �She was from before the overlay System was present �

�Yup � Ileot smacked his lips �And basically the energy phenomenon that was observed from Vualla is the only reason that we were able to create the overlay System as you say today She revolutionized the entire Nexus without even meaning to Heh who says hatred is always a destructive emotion �

And what she truly meant to do to the Nexus was destroy it Randidly thought sadly Again he could see how that vast darkness would drown even that fervent desire that had driven her so far as she proceeded alone deeper and deeper into that darkness Worse still because even with her great energy manipulation skills she couldn�t utilize the Nether cores to their fullest potential So not just emotionally but also physically she had been slowly strangled The heat in Randidly�s chest spiked up to become near agonizing

You were so frustrated weren�t you Randidly whispered to the specter of Vualla To feel yourself growing more and more powerful and also more and more incapable Likely you fought the hardest against the physical bindings but it was the slow creep of apathy that finally did you in

Randidly released a breath Then he looked at Ileot Obviously he hesitated to say that he had recovered Vualla�s Fate but if Ileot was being this free with information �So what happened to her �

Ileot waved his hand �The same thing that happens to us all Time devours us But I can understand why you are asking a being with that much hate animating her every action surely she went out with a bang right Heh many thought the same thing But to everyone�s surprise she passed quietly It seems that the binding at the high end of the Nether cores can even strangle hatred That�s why none have attempted it in her wake despite the obvious protection from Nether you can acquire

Sighing Randidly turned away from Ileot Did you still have it in you to cry Vualla After your body stiffened around you

The heat in Randidly�s chest was so hot that it began to feel cold But then Ileot spoke and pulled his attention back to the hairless man

�As I promised I shared the truth about Vualla A monster that grew so large she couldn�t survive the power contained in her body And now I think it�s time for us to talk about our own relationship �

Slowly the heat in Randidly�s chest faded He flexed his fingers torn by empathy for the path Vualla had truly taken and annoyance that this grimy being in front of him would paint her life in such broad and inaccurate strokes But of course this being was far more powerful than Randidly To forget that was to throw his own life away Because the awful truth was that if Ileot truly wanted something from Randidly it would be almost impossible for him to stop the Duplicator from simply taking it by force

Which is why it�s so important that I condense my own Fate and use that knowledge to create a Class for Lady Iellaya Randidly�s fingers clenched into fists With her support maybe resisting will be possible Although depending on how powerful Ileot is even she might not be able to intervene on my behalf

Randidly shook his head and then said aloud �So what does Ileot Swacc want from someone like me �

Ileot chuckled �Don�t act like you don�t know Your physical body was examined when it was separated from your images to determine the extent of your uniqueness and I believe all involved were surprised You created an entire world within yourself A REAL world which should be impossible There are certain restrictions to my duplication ability that I hope you will understand that I withhold from you But suffice to say I cannot simply duplicate you by seeing you or touching you So I wish for you to assist me in a ritual that will allow me to duplicate you �

Although it was expected that Ileot�s goal was the Alpha Cosmos it still caused Randidly to shiver that he said it so bluntly In addition it was extremely uncomfortable to imagine that in addition to giving Ileot access to the Alpha Cosmos there would be a duplicate Randidly running around if Randidly were ever to agree

And if that alternate Randidly was under this hairless man�s control Randidly didn�t doubt that he would not have a good life

Doing his best to keep his worry from his face Randidly said �Is it really that strange to have become a world I�ve seen many wondrous things accomplished with images Why is it so important that it isn�t simply a strong image �

�Ah of course you wouldn�t understand You are too weak � Ileot said dismissively Then he waved his hand grandly in the air and the area around them changed The Great Rift and the broken orange brown stone around them were gone Instead they were standing on a frozen tundra The wind howled between the two of them bringing with it heavy snow and sleet The chilling cold was so abrupt and complete that Randidly gasped Very quickly a thick layer of frost began to creep across his metallic left arm

�True � Ileot said softly �Many of us has reached the level that it is simplicity itself to create an image that has the same potency as the real world Even one that would endure for quite a long time Yet these worlds we can create they aren�t truly real They are ultimately hollow malformed things incapable of growth �

�Images change all the time � Randidly said with a frown He brought his hand up and scratched away the ice that was forming on the slight stubble across his cheeks He could feel the chilling moisture on his fingers

�They are tainted by influences Other images are like drops of paint in water they dye them varied colors But they do not truly grow they cannot They will always simply be paint mixing in the water bucket They will always be limited by the Willpower and imagination of the maker Which is not the case for something that is actually real �

Just as quickly as it arrived the tundra around them disappeared Randidly was extremely annoyed to notice that while Ileot seemed immaculate after their brief jaunt the melting frost remained on Randidly�s own body While he scraped it off Randidly spoke lightly � I have to admit that I don�t really understand the fixation with this label of real If it feels and acts real isn�t that real Although I suppose I understand the theoretical difference in being limited by the creator of the image But even then I think images can grow on their own �

Ileot shook his head �If I was having this conversation with anyone else but you I would very gladly give them a sharp correction But for you perhaps your images truly do grow But that is related to how special you are Hum do you in your world are you aware of the concept of evolution �

Not sure where this was going Randidly nodded slowly Ileot continued �There are two processes that would count as evolution One is a true evolution where organisms are growing in response to external stimuli from their environment That is real The other version of evolution is where all beings are randomly growing at all times Slowly the unlucky ones who do not develop in a direction relevant to their environment die out and those that do get relevant traits procreate and spread In the end both processes lead to the growth of a species

�But you know if you actually living through these processes wouldn�t existing with the false evolution be quite fraught with anxiety Reality is reassuring To be real is to escape the fickleness of chance to be immune to the random growth that might hurt you as surely as help To only be shaped by other images not dyed by them �

Randidly frowned at Ileot He sorta understood that Ileot was trying to defend the odd fixation with reality but it was difficult for Randidly to follow how the metaphor was relevant

Perhaps sensing that misunderstanding Ileot just sighed �Ultimately this conversation is just a bonus Just know that I deeply value the reality you have been able to create If a duplicated version of you would be able to do the same it would be immensely valuable �

Ileot straightened and put his hands behind his back �So finally to business

Chapter 1135

Without giving Randidly much of a time to cope with the obvious relish in Ileot�s voice Ileot lightly pounded his chest with a fist and gave Randidly a look that was heavy with fake pity If I�m being honest I wish it would not have come to this point The situation is more complicated than you can imagine the magnitude of the forces at play here ah well I suppose it is the duty of the elders to deal with these things

Shaking his head Ileot took several steps forward to the edge of a ridge In fact my duplications are normally self sustaining There is a core of Aether that I create that guides the duplicated individual and helps me keeps tabs on their actions In fact it was the destruction of the core that brought my attention to the status of this experiment and forced me to come directly I honestly prefer not to be directly involved Me interacting with the subject often hurts more than it helps

Core Randidly scratched his chin

Ileot nodded Usually it manifests as an individual around the subject Someone innocuous From my investigation one of Vualla�s subordinates was the core I created I suspect since you accompanied them in their trip into the base of Nether Gatekeeper that you witnessed one of Vualla�s subordinates display a strength that was incongruous with his standing That individual was the core

Randidly blinked in surprise Although he had been very busy struggling to stay alive while surrounded by dense Nether at the time he did recall how one of Vualla�s subordinates had surged with strength enough that he had been able to turn aside the attacks of the Nether Gatekeeper a few times and buy Randidly and Vualla a few precious seconds to flee from there In addition that was also the very same subordinate that was constantly badgering Vualla about her choices

a real chip off the old block Randidly reflected sourly as understanding dawned in his gaze toward Ileot That�s why the subordinate had such strong feelings about Vualla�s actions because he was trying to guide her along the same tracks she went down in her past life And it was also why Ileot had to show up as Cail afterward to try and rectify the mistake

but yea I bet directly interacting with the people you�ve duplicated hasn�t helped you much in the past

Ileot unleashed an exaggerated sigh as he kicked a small pebble off the side of the ridge and watched it tumble down into the deep fissures in the orange ground The core acted as a vessel if you will One that ah protected Vualla from too much of her Aether being lost from friction with the current Aether of this time Without it she will soon begin hemorrhaging Aether It drastically increases the cost of maintaining her in a substantial form Once the remaining bits of the vessel fall away my Aether will need to be constantly spent to heal the damage from the friction

A frosted gauntlet began to squeeze Randidly�s heart The sensation of cold tightness was suffocating He pressed his eyes together This was exactly what he had been worried to hear

Not that Vualla would need Aether because Randidly obviously could provide that No what scared Randidly most of all about what Ileot said was that there would be friction with the current Aether That it wasn�t something Randidly knew how to address It wasn�t just a matter of fueling Vualla herself but of fueling a construction of Aether that could act as her protection against the modern world

Because if the modern world�s Aether was dangerous to her it was possible that Randidly�s Aether would be just as dangerous Establishing an Aether connection hastily might accelerate the process to a dangerous degree

It might all be a lie some part of Randidly whispered But even though that part of Randidly pointed it out it didn�t want to be the one to suggest testing the theory Not when Vualla�s life was at stake

of course she is a creation of mine All of my work is of an extremely high quality There likely are several months before signs of strain will show When Ileot�s words registered Randidly opened his eyes and gaped at Ileot The hairless man favored him with a grin I don�t wish to think I�m trying to strong arm you there is time for some thought into the issue Perhaps during that time we can meet as friends and discuss less serious matters Like your childhood for instance Just some topics that aren�t so emotionally charged

Randidly licked his lips Then he purposefully ignored the final part of Ileot�s question both because it was ridiculous and because the casual way that Ileot asked it made the Grim Chimera mentally bare its teeth So there is time Before something bad would happen to Vualla

Yes of course Ileot turned away from the ridge and leaned forward toward Randidly And just so we are clear I will say it directly I still have a significant portion of the Aether given to me by Lord Miln available After all I planned on sustaining this duplication for quite some time once it bloomed to its potential with energy manipulation It would have been quite a convenient means to turn Aether into a more valuable form but now I am hesitant to invest more Aether into this project It remains unclear if it will be successful

It didn�t escape Randidly�s notice that Vualla had suddenly become an it

Heedless of the growing storm in Randidly�s thoughts Ileot continued to speak Therefore in return for me ignoring my better judgment and providing more Aether to this project so that Vualla can survive for her natural� lifespan you will aid me in the ritual that will allow me to duplicate you in the future Are we clear

Just as Randidly opened his mouth to speak Ileot raised up a hand Ah I realize that may sound confusing I don�t need any sort of answer right away In fact please don�t We are friends are we not We will have many interactions in the future hahaha

Besides Ileot�s eyes began to glow and he jerked his thumb toward the looming presence of the Great Rift hanging above the both of them There�s still the problem of the war Heh with this many enemies swarming down toward us perhaps you too will grow to regret that this duplication of Vualla doesn�t possess any of the original�s hatred This is the only sort of place where a woman like her can shine after all

Gasping Vualla jerked upward and wildly kicked out with her leg Her entire body was clammy and twitching That she swore furiously as her bare foot smashed into one of her gauntlets that she had left lazily strewn next to her bed area As her twitches and spasms slowly died down Vualla cradled her foot

Then there was just the silence of the dark tent around her and the feeling of the cooling sweat on her brow and down her back Her thumping heart sluggishly drifted back down toward a normal number of beats per minute

Even as the memory of the vast darkness that had attempted time and time again to drown her receded like a chilling tide Vualla couldn�t escape the sense of helplessness that had been the most agonizing part of the dream It lingered on the back of her tongue like a bitter and pungent green tea

Vualla closed her eyes Trying to sleep was a bad idea

But even if the host of boogeymen that resulted from Vualla learning the truth about her existence were waiting in the darkness beneath her eyelids Vualla had no choice but to reluctantly go to meet them It was only while asleep that Vualla noticed any improvement to the wound on her Fate as small as that improvement usually was Perhaps just hair�s width of crystal would grow per six hours of sleep but the changes reassured her that she could improve

She could change Her actions had meaning The things that she had done

Vualla reached up and tugged in exasperation at her hair as she collapsed back onto her sleeping pallet Then she rolled back and forth allowing her blanket to tangle up her limbs in an ungainly clump Gah I can�t believe you said something as melodramatic as I�m not real am I � and then you let him kiss you

Ceasing her rolling Vualla looked up toward the roof of the tent We are both such idiots

But much of her scolding toward herself had no teeth to it and there was no avoiding the wide smile that stretched across her face while she was thinking about it Even now her lips and chest felt warm with the lingering proximity of Randidly Ghosthound And by what it meant that he had stood in front of her with his emerald eyes and didn�t look away or hesitate

You�re real Vualla

Slowly however that grin faded away Vualla could only twist her mouth as she stood and slowly began to strap her armor onto her body And even as she pulled leather and cotton over her limbs she couldn�t suppress a shiver that lingered from the visions she had seen Although the dreams had been chaotic since her Fate was wounded this one

Fuck me Vualla muttered as she pinched some of the flesh of her midriff in the brass clasp of her belt Grimacing she sucked in her stomach and pulled her pants up a bit higher Then she rolled her shoulders and went over to the low table by the entrance to the tent and took a long sip of water And even though Vualla was very pointedly was not thinking about the problems of her current existence her gaze caught on the glove Randidly had given her

The Fate from her past existence The Fate that proved that she was duplicated And no matter how she looked at it she could find no difference from her own Despite the fact that it was an inert glove where hers was a matrix of image and power there was an impossible to counterfeit sense of familiarity that Vualla felt form it This item was hers

Mine but also not mine Vualla thought determinedly as she looked at the Fate For my Fate is beginning to heal I will recover from this and grow even stronger

Sighing Vualla finished getting dressed and prepared to leave But as she hesitated at the door to her tent she finally grabbed the past version of her Fate and placed it into her pocket It seemed foolish to simply leave it laying out where anyone could grab it Especially because normal missions had been suspended while the Aether forces had to deal with the looming threat of the Nether King�s army

In fact Vualla was free for several more hours But after that suffocating freezing darkness of her dream Vualla shivered and headed for the familiar supply track She considered visiting Randidly but they had parted only a scant few hours ago Rushing to a man�s side after every bad dream was something that the childhood Vualla had swore to herself she would never do Although they had become more than simply comrades that didn�t mean they weren�t adults who could control the wild rush of joy in the pit of there stomach that surged upward whenever she thought about the warmth of Randidly�s smile

Coughing lightly Vualla began to march forward walking in the midst of the supply train that was trooping slowly past But then she saw a familiar figure with navy blue hair and stopped dead Both the warmth of her connection to Randidly and the chill of the dream were both wiped away by an impossible silhouette Is that Hey Elliot

The navy haired man who was lifting a box turned around And then he beamed at her Ohoho Little sister how the hell did you sneak out to the front lines Mom is going to finally kill herself when she finds out you know

Chapter 1136

Randidly was surprised to find that Vualla wasn�t at her tent when he visited and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly Well it�s not like I expected her to wait around for my call after we kissed but still doesn�t she still need rest She�s more of a training maniac than I am

Shrugging Randidly wrote a short letter to Vualla explaining some of the details he had learned about her from Ileot leaving out the deal that Ileot wanted from Randidly in order to continue to support Vualla�s existence After writing it Randidly�s immediate impulse was to burn it and try and figure out a solution to it before he approached her with the truth

But he still couldn�t forget that moment where Vualla straightened her spine and checked to see if he was okay even as they were both realizing she might just be a creation of some powerful Nexus individual She wouldn�t want him to hide the truth from her Because if he wasn�t honest how would they face down this world together

Because that was the sentiment that had won the Grim Chimera over That she was someone who would not balk just because their goal was impossible And Randidly felt very warm when he focused on the two of them working together

Afterward dropping off the letter he quickly returned to his own tent Randidly had some work to do

In the darkness of his tent Randidly began to plan how he would proceed His immediate goal was to condense his own Fate so he could then help reshape Lady Iellaya�s Fate as he remade her Class Which was already a complicated thing to say and vastly more difficult to manage to do And double difficult to do it while surviving the attacks from the Nether King And also while trying to navigate what to do about the duplicated Vualla toward whom Randidly had allowed himself to develop feelings

Especially because Randidly had planned on doing all of these things while also using a Fate as the core for each of three images to vastly improve the power of the Fate that he would condense for himself After all Randidly believed that he had some fair knowledge of the inputs and shape of Nether Rituals that he could use to benefit Of course he didn�t really know what or how the Nether Rituals did sometimes but that didn�t matter the System was already providing the shape Randidly just had to use his knowledge to fuel the Fate Ritual efficiently

Although his original plan the glove of the original Vualla for the Grim Chimera could no longer be used that didn�t mean Randidly didn�t have any ideas It just meant that his ideas became a bit more difficult to implement It was possible that Randidly could obtain another Fate that could serve well enough but that option became increasingly less appealing to him after studying the situation in his body

No the foundation of his Fate should mirror the current constitution of his body Which mean that core of the Grim Chimera should be forged of Nether

Which again was something that was far easier to say than it was to actually accomplish Sitting in the darkened tent Randidly spread both his real and metal fingers and pressed them against the dusty ground Simply a Nether core wouldn�t have the weight to do what Randidly wanted and Randidly wasn�t proficient enough yet with Nether to accomplish much of anything else

Although the biggest current limitation to Randidly moving beyond that was the fact that he was sitting at four true Nether cores and two dozen fake Nether cores without being able to condense a fifth Because while the first true Nether core took three fakes the second had taken six and the third took twelve Now with twenty four Randidly faced the ugly realization that he would probably need a few more before he could condense a fifth core And if he wanted to make a sixth

Of course most of the issue now was that the area inside of him that was composed by Nether was simply growing too large If he was a completely Aether less being likely 24 fake cores would have been enough to make a fifth true core But with the small interference of Aether as two came into contact

Grimacing Randidly focus went inward and he began the annoying process of condensing a fake Nether core It was a hassle to make more but if he had no choice Through his practice during his time alone in the Great Rift Randidly had markedly improved his success rate But it was a constantly adjusting process as Randidly had to take into account the density of the ambient Nether One he had a knack of while on his Aether oasis in the Great Rift but here on the frontlines

Randidly failed once He chewed his lip briefly but tried again A failure in a new environment was to be expected

When he failed for the second time Randidly released a great breath and shook his head Then with workmanlike dedication he started again

It was when he failed the third time that Randidly began to suspect that something beyond the way he was attempting the process was wrong Rather than continuing to try again Randidly forced himself to relax and feel around with Nether Sensation to try and ferret out the problem

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 36

Frowning Randidly continued to scan the surrounding area As he slowed down his heart rate Randidly tried to follow every echoing ripple that spread through his internal Nether The glowing mass of four bundles of Nether energy formed his core and his physical form was the bubble Everything within was isolated

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 37

Then it hit him and Randidly wanted to pull out fistfuls of his hair Because what became immediately apparent was that it wasn�t just the ambient energy in the air but that he was also coming under the influence of the grand array that was based on Vualla�s accomplishments in the past And true to Vualla�s reputation as a genius of energy manipulation its influence managed to sneak through Randidly�s physical bubble� and influence his internal world in an extremely subtle way

Which explains why I haven�t been able to condense any fake Nether cores since I came back Randidly thought with a scowl But now that I have found the problem I can begin to make adjustments It�s just she truly was impossibly powerful wasn�t she The Vualla in her original life But I wonder

Shaking his head Randidly let go of the vexing problem of the Nether image focus for his Fate and considered his other two foci the Chisel of Chulroon and the hiltless blade that he had gotten from the Fate armory

Of the two Randidly was much more confident about the growing synchronization between Yggdrasil and the Chisel of Chulroon For one thing he could at least see the information that the Fate had grown to Level 99 although Randidly had no real way of knowing whether the Level cap was the same for Fates In addition Chulroon had left a vestige of his will in the Dungeon with the explicit intent to pass on the truth about the System and what it did to his people Randidly was the beneficiary of that heritage

So even though there still existed a slumbering rogue element within the Fate that Randidly didn�t yet dare awaken lest it might cause him trouble he felt relatively confident in his attempts to bring the Fate into alignment with what he wanted Plus there was a very easy image linkage between Yggdrasil and the Chisel

Although it was ultimately a weapon Chulroon�s Fate was still labeled as a Chisel It was a tool to create and shape Just like how Yggdrasil was truly a towering font of life but so often was forced to use its power to destroy the enemies that sought to cause the world to collapse In addition the chisel� could serve as the catalyst that Randidly needed to create the next and hopefully final portion of the Yggdrasil Skillset

Because what Randidly wanted was for Yggdrasil not to just be the Tree of Life but also the record of all things that was and will be the Akashic Records A living and breathing history and future of all things He already had his Mana Engraving Skill but Randidly wanted to push that to the next level And one method to do that would be to have a powerful tool to use with the image of Engraving

Still that was all for later Randidly was still in the early stages of ruminating over the changes to his Yggdrasil image that would result from allowing Chulroon�s Chisel to influence him It was just an unfortunate truth that Yggdrasil was the image that was currently the furthest along in a process that Randidly didn�t want to allow to stretch along for too long

The relationship between Ignition Essence and the hiltless Fate Blade was also progressing but the process of it left Randidly somewhat confused A lot of Randidly�s attention had been focused on Vualla during the transformative period for Ignition Essence but it was clear that the consciousness within the Fate blade had used the fire of the Ignition Essence to set itself from fire Which was slowly eating away at the consciousness but it was also once more releasing huge waves of heat

And perhaps more disturbingly Randidly could sense from his Ignition Essence image that the more that Ignition Essence burned the consciousness of the Fate blade the more it learned of the owner�s past Right now it was just meaningless memories of coarse bread the feeling of cold raindrops and the meandering drift of clouds but Randidly knew that more troublesome memories would come along eventually

Including the reason that the original owner of the Fate had died and why the Fate wanted so desperately to die

This was all further complicated by the fact that as it burned the spirit inside the Fate had begun to cry And yet Ignition Essence seemed sure that it would be a cathartic experience for the Fate It might be painful but some memories need to be faced

So Randidly meditated in his tent slowly earning Skill Levels in Fire Resistance Pain Resistance and the Lantern of Harsh Truths from the activities from Ignition Essence and Visualization and Aether Understanding from Yggdrasil He lost a lot of his Leveling speed without his three images being separated and all working but at least this way he was safe from being slowly corrupted by Nether

When the knock eventually came at the flap to his tent Randidly�s Absolute Timing informed him that he had been meditating for six hours and twenty two minutes When he pulled back the flap the familiar faces of Abiodun Salazar and Zauna were waiting for him

Trouble Abiodun rumbled We�ve received an ultimatum from the Nether King either we hand over the Nether Prince or it will kill us all

Randidly cracked his knuckles And which did we choose

Chuckling Abiodun turned away and began to walk toward the Great Rift No one likes life on the frontlines if the Nether King can finally free us from this endless hell who wouldn�t jump for joy Of course we will fight to the death

Chapter 1137

Randidly coughed lightly as he stood with Zauna and Salazar arrayed below Lady Iellaya�s command tower with the rest of the marshaled forces of Aether Due to the impending attack from the Nether King and its forces almost all of the soldiers currently stationed on the frontlines were called back from league At the moment almost ten thousand soldiers were gathered around Lady Iellaya and hers was by far the smallest as the most junior of the Commanders

Ten thousand soldiers with the most extravagant series of defensive fortifications out of the whole lot of them Randidly thought with relish as his eyes followed the eight outer gates and six inner gates that would corral the Nether Beasts who wanted to attack this location

Unfortunately few people admired the feat of construction all gazes were on the foes that were drifting closer out of the Great Rift The ranks stood in grim silence as the lead force of the Nether attack flowed down toward the boundary between their broken sandstone and the Great Rift Even from this distance it was clear that these were monstrously large beasts of Nether some large enough to smash a house with its paw

Finally Salazar could keep his silence no longer With his almost comically long neck he leaned slowly over to Randidly to speak Not that he need have bothered on the silent frontline among individuals with such powerful Stats his words carried with all the grace of church bells on Christmas Those l look l like

Randidly gave Salazar a sharp look that had the snakeman�s tongue flee back into his mouth before he could finish the statement Sighing Randidly scanned the recognizable forms of the Nether Vanguard before turning his gaze to the East Although that warmth in his chest informed Randidly that Vualla was there hidden amongst Commander Terith�s army he wasn�t able to spot her from his current vantage His lips curled upward in impatience

Most of the last few hours since Abiodun had come to Randidly�s tent had involved the frantic construction of additional defensive structures to aid in the fight against Nether For Lady Iellaya Randidly�s Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil was invaluable tool to make up for the difference in manpower between her own and the other forces

Although there were better builders out there than Randidly there were none who could do even half as much as he could simultaneously So of all the hastily constructed fortresses standing defiantly at the edge of the Great Rift Lady Iellaya�s practically looked like an opulent porcupine amongst threadbare groundhogs Yet that had meant that he hadn�t seen Vualla in quite a while Not since they parted after their kiss

Normally Randidly could simply rely on his Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to try and feel Vualla�s location with plant matter but the assembled images of all these powerful individuals made it extremely hard to maintain the connection over long distances There were simply far too many powerful Skills at work across the tense battlelines so much so that there was significant static if Randidly moved his focus beyond the edge of Lady Iellaya�s camp

Then Randidly�s gaze turned upward to the command tower above him once again He was actually quite lucky that he had been assigned to Lady Iellaya Perhaps due to her method of controlling her subordinates there was very little of the riotous flaring of Skills that so hampered Randidly�s senses with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil in other camps Because if he had been forced to operate amongst all that interference

Once again Salazar leaned over toward Randidly S s seriously though they l look

Salazar Randidly said quietly but his subordinate couldn�t help himself

D d d dogs Salazar spat out Up in the command tower above them Randidly would have sworn he could hear Abiodun sigh In the face of Randidly�s weary disbelief Salazar began to build up some more momentum D d did you k know that while I r r ruled my land w we had d d dozens

A root curled gently around Salazar�s neck and pressed his mouth shut Randidly shot him another warning glare but he was just as quickly betrayed on his other side

cute dogs Zauna muttered as she too stared upward toward the descending titanic Nether Beasts Almost unwillingly Randidly let his gaze move upward to follow his subordinates�

Truly the Great Rift was currently filled with the descending bounding form of about a hundred Nether Beasts that looked like mundane dogs They had no strange claws or tentacles or spines and they weren�t even aggressive looking dogs like German Shepherds Instead they possessed the heavyset furry forms of St Bernards cast in inky blackness

Assuming of course that the wider universe shares the same sort of dog breeds which seems statistically impossible Yet Randidly only felt helplessness as he looked up at the Nether Beasts Because they truly looked like St Bernards Blown up on a one hundred times scale

There was a cough and this time it was clear from Lady Iellaya I hope I don�t need to remind everyone that this battle concerns our very survival This might just be the vanguard but this is the forces of a Nether King one of the most powerful and savage of our foes And each of these dogs Has the power of a Nether Gatekeeper

Which was exactly the problem and why Randidly was so desperately seeking out Vualla�s form on the battlefield Because he remembered very distinctly about how difficult it was to fight against a Nether Gatekeeper Although Lady Iellaya had displayed enough strength to easily suppress three of such opponents at once there were now one hundred of them rushing down toward the frontlines And behind those one hundred Nether Gatekeepers was a seething tide of Nether Beasts so thick that they seemed more like a liquid than an army

Or it looks like these bounding dogs of a cap of blackness they pull along behind them Randidly shook his head

Perhaps even more conspicuous was the single variation from the tide of Nether Gatekeeper that was leading the charge Even among Nether Gatekeeper this giant St Bernard carried with it an absolutely oppressive aura Fully twice the size of the others it was the alpha of this assault And it also possessed four heads that snapped and drooled shooting out booming barks as it surged downward

And our forces Randidly glanced around and grimaced Nine Commanders remain maybe twenty ish people that can fight against Nether Gatekeepers This one might be a little rough

But then there was a familiar giggle that spread out across the whole of the battlefield not just through Lady Iellaya�s camp Everyone�s attention was dragged toward the iconic rocky outcropping on which the headquarters sat I suppose you will be needing some of my assistance Lord Miln

Although Ileot�s pipping voice did not get any easier on the ears the more Randidly heard it there was a significant amount of catharsis knowing that gloating tone was directed toward Lord Miln And Randidly could almost hear the clenching of Lord Miln�s jaw after the very public way that Ileot forced the Supreme Commander to ask for his support

indeed Master Tweocs Your assistance is necessary

Once more a giggle echoed across the battlefield But then a blazing comet traveled upward from the rocky outcropping of headquarters and made a beeline toward the large four headed Nether Gatekeeper that led its fellows

Drawn as though by a magnet all eight eyes from that beast focused in on the sudden assault launched by the Aether forces With a harmonious roar between four monstrous throats the Nether Gatekeeper called over ten of its minions and then sprinted forward to meet Ileot�s bright light

Across the entire battlefield every eye was locked on the impending clash Yet despite the import of what was about to happen Randidly looked away and stared toward Commander Terith�s camp for several seconds The warmth running between them meant that Vualla was definitely out there yet even now he still wanted to confirm He was even willing to risk missing the fight to see her

Unfortunately this attempt was no more helpful than the last Vualla continued to allude his searching gaze So Randidly could only turn his eyes back upward in time to see that the light that Ileot had sent shooting upward very quickly morphed to form a six armed man holding a brush in each of its hands

As the Nether Gatekeepers surged closer the six arms began to rapidly trace out arcane characters which hung in the air and glowed golden Soon Illeot�s projection had drawn sixteen characters four that rotated around it horizontally like the four cardinal directions and twelve that spun vertically like the different times on a clock Then it seemed to explode in a surge of golden light and accelerate forward toward the Nether Gatekeepers

Immediately the four headed leader of the Nether Gatekeeper understood that something was up Rather than continuing with its rather intimidating barks one of the upper heads turned around and yelped in desperation at some of the Nether Gatekeepers behind it before hurriedly straightening to prepare to meet the golden ball of light

The huge forms above accelerated toward each other seeming to be only a few dozen meters apart but still several additional seconds passed where there was no sound of impact Frowning Randidly�s full focus finally settled on the clash that was about to happen The fact that they haven�t hit each other yet just shows how far away they are and if they are still this size that far away

Golden light rocked the sky Four quick waves of it blasted outward each brighter than the last When it all finally cleared Randidly could see that most of the initial wave of Nether Gatekeepers that had met the ball of golden light had been sent flying like they were bowling pins It was only their four headed leader that doggedly continued to resist the overwhelming momentum of the golden light that Ileot had created

Even then it could only frantically struggle as it was pushed back But very soon its yelps attracted the assistance of more and more Nether Beasts Ten twenty thirty forty

Fully half of the one hundred Nether Gatekeepers had to join forces to resist the golden light With their combined effort they were able to slow the golden ball to a crawl once more revealing the six armed man Soon his eyes flashed golden and the arms began to lash out rapidly engaging the surrounding Nether Gatekeepers

Ileot giggled again Good luck Lord Miln

The other Nether Gatekeepers and the sea of Nether Beasts behind them continued to surge downward giving the clash a wide berth Even as the people around him started to prepare for their own combat Randidly�s focus lingered on that golden light

What must it be like to possess the strength of fifty Nether Gatekeepers without even seeming to break a sweat Randidly mused But then he shook his head and focused on the waves of Nether Gatekeepers forging downward Randidly bared his teeth But for now show me beings of Nether how powerful you really are

Randidly�s hands curled into a fist I want to understand what it means to have Nether be the basis for one of my images

Chapter 1138

It was difficult to capture the monstrous horror inspired by the tide of Nether Beasts that came in the wake of Nether Gatekeepers For while the stronger Nether Gatekeepers had foes above to keep them company the Nether Beasts were free to swarm below across the cracked and floating boulders and then only the solid ground

Inch by inch they came devouring the color of the orange ground by screening it with their bodies They were so densely packed that Randidly couldn�t even begin to count them It was like watching an army of ants thick enough to blot out the ground crawling on top of another army of ants thick enough to blot out the ground

All marching forward to reach the Aether�s fortifications

To make matters worse Randidly had imposed a rather strict and likely necessary limit on himself Because he still needed more time to prepare himself to condense a Fate he couldn�t reach Level 50 So none of the Nether Beasts could be killed by his Absolute Grasp Or at least not enough to actually affect the outcome of this fight

Which considering the fact that very few of these Nether Beasts were below the three star level wasn�t such a big deal It would be extremely time consuming for Randidly to kill more than a couple especially when he was attempting to intervene across the battlefield on such a wide scale But then the battle continued to drag onward

It was liked the Nether had heard the compliments that Randidly could stop any number of Nether Beasts and decided to test it And honestly Randidly did not think he faired so well when presented with the challenge

One hour passed then two then three Still Nether Beasts roared forward and still Nether Gatekeepers pinned down the Aether Commanders

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 267

Randidly�s headache rapidly accelerated from dull ache to ice pick in the back of the brain stem as he sat cross legged at the back of Lady Iellaya�s forces and orchestrated the entire left flank of the battlefield Although his grip weakened the more images obscured his senses he was still able to use mass blind attacks of roots to at least hamper the Nether Beasts� advance up to three camps away Yet beyond that

One problem was the images definitely When so many powerful images were going on at once there was a lot of different information signals to comb through Randidly�s Skills and more directly his Grim Intuition gave him the ability to handle a lot of information at once but this was more than simply a lot� It was also a lot of information flooding into his brain in situations were a few shreds of a second decided whether one of the Aether soldiers lived or died Randidly needed to be constantly sharp

Or someone else would end up paying the price

Randidly�s emerald roots gleaming with sharp thorns and golden engravings came up in huge bands to cut sideways and hamstring the absolute flood of monstrous Nether Beasts that surged downward and crashed against he assembled fortified Aether forces But even more than wounding the Nether Beasts that were actually engaged most of what Randidly was doing was acting as a levy that could buy some precious seconds for the Aether soldiers to actually deal with the Nether Beasts in front of them in a fight rather than needing to swim through the tight bodies of their enemies

The grand fortifications that Randidly helped build were certainly the most deadly of all the Aether�s defense points but even with several inner gates and outer gates those areas filled up fast if the Nether Beasts were allowed to continue forward unimpeded

Row after row of thorns jabbed upward and ripped into the soft underbellies of the attacking Nether Beasts Although these wounds would probably heal very quickly without any follow up attacks it delayed the Nether Beasts slightly as the stumbled and tripped This in turn caused the Nether Beasts behind those Nether Beasts to growl and flow away from the areas where Nether Beasts were slowed up by Randidly

Drops became currents currents became eddies eddies became rivers

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 268

Like a maestro Randidly waved his hand and orchestrated the entire battlefield His far flung roots reported where the surging masses of Nether Beasts was headed and Randidly made minute adjustments to slowly round them up and create conflicting currents of movements among their lines Then less than a second later Randidly reviewed the information he could have and made minute adjustments

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 269

Besides this is the role that only I can play Randidly�s eyes burned with emotion as his gaze flicked up to Lady Iellaya Then it drifted back to the unending tide of Nether And even if it cuts me to the bone I won�t abandon the people here

The order to act as a field commander was a mission that Randidly took very seriously because he was somewhat moved by the fact that as the Nether Gatekeepers descended Lady Iellaya had called him up and asked him to be the acting commander while Lady Iellaya and Abiodun were engaged with the Nether Gatekeepers above Randidly guessed that it was a test of some sort but that didn�t mean he wouldn�t agree

After all no matter the broader schemes there were lives at stake Lives that he could save He couldn�t live with himself if he didn�t work as hard as he could to save them

Wincing Randidly was forced to close one eye as the pain of his Skill overuse headache grew difficult to manage Without saying anything Zauna passed Randidly a Mana potion provided by the Nexus exclusively for the frontlines Randidly knew that relying on external sources would exacerbate the problem later but he was simply burning through too much Mana too quickly Even with the absurdly low cost of the Skill there were simply too many Nether Beasts that he needed to affect

The area that he covered was monstrous Slowly a single Nether Beast wasn�t enough He had to juggle an entire sea

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 149

Yet Randidly gritted his teeth and pushed forward And as he did so a million issues tugged at his attention all pulling his formidable Control to feeble tendrils as they were unwound and forced to operate independently across the battlefield

One of Lady Iellaya�s Captains stomped his foot twice on the ground which was the signal to draw Randidly�s attention Then the man growled out Good here send more

Even as Randidly began to shift the waves of thorny pitfalls harassing the Nether Beasts so more would be shunted toward that Captain�s gate another Captain stomped his foot twice

Need reinforcements here these bastards are strong

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 270

Three more Captains stomped their feet to draw Randidly�s attention before he had even begun to direct forces to the struggling area Two were requests for more enemies while one was a report that one of the Captain�s best subordinates was missing and Randidly should do everything in his power to locate the woman before she was killed by the sea of Nether Beasts seething around Lady Iellaya�s fortress

Pressing both his eyes closed Randidly did his best to address these issues The image of Yggdrasil flickered briefly to life behind him as he was forced to rely on it to control so many roots so finely for so long The Nether Beasts around Lady Iellaya�s fortress hesitated looking up at the towering image of the tree with apparent unease

Yet Randidly had already relied on the image of Yggdrasil too much over the past four hours At this point he needed to only rely on it sparingly or it wore away at the edges of him And already too much of Randidly�s focus was cut into pieces for him to be able to afford to lose any additional scrap of his attention

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 150

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 271

When the issues in front of Randidly were solved they returned after multiplying Randidly�s grasp was far and absolute but the Willpower behind it was beginning to show signs o strain And the whole time a smidgeon of Randidly�s attention remained warily fixed on the fight against Nether Gatekeepers going on above Even as Ileot continued to hold fifty back the other fifty descended upon the Aether Commanders

Abiodun ferociously fought against two but he could only tie them down not inflict any lasting injury It was Lady Iellaya who had boldly challenged six of the descending Nether Gatekeepers even going so far as killing one while sustaining several moderate injuries herself It was only Lord Miln who gathered more occupying and slowly suppressing ten of the Nether Gatekeepers

The attention above were a few scraps of time every minute where he was just a bit too slow and one of the Aether soldiers were wounded It was time he dearly needed

Yet Randidly knew he could not look away Because should one Nether Gatekeeper descend toward this end of battle lines no one was more aware of how ill prepared the Aether forces would be than Randidly Ghosthound There was no one else left with the strength to step forward in the leftmost three camps if a Nether Gatekeeper made it past Randidly would need to be the one to fight it

For the briefest moment Randidly allowed his attention to wander His head twisted to the right looking toward Vualla Due to the thick clash of Nether and Aether he couldn�t sense her any longer But he had watched earlier as she had stepped forward to help against the Nether Gatekeepers and as she was forced to fight one alone

So many times Randidly had considered intervening as she roared and bled But he could instantly tell from the set of Vualla�s jaw that now was not the time to intervene Some part of her needed to prove to herself that she could do this Randidly had been there before himself

Sometimes the battle was all about surviving But sometimes it was about proving you weren�t afraid even when that very desire proof should have been all the proof of fear you needed

Their clash was a long and brutal battle And the heat that Randidly felt from her wavered a dozen times over the course of the fight Although Randidly couldn�t be sure he believed that the cooling of the heat was a sign that the effect that he had on her the variation from her past life that he had apparently caused was in danger of reverting

But then the heat burned as hot as the sun as Vualla had won And when she had returned to the ground she had raised her head to the sky and bawled her eyes out while Commander Terith�s soldiers came to assist her

Before she was taken away Randidly wasted a few precious split seconds to reach across the battlefield and open the ground in front of her There was just the cracked ground for a split second and then there was a thorny azure lily that slithered upward and bloomed at her feet Unfortunately Randidly had to pull his attention away without waiting for her response Around him the battle still raged With his self imposed limits of not gaining a Level there was simply too much to do

Although Randidly slowly put less and less effort toward the endeavor as the battle continued to drag onward he still paid very close attention to the usage of Nether especially by the more powerful Nether Gatekeepers It was difficult to follow the movements of the four headed one that Ileot was toying with but Randidly saw Lady Iellaya�s fight in great detail

Yet what he saw left him frustrated Because he wanted to see some great power that the Nether Gatekeepers used some utilization of Nether that let them transcend from a menial Nether Beast and become a Nether Gatekeeper But there was nothing of the sort present in the way that the Nether Gatekeepers behaved

Nether Gatekeepers just had more Nether and had a corrosive and condensed type of the same energy They seemed generally better at fighting but that could be explained away by age Nothing about them spoke of any transcendent mastery or understanding of Nether

Of course there was a qualitative change to the Nether when it was dense enough Yet the steady accumulation of dense Nether was not the solution that Randidly had been looking for To have wasted so much time and attention following the movements of the Nether Gatekeeper for nothing

One of Lady Iellaya�s Captains stomped three times the signal for emergency help Randidly created an arrow of roots and directed the last bunch of reserve troops forward to assist From now on he would need to draw from those wounded who had some small measure of recovery in order to reinforce any problem areas

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 272

No rest for the wicked Randidly sighed Zauna passed him another Mana potion

Chapter 1139

Abiodun folded his arms behind his back and clasped his hands in order to hide the tremors in his normally solid arms Although he had managed to hold back two Nether Gatekeepers for several hours during the battle it was not a feat that he could accomplish easily As much as he hated to admit it it would take quite a while for him to recover from the internal wounds he had sustained Perhaps if he could ask Randidly to use his recovery abilities

But no he could not Pressing his eyes closed Abiodun took a steadying breath One only had to glance downward toward the portion of the ramparts that had been allocated to Randidly Ghosthound in order to sense how feeble and strained the man�s images had become The battle today had drained him dry

Obviously what Randidly endured wasn�t comparable to what Abiodun or Lady Iellaya had been forced to deal with above but none could deny that what Randidly managed the below in the absence of strong foes was admirable He was a man who could hold the line even against overwhelming numbers

Abiodun you need not hide your weakness from me Lady Iellaya said lightly Then she dipped the washcloth back into the cold water of the basin and let it soak for several seconds Abiodun did his best to keep his eyes away from the murky water We are connected we are one There is no meaning to deception

Although it went against his nature Abiodun let his arms fall to his sides His palms twitched But his gaze on Lady Iellaya was sharp I could say the same to you my Queen

With gentle motions Lady Iellaya brought the cloth out of the water and wrung it dry As the liquid ran down her fingers to her knuckles and wrists she gently chided You know that it is still a bad idea to say such things openly

Abiodun stood silent for several seconds nodding to acknowledge her point Lady Iellaya gently brought the damp washcloth to her shoulder She took a deep breath with her eyes closed All the while Abiodun watched

It was only as Lady Iellaya began to wipe the dried blood from her feathers that Abiodun finally spoke You bit off more than you can handle today To fight six Nether Gatekeepers it is an almost impossible task Until you receive this promised Class from Randidly

Lord Miln handled ten Lady Iellaya said quietly And it was only because he was able to finally defeat several of his opponents that the balance was broken in the fight Otherwise we might still be struggling against them With his assistance we swept away the remaining Nether Gatekeepers and then annihilated the remaining forces on the ground None can deny that his was the biggest contribution to this battle

Bigger than Cail Tweocs Abiodun pointed out quietly

If they had been in public Lady Iellaya probably would have cracked open Abiodun�s stone armor for a comment like that As it was standing alone high on the command tower in the hastily assembled forward fortification Lady Iellaya only gave Abiodun an acidic glare Which honestly burned him much more truly than the strike would have

Abiodun shook himself Perhaps I am more exhausted from this battle than I thought That comment was unlike me But to see Lady Iellaya wounded like this

There was a hole the size of a fist in Lady Iellaya�s shoulder that she continued to slowly dab with the wet cloth Black veins snaked outward from the wound and steam continued to waft up from the exposed and corrupted flesh With almost clockwork precision Lady Iellaya returned the cloth to water and let it soak Tendrils of blood curled outward like vivid petals of a slowly blooming iris

You definitely are the individual among the normal Commanders that accomplished the most Abiodun started again with a low rumble The closest that the others could handle was three Nether Gatekeepers at once It is not a close thing

Yet I need more Lady Iellaya said Wincing she eased herself down into sitting on her wicker chair

A few months ago and you would have been glad of this opportunity Abiodun said stubbornly These accomplishments they would have had you ecstatic As long as you don�t die the Nexus will hear of your exploits Soon you will get access to Tier 3 Citizenship

Smiling Lady Iellaya shrugged with her good shoulder Of course you are correct my eternal companion Yet now things are different I have learned that Lord Miln is playing a larger game than I can fathom And also to see how quickly that this boy can grow It�s like glimpsing a Path I haven�t been blessed with I am envious

Obviously Abiodun didn�t need to ask to whom Lady Iellaya was referring Although Abiodun studiously controlled his thoughts he had similar thoughts about Randidly Especially a few hours ago as the long battle finally ended The Commander tier combatants had quite a surprise when they finished their own battles and discovered that their soldiers had managed to endure in their absence

That was not the way of the frontlines Soldiers died in droves always Then there would be a mass recruitment and those who survived would rise in the ranks So it always was

Yet today almost all of the soldiers had survived Wounded and weakened yes but they were still alive

Likely due to the presence of the Nether Prince there the left flank was the one that received the highest concentration from the Nether forces And that was where Randidly Ghosthound had been working tirelessly to weaken and subvert the Nether assault with his seemingly infinite roots After being a meaningless image that was reduced to unconsciousness after every mission when he had arrived he had become an integral part of the defense effort for their camp It was an intimidating amount of growth even considering the fact that the image recovered his body to leapfrog to this position

Even as Abiodun opened his mouth to speak Iellaya hissed in pain as she tentatively moved her injured arm and I understand how far beyond where I once was that I currently am Yet it is still not enough If I am to repay all of you who have supported me up to this point I need to be more

Bowing his head Abiodun said quietly None of us regret coming into your service my Queen It is the greatest blessing we could have asked for to support you And you cannot allow yourself to be driven by cravings After you have accomplished so much do not lightly dismiss everything you�ve done

Such is the nature of craving Iellaya said tiredly as she slumped down into the wicker chair I know it is a hollow engine as soon as I achieve what I desire I will want more Yet we cannot help but crave especially so long as those around us chase power so vehemently I fear letting go of the craving will leave me entirely empty Because sometimes I wonder what else I have remaining within me

For the first time in a long time Abiodun held his silence not because his mistress didn�t know his thoughts on a matter but precisely because she knew what he would say And what he would say right now would not help her escape the fear that seized her heart Instead Abiodun turned and looked out and the warped and scorched battlements below them the very same that had managed to survive through the Nether assault

I would kill for you my Queen Abiodun thought fiercely but she knew She knew and it would only make her sad to hear that right now

That�s why I cannot stop she would reply So Abiodun remained silent

After a long time of allowing his mistress the time she wanted to simply dwell on the problems facing them Abiodun opened his mouth In addition there is news

Tell me Came the whispered response followed by a groan and the creaking of the wicker

Abiodun didn�t turn away from the battlements As I�m sure you are aware one of the difficulties for the Aether forces moving forward is the fact that so many of us at the Commander tier suffered various wounds while in today�s battle Moreover one of those individuals was Commander Terith

Uptight prick lost his arm Lady Iellaya released a long sigh And he�s lucky that was all he lost to the Nether

unfortunately the treatment of Commander Terith�s wound did not go well Abiodun rumbled His hands tightened into fists While receiving attention at headquarters it appears he has since gone unconscious Word has been spread that a Nether weapon had been thrust into his body thereby hiding the severity of his wounds until treatment began

For several seconds Lady Iellaya was silent Then she snorted is it desperation Lord Miln you truly dare scheme against your own Commanders while the enemy is at the gates I assume that the Nether Prince is already being moved to the Headquarters in order to protect the asset

Of course He did not wait long Shall I make some inquiries to the other Commanders Only now did Abiodun glance over his shoulder at his mistress

Although her face was in shadow her eyes were polished obsidian the gleamed wickedly Ha No no need After this well my opinions on our glorious leader have always been well known No they will come to me Still Lady Iellaya leveraged herself up out of the wicker chair this does mean I cannot afford to take time to recover The other Commanders will come calling soon and if I am too week to be seen as a rallying point You�ll have to call up the Ghosthound Perhaps with his help well we will see

Bowing Abiodun left immediately He found Randidly exactly as he had seen the young man from the command tower laying on the ground surrounded by his feeble swirling images They were like shimmering sheets of gossamer blown around in silent rotation around his body Yet as Abiodun approached him he could resist pausing right at the threshold of the area dominated by Randidly Ghosthound�s images

It wasn�t that they were strong But they were solid To be near them was to feel them completely despite Abiodun�s own images that should mitigate any outside influence�s effect They were solid In a manner that Abiodun hadn�t seen before they seemed absolutely present and vivid despite their weakness As he approached they parted to reveal a thin corridor that allowed Abiodun to proceed to Randidly

More than anything else it was that glimmer of awareness that made Abiodun hesitate

Gritting his teeth at the fact he felt even a tingle of fear from this man Abiodun forced himself forward Randidly Ghosthound�s images whispered soundlessly around him silk dragged over tile When Abiodun reached him Randidly�s eyes flickered open to reveal a deep forest green more work huh

More work Abiodun confirmed Then he favored the young man with a wicked smile that burned with bloodlust That�s the joy of promotions in the army All that we reward you with is a broader stage to struggle

Perfect Randidly Ghosthound muttered Immediately vines cracked open the dirty stone ground around him and helped him to his feet

Chapter 1140

The method that Yggdrasil had developed to assist images in healing was a rather complex application of Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Golden Roots of Yggdrasil and Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil in conjunction Energy from the roots run through the leaves to add mental clarity and healing Condense all that potent energy into sap or the image of sap and then rub it like a salve over the wounded image Now as Randidly set about Lady Iellaya�s requested healing he was largely out of gas for his images But the weight of his Skill Levels was more than enough to accomplish what he wanted

Or at least Randidly hoped that was the case

Congratulations Your Skill Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 193

And to add a little extra oomph Randidly used one of the three wishes from Sam�s Sun�s Teardrop Belt The warmth and energy of the sun synergized extremely well with the Yggdrasil Skills and Randidly noticed a difference almost immediately to Lady Iellaya as he applied the Skill to her

Her image even wounded as it was was a frightfully powerful midnight blackbird Yet the darkness of Nether had eaten large holes into the image hollowing out some of its power As best he could Randidly fed the warm energy of the salve into those large wounds and watched as the supple fabric of her image began to knit itself together

That was what impressed most of all For all its potent weight Lady Iellaya�s image was as supple and flexible as the wind With Randidly�s assistance she began to fold the image over the wounds as though they were never even there

Still Randidly didn�t relax He was still very close to his limits in terms of Willpower and he didn�t want to inflict any damage to Lady Iellaya due to a mistake After all it was clear from the fact that she was willing to show this extremely pale and wane version of herself to him that he was becoming increasingly trusted

Apparently working myself to the bone today had an effect Randidly thought tiredly But then he shook his head and continued about his work

It was only after he had used a second of the Sun�s Teardrop Belt�s wishes and Lady Iellaya looked markedly better that Randidly sat back on his haunches and asked the question that had been bothering him So why is the Nether Prince so important

When he had arrived Lady Iellaya had also given a short explanation of why it was necessary that Randidly continue to push himself to heal her which Randidly appreciated Yet what Randidly wondered was why Lord Miln would risk offending the Commanders for the Nether Prince

Lady Iellaya stood tentatively up from her chair with Abiodun hovering protectively at her side But after grimacing in obvious discomfort at the state of the remaining physical wound Lady Iellaya waved Abiodun away and stood on her own Nether well if I had to compare it a Nether Prince is like an egg

While listening Randidly eyed the wound on Lady Iellaya�s shoulder inwardly torn He could clearly sense the lingering dense Nether that continued to nag at her Due to its presence Lady Iellaya would need to expend a bit more energy before she could heal her physical body cleanly It was possible for him to remove it And yet

Randidly�s gaze was heavy as he looked up at Lady Iellaya We might be starting to trust each other but I hope to get my Fate and Level 50 before I tell you everything I can manage

Seeing Randidly�s look and probably taking it for confusion Abiodun smoothly continued to explain The Nether is composed of great systems of connections Energy and things like memories sensations and desires flow along these connections and when enough of any of these things are gathered a Nether Prince is born

Those memories or powerful emotions start to cling to each other then the develop their own sort of gravity as the gathered forces mutate If given sufficient time that node of something� will develop sentience that is the awakened Nether King that comes from a Nether Prince And it is the most fearsome of all of the Nether�s soldiers Because those desires or memories the beings are based upon are often extremely powerful That�s why the Nether Prince formed in the first place

In addition Lady Iellaya said quietly as she began to slip back into her armor It is widely recognized that when you crack open a Nether Prince early you have a few moments to view those powerful memories that created it To us who seek to sharpen our images it is very beneficial Likely Lord Miln wishes to break open the Nether Prince and empower himself with the memories within

So its a bit of a gamble that something good will be within Randidly said thoughtfully But inwardly his brain was frantically surging forward so fueled by the excitement that the weariness of the day seemed to be finally shaken This could be exactly the thing that Randidly was looking to in order to condense a Nether focus for the Grim Chimera Plus if what he needed was memories Randidly had the Alpha Cosmos to draw from

Honestly no Lady Iellaya sighed It isn�t a gamble truly After all although it is impossible to predict the formation of a Nether Prince the fact that it did form guarantees that there is a powerful memory at the core of it But what is shocking is that the personal power he could gain from the Nether Prince is more important than the goodwill of his Commanders That speaks volumes toward his predicted tenure here

Before Randidly could ask another question Lady Iellaya straightened sharply and looked to the South Then she turned to him Thank you again for managing to heal me even the slightest bit but I�m afraid that is all the time we have I believe I must now meet with my fellow Commanders Get some rest Ghosthound this is just the beginning We survived today but this was just the vanguard One river that flows outward from a vast sea

Biting his cheek Randidly nodded and turned away For a couple of meters the curiosity about the Nether Prince sustained him in walking quickly and directly but by the time he reached the bottom of the staircase to the command platform Randidly�s vision was swimming With a grimace on his face Randidly paused to lean his forehead against the cool stone of the fortification

Heh probably a good thing Lady Iellaya sent me away when she did Randidly thought rather wryly I�m almost at my limit

Recognizing the voice Randidly straightened Soot stained and bloody Vualla stood behind Randidly while looking at him with concern crinkling the corners of her eyes Both her hands were behind her back and her hair was peaking wildly from its tight braid But Randidly�s vision locked onto one singular detail

Tucked behind her ear was the azure lily that Randidly cracked open the ground in front of her to give her after she faced the Nether Gatekeeper

Heh Randidly smiled widely or as wide as he could manage But he could tell by the fact the tight lines in the corner of Vualla�s eyes remained that she could tell how exhausted he was Give me a few hours and I�ll be back to normal I�m just glad That you got my flower I mean It was for you so

Vualla giggled Well I�m glad that I didn�t accidentally intercept a flower that you were sending to someone else and ah thank you I don�t know I�ve probably never been just like given something From someone who from anyone So thanks I honestly love it

Yea Randidly said tiredly And honestly he was glad that he was so exhausted that he didn�t have any energy left to be embarrassed at the warm affection in her voice

I brought you something as repayment Vualla produced a glass flask from behind her back and popped off the cork I figured it was only fair and I bet it will really hit the spot after the battle

Randidly grinned despite himself as he took the flask She brought him liquor Could they even get drunk with their high Stats Well if the Nexus made alcohol tailor made to affected them even through their Stats Yet with how tired Randidly already was a sip or two would likely ensure that she needed to carry him back to his tent

or was that exactly what she was aiming for

But all it took was a single sniff of the flask to stop Randidly�s thoughts dead He looked at Vualla in shock then drank from the bottle His adam�s apple bobbed twice as the refreshing and tart juice slid down his throat

Randidly wiped his mouth That�s fucking orange juice

Laughing Vualla nodded Yea It�s my favorite And honestly I don�t know much about you so I just thought

After taking another drink Randidly asked How did you get orange juice out here With Nether trying to kill us constantly

It helps to know someone in the supply train Vualla winked But then Vualla looked somewhat guiltily over at the bottle Ah It�s only

Randidly tipped the bottle up and finished off the rest of the orange juice in a huge gulp God that�s amazing But are you alright I watched you know As you fought against the Nether Gatekeeper and crushed it Congratulations

After shaking herself Vualla smiled a tight smile at Randidly She scanned his face for several seconds then relaxed into a nod Yes I did And I wish I could cut off its head and take it back to my father�s grave It obviously wasn�t the Nether Gatekeeper that killed him but its proof Proof that I�ve become powerful enough to make him proud

I�m sure he was always proud of you Randidly said quietly

Vualla shook her head but she didn�t reply Instead she turned away and looked up at the Great Rift above them There is one good thing about this war you know It will spur us onward Force us to find our own Paths I can feel it already I don�t think I don�t think I could have managed this in my past life Without you know

Randidly nodded We will keep getting stronger without having to sacrifice ourselves We can grasp power while still caring about things other than power

One fist at a time One step at a time further down our Path Vualla�s eyes began to release a soft azure light

As Randidly�s eyes grew emerald to mirror her intensity he showed his teeth Using the walls in front of us to climb higher and higher Until that day finally comes

Pirouetting on her heel Vualla twisted until she faced not toward the Great Rift but the high rocky outcropping of headquarters that we can tear down this Nexus that has exploited us

Brick by brick Randidly turned to follow her gaze The embers of heat in his chest from the Nether RItual began to stir inside of him He wondered if she could feel them too

Pound of owed flesh by pound of owed flesh Vualla hissed There will be a reckoning A debt is owed to us Randidly Ghosthound It is not the head of a Nether Beast that I want to lay on my father�s grave

Randidly licked his lips And we will collect won�t we Vualla Meteo

Then the two shared a smile but there was not soft emotions or kind fondness in their expressions For a split second the Grim Chimera faced the specter of the first Heretic in the System�s existence both anticipating the price they would exact as vengeance Their eyes reflected the rivers of blood they would traverse to reach their goal

Their mouths were slightly open revealing an almost mirror perfect pair of hungry ambitions The fire between them swirled higher carrying them along with its momentum

�Or we will die � Vualla said lightly Her hand reached sideways and took his

�All things die � Randidly�s chest burned with heat

�All things � Vualla asked and now Randidly was sure that she felt it too The ritual passing between them The promise

The Path and the beginnings of a Fate

The heat had become so intense that Randidly could barely speak The words came out in a whisper �All things Even the Nexus �

Chapter 1141

Randidly woke up hours later after he finally got the chance to rest staring up at the blank ceiling of his new personal tent With a great sigh of release he sat upward and rubbed his eyes

Nice change of pace when I�m not woken up by Abiodun demanding that I run somewhere and solve some problem Randidly thought as he yawned widely His fingers flexed as the small craving for some more of that tangy orange juice hit him I wonder if Vualla has any more From her expression it didn�t seem like it but maybe

Then Randidly froze as his more well rested brain abrupt reviewed the way Vualla�s face tightened as he had happily guzzled the orange juice in front of her The slight strain at the edges of her smile as he had handed back the empty glass flask that had once been filled with her favorite orange juice floated in front of his vision

Did she wait for me to try some of the juice and I drank all of it right in front of her

Randidly rolled over and pressed his face into the ground Then he lifted his head and banged it several times against the orange stone The effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that his Stats made him more damaging to the ground than it was to him

When several minutes later Randidly was able to straighten again with a certain amount of resolve he wondered how he should apologize But some part of him knew that rushing over to see her immediately wasn�t the answer Even he could sense that Especially after the Nether Ritual between them burned with such fiery intensity immediately afterward

So Randidly forced himself to relax as he lay on the ground of his dark tent Ultimately it was dumb of me to do it But it�s a small thing in the grand scheme of the war Better to focus on other matters But also to make sure that it won�t happen again

Randidly smashed his head against the ground one more time The ground cracked with a very satisfying noise

As some of the sear of the embarrassment faded Randidly�s mind turned more long term issues Because although he had been somewhat insensible during the past several hours in order to recover from the mental strain of prolonged extreme exertion some parts of him continued to tirelessly prepare for his opportunity to condense a Fate

Specifically Ignition Essence had slowly been absorbing an increasing amount of memories from the hiltless blade while the rest of Randidly was at rest Now that he had recovered his capability it was time to examine those

And as Randidly looked at his Status screen he grimaced And it�s a good thing that Ignition Essence was preparing for the condensation of the Fate I tried to avoid gathering experience in that battle but it was one of the things I couldn�t quite spend attention on toward the end So now I�m 81% of the way toward Level 50 if another big battle or two happens I cannot delay Leveling up much longer

Pressing his eyes closed Randidly cleared his mind and prepared to receive the information that he had slowly absorbed As the memories from the Fate blade came a broader picture of the original owner of the Fate came into focus It started with the memories of the arms of two loving parents who even as a child the owner was able to see were awesomely powerful

There was a name Illym the girl who would one day produce the hitless blade

There was a reflection of Illym in a mirror perfectly duplicating the image of a young girl with soft brown hair and softer brown eyes She sat in the darkness of one of her parents� palaces and stared listlessly at her own reflection

There were the memories of Illym admitting to herself as she twisted side to side to view herself from different angles that she could definitely be considered pretty but nothing more than that Her talent with images and martial arts was above average but as the daughter of two of the most powerful people in the area how could Illym not be a disappointment to her parents

There was the heavy weight of that anxiety That constant fear of disappointing her parents

Only made worse because Illym was only one half of a pair

There were memories of a gleaming sparkling sister One with golden hair and golden eyes who laughed like wind chimes and the whole world seemed to orbit Her name was Radiance and Illym loved her more than anything else in the world

But the world did not love the sisters equally Or at all

There were long memories of Illym being confined to her bed unable to move due to the violent shakes that were wracking her body Her grey bedsheets became covered with sweat and snot and Illym wished she could cry but she could do nothing but endure and shake

But those were still somewhat manageable because at least Illym felt like she could survive that What she couldn�t survive were those other weeks were Radiance would collapse into a deep sleep and wouldn�t wake for days at a time The lack of her sister�s bright laughter left their home empty and dim When her parents visited Illym they were always so kind and warm encouraging her to try her best

Yet when Radiance was sleeping all that Illym saw in her parent�s eyes was a terrible loss

There were the slumped shoulders of Illym and Radiance�s parents as an exceedingly old man from the Nexus walked up to the two girls currently aged ten Although the old man seemed incredibly frail and his gnarled wooden staff was his only pillar of support he methodically lowered himself before the two girls His eyes were brown just like Illym�s

Destiny has chosen you two The old man had whispered to the two girls It will not come tomorrow or in a year or maybe in ten But someday you will need to face it

You two only have one life shared between the two of you split between two bodies Somehow somehow you are a miracle of life that you both have survived to this point But miracles do not have an easy Path forward Likely to rid yourself of the sickness that afflicts both of you one of you will have to die Die so the other can benefit from the half of its life that is currently missing Or someday you will die together as two rotten halves of a whole

For a very long time after he emerged from the borrowed memories Randidly stared upward at the same bland surface of the tent The slight mental exhaustion made a rather unfortunate return to him leaving him feeling drained

Yet he could not avoid this issue So Randidly rolled his shoulders and focused Time trickled past as he reviewed the fractured memories several times Sighing he eventually pushed himself up into a sitting position and cracked his shoulders This world so many small tragedies played out on a grand stage And when those small tragedies afflict those with power they are magnified into something extremely dangerous and tragic

Randidly shook himself and stood instead turning his attention toward his other foci for his Fate But the lingering feeling of those undeniable demanding shakes that gripped Illym kept tugging at his attention It was difficult to lose the echo of that helpless chill out of his mind

Ah fuck me Randidly muttered He flexed his hands so violently that his knuckles cracked Acri slithered questioningly down his upper arm to present itself for use perhaps recognizing the emotion contained in the harsh gesture At first Randidly shook his head intent on continuing to focus upon his Fate but then he hesitated as Acri rubbed his spearhead insistently against his forearm

one of you will have to die

Certainly a hard message for a child to hear Probably harder still for the parents Randidly shrugged his shoulders and thought of the fiery repressed fury of Kalim and the patient vision of Nadia who he had encountered at the Fate Armory And he thought about how both had ended up beaten down and broken by what had happened to their children

Although I haven�t seen the specifics of what happened it seems pretty clear by the way they are now that they didn�t find a way around this destiny Randidly thought sadly His hand tightened on Acri Because the truth of the matter was that even with the foggy memories of a child Randidly had caught glimpses of the power of those two

Yet they had not succeeded They hadn�t been enough

Some part of that failure haunted Randidly indicating that if he continued he too wouldn�t be sufficient to succeed at his grand mission to dismantle the villainy of the Nexus If they couldn�t manage it how could Randidly

That seed of doubt continued to swim in the back of his mind no matter how Randidly tried to push it away and focus on his upcoming Fate Perhaps he would have continued to stand there letting that doubt take root if Acri hadn�t hummed in frustration and inflicted a small cut on Randidly�s head

His blood bubbled up crimson but filled with small gleaming emerald gems And Randidly couldn�t help but laugh an let his chin fall to his chest You�re right Even if I cannot accomplish now even if they couldn�t accomplish it then that doesn�t mean that will always be true So for now focus on what I can do

Instead of fighting with his insistent and probably correct weapon any longer Randidly put his other hand on Acri and walked out of his tent Like spring loaded children�s toys both Zauna and Salazar were thrown upward to their feet as Randidly walked out of the tent and appeared before them

D d d do we h have another m m mission Salazar squeaked His scaly arms were wrapped around his torso nursing the shallow remnants of a wound on the ribs he had sustained in the large scale Nether attack Because their assistance around Randidly hadn�t been necessary Randidly had ordered that they go assist with holding the line Zauna had managed it alright but Salazar

The tragedy is he is probably the more powerful of the two Randidly thought tiredly as he looked at his wounded subordinate But his fear he carries it with him constantly Unless he can find a way to manage it

Not yet Randidly finally said Then he forced some cheer into his expression as he smiled at both of them But if either of you is interested in a spar I was about to go train

I I�m okay Salazar raised his hands and gestured frantically to push Randidly away Then he snake man returned to his seat his gaze fixed on the dusty and cracked ground Randidly�s gaze lingered on the man for several seconds torn between going with his planned training to clear his mind and trying to do something about Salazar�s funk

but the honest truth is that right now I might be just as frazzled as he is Randidly thought as the smile faded from his face The truth of Nadia and Kalim�s failure still tainted his outlook Then Randidly clenched his jaw And this is definitely an area in which I am extremely weak I know how to lead by example but to directly cheer up a subordinate ah damn it sucks to think that Donny is probably a better leader in that manner than I am

Randidly shook his head But isn�t that why I left Donnyton to him

I�ll do it

Randidly blinked and turned to find Zauna looking at him with a stern expression

Suddenly Randidly grinned one hundred percent genuine alright then Let�s work off some of the tension we have shall we

Chapter 1142

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 219

Randidly�s quick step backward carried him out of the orbit of Zauna�s wild swing But she followed up with a surprisingly agile stride that brought her follow up blow back on a rumbling path toward Randidly�s side Truly although her image wasn�t particularly complex the exceeding level of detail meant that Zauna was quite capable

Randidly�s eyes flashed I could directly suppress her with Stats now that I have a body but that misses the point I�m her superior It�s time I demonstrate that

The Chimera Weeps but Man Mourns

Using his AOE ability Randidly lashed out with a dozen quick strikes with Acri The air hummed with the speed and intensity of the viper quick strikes The blows cut shallow gashes in Zauna�s arm and torso but the real damage it did was to bleed momentum away from her own heavy swipe Randidly could see from the tightening of her eyes that she understood what was happening but she had already committed too much of her power to the strike she couldn�t quickly adjust her position to cope with his concentrated thrusts

Randidly�s metallic left arm came up and physically caught the attack Even with the loss of power from his flurry of strikes Zauna�s punch still carried with it enough moxy that the metal of his limb groaned from the strain of stopping it That had Randidly�s eyebrows up but he supposed it was only a matter of time before the metal he had managed to create on Earth would begin to show wear

The foes on the frontline were simply much more difficult to handle than those he had in mind when he made the limb So far Randidly hadn�t needed to really address the issue when he fought from afar but soon

It was why he had kept the limb as far away as possible from Nether Mostly it was just the fact that his images had been a much more adolescent stage when he was on Earth After the struggles of handling the frontlines here and the Great Rift they had a sort of weight and depth to them that dwarfed what he had previously

As the images he used to make the metal was much more shallow any sort of image you could find on the front line could damage them Even Zauna�s who didn�t possess a body was a threat

Not like I could make any sort of changes here though Randidly�s eyes flashed as he flexed his metallic arm and threw Zauna two steps backward He lowered Acri�s tip toward Zauna�s chest I suppose I could visit the Alpha Cosmos and see how feasible it would be to create a passable foundry there Besides I wanted to visit to see about creating something akin to a Nether Prince for myself from that world

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 185

Even as Randidly began to explode forward with a level of acceleration that was likely only possible with Chimeric Avoidance suppressing wind resistance he could see that Zauna�s eyes flashed as she understood what was about to happen Her image flowed down around her condensing into a tight ball of power in the exact spot in her chest that Randidly was aiming for

Admirable reaction time Randidly admitted Still

In this case Randidly knew that it was possible to use his Control to adjust the angle of his thrust and impact another location on Zauna�s torso It would be a less vital spot but he could bypass the strength of her image entirely and do significant damage Due to the short split second that would pass between the adjustment and the impact as they were so close Zauna wouldn�t be able to adjust no matter her sharp reactions

Yet this was just a spar Randidly didn�t truly want to kill her

Just demonstrate why he was the one in charge His thrust shot forward toward Zauna�s condensed image

Zauna was blown backward like she was a baseball hit by a major leaguer�s swing She zipped and bounced across the ground until she crashed and blew apart a large stone that had jutted out of the ground its entire existence just for this moment And it was a blessing that she hit into that because afterward

she crashed into the tall wooden fence that had been erected around Commander Terith�s camp With the additional deceleration of hitting the stone she simply cracked open the timbers and rolled a short distance further into the camp Several soldiers rapidly rushed out of their tents fearing another Nether attack but when they found Zauna�s form struggling to stand they could relax and shake their heads at these foolish fellow soldiers

Chuckling Randidly walked over and helped Zauna to her feet You took that well

Pah Zauna spat with obvious bitterness It was clear that she was deeply agitated by how easily Randidly had suppressed her over the course of their ten minute spar but it wasn�t like they both didn�t know the main reason for that

A body meant a lot

Still Randidly didn�t bother to say that It was an excuse that Zauna cleared didn�t want she had her pride He gestured shortly back toward Lady Iellaya�s camp That�s probably enough for now Thanks for the help I was a bit in a funk But after that exercise I�m feeling much better But I do have some image training to do so

When Randidly said that she had helped he couldn�t help but notice that a lot of Zauna�s unwillingness to quit was softened away by a spark of happiness Although it wasn�t meek Zauna nodded shortly and began walking back toward the base without raising an objection Leaving a slightly sweating and warmed up Randidly to finally put some attention back toward the issue of his Fate

Randidly moved some distance away from the broken portion of the fence heading back toward the supply caravan path Not that he thought anyone would punish him for breaking it now that Commander Terith was apparently recuperating in the Headquarters there was no point in attracting undue attention to his actions

Beyond the supply track was the badlands and it was there that Randidly finally settled into a cross legged seated position and prepared to meditate But before his focus turned toward his Alpha Cosmos Randidly checked in on his Status again

He currently had 133 PP sitting around because he hadn�t yet chosen what Path he wanted to do next However it was largely a moot point because he would soon be receiving a huge chunk of PP after he had spent 300 additional PP and unlocked the next round of reward from his Soulskill

Which meant that he only needed to gather 167 more PP which wasn�t a small number but it was certainly doable in a month or two What Randidly wasn�t sure about was whether he would be able to gather that amount of PP before he needed to condense a Fate Which likely wasn�t relevant but as he tried to plan what Path he should take next it felt like an issue he needed to solve

Not because of new Skills he might obtain from his Paths but because of the benefits from Paths like Growth of Yggdrasil III It seemed as though finishing that path would cause his Skills to evolve to a higher rarity Not that evolving the Skill itself would have a profound effect on Randidly�s image but the power of image was admittedly based upon specificity The way that the Nexus saw his image growing would give him additional bricks to create the foundation of something phenomenal

Of course that perspective made Randidly slightly bitter Relying on the Nexus to predict his own growth seemed dangerous in so many ways considering his self stated goal of over throwing it But could he grow by ignoring the Nexus And honestly the Nexus appeared rather agnostic about its treatment of individuals it benefits those who grew strong no matter their goals

Shaking his head Randidly�s attention turned to some of the other Paths available to him Because in addition to the Growth of Yggdrasil III Path there were two other new arrivals that held his attention

Search for the Akashic I 0/200 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000

In the same vein as relying on the Nexus for growth was a bad idea Randidly knew it was foolish to be pleased that his growth was reflected by the System in his Paths Yet as he looked at the first of the two Paths he couldn�t help but feel slightly proud Although he hadn�t even begun to make concrete steps toward adjusting Yggdrasil the fact that the shifts in his image were enough to trigger this was a good sign

As for the second Path

Randidly�s eyes flashed Interesting but no reason to start down that Path before I understand more from Ignition Essence It is a gamble I don�t need to take for a benefit I don�t yet understand

With at least his understanding of his Status taken care of for the short term Randidly sat in a small shady alcove he found a short distance into the badlands and steadied his breathing The sensation of dust on his feet the howling cry of the wind the warm of the daylight they all fell away Then he proceeded into his Soulskill

Once more Randidly found himself standing outside of the capital of the Armgrast Empire right in the spot where he had parted with Azriel as she had proceeded with her dress toward whatever ruin that had been recently uncovered Recalling that moment brought a smile to Randidly�s face

Remembering Azriel�s determination Randidly felt an impulse to seek her out immediately and see what she was up to To see whether the journey she had taken ended up being worth it Of all the people in Randidly�s life Azriel was the one who seemed to be the steadiest sort of friend Perhaps most embarrassing of all his thoughts although Randidly had never done something like it before he had not a little desire to find someone to share his newly discovered relationship with Vualla with

And aside from Azriel very few people would have the nerve to give Randidly their honest reaction about it Well Mrs Hamilton probably would but

Then Randidly shook his head His budding connection with Vualla should probably be given some time to grow before being picked incisively apart by the extremely logical Azriel Instead it was better by far to proceed to find Wendy immediately so he could investigate smelting some high quality metal with the additional boon of his empowered images After that he could check the fabric of this place for powerful enough memories to make something similar to a Nether Prince

As Randidly�s Perception spread outward he immediately froze Slowly he raised his gaze to the sky Which was filled with drifting blue veins

And the distinct tang of Nether

Chapter 1143

Rejt fiddled with the small device that Wendy had given him with his overly large fingers and you are sure that this will assist against the miasma

Yes of that I am at least sure Wendy grumbled The two were standing at the edge of the allied base for the exploration of the Hell Labyrinth looking down at the vast stairs that led down to the next level As they were on the 20th floor there was a small platform down the vast unadorned stairs a safe space to rest before proceeding I only wish that Randidly Ghosthound would have provided more warning if he had told me that this would happen

It is wrong to think of Randidly Ghosthound as a godlike being Rejt scolded He put his hands on his hips and peered down at the Spriggit woman Remember he is just as mortal as the rest of us even if he was once our Progenitor In fact the rumors that I taught him many of the tricks that he has

If he was once our Progenitor he is still our Progenitor Wendy pointed out sourly Then she shook her head Just be careful alright It won�t completely block the effects just reduce them

He is just a man Wendy Rejt said softly He wondered at what point in his life he had grown from the wild warrior to an elder comforting a young and anxious woman but here he was If you let every small event fluctuate your faith it will be a long and difficult ride

This entire world is his body Wendy�s mouth twisted Yet you claim he is just a man And his power

He has his own concerns Did you not also have other issues you needed to set aside when the Miasma came Sometimes it is difficult to pivot quickly to address the current threats

Bah I just wish we didn�t have to do this without him this is basically his fault after all ugh then I start thinking that this might just be his gas

Rejt chuckled and spoke before she could continue further Do we have any choice The miasma will slowly strangle the entire world if we let it While our children still yet live we must use this technology that the Ghosthound provided for us and reach the core of this issue

Wendy�s expression tightened but Rejt didn�t need her to speak in order to understand her thoughts

If Randidly Ghosthound cared so much us surviving this where was he Why didn�t he provide more of a warning

Which was a fair question But it was one that Rejt couldn�t answer So Rejt looked away from Wendy�s face and instead inspected the chasm below and the ten meter long and wide steps that led deeper into the abyss below

Around two weeks ago a huge earthquake had shaken the vast mountain range that split the two larger political entities inside of Randidly Ghosthound�s Soulskill the Armgrast Empire and the Kelley Kingdom Several mountains collapsed from the force of the tectonic grinding In the wake of that terrible natural disaster the air began to fill with the dreadful miasma which seemed to eat away at the life force of every individual who came into contact with it

Those with a high Level could rely on their superior Stats to resist the effects but children and the elderly soon fell ill under the influence of the miasma Although rapid investigations were able to discover the source the newly appeared Hell Labyrinth the effects were progressing far too quickly for the countries to cope with them Only two days had passed and the surrounding ten kilometers of the mountain range was impossible to survive for anyone under Level 25

And every day the miasma around the Hell Labyrinth grew denser That ten kilometer distance became fifteen and then twenty

Luckily on the fourth day it was announced that a pioneering Spriggit researcher Wendy had developed a material that could shield against the influence of the miasma It was relatively expensive and time consuming to produce but it was not resource intensive It quickly became apparent that it was possible to create whole cities lined with this material in order to mitigate the effects of the miasma

So the world powers convened on the fifth day and faced a grim choice invest all of their resources in creating safe� cities where their people could live while slowly addressing the problem of the Hell Labyrinth or instead outfit an elite group to proceed into the Labyrinth and find the source of the miasma to stop it before it spread too far

Due solely to the red eyed vehemence of Lazareth Armgrast the Armgrast Empire and the Shelley Kingdom agreed to go with the more aggressive plan Although they would each throw up several refugee shelters to which it was possible to evacuate the populace the genius researcher herself would join the strongest warriors of both sides in order to plumb the depths of the Hell Labyrinth to develop increasingly capable armor to deal with the rising threat

Naturally when the Shelley Kingdom requested that the Monster Prince send their strongest warriors to assist Rejt volunteered And despite the fact that the Shelley Kingdom was largely wary of the newcomers they couldn�t deny Rejt�s personal strength

Which is why they had agreed to one of his requests earlier today

Besides even the growing threat to the world there was another reason that Rejt couldn�t afford to miss out on this mission Something personal

Rejt�s gaze turned sharp as he focused on those large steps that led down to the 21st level of the Hell Labyrinth Even from this distance a trail of crimson footsteps led gracefully down those steps with almost flagrant boldness They glowed faintly when Rejt activated his Class Skill

He was following a trail And although Rejt wasn�t sure of what was the exact name of the Class that she had obtained there was only one individual that Rejt knew that could move so much faster than everyone else cutting to the heart of the problem even before the Hell Labyrinth had erupted

Azriel Blanche

How are the preparations on your side coming for our dead weight Rejt asked casually as he turned back from the ominous stairs and the extremely small trail leading ever deeper

Wendy�s face twisted into a maze of wrinkles Although talking about Randidly got her upset nothing upset her more than talking about the political figures who had demanded to accompany the expedition Pah The stupid idiots It�s much easier and cost effective to create an amulet like what I gave you It will vastly reduce the effect the miasma will have on you But to ask for an entire suit of armor of the shielding material

Wendy�s thin fingers twitched Smirking Rejt turned away and scanned the rest of the forward camp Although fifty people wasn�t a large number the fact that they had political accompaniment meant that there were almost as many tents as there were people Most were small storage tents or hastily dug latrines screened by thin cloth but many individuals required their own sleeping quarters

The entire rest area of the 20th floor was filled with the sea of tents

As a figure strode rapidly over to the edge of the chasm where Rejt and Wendy were staying Rejt�s smirk widened Speak of the devil hey Armgrast how do you feel about your ministers� requests we take a quick break so that they might protect themselves more fully

The lion headed man glowered at Rejt as he came to stand next to the two of them Just as quickly however his eyes flicked away and were drawn down to the depths of the abyss Humph you know that I would gladly leave these fools behind by the way can you still see

Yes Rejt interrupted Her trail is still there Leading deeper into the darkness and miasma ignition

Lazareth Armgrast bared his very impressive fangs but Rejt had spent enough time around the prince to realize that it was actually worry that animated his face That foolish woman why would she go alone Why would she leave the damned rope of bedsheets when she ran away Was she making fun of me Did she think I wasn�t strong enough

She probably thought you were a pigheaded misogynist Wendy said unhelpfully

Lazareth�s eyes flashed My head is that of a noble Lion you glorified librarian

Wendy sighed with an aggrieved expression that seemed to express something like this idiocy of yours is probably exactly the reason why Azriel didn�t stay but Rejt cut into their bickering before they could escalate

It�s been four days since we have left the surface and we�ve already made it down to the 20th floor Of course we know the reason why your ministers are hesitating now just like the Dukes from the Shelley Kingdom We had pretty reliable scouting reports up to the 20th floor But beyond that

Lazareth sighed Yes and no scouts have returned from beyond the 30th floor I know All this while we don�t even know how deeply the Hell Dungeon extends

At the very least we are not quite wasting time entirely by remaining here for a break Wendy said All of us have developed the Miasma Resistance Skill yes And the deeper we go the thicker the Miasma is and the faster the Skill grows It is an ugly truth but the longer we remain the better equipped we will be to move forward In addition the rewards from the Trial by Miasma connecting Paths are extremely generous So

Yet every day more and more of the people of this world die Lazareth hissed How can you calmly accept death like this

Why are you getting so upset when those emotions accomplish nothing Wendy snapped back

Because I am a man with empathy Lazareth Armgrast stepped to Wendy towering over her small statured form Not some chemically warped midget machine

Suffice to say we need more information on the lower floors before we can convince the political dead weight we carry to proceed with any sort of speed Rejt interrupted smoothly

Truly it is the tragedy of my existence that I am constantly asked to guide the foolish Rejt shook his head remembering the first few times he had met Randidly Ghosthound For all their potential to be afflicted with such quarrelsome pupils ah did I perhaps shine too brightly in my past and the Progenitor was jealous of me

which might be true but we can only wait for those damned scouts to come back with that intel Armgrast grumbled If I had only known I would have made sure that I was the leader of the scouting party

I volunteered earlier today Rejt interrupted again He reached in his pocket and used his large earthy fingers to pull out a paper with the official stamp of the expedition on it To be a scout I have been given leave to lead a three person scouting party into the depths of the Hell Labyrinth to prepare for the expedition�s descent

The other two stood and stared at Rejt for several seconds as the implications of what he was saying slowly dawned on them

Wendy spoke first you when did you become so scheming

But Lazareth continued to wrestle with his thoughts But if if she goes the rest of the expedition will refuse to move They need her technology

Such a tragedy Rejt smiled

Chapter 1144

Twenty six hours later Rejt spat out a heavy mouthful of blood and heaved himself out of the broken stone wall So this is why no scouts returned from beyond the 30th floor

Lazareth Armgrast grimaced and pulled a thick obsidian spike out of his side Then he did his best to use his wide hand to stem the gush of blood out of the wound Well we survived the first strike of this fucker The rest is downhill from here right

You fool Wendy hissed Although she had stayed toward the back as they encountered the sinister monster in the long tunnel of the 31st floor she now hurried forward and pressed her hands to Lazareth�s wound After a few seconds a warm light from her fingers began to knit together his corroded flesh Don�t just rip it out

I don�t think we have the time for me to leave it in Lazareth grunted as he turned to face the towering specter that barred their path

It was almost four meters tall its head brushing against the roof of the spacious stone tunnel Its body seemed to be made of an interlocking series of dark grey pieces of metal a strange shifting motion of body parts that looked less like the clockwork of machinery and more like a surreal approximation of that ordered machinery It was shaped like a humanoid with extremely thin arms and legs and heavy armor around its torso

And at the thing�s core was a dense ball of black energy that seemed to be the solidified version of miasma As the three figures watched thin tendrils of blue stretched out from that core and manipulated the piecemeal body to pull another one of its obsidian spikes from its heavy shoulder pauldrons

And also Rejt grimaced and glanced upward Although it was faint he could already feel a steady stirring amongst the miasma in this place Even as they struggled against this foe here something terrible was coming There had been a change in the Hell Labyrinth Miasma was beginning to sluggishly roll outward

Such a change would not bode well for the forces trying to explore this place

And of course emphasizing their need to proceed the crimson footsteps left by Azriel led straight forward through this monster as though she hadn�t even needed to alter her gait in order to bypass it

The lines around Rejt�s eyes tightened Which seems impossible considering its strength Which makes me wonder was this guardian here when Azriel went forward Based on the timeline she likely came while the Hell Labyrinth was still inert And if she is the one that reached the core and activated it

Get back it�s coming Lazareth growled as he used his long and muscular limb to physically shove Wendy backward Although the woman hissed in ire no sooner had she be forced back than the guardian surged forward with an obsidian spike in each of its hands

It didn�t appear to use any Skills but that just meant that it was so impossibly fast that it made their Skills inadequate Even with his Level 112 Elusive Crimson Steps Rejt barely had time to roll to the side as a hand holding an obsidian spike cut downward toward his skull like a woodsman�s ax

As he twisted away he raised his arm and smashed his palm forward toward the guardian�s waist Wind quickly gathered around his hand and empowered the blow But the guardian shifted its stance slightly at the last moment so the blow that should have smashed against its thin limbed legs hit against the heavy armor of its torso Just as it had during their prior exchange the guardian�s leg flitted outward to strike Rejt in retaliation

Unlike the previous time where Rejt had assumed that the leg would be relatively weak Rejt forced his body into one more roll to the side to avoid it Losing a chunk of Health due to his foolish assumption was a mistake that he only planned on making once

Grimacing Rejt recovered his footing and gathered the sharp edged wind that existed even here tunnel His will sharpened and steadied the air currents around him to strike

But Lazareth was slightly faster than he was taking advantage of the opening that Rejt had created

Primal Smash Lazareth roared not even aiming for the guardian�s thin limbs and instead just aiming to impact that vulnerable seeming core that it held in its chest Then the guardian�s hands blurred into motion and brought all of their plans to nothing

It was only due to his Blessing of the Vast Wind that Rejt was able to track the movements as the guardian used only the strength and elasticity of its hands in order to shoot the two obsidian spikes toward them And even with that warning the obsidian spike cut a half circle out of the edge of Rejt�s stony thigh

Lazareth Armgrast took his spike through the left side of his chest It exited out of his back with a clean spray of blood

Still those two strikes from the guardian gave Rejt the time he needed to gather the wind he needed to himself And with that wind he cut

The metallic guardian released a jarring chime as it staggered backward with a huge gash cut out of its inky black core The metal pieces around it spun listlessly Yet Rejt gritted his teeth when it was able to steady its stance and the other parts of the core began to flow around it and heal the wound he had cut into the heart of the bastard

But it wasn�t just the guardian that was uncommonly hardy After releasing a horrible sounding wet death rattle due to his collapsed left lung Lazareth Armgrast forced himself back to his feet

You fool Wendy shouted Her hands began to glow again while she hurried forward You need

Stay back Lazareth barked The guardian casually reached up and took two more obsidian spikes from its shoulder pauldrons Although only one currently remained those three spikes still weighed heavily on all of their minds

You�d rather die than let me heal you What the hell is with your pride Wendy asked some of her frustration overwhelming her concern for Lazareth

I�d rather you not die Lazareth replied stiffly Then he spat out some blood to the side But at least it is down to three spike attacks If we manage to dodge at least one of those

Lazareth�s voice fell away to nothing as the pauldrons of the guardian shivered and then all five of the missing spikes in them grew quickly back Sighing Rejt glanced upward at the increasingly disturbed miasma above them In addition it looks like we do not have much time until whatever is changing up in this place reaches us We must hurry

A tremor ran through the miasma Then it seemed to be blasted away shooting out above them into the higher floors above them And beyond that it would enter into the atmosphere of the world Rejt�s expression darkened

Whatever monster was beginning to breathe in the depths of the Hell Labyrinth if it was allowed to escape

Ringing ominously the guardian stepped forward But before either Lazareth or Rejt could react there was a soft whisper of wind and the sound of bare skin rasping against stone Suddenly there was another individual who stepped forward to face the guardian of the Hell Labyrinth

The figure spoke and the air seemed to burn with the weight of his words Absolute Gasp of Yggdrasil

Huge vines as thick as pythons and lined with thorns that looked like golden daggers shot out of the ground and surged to constrict the guardian The guardian sensed the attack and shifted out of the way but the roots moved faster than it could match In a split second it was completely suppressed

Then the vines began to squeeze radiating an ominous golden light At a volume incomparable to the small blow that Rejt had struck against it the guardian began to release its jarring chime that sounded quite a lot like cries

With a sigh Randidly Ghosthound turned slowly around to face Rejt Lazareth and Wendy His black hair was slightly longer but he had the same twist at the corner of his mouth the same sharp nose the same emerald eyes Yet when that gaze settled on the three of them Rejt could feel prickles on the back of his neck

He had made such a big deal of emphasizing that Randidly Ghosthound was just a man to Wendy earlier yet now the air around this man felt so incredibly heavy that Rejt couldn�t even speak for several seconds It seemed that the shadow of a vast tree hung above Randidly It was an image but it wasn�t like any image that Rejt had ever seen before

It shook the air by being there It left the guardian that had slowly been bleeding them dry completely suppressed

It was admittedly the strength of a god

I�m sorry you had to deal with this Randidly Ghosthound said His expression grew heavy if you give me some time believe me that this will be completely resolved

If you knew this was coming why didn�t you give me more warning Wendy asked in an accusatory tone At first Rejt was impressed that she had been able to gather up the courage to step forward under the sway of that shadow but Rejt quickly realized she must not have enough mastery of images to sense that terrible darkness that hung over them and pressed the guardian into the ground Why not tell me

I didn�t know this would happen Randidly gritted his teeth This is my fault for not paying more attention An old mistake of mine and apparently one I hadn�t learned from

What is this Rejt finally found enough strength to ask He gestured easily as though all of this was beneath him This place

A training ground Randidly replied One that I am beginning to suspect was meant for me to introduce me to Nether But it appears that even old monsters don�t know everything So I think it�s time I skip to the end of this farce

Chapter 1145

As he turned away from the stunned figures of Rejt Lazareth and Wendy Randidly reached out with his formidable Willpower and pulled hard at the surrounding Nether It did not come willingly at first motivated to radiate outward by the steady pressure that was flowing out of the Nether Ritual that had been erected in the core of his Alpha Cosmos but when his Willpower didn�t waver the Nether slowly gave in to his grasp

When it came to protecting this place Randidly would not give in

The Nether Ritual was too large and Randidly wasn�t touching upon any of its vital thoroughfares so the effect didn�t amount to much This avenue that Nether used to flow steadily outward into the outside world was stopped up but Nether would find other ways Which was frustrating but not exactly surprising

Even with his Nether Sensation Randidly currently wasn�t able to determine the exact location that he needed to be in order to reverse the effect of the flow of Nether Some of that might be the low Level of his Skill but it also struck him that it was a function of the sheer size of what was going on within his Alpha Cosmos

This is not a small thing here Randidly thought with fiery eyes as he began to walk forward down the stone tunnel This was not an accident This was not some unfortunate mutation that occurred when I allowed Nether into my being No this this was crafted

Because some horrible side effect was exactly what Randidly had originally thought this was as he had arrived in his Soulskill and seen the sweeping effects of the Nether That he had somehow opened the door for this to happen by developing Nether Cores But the more he investigated the more of the ruins that Randidly witnessed the more sure Randidly was that this was not the case

Plus the construction of these guardians Randidly spared a glance behind him once more for the metallic automaton with a core of Nether that was struggling to its feet I recognize that construction It is the same material from my original Four Shaded Clockwork World

the core of which was provided by the Creature

They were queer things composed both of the strange ivory white metal and the pitch black Nether Honestly their shifting shape almost reminded Randidly of the visualization of Skills from his inner world This impression was supported by the strange resonance and chiming that he heard from them Perhaps the individual responsible found mixing Nether cores and Aether Skills amusingly ironic

Still no time to waste here Randidly rolled his shoulders as another strike with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil threw the guardian to the side With an open path

Hey wait Wendy shouted anxiously as Randidly began to stride forward Aren�t you going to at least kill that thing If you don�t

If I did wouldn�t you just follow me Randidly replied rather dryly He opened his mouth and considered his words carefully getting into a verbal spar with Wendy here would definitely waste time You might be able to survive this amount of Nether but it will only get worse as we move forward Take your time growing here the old fashioned way

Hmph you believed this foe to be sufficient enough to slow us down Rejt folded his arms and raised his chin You better leave this worm alive just so I can demonstrate how wrong you are about us And don�t let me catch your heels from behind or you will pay for your shallow faith

Chuckling Randidly nodded and prepared to continue forward But the last of the trio�s ragged voice brought him to a stop

Perhaps it was because it so closely mirrored Randidly�s original thoughts but he couldn�t help but flinch as he heard the words Even if it wasn�t true in this case it was again a situation where he had been distracted by other issues and let something dangerous develop in his Soulskill So Randidly spun slowly around to face the red rimmed gaze of Lazareth Armgrast Almost against his will Randidly�s frown softened as he looked at the other�s expression

You you were supposed to Damnit The lion headed man brought a hand up to his face and gripped his mane If if anything has happened to Azriel I will kill you

Relax Randidly said Yggdrasil�s healing energies spread slowly outward filling the tunnel with warmth and light I have my flaws I can�t always behave perfectly and I will disappoint you But now that I�m here now that I�m moving don�t think for a second that I will fail to protect this world Especially Azriel

Did you say that for him or for yourself The voice of Yggdrasil whispered softly But Randidly couldn�t answer easily

Congratulations Your Skill Deific Mien of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 250

Randidly could still see the unwillingness on Lazareth�s face But when directly faced with Deific Mien of Yggdrasil some part of him seemed to accept the transfer of responsibility to Randidly His shoulders crumpled forward And so Randidly turned away now bearing one small reason to accomplish the goal that had driven him immediately here to the ruins

Armgrast�s knees hit the ground with a soft thump

How much did you see Azriel even when I met you while you were escaping from your palace Randidly wondered Did you know the stakes would be this high What is your relationship with this man Because he certainly is worried about you

almost as worried as I am

As Randidly continued forward accelerating down the tunnel he quickly bypassed several more of the Skill like Nether Beast guardians of this place and reached the stairs The Hell Labyrinth� as the people of the Alpha Cosmos called it seemed to follow this same pattern A long floor that led to a short set of stairs with the tenth floor being a platform along a longer set of stairs that allowed one to take a break

Needless to say as you went deeper the Nether grew denser Yet Randidly�s Unique Skill Nether Modification made this amount of Nether practically comfortable The foes also attacked and defended more adeptly with the talents of Nether They utilized the benefits of bubble and the core making them extremely difficult to damage using normal Aether based means

Of course they weren�t even able to slow Randidly down at all It was almost comical how easily he accelerated downward past them Within only a few minutes Randidly had gotten out of the 31st floor and shot down the stairs to the 32nd floor

He had briefly considered simply jumping down into the vast abyss that surrounded the staircases between floors but the Nether there was extremely turbulent If the Nether Ritual was a human body the staircases gave Randidly a window to the arteries carrying huge amounts of Nether and pumping it out to the places that needed it

Nether Modification can handle this but Randidly hesitated

The density wasn�t the issue it was how quickly the Nether in front of him was moving If he exposed himself to it he would likely be able to find the core but he didn�t want to risk encountering something even more dangerous waiting in that Nether

Besides it had barely taken him an hour to reach his current floor by hurrying forward As long as it didn�t become vastly more difficult as he proceeded downward Randidly felt confident that he would be able to reach the desired destination

Of course is it smart to walk into a test that was probably designed by the Creature Randidly asked himself quietly But two facts had him walking forward anyway The first was the difficulty of the test thus far maybe he would need to worry about harder trials later but so far the quality of the Nether opponents didn�t exceed the one star level And the second thing was Azriel�s involvement

Her fate after being drawn into this trap couldn�t be a good one And that pissed Randidly off in a way he hadn�t felt in a long time

Creature if you are responsible for hurting even a hair on her head

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 40

Randidly hit the 32nd Level like a tsunami gathering the ambient Nether in the air to protect the surface from being flooded with it and using it like a cudgel to smash back the Nether that was eagerly surging forward The air trembled and the unfortunate guardian that was hiding in wait for him keened in pain

A split second later Randidly moved past it releasing a long held breath and pulling once more at the Nether around him in a tight spiral Although Randidly didn�t have any Skills that related directly to manipulating Nether he still felt like

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 61

Even if I don�t have a goal in mind the ritual is responding to my faith Randidly reflected as he hurtled forward Truly Nether is entirely different than Aether Just my momentum is enough to bring more and more of it under my control

And just like that Randidly streaked down like a comment shooting through the 32nd floor then the 33rd then the 36th then the 39th

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 48

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 74

And just like that Randidly was taking wide steps down the huge stone staircase that led to the 40th floor practically gliding over the stone beneath him A maelstrom of Nether had gathered behind him now shaking the air and the surrounding stone And it gave Randidly great pleasure to sense how the chaotic Nether flows around the staircases were growing turbid as he forced this huge mass of Nether deeper down the gullet of this massive ritual that Randidly still hadn�t been able to see the shape of

Carrying that momentum forward Randidly crashed into the 41st floor To his amusement a modified automaton/ Nether Beast around the two and a half star level leapt out to ambush him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Avoidance has grown to Level 220

With extremely quick steps Randidly swayed his body back and forth The Nether Beast slashed outward with its claws but he leaned just out of range of the attack The Beast�s longest claw scratched quietly against Sulfur and then Randidly was past it He planted his foot on its back and exploded with force

So fucking weird that they look like Skills

Chiming angrily the Nether Beast could only tumble forward as Randidly accelerated beyond it and proceeded even deeper into the Hell Labyrinth Just like the thirties the forties were gone in a blur leaving Randidly blowing past a foe that was just short of the three star tier of strength for the Nether Beasts and proceeding to the long staircase beyond

Yet here Randidly paused standing at the top of the threshold to the staircase allowing the river of Nether that he was leading deeper to surge around and past him while he studied what was waiting for him below

Unlike the previously staircases that led forward the staircase he found here was a spiral staircase that led downward in a tight orbit Yet what stopped Randidly cold was the tight coils of Nether that surged downward around the staircase They were the same if not greater in size than the amount of Nether that Randidly had gathered surging down here

And as there were ten of them and only one of Randidly�s flows they rapidly ground down the Nether that he had gathered to nothing It continued to flow from behind him following its previous momentum but it was easily devoured and repurposed into the vast flows of this place Randidly�s mouth firmed into a line as he looked down over to the small platform that waited below as floor 50

Even from here he could see her familiar figure wearing the guise of Lyra and staring up at him with a small smile on her face

The Creature Yystrix Randidly clenched his fists Then he began to walk down the stairs

Chapter 1146

It had been quite a while since Randidly had met the Creature face to face He had seen the husk of its body that had been consumed by Zone 1 to create an infinite power plant but its consciousness had already been consumed at that point Which as it turned out ended up being eminently frustrating for Randidly who had so doggedly pursued the trace of the Creature�s Aether to that point

Perhaps then the last real confrontation between them had been the invasion of his Soulskill Which had been a clash that had deeply scarred Randidly not just due to the damage the Creature�s monsters had inflicted on his inner world but because of the sacrifices that Randidly was forced to make among the people who worshipped him in order to win that bloody battle

Before Randidly had shifted his land to make the Seven Lands quite a bit of his Soulskill had been a graveyard

Randidly pressed his eyes closed as he walked slowly down the stairs The Nether continued to swirl around him but he was no longer in any hurry to cut to the source of it To be here was to feel that the Nether was a slowly building thing even if it was obvious that the pressure here was building rapidly to something Although the momentum Randidly had built with his gathered Nether was destroyed by this working it had slowed this down and also severely depleted the Nether that was flowing to the surface

Likely the dangerous areas of Nether saturation would recede in the short term giving him enough time to deal with this threat

The other benefit of a slow descent was to feel out what was going on around him As he was now among the thickest of the Nether flows it was immediately clear that Randidly had underestimated the scope of what the Creature was hoping to accomplish Even now as he strained his Nether Sensation outward it was difficult to get a picture of what this much Nether would do

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 59

Barring his teeth Randidly forced his feet to continue to carry him forward He glanced downward once having proceeded halfway down the spiral staircase in a few minutes With the additional distance covered his Grim Intuition allowed him to perceive several more details about the platform waiting below

The platform itself only covered a relatively small space perhaps the size of a basketball court cast ritualistically in jade obsidian and silver The three colors blended together in geometric lines that made it difficult to look at the platform for too long without growing dizzy In the absolute center of the platform was a stone dais on which Azriel was resting

Floating above her was a swirling series of those same ivory metallic bars whirring rhythmically to a pattern that Randidly couldn�t quite grasp Small tendrils of extremely dense Nether spun delicately inward to join the extremely dense core of Nether floating in the middle of the metal which looked like a tiny black marble

It was only when Randidly saw the source of those dense tendrils was through Azriel�s body that Randidly gritted his teeth When he studied it more closely it was possible to see a hole beneath her that allowed Nether upward to filter through her body

Randidly twisted and glanced over the outside of the staircase to see the huge flows of Nether that looked like black rivers flowing down to join a huge mass of Nether that waited below There was a matching series of ivory metal pieces swirling below these built on a commensurately larger scale to manage the huge flows of Nether and condense them to tight strands that would flow upward

They swirled around appearing briefly like Skills but then shifting to look like a ribcage that contained the huge mass of Nether They spun and twisted constantly on the move

Then far sooner than Randidly would have liked it was time to face this foe one more time

The sound of Randidly�s footstep as he finally arrived on the platform echoed strangely in the empty space surrounding them Space that was only filled by Nether Yet the noise seemed like a deliberate sign because the Nether that was whirling around them began to accelerate The small amount of time Randidly had bought by bringing counter swirling Nether had been burned off Some small portion of the Nether around them flowed down to the area next to the Creature and touched two discs of metal that were laying on the platform

Different curved bars of metal spun upward slowly manifesting themselves as two Nether Beasts shaped like Skills that were truly at the three star level of strength Bearing Lyra�s sharp and lovely features grown into womanhood the Creature smiled It�s been too long Randidly Ghosthound I�ve missed you

Randidly had prepared a sharp comeback but the raw emotion in her tone stopped him Slowly his expression grew solemn The Creature legitimately means that She missed me

Somehow that made him even warier

You try to use me or control me every time we meet Randidly finally said I can say honestly that I had hoped I would never see you again

You�re lying The Creature�s smile burned with genuine pleasure It was quite a disappointment wasn�t it To chase me and find nothing for so long So long as you feel traces of my touch on you and the Earth you will want to meet me Such is your hypocrisy and your charm I suppose

maybe I would feel better if I could track you down on Earth But it�s because I don�t want you to destroy any more lives with your machinations Randidly�s gaze hardened as he glanced over toward where Azriel lay still in her crimson gown with her hands folded over her chest This wisps of Nether slithered up through her And even if there were no negative side effects that Randidly could see that didn�t mean he wasn�t worried And seeing this just confirms that I was correct to worry

Such a convenient vessel Almost fondly the Creature reached out toward Azriel Then she shook her head and looked back toward Randidly Another has already hollowed her out to carry an image so it was quite easy for me to do something similar If things go as plan she is the fertile soil I will use to grow my gift to you But before you can save her I�m afraid there is one more test for you to pass

Without waiting for the Creature to finish Randidly reached out and pulled at the Nether that was flowing down into the two Nether Beasts beside her Although they were truly composed of Nether Randidly recognized that they were just as false as the Nether cores that the grand formation created The runic engravings on the metal bands were what shaped the working The Nether was not naturally drawn into those strange discs

A false bubble was no bubble at all So Randidly used his Willpower to make himself the core and the false cores before them his bubble And then they were his to pull freely Engravings couldn�t stand up against his Willpower

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 85

As the Nether flowed easily out of them the bands of metal groaned and collapsed to the ground For the first time since Randidly had walked down the staircase the constant smile that was upon the Creature�s face twitched and waned You how did you do that

Satisfaction bloomed warm in Randidly�s chest like a sunflower To see the Creature so confused was a welcome feeling This time things would be different The Nether spun around him as Randidly took a step forward If you wanted to test my ability to handle Nether this is far from enough

Yes but how If you can work Nether right now The Creature hissed And then something dawned on Randidly that had the satisfaction in his chest dimming and wilting

you legitimately don�t know You cannot see outside my Soulskill to what�s happening in the real world Randidly said in wonder His emerald eyes narrowed as he considered the Creature in front of him you are just another sliver of The Creature�s personality left here amongst the old core of my Soulskill I�m surprised you managed to persist through so many rounds of destruction and rebirth for the Soulskill but still you were probably just triggered by the surge of Nether inside of me

After hesitating for a second as it studied Randidly the Creature opened Lyra�s mouth again you likely have begun to rely on Touch from Beyond recently I�m surprised you are aware of the term Nether but do you think this matters The fact that you�ve had to rely on the devasting power of my gift just proves

What the hell are you saying Relying on Touch from Beyond How long has it been since I had that version of the Skill

You truly know nothing Randidly said slowly His stomach felt odd as he considered the Creature Yet he didn�t wait any longer instead proceeding directly forward toward the Creature You you probably don�t even understand how much trouble your true body is in

This was a calculated gamble on Randidly�s part but he wanted to confirm something Or maybe he wanted to shift the conversation so the Creature would stop just seeming so so

Thankfully the Creature took the bait even as it lowered herself into a fighting stance Hmph do you think I would fall for such an obvious bluff I can sense plenty from the core of my existence And if you are capable enough with Nether then I will just beat you into submission the old fashioned way Then we can have a nice chat about how we will proceed

The Creature blurred forward It was quite fast but not so fast that Randidly couldn�t keep up No in fact it was quite easy to keep up The acceleration the Creature displayed was fine but its top end speed was relatively bland

It was disappointing What Randidly felt in his stomach was disappointment

No this was a test that Randidly was designed to have triggered long long ago The strength of this shade made that immediately obvious But Randidly wasn�t going to let go of this opportunity to suppress even a fraction of the Creature�s consciousness just due to a lucky break on his part

Chimeric Avoidance Nether�s Caress

With almost the same series of hyper quick steps and sways that he used against the guardians to get here Randidly maneuvered around the Creature�s vicious slash and twisted to strike at her back As he did so he gathered all that dense and available Nether in the air to create a blade in his hand

The Creature spun around to block the descending blow with its arm but it was still forced several steps backward by the clash And Randidly didn�t miss the way that Lyra�s slender arm began to smoke and sizzle as Nether ate into the image the constituted this sliver of the Creature

You idiot I fought as an image for too long to not know how difficult it is Randidly thought almost sadly Why are you why is it like this

As the Creature righted itself Randidly raised his arm and pulled even harder at the surrounding Nether causing his Nether�s Caress Skill to hum with the pressure of controlling so much Nether It simply took far too long to this version of the Creature to recover its footing It was pathetic

The blade in Randidly�s hand grew from a dagger to a long sword then to a greatsword and then to a towering pillar of dense and volatile Nether His hand tightened gripping the Nether blade and burning his skin in an attempt to inject a sense of reality to this almost surreal experience Yet even with the pain nothing changed A small and impotent Creature in the form of Lyra still miserably looked upward at the blade that Randidly had conjured

Time to fucking end this farce What the hell is going on

Congratulation Your Skill Nether�s Caress has grown to Level 113

Congratulations Your Skill Nether�s Caress has grown to Level 114

Randidly felt an empty echo of enjoyment watching the projection of the Creature in front of him pale but it was ultimately made completely unsatisfying by its low mutter How

Randidly slashed downward sending vast reverberations through the surrounding Nether The Creature dodged to the side but Randidly maintained his grip on the huge pillar of Nether and slashed again And again His arm continued to accelerate as Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil and Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality merged together to urge him to impossible speeds

When he finally caught it with a glancing blow the Creature couldn�t help but reel backward One of Lyra�s arms had been burned away by the Nether The image of her flesh around the shoulder began to corrode from the dense Nether

Yet the reason why Randidly didn�t follow up with another attack to shatter the projection in front of him was that the Creature began to laugh Do you think that your strength changes anything You can kill me if you want it doesn�t matter I�ve already accomplished my goal by being here

The Creature its one remaining arm and gestured to the dais on which Azriel now was lying You have two choices now that the ritual is activated Accept this power which I give you or release all the Nether and drown your Soulskill in it

Chapter 1147

As the Creature spoke the weirdest thing happened in Randidly�s chest He felt a sliver of excitement The strange sensation of disappointment wavered at the Creature�s fanatical words

It wasn�t because it talked about giving him power That poisoned prospect would never have excited him despite how much he knew he needed some kind of power in the real world where Lord Miln and Ileot Swacc were watching him with greedy eyes

No the reason that Randidly felt briefly excited was because this confrontation with the Creature had been profoundly boring The threat to the Soulskill was a real thing and this much Nether was extremely dangerous And yet to so quickly overwhelm the Creature in a fight

It felt like he was missing something

Perhaps it was because Randidly had built up the Creature in his mind but Randidly was left somewhat at a loss to see him so easily overwhelm the Creature�s tests and then proceed to be able to suppress the Creature completely with his own strength After all the Creature had manipulated Randidly�s entrance into the System so he had initially appeared in a Dungeon Through the Creature�s machinations he had been given half of the Aether Crossroads that he now held in his chest

Many parts of his Class Soulskill and Skills were tainted by the Creature�s touch It had taken everything Randidly had to escape the Creature�s grasp previously

But in retrospect could the current Randidly have accomplished the same sort of manipulation with his current abilities Combined with several thousand years to study and refine his knowledge of Aether apparati

Yet that was what probably gummed his perception up wasn�t it The age of the Creature Because now Randidly had met individuals like Nadia Kailm Lord Miln and Cail Tweocs He could see the potent power of images that could be achieved over time Even if this was simply a projection It should possess some of that power shouldn�t it

Had Randidly�s perspective gotten skewed by the foes that he now faced from the Nexus or was there a dagger waiting within this trap the Creature laid

No something�s definitely wrong Randidly assured himself His eyes flicked from the decaying flesh of the Creature to Azriel on the dais and then up to swirling pieces of ivory metal But what is it

Either way Randidly didn�t intend on following the Creature�s intended conversation path no matter how much he somehow was disappointed by this weak version of the Creature What I was saying earlier was true I met a being that seemed suspended in a continent�s worth of crystalized Aether surrounded by huge obsidian pillars And when he felt me he said Yystrix I�ve found you at last �

Lyra�s face twisted into confusion but then a glimmer of understanding dawned there The Creature�s gloating expression slid off of Lyra�s face almost instantly For the first time Randidly saw through the callousness built up through an eternity of escaping the System and saw a raw and gaping wound in the Creature�s expression One that gurgled up blood at Randidly�s words

Lyra�s lips twitched Elhume found me

Like Achilles struck at the ankle everything about the Creature in front of him fell apart A low thrum ran through the Nether Ritual around them and the movement of Nether once more turned sluggish With a whisper the glamour of Lyra unraveled around the Creature and revealed a thin and elderly woman with steel grey hair done up in a bun above her head There were deep lines at the corners of her mouth and eyes as her gaze grew dull and she considered the ground in front of her

Her voice came out again so soft that Randidly�s ears couldn�t pick it up It was only with Grim Intuition that Randidly was able to snatch her words from disappearing into the abyss right after they passed her lips

Did he miss me that much But I The Creature�s eyes fluttered and closed

Randidly was somewhat stunned how well his offhand comment had cut to the core of the Creature To see her so clearly vulnerable was he wrong about missing something Was the Creature he had so long feared

Well that�s fine Just as quickly as the fissure in the Creature opened up it snapped closed again It was with clear eyes that the Creature looked up to regard Randidly with a newfound intensity from this elderly face I cannot run away from my fate forever You boy are proof of that I suppose Yet my statement remains unchanged You cannot avoid the choice before you Accept this gift I�ve prepared or drown your Soulskill in Nether

Randidly�s jaw worked slowly as he took in the rapid return of determination to the Creature�s new and maybe natural features I have a hard time believing that�s the case And also let�s not pretend as if you would ever prepare me a gift that didn�t come at a cost So what�s the cost

Well this vessel�s life and Fate The Creature said in a wry tone and Randidly almost cracked his teeth as the muscles in his jaw flexed at the callous dismissal of Azriel�s death Yet then the Creature continued to speak But yes There is a shape to what I�m making that you will not be able to escape

Randidly forced a snort out Is that so Just like I shouldn�t have been able to pass your test

After giving Randidly a reproachful look the Creature shook its head You fool Do not confuse variance with a grand miscalculation on my part I have long prepared for this day You what truly can you do

Beat the shit out of you Randidly thought in annoyance but he let this monologuing Creature continue

The working before you is approaching its completion When it reaches that moment of release it will birth in the vessel a weapon that you may use to strike at the Nexus The Creature raised its hands high above its head Its grey hair was strangely luminous in the light from the giant spinning ivory pieces that circled the platform And yet you are right within this working lays a millennium of bitter hatred I have toward the Nexus To bear this weapon is to labor under my geas To carry the weapon will demand that you use it

Randidly flexed his hand that�s a long time So taking this gift would mean allowing your image into me That�s why you are willing to give such a powerful� gift

Precisely The Creature�s hands dropped to its sides And if you don�t accept it well you will need to act quickly And likely all the Nether that I�ve been slowly summoning to fuel it will explode out over your Soulskill

Even as she spoke the Nether around them once more accelerated Then it continued to accelerate causing more and more thin tendrils of dense Nether to flow up through Azriel�s body and into the small marble floating above her And also it immediately became clear that the marble was floating slowly down to plant itself in Azriel�s chest

and maybe even more dangerous than a Nether explosion Randidly looked up to the small bead of Nether floating above Azriel�s body Likely the reason that you are so weak right now is your image is bound in there ready to infect me If I felt overconfident after trouncing you and simply ignored your warning thinking I could protect my Soulskill from the Nether you would have gladly let me shatter it all and seize back your strength wouldn�t you

Randidly shivered but some part of him felt much more comfortable after he had found at least some of the dangerous hooks waiting within the situation that the Creature had prepared for him When it had seemed weak and incapable all of the efforts Randidly had taken to defeat it previously seemed foolish

Yet it likely did show that some of its superiority was running out if it was willing to play possum in order to get Randidly to lower his guard And even now Randidly was still wary of what other tricks might be waiting in the Nether Ritual that was trying to plant something into Azriel and birth a weapon

I�m willing to take that risk if I need to Randidly said tightly Then he finally let his senses extend outward toward the whirling ivory bones that seemed to form a ribcage around the beating heart of Nether below them If he was going to stop this working this was the engine he needed to foil All of that energy was spiraling up through Azriel into the tiny tight marble of Nether that Randidly began to suspect contained the Creature�s image

Or perhaps more accurately its memories

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 60

Even though Randidly spoke with confidence about stopping this he could only let his breath hiss through his teeth as he expended his senses to accurately feel what was going on in front of him He had some ability to manipulate Nether sure but it wasn�t until he felt the scope of what the Creature was making here that he felt a tingle of trepidation at the prospect

The weight of the swirling Nether was immense It was easy to tell from how vast and thick the intertwining streams were that the Creature was a little less proficient than Randidly himself at concentrating it but that wasn�t the issue here Even if the Creature could only manipulate Nether at the three star tier of density it simply had been in his Soulskill for far too long preparing for this

As Randidly looked at the Nether around him his frown deepened that�s why the Nether Skill she gave me was so strangely made that it conjured a portal The whole idea was probably to slowly siphon a bit away through the portal portion to fuel this Luckily I didn�t use the Skill much but I was eventually surrounded by quite a bit of ambient Nether that would flow into me and I experimented with Nether�s Caress quite a bit to rescue my body

You sense it I�m sure The Creature said softly There will be consequences in trying to dismantle it So why struggle Is this one�s life truly that valuable

For a split second Randidly�s mind was scorched away by fury But he hurriedly suppressed it before annihilated the fucked up projection in front of him He forced himself not to respond to the Creature�s cruel words mostly because he didn�t have a useful comeback

But as much as he hated to admit it the Creature seemed right about the size and difficulty of this demolition job Although Randidly was superior in his manipulation of Nether the sheer weight of the thing that the Creature had slowly crafted was too much for him to dismantle quickly

Even if it hadn�t had quite a bit of time to work with Nether these engraved ivory like metal pieces that so resembled Skills having those clearly gave focus for the Creature�s work Once it fed Nether through them the momentum built and built until his Soulskill partially ruptured and began to flood with Nether

Of course all these issues avoided the elephant in the room and the reason that Randidly wanted to tear the Creature in front of him to pieces

Randidly looked over at Azriel her hands folded in front of her chest Her pale hair lay spread out from her head in uneven clumps She didn�t appear injured yet that small orb of Nether drifting down toward her would likely soon change that

Her life and her Fate huh

Even so I have no choice I will not sacrifice Azriel to save myself Randidly said lightly The Creature smiled evilly at Randidly but said nothing

Releasing a breath Randidly closed his eyes and gathered every scrap of Willpower he possessed Ignition Essence Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera all gathered around him flickering in the air as he concentrated all his potency on this one task Then Randidly began to squeeze

His head throbbed painfully and he squeezed even more tightly When he could feel his will being ground away by the motion of Nether the Grim Chimera raised its head and roared Ignition Essence began to sizzle and crackle Last but not least a light wind blew through the air filling the surrounding area with the slight rustling of leaves

Growling Randidly squeezed even more tightly He saw ash and blood soaked claws and shadows against a cave wall and beams of sunlight through warm brown branches Randidly�s images spread outward from him and filled the air adding their weight to the surrounding air Nether and image hissed antagonistically but Randidly�s images had a drop of Nether at their core grounding them

And that made all the difference

Slowly but surely the steady churn of Nether below ground to a halt Step one accomplished

Great Randidly thought as the fabric of the Creature�s Nether Ritual began to bulge and warp underneath the strain of so much motionless Nether Now I just need to figure out how to not flood my Soulskill with Nether kill Azriel or release the Creature�s image that�s contained within this

Typical day in my Soulskill

Chapter 1148

A tremor ran through the surrounding area as the backed up Nether began to destabilize and crackled with potency Even the huge construction of this deep pit into the ground couldn�t withstand the cataclysmic energy reaction as the working within began to disintegrate The Nether Ritual that the Creature had created was somewhat crude and definitely not designed to simply cup this huge quantity of Nether

It had been too tightly bound to the ritual and now it had nowhere to go

Squinting upward Randidly had three immediate ideas to deal with the sudden problem of the imminent Nether explosion that was balanced precariously above his head And he needed to choose one of them quickly because like all explosions this one was likely to blast upward and annihilate everyone that had come into the Hell Labyrinth in a tide of Nether

Not that Randidly wouldn�t probably have difficulties too but it was his Alpha Cosmos that was being held hostage by the Creature�s plot They would be the ones to suffer from a mistake here And as if to emphasize that point a thin crack appeared in the staircase leading up from the 50th to the floors above

The first and likely the most desperate of the plans was to bring the Nether out through his physical body and release it into the outside world He would act as a release valve that would siphon away the bubbling pressure above him that was currently beginning to warp the surrounding space

Randidly likely wouldn�t need to switch his position in the real world to do so as he was already hidden within the badlands beyond the front lines Still the flaws were obvious a touchy Aether army was likely to notice a huge quantity of Nether abruptly appearing behind their lines And then he would need to explain why he had produced so much Nether from nowhere

And its not like he could afford to watch out for witnesses while trying to corral this huge amount of Nether

For all that Lady Iellaya�s opinion toward Randidly was favorable discovering this sort of action might spell a sharp end to rose colored perspective on Randidly Which would expose him to some of the wider threats on the frontlines that he had thus far avoided Even though Ileot Swacc had stated that he only wanted to be friends with him Randidly didn�t trust that man at all

The second option was to use the Aether Crossroads in his chest to produce enough Aether to counteract the Nether here Although the two energies had found an equilibrium inside of his body that was because the Nether and the Aether were two sides of the same coin Randidly himself served as the conduit between them Although this Nether had slowly been gathered within him it likely was not related to him and should conflict with Aether in the usual way

Randidly�s hair had grown long enough that the stirring winds caused the black strands to sway messily across his forehead Even with his images� assistance it was incredibly difficult to maintain the current balance as the loss of momentum to the Nether caused it to simply sink down pressuring Randidly with raw weight Which of course was patently impossible Nether was energy it couldn�t possess weight

And yet With a strained grunt Randidly adjusted his stance and glared upward at the laws of physics violating energy

Again the problem with using Aether was the sheer amount of Nether that was present here Randidly could produce Aether quickly but not this quickly If he opened himself up widely enough to address the Nether before it collapsed he would risk exposing himself to the strange urgency of expansion that lay within the energy release If he wasn�t careful he could be completely consumed by it In the same way that the Nether Wells he absorbed had been before Randidly had brought them around

Of course that ignored the same problem that was present in plan number one Randidly would likely release some significant amount of Aether out of his body in the real world and come back to find that everyone was shocked at his ability to produce Aether He had already served out his punishment as a Heretic but that was ignoring the truth of that label

What Randidly could do wasn�t truly Heretical The System only named him as such because it had no other way of understanding what he could do Even though the people that Randidly slowly encountered were powerful they all were tied to the System

It seemed his Aether Crossroads made him very very special

And Randidly did NOT what to give Ileot Swacc another reason to desire his body

Another shuddering groan escaped Randidly�s lips He clenched his jaw so hard the muscles began to spasm in his cheeks His hands flexed as he raised them to give a physical guide to the effort he put toward balancing the Nether above him

The third plan was the most daring And it would solve several of Randidly�s problems at once The gist of it was to gather all the abundant Nether here annihilate the working that the Creature had been shaping to plant a weapon in Azriel and create a Nether Ritual that would only be Randidly�s

Likely the result could be the creation of the focus that Randidly had been wracking his brain over for the Grim Chimera With that focus in his pocket Randidly could return to his body and put the finishing touches on the Yggdrasil focus while slowly allowing the memories from the hiltless blade to prepare him for what the Ignition Essence�s focus would be

Another tremor ran through the air this one much louder than the previous one The extremely ornate platform on which they were standing shuddered as it was forced to endure more weight than it was designed for Jade obsidian and silver cracked beneath Randidly�s feet Even the Creature was beginning to pale as the density of Nether in the surrounding area began to warp the space around them

It was an exceedingly peculiar feeling Randidly reflected Due to his Nether Modification it wasn�t too uncomfortable for him to endure but he could feel the way that the Nether was trying to press all of the space together in the surrounding area into one point When the Nether was free to choose its own path Randidly could suddenly sense how it wanted to destabilize the surrounding area and create a singularity

Which was a whole different issue and probably just as dangerous as allowing the Nether to spread out and slowly corrode the people of his Soulskill faster than they could develop Skills to resist its effects

Gritting his teeth Randidly�s emerald eyes flared and his images became so vivid and detailed that it was nearly impossible to tell them from actual physical presences next to him The branches of Yggdrasil creaked and a low hissing breath of ash escaped the Grim Chimera�s mouth Together all four of them pushed against the fraying Nether Ritual and once more set the thing spinning

In the opposite direction

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 61

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 86

The Nether resisted at first simply by virtue of its immobility but slowly it began to trudge in reverse of its previous path The huge mass of Nether below began to suck Nether back into itself both the runoff that flowed up to the surface and the dense strands of Nether that passed through Azriel toward that dark seed that the Creature had created

There were a few more tremors through the ground around them but as the Nether began to move things normalized to a low roar of momentum Of course the Nether Ritual�s destruction was hastened as Nether forced its way through it in reverse but it still bought Randidly some time

Because the problem with the third plan was that a dual trap was laid by the Creature in it If he created his focus with this bead it had prepared some powerful portion of the Creature�s will would be at the core of it And if he attempted to remove that piece of the Creature�s will before he made his focus that image that the Creature had sacrificed would once more go back into its hands

And Randidly had difficulty believing that a weaponized Creature would calmly let him foil its plan

Randidly glanced sideways at the Creature It�s grey eyes only slightly lighter than the grey and stern hair of its new form remained fixed on Randidly Do you yet hesitate It is a sign of weakness that you still cannot make this choice Is it too hard for you Well there will be no gradual easing of difficulty after this You might bear my weapon but the weight of responsibility waiting for you will only grow

This was Randidly�s Soulskill and he had had enough Now that the Nether was maintaining itself somewhat reversing its motion through the Nether Ritual Randidly flexed his authority This was his body All here was within his domain This was the Alpha Cosmos born of his flesh

And he demanded that the Creature leave

There was a soft gust of wind The whole of existence around him trembled

Nothing happened It was like Randidly�s mental fingers tried to find purchase on this foreign existence within the Alpha Cosmos and only scrambled against marble It seemed that the Creature fit perfectly into a hole that Randidly didn�t even know existed It was flush with the edges of him Which was a result that certainly hadn�t happened the last time that the Creature had invaded his Soulskill

The Creature continued talking as though it hadn�t even noticed his efforts to evict it until the day comes that you can truly fulfill your Fate You can end this System that has persisted far beyond its limits

Randidly didn�t respond to the Creature still shaken by the previous failure No what had shaken him was exactly how little effect his attempt had It hadn�t even noticed Otherwise the Creature would definitely gloat He was missing something here For all that he had dominated the Creature in terms of power that was only due to it having given its image to this unraveling bead in front of him He could not allow himself to forget that again

This was still an ancient monster whose understanding made it extremely dangerous

Rather than focusing on this foe that he was fighting Randidly turned his attention toward Azriel in this fleeting moment as the Nether howled above him in a gliding motion His senses spread out across her body trying to quickly determine if she was alright The short answer was yes but the more he looked at the changes that had occurred within Azriel the more Randidly gritted his teeth

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 62

Her mind hadn�t been touched by the Nether but her body had been thoroughly modified It was now apparent that all of Azriel had been slowly been groomed by the Nether passing through her to become a bubble� for the dark marble that had been floating down toward her Now that the grand Nether Ritual was unwinding that process had been stopped But the energy passing through Azriel continued to slowly taint her physical presence with Nether

It was somewhat impressive that Azriel�s body accepted the changes so harmoniously Randidly couldn�t detect a sign of corrosion between the Nether and Aether that she was But she had almost completely become a creature of Nether Much more so than Randidly who maintained a balance that was quite favorable to Aether inside of himself

Perhaps that was why even the Creature was so impressed Randidly�s eyes were worried as he scanned his friend�s body for any signs of Nether�s touch It seemed that whatever her master had done had weirdly prepared her for this Or given her a persistent flaw that allowed this to happen

Yet Randidly�s revery was interrupted as Azriel�s eyelids fluttered After a second of confusion her clear crimson eyes flashed and focused on him for a split second Then she pursed her lips and scanned the area around them

Randidly hated speaking like this in front of the Creature but some part of him just didn�t care His voice was raw with emotion as he said Azriel are you alright

Although she didn�t really seem able to move her clear gaze conveyed her thoughts quite effectively as she locked eyes with Randidly All part of the plan

Chapter 1149

Randidly couldn�t help but laugh at Azriel�s rather ridiculous claim that this was all part of the plan Which drew a sharp glance from the Creature but the unexpected release did a lot to improve his mood Even with the Nether howling above and large chunks of the Nether Ritual falling away and deteriorating around him Randidly Ghsthound grinned at Azriel This was your plan

Then he reached out mentally sliding easily through the thick aura of Nether that had seized Azriel�s body to reach her mind more directly Even if the Creature had somehow inserted itself into the fabric of the Alpha Cosmos to resist his eviction efforts Randidly still possessed the same intimate connection to all of the beings of his Soulskill When Randidly reached his mind and Azriel�s touched to each other

They connected instantly

Time slowed around them as their thoughts accelerated Not fast enough that they had an infinite amount of time to discuss what was occurring but enough for Randidly to check in on how Azriel was doing And to find out why the hell she would plan for this

To his surprise when Randidly entered into Azriel�s mind he found himself sitting in a small room lined with warm colored stone pillars There was an ornate table accented with gold and two couches upholstered with a bright and lively colored pattern reminiscent of spring Azriel primly took a sip from a bright orange teacup and regarded Randidly with her typical serious expression

Well although the details were a bit more convoluted than I would have liked Azriel admitted as though her ending up being warped into an open vessel by Nether was as simple as misreading the weather But yes I had a sense this would come to pass That there was trouble stemming from this place

Knowing there was trouble you came here anyway And you didn�t mention your sense to me at all when we met while you were heading to this place Randidly did his best to push down his rising irritation I could have helped Azriel If I had a little warning could have ripped the Creature out of me before it had the chance to do this And now

Weren�t you rather busy with your own problems Azriel asked dryly She set her cup down on the saucer and rotated it so the handle was point slightly away from her person

To that question Randidly didn�t have any satisfactory answer To be honest he had spent the last several days either resting or fighting against the huge Nether attack But before that since the time that Randidly had returned from the Great Rift to his body there had definitely been some downtime that he had spent training or working on his images

But still the point was valid Randidly had his own concerns in the outside world Problems that he couldn�t make light of despite Ileot Swacc�s strange insistence that he only wanted to be friends And yet

Randidly forced his hands to relax It hadn�t even registered when they curled into tight claws He walked slowly and sat down on the opposite couch from Azriel You know that�s not the point If the Alpha Cosmos was in trouble and you knew about it you should have told me I would have made time to help

Azriel picked her perfectly angled orange teacup up took another long sip and then set the cup down on the table with a soft click Now that he was near Randidly could smell the gentle touch of mint wafting up from the two steaming orange cups and the teal and orange striped pot between them Randidly I�m going to ask you a question and I want you to answer it as honestly as you can

Blinking in confusion Randidly nodded in the affirmative

Azriel responded with her own sharp nod in response Do you think you can solve everything yourself

Very quickly Randidly�s mouth twisted What sort of question is that

The sort of question that lies at the heart of what is going on here in your Alpha Cosmos Azriel said lightly Even though her hands were folded neatly in her lap the tilt of her chin and her straight spine were positively combative as she held him in her crimson gaze And honestly it should be a quite simple question do you think you can solve everything on your own

obviously not Randidly finally said But this is my Alpha Cosmos It�s not that I can handle everything alone you obviously could have asked me and we would have worked together Do you expect me to simply let these things happen without comment

No I do not expect anything of the sort The question is just a simple matter of philosophy that I�m going to use against you in the discussion that follows A small smile crossed Azriel�s face So let�s begin I believe that even you cannot deny that what this Creature has accomplished is only due to a growing flaw in your world one that emerged after you allowed these Nether energy into your existence It became a part of you but you did not give them an outlet here And this world is physically you so their presence could not be avoided By acknowledging them it appears the Creature has taken on a necessary role

So I suggest you take this new knowledge and find a way to use those energies in the way that you desire And honestly use the broader lessons the Creature is teaching you about this Alpha Cosmos so you don�t make a similar mistake again

This time Randidly had an easier time relaxing the muscles around his jaw He even took a moment to sip on the tea in front of him I think I can see how that would work I hadn�t thought about it but Nether is a part of me now Perhaps that�s why well why I�m torn about how to solve the current problem Now that things have developed to this point there are only bad outcomes in front of us

Is that really the case Azriel flicked a fingernail against her orange porcelain teacup In this strange mental world the noise was a strangely loud and pleasant chime I have a thought about you Randidly Ghosthound You have been forced to accept so many things in the past several years that you refuse to compromise or accept an offered shortcut when it isn�t absolutely necessary And honestly your greatest strength may very well be understanding when it isn�t necessary to compromise

Are you really suggesting I compromise Randidly asked frostily The Creature it has killed so many individuals It experimented on thousands of people Most if not all of those individuals but I met terrible ends I was one of the few to survive It bound and manipulated thousands more to give itself those opportunities Even just talking about the souls in the previous iterations of my Soulskills No This is one of those situations where we need not compromise And we cannot afford to Not when the Creature always has the capability of making such callous decisions again

Azriel flicked the teacup again lower The sound was muted and dull in comparison to the former clear ring So the possible power you may gain from accepting the Creature�s image doesn�t even enter into the discussion Is that really the attitude of one who believes that he can�t solve everything

Azriel she wants to sacrifice your body to do it Instantly Randidly frowned finally letting the whole of his annoyance with Azriel through How can I stop and weigh some theoretical power when your life is on the other side of the scales Sure power would be useful But I don�t need it Even if I cannot solve everything I can solve this problem in front of me

Listen to yourself I don�t need it � So can you solve every problem that manifests itself in front of you Azriel interrupted Her eyes glittered as she lazily spun her teacup in her hand Forget the theoretical problems that threaten the world The problems that line up in front of you if you devote yourself to them can you solve them all

What are you trying to say Randidly asked slowly

After taking another sip of tea Azriel gave Randidly a frank look I said it to you once and its the reason that I stopped pursuing martial power The more novelties I�ve experienced outside of the thin experience of my early life the surer I have become if you could build a better future by simply being strong wouldn�t we have reached it already Some things aren�t about the sort of threats you can deal with by being strong

Randidly experienced an echo of the same shock he had felt when Azriel had said that to him originally sitting in that manicured garden in the Armgrast Capitol Even now Randidly didn�t know what to say to the confidence in Azriel�s expression Because there was some part of him that wanted to argue that she was wrong It was only due to the fact that increasingly powerful foes were circling viciously around him that Randidly needed to continue to stay strong and grow stronger Someday theoretically he would be able to set aside that power

But those words died stillborn on his lips as he looked at Azriel�s firm expression He disagreed with her on this Yet he also trusted her and recognized her intelligence And Randidly had spoken honestly when he had said earlier that he didn�t believe he could solve everything on his own

Even if he understood that Azriel was likely trying to guide him off of the same Path that Randidly had saved Donnyton from his voice was bitter when he spoke So you are saying be weak Allow the Creature to influence me for the possible benefit of its power

I�m saying you shouldn�t be so inflexible as to refuse to take a loss here Azriel said with amusement Then she raised a hand as Randidly gritted his teeth Peace I only mean a loss from your current perspective I wish to raise two points as to why it is actually not such a loss as you think

First you fear allowing the Creature to have a measure of control over you This is honestly naive Do you think that your image hasn�t already been indelibly marked by her And your Class as well But perhaps even more than that Azriel leaned forward This is just a projection yes This projection�s image would be fighting against the weight of everything that you have built so far

If you let that fragment of the Creature�s will into you it will be bound by the bones of this place You will influence it just as surely as it will influence you Likely more so this is your home turf Just like the Creature made it here because of your past Soulskills do you think your past Soulskills have truly died You underestimate the past The Path stretching behind you has not disappeared Randidly Ghosthound

A tremor ran through Randidly

Azriel straightened My second point the Creature pointed out both the problem of Nether in your Soulskill and provided a certain type of solution use the vacuum of Nether power in your current Alpha Cosmos to produce a potent weapon Even if she has hurt you in the past those two things alone are a tangible benefit you have received You don�t have to be on the same side eternally but do you not have the same goal To overthrow the Nexus Is it truly that unthinkable to work together

Gritting his teeth Randidly spat out More likely than not she doesn�t truly believe I have the power to damage the Nexus She just wishes for me to be a distraction so she can hide

Is that true Does she not currently seemed resolved This time Azriel tapped her fingernail against the gold molding of the table Even faced with the knowledge that her main body is being pursued she did not falter In fact she seemed even more determined that you pick up her blade

I But again as soon as Randidly went to vehemently deny the prospect to insist that he didn�t need to work with the Creature some part of him awakened to the fact that what he would be saying was that he could handle the problems alone Which was why Azriel had started the conversation by asking him that

Because that was the choice he was facing

And it wasn�t that Azriel was insisting that Randidly allow a partnership with the Creature No she just wanted Randidly to look at the opportunity with clear eyes Was he not taking similar risks by using the two Fates he had obtained as foci for his own Fate

the Path you choose is your own obviously Azriel took another sip of her tea You have made it thus far by relying on yourself But do not lie to yourself if you continue down this Path you are the piece that will come under greater and greater stress Everything stems from your own power You will need to become strong enough to overcome everything If not as an individual as the fulcrum by which many forces meet All that stress will run through you

This is another Path One where you become the core of a larger assembly seeking to destroy the Nexus Not to touch a sore subject but is Vualla your partner or a partner for now A partner for before the time that you become strong enough to completely protect her

Still Randidly remained silent as emotions seethed inside of him After a hesitation Azriel spoke again

Do you truly resent the Creature that much You won�t even acknowledge that this is a woman that you are dealing with however old and monstrous she may be How different will you be from her if you continue down this Path for a couple of thousand years Because all you need to do is look at her to see that she followed this same logic of yours during her life and lost I�m not asking you to forgive her because of this but can you at least acknowledge how that could have broken her

In his Alpha Cosmos standing on the platform of jade obsidian and silver Randidly slowly raised his head and gazed at the slowly unraveling seed that contained the Creature�s image Unwilling to give Randidly barred his teeth

Chapter 1150

Randidly knew why Azriel would make her stand He also knew why she would make her stand here it was one thing for Randidly to admit he needed help it was another for him to face the truth of those beings he would likely need to receive help from in order for that help to matter against the Nexus

The assistance of an average individual wouldn�t be enough Those content with their lives would never gather enough power to matter

Yet this was difficult ask There was so much built up hatred and fear in his chest that he laid at the feet of the Creature for all the ways it she manipulated him over the course of his experience with the System He was a tool to her meant to be used and then cast aside To work with someone who made use of him who tried to burn everything he was and wanted to protect

Are those emotions worth sacrificing the chance to make her a tool of my own though

That was the question that Azriel asked She wasn�t asking Randidly to trust that the Creature wouldn�t try to betray him or use him somehow In fact she was telling him to face that possibility head on But what Azriel also wanted from him was to also face directly the benefits that might come with using the Creature or her image

The costs and benefits should be balanced Although Randidly continued to think that Azriel was rather blithely ignoring the threat on her own life through all of this

Randidly pressed his eyes closed If my Soulskills and the Alpha Cosmos by extension are truly the type of worlds that are created by being strong worlds that are habitually beset by an existential threat with the potency to shatter everything I�ve built perhaps this Path I�ve walked

Feeling that they had dithered for long enough Randidly slowly phased out of that strange tea room with Azriel Yet even as his awareness turned back toward the Alpha Cosmos and the horrible howling of the collapsing Nether Ritual Azriel�s voice continued to whisper into Randidly�s ear When you were purely a being of Aether well when Aether was the dominant force it was fine that you and the Alpha Cosmos were one You were a world and a world was an individual

But as your body became increasingly comprised of Nether especially because of how fascinating the interaction is between the two energy sources there needed to be a vessel of Nether here in the Alpha Cosmos to mirror its presence in your body The Creature intends to make that a weapon and establish a balance in that manner

How do you know that Randidly asked mentally

Azriel seemed to sniff and take a sip of her mental tea Even though it was just an illusion Randidly would have sworn he could smell mint Because I�ve been here observing the changes in the Soulskill for quite a bit longer than you Most of it is conjecture but being part of this strange ritual has made me strangely connected to the broader situation in the Soulskill This Nether is a peculiar substance

Randidly shook his head as a huge chunk of the spine of the Nether RItual above groaned and collapsed Nether began to freely spurt out and douse their area in even more dense Nether with thick globlets like a heavy fall rainstorm If such a huge chunk had broken off of a Class it would be effectively hamstrung no matter how many Levels you gained As it was it was a sign that this all was soon going to come crashing down soon

And Randidly needed to make a decision

All that Randidly had done for the past several years was to get stronger to resist the Creature�s next plan Or to be on the lookout for signs of the Creature and escape her next trap It was a habit he had long gotten into Although his main enemy was the Nexus the Creature embodied all the same traits that Randidly hated from the Nexus Entitlement Greed Manipulation Arrogance

Callous disregard for life It had been the physical representation of Randidly�s final goal on Earth It kept him motivated to grow and to refuse to let his growth slow down

Yet that thought caused Ki Kunot�s feathered visage appeared before Randidly tugging at the edges of his heart

Shaking his head Randidly tried to stem the guilt that was seeping out into his thought processes Luckily rage still roared in every bone of Randidly�s body as he considered Azriel�s suggestion Following the lesson of the Creature and achieving balance in his Soulskill Bah It roared and demanded sacrifice instead Rather than give in to obtain a benefit it urged him to fight and burn everything the Creature touched to the ground

And fear slithered through his tendons and joints preserved by the visceral remembrance of how he had been bound previously by the Creature�s machinations Even making use of the Creature�s strength and knowledge seemed like a dangerous prospect

There was a truth that occurred to Randidly as he watched the black bead unwind slowly revealing the memories contained within that the Creature had donated to birth a weapon As he thought about this almost missed truth and considered it from every angle he could find no flaw in it Perhaps his perspective was simply warped but it felt impeccably true to his eyes Ignition Essence pulsed with agreement for the sudden insight

The truth was a simple one The Creature would not expect Randidly to compromise here

Perhaps that was what ultimately moved the needle of his heart the shade it needed in order to consider it as a serious option Because no matter how much Azriel might sense about Randidly needing to achieve balance in his Soulskill and the Creature providing an easy avenue she didn�t understand the Creature�s abilities Randidly did

And he didn�t doubt there was another trap hidden somewhere in this waiting for him to buck her carefully laid plans and find a way to seize her power for himself Because that was what he had always done That was what she the Creature had likely done over the course of her lifetime

Is there really any benefit to doing something that will legitimately surprise the Creature Randidly asked himself

Combined with all of the other benefits of using her power yes Randidly whispered back to himself Even if she didn�t expect the method of me using Nether she correctly predicted it would eventually happen And to give her a genuine surprise now will make her doubt every plan she had laid thus far

That�s an advantage

The threads of the dark bead parted and finally revealed the Creature�s donated memories In an instant transmitted across the Nether between them Randidly felt those memories as if they were his own

Just like the Creature had hinted they absolutely burned with the need for vengeance against the System They were so potent and visceral that Randidly dare not look too closely lest he get drawn into them The part of him that understood how dangerous the Creature was grew very grave as he viewed these memories They had all of the same vivid and implacable strength that the images he had seen from Nadia and Kailm possessed

If what he had seen in the Creature�s expression when he revealed the pursuit had been a fissure this was a direct hole to the engine of the Creature�s loss at the System�s hands The bitterness the frustration the spasming muscles and the almost primal need to hurt something radiated outward from the memories The space around the memories seemed to be physically boiling from the palpable negative emotions that rolled outward

Yet the part of him that accepted Azriel�s argument couldn�t help but acknowledge how potent a weapon those memories would be

It�s foolish to believe I won�t be affected by holding those memories Randidly thought sadly What if some of that callousness infects me What if I start to treat the people of Earth in the same way The people of the Alpha Cosmos

As if he had spoken the words to her Azriel replied quietly in Randidly�s ear She�s a wounded thing that I cannot deny But you can feel how vehemently she wants her vengeance those emotions would not have been born in someone who did not care deeply about something And what you are accepting are those memories Not the current husk that bears them

The Nether Ritual shuddered and fell apart above him The memories of the Creature were completely revealed burning away the surrounding Nether and starting to cause a chain reaction that would likely send the whole space that had been compressed by Nether into a supernova like scenario And right as everything seemed to ignite both Azriel and the Creature spoke

Azriel said Trust me on this if you call and fuel this with yourself instead of allowing the Creature to orchestrate the genesis there will be a change The Creature�s memories of loss do not exist in a vacuum even if they are isolated now The things you have endured to get to this point were not for nothing

The Creature sneered and said So this is your choice I cannot say that I am surprised So how will you deal with

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 87

Just as the whole of the Nether Ritual shattered above and the huge mass of Nether began to settle into freefall toward those hideously potent memories Randidly raised his hands The three images once more surged to work Ignition Essence became an emerald fireball that settled around the entirely of Randidly�s body guiding him through the work His Willpower flicked outward and seized the shattered pieces of the previous ritual making them his own

Congratulations Your Skill Nether RItual has grown to Level 88

Faced with Randidly�s determination the whole of the surging Nether stopped dead His arms trembled from the strain A throbbing headache spiked out from his temples It was too much too soon too fast

But it was necessary

It started with hope And then it grew by faith and reaching out into the vast darkness for an answer

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 89

Congratulations Your Skill Nether RItual has grown to Level 90

As he held everything upon his back the shape was reassembled The bones of a similar Nether Ritual were erected Then the Nether Ritual began to greedily devour the surrounding Nether rapidly easing the burden on Randidly�s body And the weave of flows that Randidly created was markedly superior to the Creature�s as Nether began to flow once more down below the platform to that tight heart and then refine itself up through Azriel�s body to bind the Creature�s memories there was much less wasted Nether

The amount that the Nether Ritual pumped up as excess to the surface was practically negligible But that did mean that the result would be that much more potent and capable than what the Creature would have created Randidly hoped that Azriel was right about the change that would happen if he shaped it himself

On the trust that Azriel was right and convinced by the stated benefits Randidly pulled deeply from himself and the bones of the Alpha Cosmos in order to fuel the ritual Even without wasting any the Nether here was insufficient so Randidly pulled from deep within this world to gather the hidden Nether and the memories were dragged up along with them

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 91

Randidly released a breath and let himself relax slightly The bright memories of the Creature were rapidly buried beneath the Nether and the small memories that floated upward from the bedrock of this place

Randidly was extremely nervous He regretted this decision almost immediately fearing he exposed himself to weakness due to sentimentality Yet there was one extremely convincing sign that what he had done was the right decision

Just as he predicted the Creature did not react to the reassembled Nether Ritual for several seconds Then she looked up at it rather blankly You my memories are still within that What are you doing

Chapter 1151

Her surprise wasn�t fake For several seconds it was clear to Randidly that the Creature was completely bewildered by what she was witnessing In the same manner as the wound that opened up previously displaying to the world the real pain that the Creature felt as this Elhume pursued her Randidly�s current action had come as a surprise to the Creature

Honestly Randidly didn�t know how to explain what he was doing But something within him was gradually loosening Would I have done this I wonder before I met Vualla Before she reminded me to cultivate the heart that craves strength just as much as you cultivate strength

The feelings were vague and amorphous So Randidly spoke the words he held in his heart eve knowing that they meant very little I�m having faith

What does that mean The Creature snapped She took a short step toward Randidly but then glanced sharply upward as the Nether that filled the sky accelerated Bits of energy from all corners of the Alpha Cosmos stirred and began to slowly gather here Once more the energies of this place aligned to create something here

I hope your gamble is worth it Azriel

Before Randidly could decide what to do about the Creature a ripple spread ominously outward from the depths of the darkness below their platform Randidly closed his eyes and strained his senses but beyond the platform there was the huge clump of Nether and then only the abyss laying below them Honestly Randidly could understand how the platform was suspended here Had the Creature

Another ripple spread upward through the Nether Although he didn�t like it Randidly focused his Grim Intuition and Nether Sensation away from the assembled Nether Ritual to identify whether the strange movements of Nether were a threat Yet no matter how much Randidly narrowed his focus he could not find the source

The reverberations travel through Nether but the source isn�t Nether Randidly chewed on his lip and wiped sweat from his brow So what

Without any warning a figure appeared with them on the platform They faded slowly into existence shifting quickly from shadow to solid made of Nether arranged in a manner that Randidly couldn�t wrap his head around for several seconds The figure strode easily forward to join them standing between Randidly and the Creature Wrapped around the figure was a cloak of shadows and memories fluttering lightly as the Nether Ritual slowly accelerated above them At the figure�s waist was a familiar dagger

It�s you Randidly said in awe

The Spriggit Thief�s face was more lined than Randidly remembered but he hadn�t seen her much leading up to her eventually death in his Soulskill The time difference in those iterations of the Soulskill meant that it was difficult to keep a firm track of what was going on within it And anyway despite all that she had done for him and that Randidly had shaped her life as she grew into her own she had never really desired much interaction with him

Randidly had always suspected that she had never forgiven him for what happened

She curtsied My my my It�s certainly been a while Progenitor You called and I I have answered

Before Randidly could even speak another voice interrupted Bah To think someone else beat me here It cannot be denied that I am not as renowned as I used to be But to have even this honor stolen from me

The tall and bulky form of an Earth Golem also composed of shadows that slowly settled into stone thundered forward with huge steps as he approached the waiting trio He wore a crown on his head that had been broken to preserve a continent�s peace In his left hand he held the Scepter of Dominance and in his right he casually leaned huge Dawn Hammer across his shoulders Both were weapons that could probably shatter the platform on which they currently stood The Earth Golem Emperor Xierk Taf the man who was the only individual to have possessed the power to unite the entire Soulskill against him stood next to the Spriggit Thief and considered Randidly

it�s because they are memories Or something like a memory

The Earth Golem Emperor stood with all the majesty at the height of his reign holding both of the two weapons that were condensed from Randidly�s Skills and sent into the Soulskill Yet his gaze was also filled with the dignity of one who gave his life to save his people The icon that held both faces of Xierk Taf The broken martyr The invulnerable warleader

The Earth Golem Emperor turned with a stern expression toward the Spriggit Thief You should not have appeared first The glory of arriving should have been mine The weight of history is behind me I am your elder by quite a few years

Even as Randidly felt a deep nostalgia for seeing these faces from his old Soulskills the shape of the Spriggit Thief stealing this arrival created a fragile smile on Randidly�s face The Spriggit Thief waved her hand Even if she had aged she hadn�t lost her flippant attitude Does it really matter Besides you can gladly go first into this mass of meaning before I do I�m waiting for someone

Bah trying to swindle me by offering me something I already own by right The Earth Golem muttered Then he turned to Randidly and all of his sternness fell away Without giving Randidly a chance to react he walked up and gripped Randidly in a huge hug Although his entire body was composed of Nether the stone of him felt real and warm like the Earth Golem Emperor had been waiting in bright sunlight this entire time before coming to help Randidly

When the Earth Golem finally released Randidly he spoke with a gruff voice I know the difficulty you face now what if stepping off your current Path will mean you will no longer achieve victory in the future But it was never about the victory was it It was always about the reasons you sought victory And sometimes victories come at too great a cost

Then the Emperor walked straight toward the dense threads of Nether coming up through Azriel�s body and shifted into motes of Nether that were rapidly absorbed into the waiting gleaming bead that was slowly reforming

Very quickly more shadows began to show up They came in pairs at first Nether weaving together their guises slowly as they walked in a pirade forward but then they came marching in entire formations Their weapons were soaked with blood and ichor and when they passed Randidly each and every one of them honored him with a deep bow

Suddenly Randidly recognized them as the army that had fought off the Creature�s first invasion of his Soulskill There were the Weavers and the Earth Golems the White Hunters and the Spriggits and of course there were the monsters loping wildly forward between the tall columns After stopping to greet him they all marched forward and were sucked up into the bead

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 92

Above them the Nether Ritual continued to build up steam Rather than the almost cyclonic diaster the Creature had built in her attempt to do this Randidly�s was a tight orb with a tiny bead of darkness and memories being slowly created at its core The heavy pieces of engraved ivory metal slowly drifted down and settled on the platform To Randidly they were practically useless

Perhaps more importantly Randidly had no faith in them So they were set aside Randidly breathed and as he inhaled he pulled out all of the secrets from the depth of his Soulskill And then with a trembling heart did Randidly turn and look out toward the abyss below

It was only after the entire army of the dead had marched by that the man Randidly most feared came With a thundering heart Randidly stood and followed the Spriggit Thief�s gaze to the shadowy figure that made his way forward His flesh condensed and solidified And Randidly�s heart lurched when he saw this figure�s hand still glowed a terrible blue with the power that he had borne within it

Tziech Exodus the one who had been called the Monster King who had evolved from nothing to create a country for his unfortunate people who had borne the hatred of all the other races until he had demanded their respect walked slowly forward toward Randidly with a warm smile on his face

The boy who had been called Zeke who had always wanted to be a hero and the one who had finally achieved that dream by paying for Randidly�s sins and destroying that projection of the Creature stopped only an arm�s length away from Randidly They looked at each other for a long moment

Randidly released a steadily breath as he studied this man�s proud face The noise of his heart continued to be loud in his ears To see him now the Monster King was a harsh reminder that the Path Randidly had taken to grow strong had been nowhere near perfect Often Randidly Ghosthound had made mistakes that others had to pay for And perhaps that was the reason why he had been willing to give into Azriel�s advance or at least indulge it

Seeing Tziech Exodus now made Randidly glad that he had relaxed at least a little The Monster King was a life sacrificed to the Path Randidly might have demanded to continue

The only question is whether this Path is any better Randidly glanced sideways to the wary face of the Creature

Zeke addressed the Spriggit Thief first just by smiling and extending the hand that wasn�t burning with the strange perverted Nether of Touch form Beyond The Spriggit Thief took it smiling sweetly back the wrinkles in the corners of her eyes painting an epic of smiles that had softened this woman toward the end of her life Some part of Randidly flinched as he could see the peace this woman found at the end of her life and paired that with the knowledge that the Progenitor had no part in it

Then Zeke turned to Randidly

Once more they regarded each other silently for several seconds And to his own surprise Randidly was the one who spoke first thank you For everything I never got a chance to say that

But I got the chance to see you were thankful Zeke said softly With his free Nether blue hand he scratched his chin in wry embarrassment I wasn�t alive obviously but I saw that my people got their own land when you reshaped the Soulskill It was the proof my people had always waited for That even if we weren�t created we weren�t a mistake We could wear the moniker of Monster with pride

Randidly blinked rapidly as he felt tears in his eyes I if I were stronger

You weren�t The Spriggit Thief cut across Randidly Then she favored him with a cold glare You never were In a lot of ways you were just lucky But you paid back the debts you owed as best you could Which is why we all came when you called

Samantha Zeke�s tone was reproving We�ve all become a part of his legend now I�m sure you�ve seen the shape of his struggles Is there any point and acting sour now

The Spriggit Thief folded her arms across her chest and turned her nose up at Zeke�s gentle chide But Randidly could only blink

Your name is Samantha

Almost unwillingly the Spriggit Thief turned back to Randidly Yes What of it

that was my mother�s name And sorry For never asking for you name Randidly inclined his head slightly

If anything Randidly�s apology only served to annoy the Spriggit Thief further But as she was opening her mouth to respond another voice cut across them

Hmph so you fools already arrived and all you doing is chit chatting Stand aside I didn�t come here for him

The new voice that drifted upward from the darkness where Randidly pulled the Nether was rough and raw It was a voice that was filled with fire and ash The Spriggit Thief and Zeke exchanged a glance Zeke reached out and put a hand on Randidly�s shoulder the hand that burned with the Creature�s impure Nether We will go on ahead And don�t be so hard on yourself You making a mistake isn�t the end of the world we made just as many mistakes So it is to be alive It�s only when you refuse to acknowledge those mistakes that you will lead us to ruin

Charming Randidly managed to mutter out and then the two walked forward Zeke went first moving smoothly up to the altar of Azriel�s body and dispersing into those clumps of Nether to be absorbed But at the last moment the Spriggit Thief stopped and turned back toward Randidly

Even as her lower body disintegrated into shadow she spoke to him I was born without a name Just like Zeke I was an orphan So even my name was stolen It came in one of those dreams we would have that were your memories percolating out amongst the denizens of the Soulskill

It was a brief memory and extremely fuzzy You were a child having your clothes straightened by a woman I suppose your mother She had a nametag on that said Samantha And I thought it was a beautiful name like I�ve never heard before

The people in the Soulskill had dreams that were my memories Randidly thought in wonder His mouth moved but he had no idea what to say

Then the Spriggit Thief�s torso and arms were being sucked away into the Nether Ritual and her expression softened Of all the things I stole I always felt the guiltiest about taking that name I don�t know why I just it just felt special

It was Randidly sighed And then the Spriggit Thief was gone woven into the Nether bead

Randidly turned to face the next specter of his Soulskill that came forward when he called buoyed forward by the thousands of people that she had killed in her descent into madness They were heralded by a thick cloud of exhaust and the coppery tang of blood in the air

Although they flowed around her Alta�s bulky figure was immediately clear amongst the other shadows that flowed upward to join the slowly being constructed core of the Nether Ritual The differences only became more stark as they became flesh and she condensed as a machine She walked forward belching smog from her exhaust ports and covered in thick riveted plates of meta Even with the metal shell it was clear her flesh was slowly being burnt away by the incinerator like engine that was in her chest

Then it changed Because in this memory form she was all of the faces of who she had been As she approached the metal slowly began to fall away

The pieces came away smoking and clanged against the ground at such a volume that it could even be heard over the howl of the Nether gathering both above and below Every step Alta took saw more of her metal panels and protections falling away revealing the red and inflamed skin beneath Yet as this reincarnation of Alta continued her flesh began to rapidly heal Metal fell away and the burns receded

By the time she had reached Randidly she could reach up and remove the helm that had given her the moniker of the Metal Queen Once more she was whole no longer bearing the scars of having been consumed by her desire for revenge

Alta Bounty regarded Randidly coolly I haven�t forgiven you for what you have done you know For creating such a fucked up world and abandoning us in it And I still think my choice was the only logical one

With soft eyes Randidly watched Alta allowing her words to wash over him She was intense but still lovely The fire of her passion burned still bringing light to her face She was a physical presence of heat and light displaying all of the attractive pieces of the image she consumed and none of the terrible loss that was hidden beneath the surface

Perhaps the proof was in the smoking metal she left strewn in her wake to reach him

As he stayed silent Alta�s mouth firmed into a line Pah You think this is about you No this is Alta�s gaze went to the black marble that had once more appeared and was floating down toward Azriel�s chest this is about that image You know what I hate That I feel so drawn to this ancient thing�s image That she has the same terrible scars that I do That just like me she failed to accomplish what she wanted That terrible regret she carries

Alta�s eyes flashed as she glared once more at him That�s why I�m here You are practically an observer

Without a word she continued forward So Randidly spoke to her back I would have done the same thing you did if the roles were reversed I deserved it I failed you and for the longest time didn�t know how to apologize or help Your choice it killed a lot of people Just like my choices have killed a lot of people But the Alpha Cosmos wouldn�t exist without you Alta You were necessary

For a split second Alta froze She snorted and shook her head still swaying on that same spot Before Randidly�s eyes she changed again as she turned around so that when she looked back toward Randidly she was the child who had hurried back to find her family bloody and mauled Her eyes were still haunted by what she had seen that day

Then she raised her chin and disappeared absorbed by the swirling tide of Nether

As the shadows emerging to joy the working faded Randidly�s eyes narrowed at the obsidian marble that was floating down toward Azriel Scratching his neck he asked mentally Are we really going to sacrifice your body to create a weapon

Azriel chuckled You�ve seen the Creature�s memories and you are familiar with your own legacy that answered the call of this working Do you truly think what will grow out of that is a weapon

Chapter 1152

Randidly paused and considered Azriel�s words Truly it was possible that what would result from this extended Nether Ritual wasn�t a weapon

But that was when the implication of Azriel�s words made Randidly grit his teeth in frustration There had been hints of this realization sprinkled in her entire attitude but Azriel�s most recent statement drew Randidly�s attention directly to this truth You you encouraged me to take this gamble and you don�t even know for sure what is going to happen

Randidly could clearly sense the unamused look that Azriel gave him It was just not to be worried when that mental look was juxtaposed with her coldly inert body on the dais Randidly how would I know how this would turn out Although I can sense the need I have no experience with Nether at all I simply believed that you cannot handle all of the issues yourself and that this is a good opportunity to make an ally Or at least unite under a common goal

You Randidly hissed Yet his tongue felt clumsy and thick as he attempted to express why he was so upset It was all too much To have seen the ghosts of his past Soulskill and to have been forced to admit all of the prejudice he had carried against the Creature some part of Randidly was emotionally exhausted

Piece by piece Randidly had opened up and considered the truths that he had packed away an ignored for a long time Under the urging of Azriel Randidly had displayed vulnerability and took a step back from the tight control he wanted to maintain over himself The tight control he felt was necessary in order to succeed Now to realize that Azriel�s urging was made without even knowing the exact outcome

To feel like his vulnerability was based on trust in Azriel�s plan and to have made so much of this choice on because of a feeling about need

But I do understand a little bit about Nether Azriel continued And is it not the case that it is always based upon faith So it is not like I don�t possess any idea what will become of me I would not casually risk myself

Randidly�s gaze toward Azriel�s still form hovered somewhere between icy and scornful And perhaps the Creature sensed the internal discussion going on between Azriel and Randidly because she finally spoke up These flimsy spirits Do you think this changes anything

Slowly Randidly turned to regard the Creature with an even look For all that he felt a great deal of worry for Azriel�s plight he was not going to reveal that on his face Despite her earlier surprise it seemed the Creature had mastered herself and hidden her confusion for the moment And in the face of this calm and collected Creature Randidly couldn�t show weakness

But he didn�t miss the flinty anger in her gaze revealed this was still a choice that the Creature didn�t expect him to make Her words were scathing as she favored him with a grimace There are deep threads of karma in those memories Threads of hatred that will bind your Path more intimately toward the Nexus� destruction even more tightly than iron No matter what sort of pathetic emotional wrapping you put on my truth it will remain the truth you will carry my grudge against the System to your grave

She legitimately wants me to refuse to allow it within me This is aimed to get a rise out of me Randidly thought in wonder Even though he still feared how much control of himself he surrendered by accepting this memory to see her so desperately pressuring him made him truly consider allowing this to happen

Still what continued to hold Randidly back was the evident truth that the Creature was not bluffing Now that she had reminded him of karma he could feel the subtle reverberations he had learned to recognize from Lucretia emanating out from that minuscule black bead Part of the karma was his own but to Randidly�s karmic senses the air was thick with a seemingly infinite series of karmic ties that blanketed the area like a spider web The benefits of a thousand years of struggling vehemently against the System given leave to bloom karmically

And Randidly was supposed to easily accept that strange organism into himself

Just as he was reconsidering his position Azriel spoke again into Randidly�s ear The karma might be vast but just like she can use those ties to bind you can use them against her With my body as a medium

Passing karma from one person to another is not a simple thing Randidly hissed mentally His emerald eyes narrowed as he considered the tight repressed fury in the Creature�s stance There must be a total severing the two original individuals must either become one or the donating one will surrender all claim to the power that the karma carries And I think it�s clear which the Creature will aim for

Your argument against allowing her strength into you is that she will have the leverage to affect your behavior That you will be bound by the karma she bears Although Randidly couldn�t see Azriel�s movements in the mental world because of her continued deathly stillness physically in front of him he could feel her slowly marshaling herself This was the spine that Randidly had been anxious not to see earlier but can�t we do the same

Not to sound defeatist but even the most optimistic view of my karma would put it beneath the weight of a thousand years of the Creature�s Randidly sighed Then fire ignited in his eyes An interesting possibility but it was not a fight he believed he could win And also this still sets aside the whole issue of what happens to your body

I�m not talking about using karma against her The Nether Ritual howled above the two of them It was shrinking bringing with it a subtly heavier weight to their discussion Even though nothing had really changed Azriel�s voice warped as it passed through the thick Nether I�m talking about using the leverage The same leverage that she used to get here

Randidly blinked What are you talking about

Now Azriel was insistent speaking confidently into Randidly�s ear Your fear is making this all about keeping yourself pure from the Creature�s influence And maybe that�s the smart idea But you are missing the point why did this happen It was because the Nether inside of your Alpha Cosmos needed an avatar and she inserted herself into that niche Because of that she�s difficult to dislodge from you currently Unless you created another avatar

Then Randidly saw it and his eyes widened you don�t want to give birth to a weapon with your body and try to keep the Creature from using it You want to absorb her memory and take her position in my Soulskill becoming the embodiment of Nether here And she�s given you the karma tied to her so you can easily replace her

Still Randidly�s good mood didn�t last very long His frown deepened yet it still leaves me bearing the cost of all these karmic ties to the System and you having to contend with the memories of the Creature in order to force her out Even with my Soulskill�s history helping your side we can�t know what will happen to you

This time Azriel just sighed I know that This was never supposed to be a perfect solution we already missed the chance for a perfect solution when we didn�t prepare for the need for Nether in the Alpha Cosmos No we were surprised I just wanted to make sure you wouldn�t cut off your own arm in order to spite the Creature in this moment As long as you keep looking there is a Path forward

There was an uncomfortable feeling in Randidly�s chest as he listened to Azriel�s words You have a lot of faith in me

I wouldn�t be friends with you if I didn�t think you could handle this responsibility Azriel responded easily Let me ask you one last question what did you wish for as you made this Nether Ritual

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 93

For several seconds Randidly became conscious of only two things the sound of his own breathing and the terrible weight of the Nether bead that was slowly sinking toward Azriel�s body as the Nether Ritual continued to hum along Even though the Nether had been given a small shape it was still pressing down on the surrounding space Perhaps because no Nether was escaping up into the surface of the Alpha Cosmos the density of Nether around them climbed sharply upward with every passing moment

They were becoming the core of something on this platform The core of Randidly�s wish One last time Randidly exhaled slowly Then he said I wished for Peace For the Alpha Cosmos For balance so that all the people who depend on me won�t need to struggle to survive at least once in their lifetime

Then trust that wish And as though she understood that Randidly needed time to think Azriel severed the mental connection between them She simply became the pale body in a crimson gown as a strange bead drifted ever closer to her chest

Looking up at the tight spirals of Nether coming down around the shivering platform Randidly faced the awareness that he could still shatter what he had wrought here Scatter the energy flows and reclaim the memories that he had offered up as fuel for the Nether Ritual It would not be without cost but he still possessed the capability to manage it

But he likely would not be able to do the same in twenty seconds

It�s momentum had risen too sharply The weaving that Randidly had orchestrated was accelerating toward a climax If he wanted to stop now was his last chance It was Azriel�s last chance

Randidly pressed his eyes closed Azriel�s plan was to use the same leverage that the Creature aimed against him to dislodge her In the process shore up the flaw that the Creature had pointed out to create a more well grounded Soulskill His Alpha Cosmos would be a world and a body in the outside universe with Azriel becoming a a focal point of the Nether within the Soulskill to reflect the truth that Nether was a part of Randidly

Yet as Randidly considered it such an option was better than the current state but it was still also flawed Because even if Azriel bore the weight of Randidly�s prior Soulskills and the Creature�s memories she was a light counterweight compared to a whole world Randidly and the Alpha Cosmos were one and the same It would be one thing to change the Alpha Cosmos to incorporate Nether It was quite another to make a single individual the weight of Nether in his Soulskill

Especially because she wasn�t bound to anything like how Randidly and the Alpha Cosmos were connected

And the other reason that Randidly hesitated was because he was distantly aware of the System watching his actions here The System was a constant presence in his Soulskill giving them access to Stats Skills and Classes Even if the means were through his own lighthouses the System would no doubt be gathering information on the Alpha Cosmos the first of its kind So he didn�t want

As seconds ticked by Randidly forced his eyes open They were as bright and emerald as a painting of spring What is within without What is without within Even if it�s not a perfect answer Azriel is right that it is probably worth the gamble Plus removing the Creature from this role is probably more important

Ignition Essence slowly grew taller around Randidly�s body He had a flash of inspiration

Congratulations Your Skill Nether RItual has grown to Level 94

Even as the twenty second mark Randidly had set himself passed Randidly didn�t move His mind was racing

When he laughed the Creature looked at Randidly suspiciously But Randidly just shook his head in amusement he had seen the Path forward If you want to give me a heavy karma against the System the solution is easy I don�t need to retreat I�ll just use that karma as a blade to cut it out of my Alpha Cosmos

Chapter 1153

As if in response to his words the surrounding Nether trembled and then accelerated even further toward its imminent completion Finally the truest spark of hope that Randidly had felt since arriving down here on this obsidian and jade and silver platform ignited the surrounding memories into action

Randidly could see the way to spin this Although it was simply a dull black marble of Nether that small object that was suspended at the core of this working began to glimmer

heh The Creature seemed to regard Randidly with obvious caution Her eyes flipped between the glimmering marble and Randidly�s face Even if she didn�t possess the same Skills as Randidly the Creature could probably sense the same approaching conclusion that he could I suppose with this we can finally consider ourselves being of one mind You will bear my hatred to strike against the System I am surprised you were willing to surrender to me But

Your assistance won�t be necessary Randidly said softly Then he gritted his teeth and forced out the next few words But still I wouldn�t have gotten so far without you So thank you Yystrix

That gave her a moment of pause as the thread after thread of refined Nether slithered up through Azriel�s torso The threads were so dense that it seemed like a sinuous inky serpent was piercing up to be spun into the bead You�ve never said my name before

Randidly just nodded And this time was just to distract you

It wasn�t that the Creature was emotionally moved by using her name that she was distracted but rather Randidly could clearly see her calculating mind trying to gauge what was going on here So many uncommon behaviors in a row from Randidly had made her nervous

But at this point it was too late to stop The core had been formed An aura of light and images was already beginning to form slowly filtering out to form a bubble around the core The dense energy rustled the fabric of Azriel�s crimson gown as it floated down to sink into her

You aren�t flinching The Creature mused Her eyes instantly sharpened What are you plotting boy

Randidly grinned as the Nether bead slipped into Azriel�s chest The Nether Ritual began to shake as it reached across the vast universe for the one thing that Randidly wished for building a bridge that he could cross to reach that place Time and space and possibility slowly spun bringing themselves into alignment Stability

The threads of the Creature�s karma were like the many arms of a sea anemone eternally sensing and testing its new home within Azriel�s body Yet there was clearly a darkness to them as they began to highlight Azriel�s weakness Azriel shivered and wrapped her arms around her torso Before they could begin to bind Randidly needed to act and create the opening he needed

So he looked at the Creature and said Should I be worried That Elhume he left an Aether mark on me when he tried to trace your true body Will he return

Elhume The Creature hissed out Her reaction was much more controlled than it had been previously but there was still a crack in her expression as she wavered Through that small chink in her armor Randidly could see both fear and a faint longing It was a name with great power that dragged the Creature�s focus to it despite the high stakes situation around them

But that was all the opening they needed Azriel�s hand twitched Then her eyes shot opened and revealed crimson irises on pitch black pupil and sclera Before the heavy karma that Azriel had accepted could settle to its grim work she used it like a blunt force and smashed it against the Creature�s assumed metaphysical role as a focal point for Nether in the Alpha Cosmos

Randidly couldn�t see the clash but he felt it and saw it disintegrate the confidence on the Creature�s face Her eyes widened You

But the Creature had given all the weight of its karma to that memory To bind Randidly but Azriel was right to point out that those bindings didn�t just work one way Azriel controlled the reins of power now and the Creature�s remaining projection shivered and was suddenly supplanted Randidly could almost feel her immediate absence an ache he hadn�t even noticed until it vanished

If he had wished it Randidly knew that he could banish the Creature from this place once more But he didn�t want her to go not yet Suddenly his Alpha Cosmos felt a lot more whole Still this wasn�t the end of it

Heh this was your ploy To the Creature�s credit she didn�t mourn the sudden shift very long Instead she sneered at him Regardless you have now accepted my karma I hope it scalds your sensitive skin and corrodes your lungs boy

Almost as though the karma had heard the Creature�s words it instantly turned its sharp tips back on Azriel As she straightened on the stone dias her face was wracked by a grimace Those threads of karma had dispersed from the focused weight needed to unseat the Creature from Randidly�s Soulskill and now began to stab deeply into Azriel intent on binding her to that terrible hate born within it

Randidly clicked his tongue lightly The potent seed of Nether he created pulsed with power and released a wave that knocked those misbehaving threads of karma away from Azriel�s body

The Creature cackled You wish to waste what little of your power that seed possesses to protect her It won�t last long That karma will not cease in its pursuit Not ever

It only has to work once Randidly replied He felt it now his own Path forward The same Path that Randidly had taken through the past five years of living in the System He raised his hand and the threads unwilling looked up to see the image created by his will a baleful blade that would cut the System Even if the greedy karma sought to tightly bind because that was what it had done all its existence Randidly offered it the other Path The threads of karma hesitated uncertain

The Path the karma had always yearned for The chance to wound the System

Because Randidly�s Path was subverting the natural order of the Nexus

When he started he killed the Tribulation of another Village before it had truly been released Then he had helped Lyra discover the tools to become a village spirit Randidly had created his own Class and then caused fellow humans to seize the powerful roles of Champion and Nemesis

Randidly had jumpstarted a world that had been slowly failing the Second Calamity for five hundred years and given a Village Spirit a Class

And now with a blade of karma he wanted to do something even more elaborate and bold

Ignition Essence surged upward leaving the fireball around Randidly dim but it emerged as the shape of the hiltless blade in the sky With that as the framework the karma surged forward to form a vicious edge that had the requisite sharpness to sever

Yet that wasn�t enough Yggdrasil raised his branches and a gleaming golden hilt was formed It was sculpted smooth mahogany covered with a looping graceful script that told the entire story of this assembled blade that Randidly had created It grandly spoke of a future where Randidly�s Alpha Cosmos became entirely his own

Growling the Grim Chimera became the shadowy bond that held the two portions of the blade together It floated lightly downward a thing of metaphors and repurposed images so that Randidly could easily take it into his grasp Perhaps the strangest part of it was that the blade was three meters long perhaps just as long as Acri itself Randidly looked down at it in wonder The hit was warm and the blade was cold

Almost unwillingly Randidly raised the blade above his head For all that he had managed to tempt the karma with this long craved form that accomplishment also meant that Randidly wasn�t long able to delay or everything would come unwound Then the threads of karma would find their bitter succor in Azriel�s flesh which was exactly what Randidly was trying to prevent

That Path would not give him the future he wanted

A beautiful blade The Creature said warily But do you think you can subvert its nature enough to strike at me Or are you fool enough to truly try and cut the System itself out of the Alpha Cosmos Because it has recorded this experiment of yours without responding to it because it doesn�t affect its bottom line But if you truly strike at the System

I know Randidly said His hands itched from the strain of keeping the blade from falling but he couldn�t strike yet His Grim Intuition operated to its limits giving him the shape of the System that was present in his Alpha Cosmos Because he knew in his heart that the Creature was right The karma he had received from her was truly bloodthirsty And now that he activated that portion of it be needed to sate that craving

The problem was a wild strike against the System probably would be exactly the sort of action that Octavius Shrike warned Randidly against Direct interference with the System that would bring a much harsher inquiry down on Randidly�s head One that would likely cut to the truth of what Randidly was and the energies he carried One that Randidly couldn�t afford to allow

Yet there were two Systems And the karma that the Creature had given Randidly was not discriminatory

Even then Randidly probably wouldn�t trust himself to swing the sword For one because he had never used a sword in the past but the larger point was that there was no room for error in his strike If he didn�t completely sever the overlay System it would realize what happened and likely report Randidly the same way a strike against the underlying System would And if Randidly happened to strike against the main System

There was a single line to walk

No the reason that Randidly felt he could do this was that he had added his own karma to this blade Because his karma would act as a guide

It was a secret given to Randidly by Ileot Swacc a secret now which outlined about a third of the System that Randidly could sense in the Alpha Cosmos in gleaming light That the overlay System only became possible by utilizing the principles used by the first Vualla That her incorporation of Nether was critical to its implementation

Randidly�s connection to the duplicated Vualla still burned strong in his chest And although they were vastly different they were two Paths from the same karma Randidly could see exactly which parts were which Vualla�s influence was illuminated before him His shoulders relaxed

The blade began its graceful arc downward

Don�t do it The Creature whispered desperately If you bring their attention onto yourself now everything we�ve done

Her pleas fell on deaf ears Randidly cut the System while smiling viciously

Chapter 1154

Congratulations Your Skill Sharpness has grown to Level 137

Congratulations Your Skill Sharpness has grown to Level 138

Congratulations Your Skill Sharpness has grown to Level 139

Congratulations Your Skill Sharpness has grown to Level 140

Congratulations Your Skill Sharpness has grown to Level 141

Congratulations Your Skill Sharpness has grown to Level 142

Warning Error

Warn

You fool The Creature howled with her fingers locked into a tight knot as the very fabric of space around them was cut by her own corrosive karma but Randidly ignored her voice Again this next face of the plan needed to happen immediately or there would be consequences

Once more Randidly dangled a Path in front of the karma After everything after suffering underneath the System it�s one thing to hurt it But wouldn�t it be quite another to take everything from it

It was a stretch This karma between the Creature and the System had never truly thought about such a possibility It had been bitter but never envious Although it did want to hurt the System it was driven by wild desperation not by sinister machinations

And very quickly it became obvious that it needed to happen For reasons that Randidly didn�t quite explain in the split seconds after the overlay System was cut away the air began to tremble Randidly could see the way that the actual System was impacting the physical world without the intermediary of the overlay Strange ripples ran across Randidly�s vision

But it was only the first variance that was difficult Randidly had given the karma a shape that fit with the spirit of what it wanted even though it had been in a shape it didn�t understand To guide it now to flow into this even more convoluted Path took a nudge but the karma that had just feasted so deeply on its bloodlust for the System was game to try anything he suggested

Azriel Randidly asked mentally

Although she still grimaced Azriel looked up toward the strange visual distortions in the air caused by the lack of overlay System and nodded Randidly had created the opening but Azriel needed to be the one to fit into the hole that had opened in the Soulskill The karma of the Creature had been awakened to the possibility but the whole point was Randidly wasn�t going to be the one who controlled the change That was why it would bring stability to the Soulskill

What was within without What was without within Balance

Randidly was an individual who became an entire world And Azriel would be an individual who became his System Two extended bonds crossing each other and supporting one another to form the foundation of the Alpha Cosmos

The distortions flashed and pulled the terrible sense of wrongness even more widely The ripples through the air intensified With his Aether Detection Randidly could suddenly see the points where the overlay System had made the underlying System reliant on it for feedback It had slowly parasitically inserted itself into the normal operations of the System Which meant that the longer the overlay was gone the worse the distortions would become

And at some point it would cross a line that would be noticed by the System itself

Yet even as Randidly felt his nervousness spike upward Azriel raised her hands The questing threads of karma finally shivered and began to move Their meandering paths started slowly but they quickly accelerated outward They filled the sky doing an admirable job of imitating what Randidly was capable of with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil More and more and more threads of karma shot out from this small platform to cover his Alpha Cosmos

Those countless threads of karma all leading back to a bitter memory of regret focused on the System began to rapidly brush the System with a questing touch

It was like watching an extremely awkward first date The distortion flares in the air slowed and stuttered unable to understand exactly what was happening With an almost tender hesitance the threads of karma danced across the bare surface of the System Every now and then one touch would linger and the distortions in a certain area would disappear entirely Then with a flick the karma would hurry forward Both sides truly didn�t understand what was occurring

how The Creature said blankly Then her expression rapidly hardened If you think I will simply let you accomplish whatever you wish with my power

Those delicate tendrils of karma suddenly flinched With his strange intimacy with the Alpha Cosmos Randidly could feel the Creature reach out with wicked claws and attempt to take back what she had earlier donated to the Nether Ritual Or even if she wasn�t trying to steal it what she did was agitate the negative impulses It shook the delicate trick that Randidly had pulled to convince the karma that this Path was a good one

Randidly�s hands tightened into fists but he couldn�t move That was part of the considered construction of this balance As soon as this became a facet of him it would no longer be the balance his Soulskill He was helpless at this point

But that didn�t mean he had no effect As a halo of bitter hatred emerged from around Azriel to seize the karma an answer came The figure of the Earth Golem Emperor with his Hammer of the Dawn raised high above his head appeared above Azriel Then as both Randidly and the creature watched the internal struggle that danced across Azriel�s face the Emperor lowered his hammer

What do we care about more The satisfaction of our emotions Or seeking our true goal As the Earth Golem Emperor spoke the crown he wore shattered and fell away With a heavy hand he reached up and pressed a finger to the woven hatred

His aura smashed against the halo of hatred creating a thin crack in it Just as the hatred seemed to be gathering itself to heal Zeke and the Spriggit Thief were there With their fingers stuffed into that crack the two heaved and leveraged it slowly open

The King of Monsters bared his teeth Just because something has always been a certain way does not mean that will always be the case It is difficult but trust to the future you helped build

The Spriggit Thief was much less gentle in her complaints Don�t you dare try to steal this fucking future from me

Of course it was Alta still in her child form with her hair and arms limp and broken that struck the final blow With exaggerated slowness her specter appeared and raised her eyes to look at the vulnerability that the other three had opened in the hatred

You�ve already failed once Have you no shame

The halo became nothing but fragments of cracked glass some remaining as dark clouds around Azriel but most drifting away And at that moment Azriel raised her head and roared

All at once the threads of karma worked up their nerve and stabbed downward into the System An electric shock shook the air causing even Randidly to wince Across the whole of the Alpha Cosmos the new overlay System began to hum to life It brought with it a string of notifications that left Randidly rather bemused

This is impossible The Creature shrieked Shaking his head Randidly flicked his will and then she was gone Randidly had wanted her here to make sure the karma didn�t react strangely to her absence but now that things were settled the projection�s presence no longer mattered

Initializing New System successfully installed I don�t believe there are any abnormalities

Ahem Let�s work together and create a peaceful world The Alpha Cosmos will grow fruitfully with our combined efforts

Congratulations Your Agility has increased by 100

Azriel Randidly rolled his eyes And then he shook his head as her answer came in the form of another notification

Excuse me I was simply testing it Your Agility has decreased by 100

The storm of Nether around them slowly settled Randidly walked over to Azriel and considered her taking in her skin and eyes that had been dyed black by the Nether His expression was worried Can you not speak in anything but notifications any longer

I can speak normally but I just wished to familiarize myself with this sensation Azriel cracked her neck and then hopped lightly to her feet There is a vast part of myself that I suppose is the ultimate product of the Nether Ritual It controls the System I can feel it is it myself but it is also so much more

One day this Alpha Cosmos will spell the end of the Nexus Let�s follow this Path to our grave

Randidly�s mouth twisted as he recognized a line that the Creature had spoken earlier Azriel coughed into her hand And it�s clear that the Creature�s touch isn�t completely removed but I believe I will be able to restrain its worst impulses Especially with the assistance of your Soulskill�s spirits

Test

Again Randidly gave Azriel a frank look And this time she had the common decency to seem embarrassed

That wasn�t me either Azriel whispered Which triggered a flood of notifications that echoed out across the whole of the Alpha Cosmos

So now I bear the mantle of the Progenitor For one who was Emperor I suppose this is the natural next step

Congratulations All those with the Monster Race will now receive +1 free stat points per Level

Hey Zeke No favorites We are like gods now Have some dignity

sorry All those with the Monster Race will now receive 1 free stat points per Level

Azriel coughed lightly into her hand Then she folded those hands behind her back There are a few kinks to work out obviously However I believe that I will be up to the task of managing this

Chapter 1155

Vualla paused outside of Randidly�s new more ornate tent and admired the heavy black leather accents that were present at the corners and at the sides of the entrance Even though it was simply a tent the location oozed authority Certainly once Randidly got his body back he hasn�t wasted any time in getting promotions

Maybe some part of Vualla felt a tingle of jealousy but as she examined her feelings she was honestly rather pleased to find how happy she was for his success Even as an image Randidly had possessed a determined potency that had caught Vualla�s eye He was genuine and direct before he even had the power to back it up He had been kind to her without expecting anything in return It was somewhat gratifying to see that others shared the same positive opinion of him

Of course Vualla remained wary of Lady Iellaya even as she showed Randidly her favor Despite having a few interactions with some of Lady Iellaya�s subordinates that were obviously very loyal Vualla didn�t trust a woman who would climb on top of so many in order to seize power The methodology of her Heresy made it difficult for Vualla to be comfortable with Randidly working for her

Or are you just bitter how much you wanted to take the same Path toward strength Vualla asked herself

Shaking her head Vualla ignored the outward trappings of the tent and focused her senses to feel the energy fluctuations within Randidly�s temporary home The whole reason that she had come today besides her rather constant itch to seek out Randidly Ghosthound was that Lady Iellaya had reported some strange energies around Randidly�s tent Specifically Lady Iellaya had noticed a significant tang of Nether floating in the air

It was a subtle thing and one that oddly hadn�t corroded the tent or the surrounding area Which was why Lady Iellaya had been able to suppress the alarm of her subordinates who discovered it Despite the fact that it felt like Nether it didn�t seem to behave like Nether So Lady Iellaya could explain it away just as Randidly reaching the five star level But Lady Iellaya did need it to stop before anyone from headquarters discovered it and sent for Vualla to discover the cause

Vualla knocked lightly on the front of the tent aiming for the central pole so the noise of her knock carried Randidly

There was no answer And also not a hint of movement within Just as Vualla was about to push her way in to check if he was asleep the flap slid open and revealed the stretched face of Salazar O our l l leader has left again W when he c c c came back and smelled l like N n n nether I j just

Back out to the supply track Well thanks for the info Vualla nodded and favored Salazar with the warmest smile she could manage It wasn�t that Randidly treated his subordinates badly but there was certainly a Carelessness with which he approached the subject of leadership As though the management should take a backseat to proficiency in related Skills And this specimen was a particularly egregious example of nerves Within significant reassurance his stutter rapidly escalated

But Salazar was having none of her warm reassurance After delivering the message he allowed the tent flap to swing back closed in Vualla�s face

After suppressing an unrealistic impulse to crush the man�s stupid snake face into the ground Vualla turned on her heel and rapidly hurried over to the supply track She moved so quickly that when she breezed past some of the soldiers they were put on alert by her quick movements But she quickly paused and used her hand to give the all clear sign before hurrying forward while flushing

Jeez look at me rushing to see a boy ugh in some ways I�m sorta glad that father isn�t around to see me like this

As soon as she made even the slight joke Vualla�s chest tightened in the horrible grip of depression So much so that she stumbled to a halt and had to bring a heavy iron gauntlet up to press her forehead against the cool metal Slowly the urge to vomit receded probably too soon to make a joke like that Take it easy Vualla You are fine

It took a minute for her breathing to stabilize and then she continued out of the camp

Vualla found Randidly crouched only a short way past the supply track but hiding behind a rather big rock outcropping so that no one could directly see what he was up to From the track he was completely hidden Pale emerald flames flickered into and out of existence around Randidly and Vualla could see that he was gently moving his hands over a small object that was steadily growing in front of him

Seeing him now still hit Vualla with physical mass She could only see the side of his face but his gaze was so incredibly concentrated that she slowed to a walk as she approached Her chest felt tight in an entirely different way than she had earlier as all the things that she wanted to say to him were clamoring for the first opportunity to walk up her throat and across her tongue

Unsurprisingly he quickly noticed her despite her modest attempts to approach quietly He looked up and flashed a private smile toward Vualla it was all the invitation that she needed to move to his side

But as she approached Vualla�s mouth twisted As she grew closer it became increasingly clear that his aura had changed It was powerful in a way that Vualla had never seen before but that was only because it appeared that Randidly had somehow managed to cleanly integrate Aether and Nether through himself

Because that scent of Nether was still swirling through his aura There were layers to Randidly�s aura the same several images that Vualla had seen before but to have the two energies entwined like this Despite the fact it was Randidly it put her somewhat on guard

While Vualla was approaching his attention remained intently fixed on the object in front of him Gradually Vualla�s attention was dragged back from Randidly�s aura to that object as the tree he was carefully tending to grew upward at a visible pace The bright green of its budding leaves reminded Vualla of his eyes

Vualla purposefully injected some amusement into her tone as she critically scanned Randidly�s indirect method of injecting energy into the tree Can�t you control plants Why do this in such a roundabout way Or why not just make an absorption array so that you lose less energy into the air

Chuckling Randidly sat back on his haunches and cracked his neck Unfortunately my ability to control plants comes with a cost any plant I touch directly will quickly turn to ash once I let go of it Which is why I need to be careful with the Skill and honestly

Randidly seemed embarrassed and scratched his cheek I don�t know how to make an absorption array powerful enough to be helpful

Ha You are kinda a bad Heretic aren�t you Modified absorption arrays are generally the way most people start down the Path of the Heretic But then again you never were one to take the easy Path Vualla walked to Randidly�s side and began to use one of the long metal fingers of her gauntlet to rapidly draw a series of runic sigils in the dirt beside them

Halfway through Vualla paused That cannot be right right You would waste so much overflow this way Better to add an intermediary array too so that the tree doesn�t get overwhelmed by the pressure Mirrored stabilization around the core how much energy can plants absorb anyway

For several minutes Vualla got lost in the minutia of crafting the array Not only had she studied the subject extensively as a child but Vualla had gathered quite a lot of practical experience in energy utilization since arriving at the frontlines It was only due to those tricks that she had survived And she brought all of her experience to bear as she studiously crafted the array

There obviously had to be a wider containment area with all the changes to the interior of the array and then a mechanism that gathered all the energy in the containment area and provided it to the tree The delivery could be more wholistic just based on the principles of energy singularities yet that would mean that it would rely primarily on Randidly maintaining the proper energy density to control its output

Chewing the inside of her cheek Vualla continually revised her exact plans for that mechanism If I make to antagonistic flows of energy and run them against each other the pressure should refine the energy into a more consumable form The only problem is how volatile the energy will then become maybe a core array that is also powered directly by Randidly or I After all we both have the energy to spare this isn�t supposed to be a broken Heretical array

Vualla froze as she realized that Randidly had been silent for some time She hurriedly cast her mind back and realized that she had been working furiously for several minutes Coughing she finished off a few details and took a step back from the fully three meters of array runes that she had hastily sketched out Yes well Something like this would probably suit your needs

Vualla coughed again into her hand when Randidly regarded her intently for several seconds Then he looked down at the arrays with gleaming eyes Vualla you you truly are a genius I�ve done a little with energy transformations but compared to that man my work was rough

Feeling somewhat embarrassed Vualla shrugged I haven�t had much of a chance to work with runes since coming to the frontlines but most of what I studied when I was home was Engraving and Aether Mechanisms Although they are put into practice differently when it is internal the same sort of principles apply to how you utilize energy So it ended up being pretty relevant to how to fight especially once my images became strong enough to matter

Grinning at Vualla Randidly rapidly began to sketch out the array that Vualla had outlined around his tree There were a few times that Vualla forced her mouth to open and correct the shapes that Randidly was drawing but she was inwardly very impressed by how even his Mana distribution was

In Vualla�s experience Mana was much harder to manage than Aether when making these sort of Engravings so to see his smooth movements was an eye opening experience And utilizing Mana as the base for the array would draw a lot less suspicion from the System

After working together for a few minutes the array was completed and hummed to life Then Vualla received her second shock as she watched Randidly absolutely dump energy into the array in order to fuel the growth of the tree Which resulted in her third shock as Vualla could see that while the tree was now growing quite a bit faster it wasn�t that much faster

What the hell is this tree that it requires so much energy to grow Vualla asked in wonder

Randidly looked at her and then of all things he blushed It�s a gift But I had to do a few work arounds to get near to the flavor I wanted so it�s a bit complicated

Still Vualla could quickly realize why Randidly was so embarrassed As the three grew she immediately recognized the stubby trunks and the spade like leaves After another minute the first small fruits began to grow out of the branches And to Vualla�s shock the speed of growth slowed to an absolute crawl as soon as the fruits appeared

Randidly shook his head rather helplessly Yea this is the hard part I didn�t really how much energy making the fruit into trees and then trying to harvest more fruit would take

Vualla just watched silently Because she knew what this was Randidly was growing oranges to pay her back for the entire flask that he had devoured Which made Vualla�s eyelid twitch to remember but her heart softened as she saw how earnestly he poured his energy into the creation of these fruits

It�s not like it would be a problem for Eliot to get me another but for him to make me some himself Vualla�s heart fluttered

Then it started to beat rapidly as she began to pay more attention to the amount of energy that Randidly was casually pumping out into array And from the relaxed expression on his face he wasn�t nearing his limit

Uh Randidly Vualla finally said Are you sure you aren�t a Heretic That�s a lot of energy Like a ridiculous amount of very pure energy

Randidly the smug bastard actually had the gall to chuckle

Chapter 1156

The sheets of rain slowly eased up but it did little to improve the mood With one foot in front of the other the group trooped back across the grassland barely noticing when their foot sloshed into puddles

The air above the Order Ducis camp was heavy as their party returned from what should have been a routine Raid Boss clear They were covered with so much mud that not even the bitter tears and sweat couldn�t wash it away The rain was finally starting to make a dent in it but the group moved with a palpable weight that seemed to even turn the persistent rain aside

For a brief second Vye held the gaze of Valor Then they both looked back toward the ground Vye cradled her throbbing left hand against her chest With a shrug of his shoulders Valor heaved his burden across his back so it was easier to bear the weight Both continued their slow slog forward with the rest of the Order Ducis� chosen ones behind them All of the heads were lowered in failure

It was supposed to be so easy Vye thought bleakly A victory lap We the ten that were chosen to be allowed into the Order Ducis So why

But another cold rod of pain slid from her hand up her arm and Vye could only press her eyes closed and wait for the agony to pass She hadn�t meant to rely so much on the physical ritual that had been inscribed to her arm but it had been reflex When the accident had happened Vye�s body reacted before her mind could truly understand what was happening she had activated her Reject ritual instinctively And with more power than she had ever felt in the past

It had still failed of course Because she had run up against the one force that could never truly be rejected

Just avoided

There was a light drizzle hitting them when they arrived at the edge of the Order Ducis training ground and found Naffur Ajax and Madelyn waiting for them And honestly Vye might not have noticed that it was still raining if Naffur�s hair hadn�t been plastered to his skull clearly a result from waiting out in the rain for them to arrive

He looks so young Vye thought numbly as she looked at the nominal leader of the Order Ducis while Randidly was away

Still Naffur�s face was firm Even if he was young he had already held this role for a while He glanced from Vye and then to Valor then scanned the other seven faces behind them let me see the body

With a grimace on his face Valor heaved his shoulders and brought the body around Obviously his Stats made this an easy task but sometimes weight didn�t come from physical mass It came from memories of almost ten months working and training together being pushed to the limits of their Endurance Sweat and blood mixing all working toward the common goal

All to become heroes Or to follow the Path of one who they all believed to be a hero

Vye couldn�t take her eyes away from Valor�s face as he lowered the body to the ground in front of Naffur And I bet Valor is thinking the same thing as me After seeing him go like this that this man was much closer to being a hero than either of us If either of us had been worthy of that title we would have saved him

Which means we are unworthy

Naffur looked sadly down at the peaceful face of Aldo and could only sigh

It was supposed to be the final and largely ceremonial mission for the ten individuals selected to enter into the Order Ducis One last clearing of a Raid Bosses base Everyone involved knew that the Raid Bosses were becoming increasingly unpredictable as the area available to them expanded so rapidly every day but they had been trained for this They had all achieved at least Level 50 and condensed a Fate

It shouldn�t have been a problem to take care of a Raid Boss no matter what Tier it was Yet it seemed that Tiers were becoming all but useless to describe the foes they faced out here

So they went into the cave system that housed the Raid Boss with pride and confidence The minions were at Level 49 so everyone expected that the Raid Boss and its lieutenants to have crossed the threshold to Level 50 Even when they encountered the initial resistance from the shapeshifting slimes the fights hadn�t been too hard

They could freely shift between animal forms so it was a bit unpredictable But if it wasn�t at least this challenging then these applicants wouldn�t take so much pride in the work that they did

Their training in regards to images had really paid off Everyone�s Fate had made a palpable difference in their ability to fight They were able to push past the initial forces and made it to a wide cavern where the Raid Boss itself lurked

They had even expected the trap that was being laid for them But when the lieutenants came out at Level 62 and with at least two dozen it was a bit more than they were equipped to handle It was simply a numbers game So many monsters above Level 60 had enough stats that they could overwhelm an average human of the same Level

We were cocky

Standing in the rain while Naffur considered the body Vye could only release a breath that she had held for almost an hour Even that set her hand to aching Some part of Vye urged her to stop looking down at Aldo but instead she began to cry Still the tears mixed so cleanly with the steady drip of rain that it made no difference

Does anyone know his last name Naffur asked quietly The nine initiates into the Order Ducis just looked blankly back at Naffur Then Naffur turned in turn to Ajax and Madelyn Both shook their heads warily

he always urged me to change his last name to Ghosthound when I asked him Madelyn finally admitted The lizard woman shook her head But he would never tell me what his last name was

the funeral will be held tomorrow Naffur�s eyes swept through the tired and cold grouping in front of him Although the rain was loud it couldn�t drown out his words I�ll make some calls to find out who he was so his family will have the opportunity to pay their respects The rest of you the promotion ceremony will happen immediately after the funeral So take some time to decompress and really face what you are feeling right now

The other applicants will be there If any of you choose to step down someone will take your place There is no shame in choosing to go another way Because make no mistake Naffur reached up and pushed his soaked hair away from his eyes This is exactly the Path of the Order Ducis We walk the lonely Paths to fight the hidden horrors of our Earth

Naffur turned away but was stopped when Valor spoke Didn�t you say there were two Raid Bosses we needed to take care of We can still

No This time Ajax stepped forward with his arms crossed The battlefield is not the place to work through your emotions Go back to your tents Head into Kharon proper get a drink Heal Vengeance can wait until you know what you will do next

One by one they drifted away Vye simply stood her skin long numbed by the rain Some part of her brain argued that her Vitality should make such a small temperature difference irrelevant but Vye felt so very very cold

It was only when she saw the form of Garrett move that a hint of life returned to her eyes Garrett who had been one of her first friends who had entered into the Order Ducis whose deep suspicion toward Randidly Ghosthound had driven him to investigate the Order that was based on the Ghosthound�s prestige

Garrett who Vye had been able to learn had a history with a woman who dated Randidly before he was the Ghosthound Her name was Tessa and it seemed to Vye that Garrett still loved her deeply

After Garrett had been rather harsh and demanding in their confrontation in an alley Vye had been much more distant Their previous friendship had slowly starved itself to nothing But it seemed that distance had reinvigorated Garrett�s desire to be a part of the Order Ducis Over the past six months he had given all of his energy in order to make it into the top ten making it to the 9th spot in the applicants

Yet even so as Garrett stared at the ground Vye�s heart trembled at the terrible cloak of guilt that hung over him

Because it had been then in the depth of the Slime cavern that Garrett was the weakest of the ten and the one who was slowly pushed back by the high Level slime lieutenants To the point that he has sustained a deep blow to his leg and was hobbled Without mobility he was forced to endure blows that were far beyond the ability of his Endurance to cope with

And as the slimes circled like sharks and as Vye Valor and the others could just watch with abject horror someone had broken out of their encirclement

Laughing wildly Aldo had descended like a vengeful god wreathed in golden and green fire He smashed aside the slime that tried to slow him down and seemed unstoppable as he arrived at Garrett�s side Perhaps sensing the change the slimes had shifted into larger forms and tried to simply overwhelm Aldo

Aldo was not overwhelmed

The memories parted as Vye found herself face to face with her small tent Sighing she walked out of the rain and laid down on her bed without removing her wet clothes Small drops of water began to slowly run down her sides to congregate on her lower back causing persistent itches Yet Vye didn�t move She could still hear Aldo�s voice

To be the heroes worthy of carrying on the Ghosthound�s mantle none of us can die in a dingy place like this

Three slime lieutenants had rushed Aldo Two had been killed in the furiously fast three seconds of violent clashes that followed Then as Aldo had knocked the final one back and he was raising his fists to crush this slime�s desperate final attack Aldo had slipped

His barefoot had slipped

The slime covered stone beneath his feet caused him to slip The moment had been burned into Vye�s retinas They had fought too long and too hard underneath too harsh of a teacher in Ajax not to understand what was happening Aldo probably understood it too after he slipped It was almost uncommonly unlucky

Not just that he slipped but that he happened to slip just enough that the slime�s desperate attack became deadly

The slime�s counterattack had hit him directly in the heart obliterating the organ immediately As he died Aldo�s mouth was open and smiling He didn�t flinch even without a heart After a preternatural adjustment of his skewered body his fist continued forward and smashed through the slime to kill it

Vye shivered She had Rejected what had happened immediately but it had been too late

Killing the Raid Boss felt hollow They had paid too dear a price for one monster

Chapter 1157

It wasn�t that Vye woke up it was just that Vye was tired of being cold and wet in her bed The itching had long since ceased but it had left her with a heavy sense of clamminess that refused to fade So she heaved herself up and stripped off her soaked clothes and found something casual to wear She looked down at herself and saw jeans and a t shirt that depicted a logo of a pre System band After throwing her towel over her shoulder Vye walked pretty blindly out of her tent

It almost came as a surprise that it was still night For what felt like a fair stretch of time there Vye had been replaying Aldo slipping the strike that went through his heart and then his heroic adjustment to still finish the job Time seemed to accelerate around her as the replays continued Only that image held any sway to Vye�s Perception Everything else was just lost to that slowly fraying movie that Vye couldn�t look away from

It had felt like she was drowning The tears wouldn�t come out of her eyes but they pooled in her throat and scared away her breath

With a few leaps Vye quickly arced her body up over the edges of the tree line and landed with a dull crash inside a thick patch of brambles Luckily System�s energy hadn�t soaked into this place for long or the brambles would have toughened up to the point where they could leave a scratch on Vye As it was she simply brushed herself off and plowed her way through to leap again taking chunks out of the distance between the Order Ducis camp and Kharon

The area Southwest of the newly connected Zone was a wide space of plains draped between mountain ranges Kharon was nestled up against a relatively modest series of mountains perhaps not even reaching a height of one thousand feet above sea level But still the city certainly looked impressive with its flags streaming and two of its larger legs deployed stabilizing it to lean against the mountain

Kharon breathed out smoke and ladders draped elegantly down to the recently excavated mines

Yet all of those things were far from Vye�s mind as she hopped up over and over again crossing the rocky terrain toward the well outfitted public baths that was one of Kharon�s most popular features

Vye was just clambering up to the hidden Order Ducis entrance into Kharon and giving the guard a tired nod when a huge column of light smashed into the ground only a few kilometers away Turning slightly Vye felt something break as she saw the familiar descent of Mjolnir hitting nearby

Although she had suspected that this would happen when Naffur ordered them to just let the other Raid Boss go without doing anything it still struck Vye After all the settlement that had requested their help was too new to the System to fend off Raid Bosses on their own These people seemed to have gone through a month of tutorial before they were thrust into the world but it hadn�t prepared them for the brutal reality of what was happening

So the Order Ducis has asked for help relying on the influence of someone quite far away in order to save these people Perhaps to the people it wouldn�t make a difference but to Vye As the pillar of light slowly dissipated into drifting motes Vye could only grit her teeth

The Order Ducis was supposed to be the one to help those on the edges of the world They were the pioneers And sure Mjolnir reaching all the way out here wouldn�t have been possible without communication with the Order Ducis But Vye couldn�t get around the truth that this was a failure

It was all so disappointing

Are you disappointed in us Randidly Unlike you we are just

Rather than walking through the streets Vye quickly ascended to the rooftops of the meandering buildings of Kharon Most of the population was involved in the extraction and refinement of metals so the new buildings seemed to be thrown up every day So much so that they were almost running out of room in the city proper and there had been proposals to expand the buildings into some of the wilderness areas of the minor island that was considered Kharon

From what Vye had heard Tatiana had vetoed that idea Rather than encroach into the wild space she encouraged the the engineers in Kharon to discover ways to condense there buildings There was talk of creating layers of the city and building houses right on top of each other Which would usually be more of a health risk than it was worth but the one common benefit of the System was health

So when Vye arrived at the roofs they were covered in raw materials and chalk marks that likely depicted future plans for development Yet it was not a future that she was ready to face yet Vye ignored the small marks and began to race across the roofs rapidly gathering a rather large following of moss spirits that gleefully formed a trail behind Vye�s lithe form

We failed Vye whispered into the rushing wind around her Although the moss spirits didn�t possess ears to hear what she said they could probably feel her emotions very clearly After all Vye was one of the ones in Kharon that always gathered a large amount of moss spirits For whatever reason she was popular with them

They gathered around her in a halo moving faster than Vye could manage She could feel their empathy They settled on her skin and warmed her one small spirit at a time

Driven by a strange impulse Vye landed on the top of a building across the street from the public baths she was heading toward and slowly unfurled her Fate As her image billowed outward it pushed away most of the surrounding moss spirits Her Fate grew directly out of a small chunk of crystalized skin in her hand quickly becoming a rectangular map with curling edges As she looked at it Vye felt a twinge of regret in her heart

Fate of the Bright Eyed Explorer Lvl 17 The Fate of one who wants to see the edges of the world Will keep track of the portion of the world explored by the owner of the Fate The more of the world and the more landmarks that are viewed encounter the greater the benefits that the Fate owner will receive as she Levels Current benefits +1 Free stat +1 Agility

The map was large and detailed but only in a very small portion Because the amount that Vye could see were only the places that she had been There was some space between the Orchard and the original Erickson Steel compound and then there was a winding path down to the Southwest Aside from the Orchard the only other landmark� that Vye encountered so far was Kharon itself which earned a moving mark on the map

All in all Vye saw the colored and detailed lines of only one hundredth of the full map That too felt like a failure

maybe I should leave the Order Ducis Vye thought rather sadly The more I explore the faster I�ll be able to become strong Even without the constant training offered here I�ve grown I can hold my own And if I explore more of the map

Without thinking Vye rolled up the map and habitually flipped it in her hand The movements were too much for her left hand and brought all of the tension from the physical Ritual back to her Cradling her still sore left arm to her chest Vye shook her head slowly Quitting the Order Ducis wouldn�t be running away I�m not afraid of death Just maybe the Order Ducis isn�t where I need to be right now Maybe this isn�t the group I thought it was

But then again Aldo died trying to make sure the Order Ducis became exactly that a group that would stand against the dangerous forces in our world To just leave after he made that sacrifice

But it�s not my responsibility to carry on his legacy right I I have to make my own choice

Vye looked up toward the sky and was rather disappointed to see that after the terrible power of Mjolnir descended clouds rapidly flowed forward to strangle their star filled sky The air was dismal and grey Although the rain had since ceased these clouds seemed to threaten another storm Without any other choice Vye sighed and hopped down off the roof to land on the ground in front of the bathhouse

Although some people gave her strange looks as she landed lightly things such as that were all too common in the post System world Idly wondering about how transportation would change in the future Vye walked into the bathhouse

One of the many perks of being in the Order Ducis was having a private room available at all times but the clerk timidly informed Vye that it was already in use Considering the late hour it too Vye by surprise Shaking her head Vye simply said she would use the public women�s bath

Whoever was using the bath currently was dealing with the same things that Vye was And she had no desire to interrupt them Everyone had to find their own ways to cope with the grief

So Vye undressed and walked out into the open air baths Standing on the warmed stones outside the baths Vye released a deep breath Truly it was a blessing that Tatiana had argued so vehemently for these to be built It was strange to think but Tatiana turned out to have been an even better city planner than she had been a CEO And she certainly had been an impressive CEO

There was a fluttering impulse for Vye to seek out Tatiana to talk about what happened but Vye quickly suppressed it They hadn�t talked much in the past six months but it was actually because Tatiana was absolutely overwhelmed with the amount of work that needed to be done for Kharon to function It wasn�t just planning the city but she had to make decisions about haggling with the locals for foodstuffs and raw materials In addition Tatiana was in constant contact with the various governments and Orders as they informed her of the continuing dominance of Zone 1 in the World Council

No need to bother Tatiana with my sadness Vye dipped a toe into the water and then forced her entire body down under the surface The heat scalded her until she finally felt the cramped muscles of her hand begin to loosen It�s not common but people die frequently enough now that the System is here Just because I knew him I can�t let myself break down I need to figure out what I�m feeling

And then figure out if the Order Ducis is where I want to spend my life Because if I accept the appointment tomorrow I won�t let myself back down If I want to change courses I need to do it now

Without the need to breathe Vye remained underwater The baths were rather large and the two other women in the room had their own private corners Which meant that Vye could just hang there suspended in the water waiting for the heat to completely unwind her

Unfortunately some problems weren�t so easy to solve All too soon Vye�s eyes fluttered and opened Still underwater she realized that she could see the weak half light of dawn�s approach she had probably been floating there for almost an hour

With a sinuous stroke she pushed herself to the surface and swam to the edge of the bath After leaving the pool she quickly dried herself off all but her hair which Vye didn�t feel like bothering with and returned to the dressing room There she quickly slid back into her clothes and hurried out of the bathhouse But a voice stopped her as she was pushing open the door to walk onto the street

Even as she recognized the voice and flinched inwardly Vye turned around An extremely gaunt eyed Garrett stood there hunched over and with this arms wrapped protectively across his torso He was probably the one using the Order Ducis room Just like hers his hair dripped water down onto his shoulders But as Garrett looked at Vye something hardened in his eyes We should talk

Chapter 1158

They clambered up the pipes and scaffolding from the constant construction to stand in the same spot that Vye had stood earlier and been unable to see the sky Unfortunately the cloud cover was still present making the coming dawn a rather bleak affair But the dawn also finally brought some light to Kharon which continued to puff out clouds of smoke from its almost eternally active furnaces

For several long seconds Garrett simply pursed his lips and looked over the uneven skyline Vye had a sinking feeling in her chest that this brooding silence would take quite a while when all she really wanted was to curl up in bed and try her damnedest to get some sleep But she could very easily imagine what Garrett was going through right now

Even though she hadn�t been directly involved Vye seemed to slog under the weight of guilt for every second of her day since Aldo had died She couldn�t imagine what Garrett must be going through being the one who Aldo had protected in his final moments It was perhaps that empathy that caused Vye to open her mouth to speak first

Aldo would have forgiven you He would have said it was nothing much That he would have gladly done it because it was something that the Ghosthound

Oh please Garrett shook his head It�s not that It�s sad that he�s died but no I wanted to talk to you about something else Doesn�t it seem like our direction is too exact Wasn�t Kharon supposed to wander And yet it seems to proceed so directly toward all of the natural resources Like our route was already planned I had wondered if you noticed the same

For several seconds Vye could only blink It was immediately obvious that the two of them were having extremely different conversations You wait what are you saying

I�m saying that our movement is anything but random it was planned Like we knew what was coming Garrett�s eyes were intent as he turned his gaze from the sky and looked meaningfully at Vye I think it�s time we stop behaving like the actions of Randidly Ghosthound are normal Even now we have no idea where he is The Orders were originally designed to restrict him but now he simply casts us aside

He�s not casting us aside Vye gasped How had they shifted from talking about Aldo to talking about Randidly

Garrett sighed Then where is he Why did he let Aldo die in such a pointlessly

Vye opened her mouth Aldo died because you always bite off more than you can chew when we fight Raid Bosses If you want to say his death was pointless then you are saying the same about your life But then Vye closed her mouth with an audible snap Even if it was true she didn�t want to be the one to put that on Garrett�s conscious And there was no point in arguing him when he was like this

But still it did give Vye the tiniest bit of a revelation That�s why the Order Ducis existed To protect the people of this world because life has value Each and every life

It wasn�t because Garrett had trained and was an applicant to the Order Ducis Aldo had leapt to his aid because he needed help That was all the reason he needed Because that was what the Order Ducis was

And if she was being honest with herself that was the strength she had been seeking her own life Independence yes but the strength to see something was wrong and instinctively act to help It didn�t matter if she had the ability to protect both of them

It was the strength to step up and face the threat of the moment

Instead of trying to explain any of it to Garrett Vye turned sharply away Already the way he was speaking had her very wary Aldo�s death is a tragedy and I think we are both dealing with it right now So let�s talk again after the ceremony

Let�s be honest the ceremony is exactly what I�m worried about but I can�t run away now Garrett folded his arms across his chest Even if I�m deeply suspicious of the Ghosthound�s actions I cannot deny his power And there is power in the image he injected into our training camp So much so that Naffur delayed the promotion to give more opportunities for recent arrivals to experience the images So that we were all thoroughly influenced by that image

It�s it just such a coincidence The exposure made us susceptible I see that now And the timing of this death With such a loss the entire of the Order Ducis will come together Garrett shook his head disdainfully It�s a common enough tactic Sacrifice a non essential part so that the masses will be swept away and agree to any measures you suggest And when Aldo died on that mission it suddenly hit me this was all part of the Ghosthound�s plan Which is why I refuse to back down I�ll make it into the Order Ducis So I can be the watchdog If he wants to treat us all like pawns I�ll be there to stop him

Vye cocked her head to the side Following what Garrett said was difficult

But suddenly Vye saw it Like a puzzle Vye felt she could feel the beating heart of the man The way that Garrett�s guilt put him under so much pressure that his innate suspicion for Randidly had evolved into a full on conspiracy theory To make Randidly Ghosthound the villain who secretly orchestrated everything

Anything was better than accepting that Garrett was the one at fault

Seeing the way that Garrett�s mind had partially fractured meant that Vye felt sympathy for him But just as quickly as the sympathy had arrived it was swept aside by a cold fury Because twice now Garrett had rather blithely referred to Aldo�s death like it wasn�t the thing that mattered

And no matter how broken Garrett was by this loss it didn�t excuse his behavior So Vye favored him with a chilly glance and spoke slowly I don�t think that�s a good idea And it�s unnecessary Quit the Order Ducis Garrett

At the same time what Vye was saying to herself was that she was not going to quit And she felt warm and confident about that decision This moment might be hard but the reasons Vye had chosen to put herself through such hell didn�t change She might be slowly extending her Fate but hurrying wouldn�t help anyone Sometimes patience was the correct Path

Immediately Garrett laughed at Vye�s suggestion No No way Not in a million years Not when I�m finally so close When I finally found out the truth I can prove

Garrett All of the softness was gone This time Vye�s voice absolutely burned Even if her Fate hadn�t provided very many additional Stats per Level her Fate had grown faster than any other of the Order Ducis applicants Which was the proof that her images weren�t just for show When Randidly seemed to have reached across worlds to grant them his image Vye had forced herself to use every opportunity she could to hone her Willpower against it The fact that her Fate had become Level 17 was the System�s acknowledgment of her accomplishments

So when she said Garrett the air was filled with the faint reverberations of vast spaces cloudless skies and rugged mountain ranges Garrett�s voice caught in his throat

Vye leaned forward toward him and took the edge off of her voice I don�t care how you deal with guilt But you better fucking never reduce Aldo�s death to the phrase it was sad that he died� Or I will kick you out of the Order Ducis myself

As he licked his lips Garrett looked genuinely shocked I I had thought

Then he stopped likely frozen by the look in Vye�s eyes Shaking her head Vye turned away and hopped down off the building She walked back through the streets of Kharon nodding to the citizens who slowly woke up as dawn arrived Even if her anger toward Garrett had burned away a lot of her grief Vye knew it was a short term thing The grief was pushed away but it hadn�t left

So she followed her previous instincts and returned to her tent for a nap It was difficult but Vye struggled for several hours to empty her mind Instead the small moments of their interactions just flashed against the backdrop of her closed eyelids Fighting against monsters Sparring against Ajax

Aldo�s body being left in the circle of Randidly�s images to test if prolonged exposure was dangerous

Aldo�s head poking out of the train car luggage compartment above Vye�s seat as she headed back to Erickson Steel to join the Order Ducis

Eventually Vye got up trying to sleep didn�t have any meaning any longer Because she had reached a half dreaming state and where she could drift through the rest of the day like a falling leaf on a fall breeze It was like none of it was real She would blink and she would be somewhere else still with buzzing in her ears and with sadness in her heart

The gathering Naffur speaking

Aldo�s body his hands folded across his chest

The moment of silence where Vye looked numbly down at her own feet

Naffur again accepting her official as a Knight Errant of the Order Ducis

Garrett straightening shooting Vye a rebellious look as he accepted his own appointment Vye�s face didn�t even twitch I�ll deal with you later Today is for him

The sound of people leaving Valor�s hand on her shoulder He squeezed then pulled his hand back and walked away from her

When Vye came slowly back to herself night was falling and she was standing in front of Aldo�s tombstone

Aldo Ghosthound

When we pick the way we live our lives we can�t complain about the deaths we find waiting for us at the end

Vye wiped a tear from her face even as she felt something change inside of her Almost unwillingly she opened up her hand and produced her Fate Just as she had suspected there was a new landmark on her Fate marked on a small hill in the shadow of a medium sized mountain range The Grave of Aldo Ghosthound And it gave her an additional +1 Willpower per Level

I want to hate that quote and that we put it on his gravestone but he�d be grinning like a fool to see it Naffur walked slowly up next to Vye Then he shook his head We found out his name but it didn�t fit him It didn�t fit how he lived Ghosthound does So this is what we are left with

Shaking her head Vye could only manage to say That quote it�s perfect Even at the end he didn�t flinch He didn�t even look scared He just

Vye brought her hand to her mouth It was the only way that she could keep from sobbing

which is why what I�m about to say is so hard Naffur shook his head You shouldn�t have to deal with all of this at once But you are in the Order Ducis now And the only one of the new applicants promoted directly to Knight Errant So now you need to help us

did something else happen Vye whispered Suddenly she was weirdly thankful for the fact that her hand still ached from her attempted Reject earlier Now that pain helped ground her Because Naffur�s tone made it clear that something couldn�t wait

No not exactly But Madelyn has some rather specific Skills for detecting this sort of thing and it seems clear that Aldo shouldn�t have slipped Someone forced him to slip Likely someone present Someone who wanted to either seize another spot in the Order Ducis for an ally or who wanted someone so staunchly in support of Randidly Ghosthound out of the way There didn�t seem to be any point in announcing that I was onto the foul play so things should settle down but be careful Vye Someone has a knife to our throats

Chapter 1159

Randidly let out a deep breath and took a glance at his Status screen While standing on the battlements of Lady Iellaya�s fort the slight wind across the frontlines ruffled his hair just slightly What was waiting within his Status screen had Randidly balanced precariously between happiness and helplessness

The last eight hours had been filled with intermittent attacks from the Nether forces Only about a hundred Nether Beasts moving at a time but striking quickly and then retreating In the face of Lord Miln�s continued unwillingness to release the Nether Prince the Nether King finally forced his army forward setting up several dense nodes of those blue veins in the sky above the edge of the Great Rift that served as staging areas

There were some minor efforts to assault these vein nodes but Lord Miln didn�t move to provide support And without him most of the Commanders were rather hesitant to commit resources

Even if the attacks hadn�t been a concentrated force like those that had come previously but these sizable forces had made runs at every camp along the frontlines At every side of those camp�s defenses These were obviously tests designed to slowly reveal the responses of the Aether forces And it seemed like Nether had an almost unending horde of bodies to throw forward so the Aether camps could do nothing but turtle

While turtling their eyes were drawn toward that rocky outcropping at the center of the formation And the headquarters remained silent

For Randidly�s part these smaller attacks had at least meant that he hadn�t needed to stretch himself nearly as much to assist Lady Iellaya�s camp The smaller numbers meant that he could try other methods to handle the attacks He had even summoned fifty Riders of the Baleful Court and used them to test the Nether forces

until he belatedly recalled his extremely pressing experience concerns that he was currently delaying the moment when he reached Level 50 Which is why he pulled up short and brought his Riders hurriedly back And why he currently was sitting at Level 49 with 97% experience

Which means I need to work on the focus points for my image that much more tonight Randidly could only shake his head But at least I gained some Skill Levels from today only 5 more to go before I should receive the next chunk of PP from the Alpha Cosmos

And that was the other reason that Randidly had taken the risk of gaining experience Even though it largely seemed that Azriel and her new subordinate rulers of the System of the Alpha Cosmos were settling in enough something felt different There had been a change that Randidly could sense within himself

Considering the Creature�s involvement in the whole ordeal Randidly had feared the worst

So he had wanted to put himself under some stress in order to check if the change would have some unintended consequences Or some consequences intended by a party other than him And after only a few brief skirmishes against admittedly powerful Nether Beasts Randidly was quite pleased to feel how the change manifested itself

In truth it wasn�t that much had actually changed Randidly had always physically been the Alpha Cosmos That added weight gave him more power to everything The Soulskill was a larger mass than he had been previously So Randidly had already enjoyed the benefits of the extra weight

But with the addition of Azriel to the equation being the personification of the System in the Alpha Cosmos suddenly Randidly�s weight was balanced It was like the difference between trying to wield a huge tree trunk as a weapon and wielding a properly weighted sword with the weight of a tree trunk Now the pivot point was perfect it was much easier to bring the extra weight that Randidly possessed to bear on his foes

Honestly Randidly had felt a little bit bad as he ripped apart the four star Nether Beasts that he would have struggled against previously It wasn�t that his images really progressed although each was being slowly refined in preparation for making a Fate No it was simply that Randidly�s base stats no longer captured his strength Because of all the extra swirling through him it seemed like each point that he had in his Stats became more valuable His images too

One step at a time Randidly was becoming strong Yet even so he still hadn�t reached the point where he could contend against a Nether Gatekeeper Which became a somewhat bitter point as Randidly watched Vualla throw herself against a Nether Gatekeeper again

Not that it was just a matter of image Flexing his hands Randidly looked with worry down at his metallic left arm He had kept it wrapped up in his image the past several hours as he fought against the Nether Beasts but there was starting to be some serious wear and tear on it Even with his image there were moments when his focus ebbed away and allowed the Nether to burn scars into the metal

Ha that metal toy won�t hold up much longer A grinning Lady Iellaya stood with arms akimbo next to him on the stone platform Her hawkish gaze swept across the slow preparations of her soldiers Good job today by the way But I must say why don�t you let the System heal your amputated arm Is it a grudge

it�s a long story But some of my power is tied to the loss of an arm Randidly said slowly as he let his metal arm drop to his side He still remembered feeling the Aether construction the System created for his body which he now realized was based upon the concept of Nether cores And how he had purposefully warped that in order to create a whole new very real world right underneath the System�s nose But you�re right It won�t last much longer like this

Heh And you still haven�t condensed your Fate incredible Lady Iellaya shook her head and then glanced at Randidly He nodded With an extremely pleased expression Lady Iellaya smiled out at the smoky and war torn frontlines What a good day

Randidly knew why Lady Iellaya was so pleased The most recent series of attacks by the Nether King hadn�t targeted the edges or the center as the first few assaults had Therefore each of the Commanders especially those who had thus far avoided fighting experienced casualties As Lord Miln continued to remain locked up with the Nether Prince that he had taken from Commander Terith resentment was mounting

Although Lady Iellaya probably understood that it was not a good sign that Lord Miln had done nothing she was staying positive Even if things turned around in the future the seeds of negative emotion had been planted in Lord Miln�s subordinates That was a victory in her eyes

Even if he understood where she was coming from Randidly shook his head helplessly Those things were largely beyond his sphere of concern So Randidly opened up his mouth and asked something that he had wondered about for quite some time Lady Iellaya do you know what my status is right now

Lady Iellaya tilted her head at Randidly so he tried to explain It�s not a secret that I was brought here by a Judgment So I haven�t really known how long to expect to remain Or what�s currently expected of me Not that I want to leave I own debts to you and to Vualla But I was hoping you could tell me where I stand

Oh I guess we haven�t had that conversation yet Because of your unusual circumstances I simply assumed you understood Lady Iellaya rolled her shoulders and the glossy black feathers on her shoulders and arms flexed outward Simply put you are expected to remain here for quite a while You had a mandatory service sentencing of two years when you were brought here two years of Nexus time Which due to the concentration and volatility of energy here feels about ten times as long as it actually is

In addition that sentence was stayed by your Heretic punishment being deprived of your body So your two year service didn�t start until you returned from your mission Which is only unfortunate because there is actually a pretty easy way to get out of here early When you participate in a significant victory six months of your sentence is reduced Had you possessed your body during the attack against the Nether Gatekeeper�s base you would have received an extra six months off of your service

Two years of Nexus time Randidly�s face twisted Of course that meant that the Earth would only experience two years while Randidly faced much more time up here But still it wasn�t an appealing prospect If it really stretched out to feel like twenty years

Although he wanted to spend more time with Vualla this was a bit

Ah well it�s down to one year Lady Iellaya shrugged I�ve given you two reductions for helping with the two Nether King attacks thus far But Commanders don�t have the authority to reduce a sentence below one year Which is why your work with the Nether Gatekeeper under Lord Miln�s directive would have been useful Without a stay you are probably going to experience about five years here

It�s rough but let me warn you against deserting If you thought the Judgment was bad the first time then brought you here they deploy someone from the Xyrt Brigade to bring you back After shivering Lady Iellaya pressed her hands against the heavy stone blocks of their parapet Honestly your best bet is either getting me promoted to Supreme Commander or having Aether soundly defeat the Nether King If we win this battle all of us will get a service reduction

How long are you here for Randidly asked curiously

Lady Iellaya smirked I�m free to go whenever It�s only after you finish your sentence that you can be promoted to Commander But because I came willingly my service time was a pittance to begin with The System always wants strong images that are willing to leave the safety of the Nexus and fight against the Nether

Randidly scratched his chin and turned back to look over the battlefield Even now Randidly�s Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil was being used to casually repair some of the damage to Lady Iellaya�s fort Perhaps seeing the success of Lady Iellaya at preserving her own strength in the previous few attacks furious production was going on across the borderlands

It was a strange feeling Randidly reflected to stand up here with such a powerful Commander and chat casually And it also felt like an opportunity So Randidly continued the conversation by asking What�s the Nexus like

sometimes I forget that you are so unusual Lady Iellaya regarded Randidly curiously You you haven�t condensed a Fate but fight even better than those who have I wonder how quickly the Level of your Fate will rise And you haven�t ever been to the Nexus Well if I had to describe it the Nexus is

Boring Announced the newly arrived Abiodun as he took long strides up the stone steps He bowed politely to Lady Iellaya before passing her a scroll Please forgive me if I�ve spoken out of turn But all in all the Nexus itself is rather boring

A place filled with powerful beings who get off by descending to lower realms and restricting themselves Lady Iellaya leaned against the stone parapet and casually unrolled the scroll Then with a snort she flexed her hand an annihilated it The lives of those uninitiated into the System are just numbers to them and carrying a whole world full of people through to pass the Calamities is less important than the achievement of passing the Calamities An idyllic cage where children squabble ceaselessly There is always the threat of the Nether of course but

A series offensive between Nether and Aether hasn�t occurred in thousands of years Abiodun interjected as he took his place standing between Randidly and Lady Iellaya The Xyrt Brigade sees to that Honestly this might be the eve of the largest confrontation of our era

Then Abiodun chuckled darkly and Randidly could feel his own mouth creep wider in agreement Despite the fact that he was no longer the Grim Chimera Randidly still certainly had a side of him that was looking forward to the opportunity to fight And even his more cautious instincts couldn�t deny that he was growing quickly precisely because of the fighting

Especially now Randidly knew that after he received the next batch of PP and used that to empower Paths made with his refined images his Fate

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 275

I�m going to rest A suddenly very meek Randidly said quietly At this point his growth was moving more quickly than he would like Some image training would do him good But he couldn�t resist smirking toward Abiodun Don�t you dare start the bloodshed without me

Men Lady Iellaya shook her head in mock protest but Randidly could sense her own bloodlust rising just as much as theirs was And to be honest Lady Iellaya�s was the image that filled the air with the distinctive copper tang of blood Everyone knew what battle meant for their prospects And each one of them was hungry

As he departed Randidly allowed himself to calm down and looked again at his Path screen

Only four more Skill Levels Which probably means its time to focus more on the three images for the Fate

Chapter 1160

After she fell asleep Vualla woke in the vast darkness once more It was a living thing a sea of leeches that sucked away all her warmth and also seemed to study her vigilantly for any signs of life That was the new thing that Vualla sensed lurking in the darkness around her a spark of consciousness

It wasn�t the only new thing They only danced at the edges of her perception but Vualla was quite sure that there were Aether constructs floating around in the darkness Yet it seemed that they were quite shy because every time Vualla waited for them to appear they froze underneath her attention

So all she really had was the cold thirst of the darkness to distract herself Yet Vualla couldn�t really be bothered to marshall up much of a fight Even if she hadn�t been being slowly drained of her vitality she was far too exhausted to try and resist the weight of the darkness around her Sleep hadn�t been a leisure activity it had been because she was completely spent

Even at her best Vualla could barely hold her own against this curious space So now she just allowed it to do its vampiric work

Because immediately prior to Vualla collapsing her camp had endured another exceedingly sharp Nether attack Once more Vualla had moved forward to fight against the Nether Gatekeeper that was threatening Terith�s camp Although she hadn�t been selected as the interim Commander she was the strongest individual remaining in the camp

Her role was to fight the Nether Gatekeeper And she had faced down one before in an ambush mission and found it in herself to defeat another in the prior large confrontation It was with confidence that she had proceeded toward her foe Every day had seen an improvement in her abilities to control her energy and image

Even without Cail�s training Vualla was growing

To her shock the fight had been brutal Exceedingly brutal Vualla had been very near to losing Some part of her believed that this Nether Gatekeeper might have been stronger than the one that she had defeated previously but the other half of Vualla just worried that her previous victory had been a fluke

Her confidence was shaken But it was not destroyed Because Vualla had ultimately won

Still it meant that she laid almost helplessly in the darkness and allowed it to siphon away her warmth Yet an extremely peculiar thing happened as she simply opened herself up into the darkness Although the warmth in her chest faded although she felt insecure and worried the emotions that she carried weren�t extinguished by this place

If anything the truth was that the darkness drew out all of Vualla�s fears and insecurities and made her face them directly And honestly Vualla felt pretty good about it Twice now she had won So what if it was hard Hadn�t her entire life been hard

Hadn�t reaching this amount of strength been her goal since she was a little girl Had she truly expected it to become easier at this point No This was only the beginning

I can do this she whispered

The darkness watched her silently The strange Aether constructs continued to drift around her

Line by careful line Randidly engraved his image of the Akashic Records into the trunk of Yggdrasil

The brilliant arrays for energy absorption that Vualal had taught him were an integral part of it as Randidly planned out the large shape of the aggregated runes to have a grander meaning outside of the truths they contained But that still left him with the rather daunting task of imagining the minutia of the thing that described everything It was a test of both detail but also breadth This needed to be large

Existence had no true edge So Randidly had to approximate that

That was his first goal He expanded the world tree A size where a world really could fit on a branch Then he simply let his mind unfocus as his hand worked Bit by bit he would cross the vast ridges of rutted bark to scrawl individual sigils across the whole of the image It was a distance that was unthinkable for a physical body to endure But as it was just image work Randidly continued to push himself

His fingers gleamed with Aether and Mana as he smoothly built the Akashic Records up line by line

His strategy was a bit unusual but it was an unusual problem Obviously Randidly didn�t know everything So how could his image contain the record of everything

He settled on something close to random chance Instead of trying to put meaning into what he was doing Randidly simply followed the shapes He drew shapes randomly then found patterns in the shapes he had created and continued them They multiplied

Soon grand looping patterns began to emerge Randidly didn�t even need to pursue them once his mind touched upon them after enough time habit would bring them back Time moved forward with different shapes but the same patterns or different patterns with the same shapes And when Randidly finished one branch of Yggdrasil he looked up and saw thousands of branching arms that still needed to be covered

With a sigh Randidly removed himself from his image Doing such detail work actually went pretty quickly as the mental world didn�t need to adhere very strictly to a normal time frame Yet it was still exhausting because Randidly�s consciousness had to move through each and every motion of carving

Or he supposed he didn�t need to do it that way But he definitely knew that the outcome would be superior if he continued on in this manner

And these are just the branches The trunk itself

Sighing Randidly leaned back on the ground and appreciated the silence of his tent around him He had taken to sending Zauna and Salazar out of his tent while he did his image work and had no regrets about it he saved so many moments where he would be shocked into wakefulness by a sudden noise this way

yet there still is the problem of Salazar Randidly muttered Even he couldn�t miss the way that the snakeman was being torn to pieces as he was continually told to shut up by Lady Iellaya�s subordinates while the stress of the constant attacks was getting to him Some part of Randidly wanted to order Zauna to be the one to talk with him but he knew that wasn�t the Path he should take

He was the leader And he needed to act like it Especially after receiving the rather concerning message from Naffur about the state of the Order Ducis Doubly so because he knew that Helen was tied up elsewhere for another few weeks

But that�s a problem for another day From my perspective I�ll probably have addressed all of my images before that developed further

Still there were good reasons to go see Salazar either way Randidly had gained a Skill Level in Visualization during his earlier Yggdrasil refinement that brought him to 3 Skill Points away from the PP motherload Rather than rushing toward the PP Randidly wanted to try and get all of his images to the point where he would be ready for a Fate before he started finishing Paths

That way the System might recognize the work he had done on his images and make the related Paths even more valuable And since he was already so close there really was no need to focus on gathering PP

Right now Ignition Essence was currently digesting another batch of the hiltless blade�s memories while Randidly had kinda settled on using the whole of the Alpha Cosmos as the focus for the Grim Chimera There were some theological problems with it but Randidly believed as long as he focused on the aspects of the world that it would work

After all just like the Grim Chimera his Soulskill was essentially the ashes of several destroyed worlds piled on top of the weapons of an ancient Creature Despite that it evolved into something that was more than the sum of its parts The Grim Chimera had met Vualla and found in her another that he was willing to give his life for

The reason that Randidly wanted to put off the meeting was two fold the first reason was that he was very close to Level 50 If he wanted this to work he needed to get all of his images ready with a balanced focus Only then could he use that as a base to create an even more potent Fate than the one the System typically created

With a snap of his fingers Randidly conjured a tongue of emerald flame that danced across his fingers The light threw long and flickering shadows against the walls of the tent The whole of the interior was transformed by the strange light

And the second reason was obviously that Salazar was a rather annoying person Even without the stutter he was extremely self centered

but when comparing my minor annoyance to what might be a mental breakdown for Salazar there is no reason not to go talk to him Randidly sighed

Congratulations Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths � has grown to Level 46

What the hell that Skill shouldn�t work on me Randidly winced Two more Skill Levels to go At this point he probably couldn�t wait until his work on his images was done for the Paths but that was fine As long as he could finish the images before he reached Level 50 it would work out

Randidly hopped up to his feet and walked out of the tent before he could randomly gain a Skill Level doing anything else At this point he simply had too many Skills for him to even take reasonable precautions against it

Was it worth it to spend the PP to forget a Skill Probably not but

To his surprise Salazar was not in his usual position waiting outside of Randidly�s tent And in his place was a rather unwelcome guest

Ileot Swacc Randidly said lightly To what do I owe the pleasure

With a high pitched chuckle Ileot gave Randidly an elaborate bow Randidly I have wonderful news Lord Miln has finally had some success with the Nether Prince We will likely have access to the powerful memories or emotions within that bit of Nether in the next few days

How nice Randidly said dryly But you�ll have to excuse me I have something to attend to

Of course of course Ileot smiled sweetly not thrown at all by Randidly�s attitude Just one more thing I don�t know if I informed you previously but the memories within the Nether Prince aren�t something that only a single person can experience Some of the potency is sapped sure but it can easily be shared And because of our friendship I�ve convinced Lord Miln to allow you to accompany him No need to thank me

Chapter 1161

After Randidly spent a surprisingly mild two hours talking to an increasingly enthusiastic Salazar he returned to his tent and was rather surprised to notice how good his mood was Even if time could have been more efficiently spent than listening to the obvious tall tales that Salazar told about himself Randidly couldn�t have found a better way to decompress

Randidly had serious doubts about the veracity of what Salazar was saying but that really didn�t matter Randidly wasn�t there to make sure that the snake man was honest He was just there to listen because no one had acknowledged his subordinate in weeks

It was an act of kindness and responsibility And honestly Randidly was surprised by how satisfying it felt

When he set aside his own patience what was left was a calm willingness to put in the work he had to accomplish He was a leader His subordinates were part of his responsibility Focusing too much on his personal struggles might seem like the best option for the short term but it also left Randidly to be tense and wear blinders on his head

Which was great for accomplishing targeted goals but bad for the big picture And his ambitious plans for his Fate were definitely more big picture than they were a specific goal Relaxing his foot on the throttle and allowing some time to gather perspective was what he needed

Just like in all other things Nether isn�t so concrete that I can force it into shape Randidly thought as he looked down at the scuffed metal of his left arm I think about the shape and then release my hold so it can pursue the Path laid out by my faith

Not all mediums I work with can be metal

Of course after a break came work

The first thing Randidly did upon returning to his tent was practice with Nether Rituals One point that Randidly realized after his mind had the chance to catch up with his busy body was that he didn�t need to spend the huge chunk of PP he would receive immediately Which was an extremely frustrating prospect but one that made sense

It was just that he wouldn�t want to wait around to finish off his Paths Specifically those relating to Yggdrasil Randidly wasn�t above using some inspiration from the System to help shape how he made his images

For better or worse Randidly didn�t gain any Skill Levels while he refamiliarized himself with Nether Rituals After that he returned once more to the steady inscribing of the Akashic Record upon the vast trunk of Yggdrasil This time he did gain another Skill Level in Visualization bringing the number of PP until the Soulskill activated to one

For most of the night Randidly worked his mental fingers tirelessly to create the shapes he�d slowly imagined as he drew his glowing fingers across the deep brown bark Although it was mostly fancy he ascribed meaning to each shape The brave shape The insidious shape The fickle shape The stubborn shape The lines curved and cut sharply creating an entire pantheon of shapes for the extended narrative that stretched behind him in his steady journey across the branches

One fingertip at a time filling a moment in the real world that stretched to fill an eternity When he was tired he looked up at the rustling emerald canopy of Yggdrasil and cracked his fingers Then he continued to work

When he was tired of something Randidly switched up the shapes When he wanted to mix different shapes together he did that too Perhaps like Nether his movements were mostly driven by faith and instinct Even though Randidly had a very high opinion of his own abilities he couldn�t create this all on his own The larger the role time and chance had on the outcome the better

Despite himself Randidly felt echoes of Salazar�s cadence of speech creep into his shapes in a way that difficult to describe Without the stutter but possessing the same sort of epic arrangement that made the mundanities of Salazar�s life sound historic

Storytelling was not really one of Randidly�s strength But that is what this record was The grand story of everything So he used what tools he had available to him to add that extra specificity

Almost the entire night was spent this way It was only from Absolute Timing�s gentle brush that Randidly realized how much time had passed As the light of day filtered in from outside Randidly pushed outside the tent and looked up toward the mass of blue veins that drifted about like the careless tendrils of a jellyfish

The real world reasserted itself They were days away from the largest confrontation with Nether of the era The Nether forces were poised above them Randidly�s goal had a looming endpoint If he couldn�t finish before the Nether arrived

Zauna looked up sharply when he left the tent and straightened to bow as Randidly studied the sky

Nodding toward her Randidly said Any orders from above Or movements from the Nether

None Zauna answered quietly

Randidly scratched his chin He didn�t forget what Ileot had said about the Nether Prince being close to being cracked open And Randidly didn�t truly believe that this sudden lack of assaults was a coincidence

Although they hadn�t heard anything from headquarters Randidly was willing to bet that the Aether forces had received another demand from the Nether forces This was the calm before the storm as Lord Miln bought time as he opened up the Nether Prince And as soon as the Nether King sensed that the Prince had been destroyed the hammer would come down on the Aether forces

If only I could figure out why Lord Miln was so confident Randidly chewed his lip Some part of it is likely due to Ileot�s presence but duplicating Vualla was Ileot�s plan What did Lord Miln get out of all of it Was it just Ileot�s strength

Even though he felt like he was missing something Randidly forced himself to let it go After all his primary concern was getting stronger before the hammer fell Everything else could wait

And Salazar Where has he wandered off to Randidly finally asked

Zauna shrugged he thought he would go for a jog for a change of pace

Which left Randidly somewhat at a loss I guess that�s a good sign Hopefully talking to him for a bit helped him manage his stress

Either way it was enough to assure Randidly that he had accomplished his goal with the talk So then Randidly returned to the tent and turned his attention to the Ignition Essence which was slowly being perturbed by the memories of the Hitless blade

As he sunk into those sensations the familiar touched appeared to him

Two children one just pretty enough with brown hair and another that gleamed like the dawn Two twin sisters born with one soul Both wracked by terrible illnesses that grew more frequent as they aged

Illym the above average child And Radiance the golden sister

The hiltless blade with her terrible shakes that left her bedridden and her sister who suffered from the comas that silenced her tinkling laughter for days at a time

Memories of Illym sitting in the dark looking at her own reflection in the mirror struck a deep corner There were bags under her eyes and her brown hair hung limp

Gritting his teeth Randidly tried to calm his emotions He had too many nights just like that Although the reason why he had been so lost was different the feeling was the same

Yet even if the pall of tragedy soaked into every aspect of these two twin lives that Randidly viewed through the frame of memories they continued to live The two parents with such high hopes felt helpless They searched for solutions but they could find none The tension in the household mounted as the two girls aged

Memories of birthdays that were missed by Illym as she shook and gripped her sheets in tight fists and memories of birthdays where Illym sat at the table with her parents alone The house was silent around them

Time relentlessly marched forward

The problems obviously didn�t go away but they grew used to them Sometimes one or the other would need to take a leave of absence from their tutored classes but otherwise things proceeded with a semblance of normalcy

During one of the good times the year where both girls were 15 and neither suffered from a single attack the entire year Illym had said to her Radiance This is the best year of our lives I hope your sleep never come back

Do you I�m not so sure The golden sister leaned her head to the side and her hair swayed in a way that caught the light Then she flashed an apologetic smile Sometimes this life is just so exhausting When I�m asleep well I always wake up quite rested don�t I

The hiltless blade could only wince

Of course the memories after that idyllic time quickly turned sour During the years 16 20 both young women were inflicted with their individual sicknesses with increasing frequency Sometimes so that both were suffering at the same time which was an entirely new type of affairs for the parents

This was a wakeup call for the whole family Very quickly the two parents surged into action to try and find a solution Favors were called in Experts were consulted They were willing to pay any price for a solution

Although no one asked her Illym had her own thoughts about a solution And in the end it was the obvious one that the old man had given to them years ago One of the sisters had to die In the wake of that the other sister would no longer have her soul split across two bodies She would be able to live a normal life

Yet this realization sent her spiraling downward into an endless spin of depression Because she tried her best to be logical about the decision When it came to love she loved her sister dearly Yet still Taking a dispassionate view of everything which one of the sisters deserved to live

Compared to the golden sister Illym was not as impressive Even if she had debatably better performance on some of their tutored subjects the golden sister would always shine so brilliantly with an instinctual insight that it completely outshone some of her sister�s modest achievements elsewhere

In terms of moral imperatives Illym was also helpless Although she didn�t know when it happened she had often found herself in the role of simply helping her more eye catching sister And because she was constantly on the move Illym certainly gave so much of her time and effort to helping Radiance

But Radiance�s movements were incredibly well planned She volunteered to help disabled soldiers from the frontlines and arranged wonderful events in the community She was constantly the center of the party while also having a preternatural knack for spotting the individual who needed a private conversation to cheer them up

When she wasn�t in one of her comas the golden sister glowed

Illym did not The answer to who should be the one to die seemed obvious

But the hiltless blade was terribly afraid of dying

However all of these thoughts were eventually pushed to the side as the true light in the family had an announcement Radiance had fallen in love On the twin�s 21st birthday she planned to be married

It was in the run up to that year that the twin�s symptoms worsened

Chapter 1162

From the hiltless blade�s poignant memories Randidly woke up slowly There was only the finale left but it was the densest and darkest mass of the memories remaining within the Fate It would take a bit more time before the Ignition Essence could burn its way through them and release the emotions contained within

Yet even already the rippling changes were obvious to him Ignition Essence had grown incredibly intense In terms of images the flame of Ignition Essence hadn�t darkened but the golden notes that had previously been present in the flame had steadily darkened to something closer to burnt orange

Emerald and burnt orange And the heat spiked sharply upward as this new hotter flame pressed against a dense extremely unhappy core of memories Held in his chest Randidly�s body continued to struggle to maintain a normal temperature with such a fire raging within him

Which as it turned out was the last of the Skills that Randidly needed to gain

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 289

For several seconds Randidly waited for the familiar notification from his Soulskill that would inform him of the amount of PP that he had gained None came Then a flash of shock ignited a flare of panic in Randidly�s chest as he suddenly realized perhaps the change to his Soulskill affected his tithe

Equally as quickly Randidly began to chuckle The change happens when the Soulskill Levels up And that only happens when PP is actually used So if I want my tithe I need to first pick the next Path I�ll pick The last bonus was around 7k so I bet I�ll get at least that much from this round with that in mind

Randidly then brought up his Path screen and considered his options

Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Order Ducis Font of Guidance Humanity�s Torch 0/500 Bearing of a Teacher Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Chimera�s Grudge I Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Experimenter IV 0/1250 Living Engraving 0/500 Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Peerless Engraving 0/1000 Peerage of the Baleful Court I 0/600 Hands of the Artisan 0/ Search for the Akashic I 0/200 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame the Burns Memories 0/ The Nether Chimera IV 0/1000

Randidly clicked his tongue at the veritable pile of Paths that he had steadily amassed over the course of his time in the System Truly Randidly was a character that was designed to abuse the Path System When he started out he had so many more Skills than most which enabled him to grow stronger more quickly than his peers Now with his Alpha Cosmos he continued to generate PP at a rate that none could match

It was honestly impressive that System kept spitting out Paths for him But he supposed that this was a System that others had used for thousands of years so he reassured himself that this amount was still not major enough to be noticed

Of course that made Randidly briefly think about what the Skill Levels of these thousand year old monsters would be Shaking his head Randidly returned his focus to the Paths

Some of them he had available for quite a while from even before he went to Tellus the first time However Randidly�s first reaction was to grin at his Path lists as a long held burden had been surgically removed from his screen no longer were either the Heretic or System Transgressor Path present

Although the first was a cause to be celebrated the second left Randidly somewhat confused Had his record been wiped clean� as it were by his Heretic punishment That was certainly the best outcome but it certainly would be something that Randidly kept his eye on as he moved forward Regardless of his Path options Randidly wouldn�t easily violate the rules that Octavius stressed during their brief talk Because he believed that was the reason that Randidly earned the System Transgressor Path And Randidly didn�t want more attention than he already had

After all attracting the focus of only Ileot Swacc had already earned him more than enough trouble

As usual the decision of what Paths he should follow had Randidly grimacing Still he was able to weed out a lot of the more superfluous or weak Paths in order to narrow down his choices to a manageable ten

Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Cleaver of the World Tree Living Engraving 0/500 Peerless Engraving 0/1000 Search for the Akashic I 0/200 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame the Burns Memories 0/ The Nether Chimera IV 0/1000

Honestly not that much more manageable Randidly sighed Then he focused his attention on the choices he hadn�t eliminated initially to try and shave the list down even further

Growth of Yggdrasil Cleaver of the World Tre Living Engraving Peerless Engraving and Search for the Akashic weren�t eliminated because Randidly knew that some portion of his PP was going to be spent on improving Yggdrasil The problem was that there were just too many avenues to go about it And Randidly intended these actions to help him finalize the Skillset

The most direct way was to take Search for the Akashic but of course that was a chained series of Paths that started at 200 Likely the actually valuable options would only be further down the Path at IV and V And also the chained path Living Engraving seemed oddly tempting if he truly wanted to create a record that could contain all things Because in essence such a record would be alive

Of course Randidly knew that the Living Engraving was probably based on his earlier efforts to improve his Levelable Engraving he had done for Kharon So ultimately he set that one aside Likely the benefit wasn�t what he wanted In addition he also removed Cleaver of the World Tree That would likely focus on creating an offensive Skill Yggdrasil which wasn�t how Randidly wanted to finish off the Skillset

Instead Peerless Engraving might be a better precursor to working Engraving into Yggdrasil organically But again it was a Path based on his earlier efforts to perfect his application of Mana it could lead him to god knows where and devour a fair chunk of his PP along the way Although he likely had quite a lot coming he wouldn�t have an infinite amount At the amount of PP he was spending finishing Paths would become quite slow when he couldn�t rely on the tithe from his Soulskill

The Paths that he finished now would be the ones he would have for the frontlines

Setting that mess of options aside from now Randidly focused on the two other options the Ashes He now possessed Ulaat the Patron of Ash and Illym the Above Average Child Both would probably bring him power but both might have unintended repercussions for his images Especially because he hadn�t yet cut to the heart of Illym Randidly set both of those aside

Ulaat had brought Randidly enough trouble for one lifetime Until he had enough time to furiously observe his Soulskill Randidly wouldn�t finish that Path

The final two options were new arrivals to Randidly�s Path list The Flame that Burns Memories and the Nether Chimera were Paths that likely had been created due to recent changes in Randidly�s images In addition the Nether Chimera appeared to be an evolution of the Nether Adaptation Path which is why it bore the numeral IV despite him never seeing it before

For the same reasons that Randidly decided to stay away from the Ashes Paths he was hesitant about a Path titled the Flame that Burns Memories Certainly there was obvious power in that But there was also the obvious drawback that what he received might require him to actually burn away memories in order to access that power

Perhaps someday Randidly would wish to burn away his memories but that day was not today Over time Randidly had learned that so much of images was the weight of familiarity and experience Without memories those images became light That was the reason that he was slowly digesting the power of the hiltless blade even when it was clearly a Fate of someone extremely powerful

Shaking his head Randidly considered the even more condensed list of Paths that he felt confident in starting with

Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000 Peerless Engraving 0/1000 Search for the Akashic I 0/200 The Nether Chimera IV 0/1000

Four options Three that represented different Paths toward refining his Yggdrasil image and one that focused on his Grim Chimera Honestly though Randidly did plan on holding back on Growth of Yggdrasil until he had nailed down it as a Skillset rather than just a grouping of Skills That way they could grow together

And if Randidly wanted to finish carving the Akashic so that Path would go more smoothly That linked Path could wait Perhaps Peerless Engraving would help for the work he was doing on the image but that also could wait until he understood his situation better Especially because the Path might just help him work with Mana

So he finally settled on finishing the Nether Chimera Path first Or at least starting it and then checking how much PP he received

For the short term at least Randidly was here on the frontlines and encountering Nether quite frequently In addition the experience of condensing a Fate would be accomplished through a Nether Ritual As such the more familiar he was with Nether the better

That was even ignoring Nether�s new role in Randidly�s Alpha Cosmos

Randidly cracked his knuckles and then added his 300 PP into the Nether Chimera Path Every 25 PP he earned 1 Endurance and 1 Resistance After adding 300 PP the long awaited notification arrived

Through trial and fire the bond between you and your Soulskill has become ever tighter Your flesh is the substance of the Soulskill and the strength gathered by your Soulskill fuels your growth With the introduction of Nether your Soulskill has begun to walk an ever more narrow Path You are balanced perfectly to transform into something truly unique

Unknown error the automatic scan of your Soulskill failed System present but information flow has ceased Please contact your Village Spirit for more information

Congratulations PP from your Alpha Cosmos flows into you Some has been absorbed by your local System but the vast majority of the tithe still belongs to you You have gained 12 001 PP

Randidly released a low whistle Twelve thousand huh that�s certainly a lot

Then he scratched his chin as he finished off his Nether Chimera Path well one thing at a time

Congratulations You have completed the Nether Chimera IV Path Your body and image have become increasingly steeped in Nether You should be warped beyond recognition Yet you seem to possess the peculiar trait of welcoming both of the energies into your body You have become a dangerous example of what one could be by utilizing Nether

Congratulations Nether related Skills become more effective for each Skill Level they possess All Grim Chimera Skills now have notes of Nether in them Grim Chimera Skills grow more powerful per Skill Level The strength of your body grows at an unusual rate +10 to all Physical Stats

Chapter 1163

Randidly raised his hand slowly as he considered the notifications he received from finishing his Path He had received a fair amount of Endurance and Resistance as he put PP into it but the ultimate reward was a little underwhelming on its face In total Randidly had spent 1000 PP for only 10 to each of his physical Stats

However one phrase caught his eye

Skills have notes of Nether huh how much is a note If I want to test it then Molten Fang of the Pariah

Randidly didn�t even bother with equipment and he also purposefully didn�t use his significant Willpower in order to bring down the power of the Grim Chimera as he activated the Skill It was simply Randidly moving mechanically following the rather prearranged images that the System provided for him in the form of the Skill It was a simple thrusting attack aimed at the ground

There was no real forward explosiveness in the Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah it was only the heat that made it extraordinary Without any sort of amazing accelerating it was not the Skill that had the highest fatality amongst the Grim Chimera Skills Nor the highest damage to a single target or a group No the Grim Chimera�s Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah didn�t need to be as flashy as some of the other Skills were Because it was a fang And the fang was the oldest and most reliable weapon a predator had

With his right pointer finger glowing red Randidly thrust the strike down toward the ground without much expectation But immediately he could feel the change as the Skill activated It had been a while since Randidly had needed to use his Aether Detection to understand the working of the frame that the System created for each individual but he could still do it with a small shift in mindset

His senses remembered the familiar paths amongst his Aether to see to the heart of things So he paid very close attention to the strange changes as soon as the Skill sigil activated In the real world the air hissed and buzzed as Randidly�s finger slid forward As the Skill activated further it quickly cut a jagged rip in the space in front of him In its wake a cloud of sulfur smelling exhaust wafted upward that made Randidly�s eyes widen a fraction

But the attack still slid forward and Randidly still studied the Skill The energies within began to move more violently

It really is notes of Nether in the Skill And also I see why it would be so dangerous if the Nether and Aether weren�t tied together the result of it would be a bit The pupils in Randidly�s eyes tightened

The Skill sigil in Randidly�s inner world activated as normal but within that Skill sigil running counter to its activation there was a spiral that was formed of notes of Nether that was present in the interior of the Skill It wasn�t exactly running counter to the Aether�s movements more like it was running perpendicular

The Aether portion of the Skill activated from the bottom rotating to the right as it rose upward And now it had a tight spiral of Nether within it activating from the bottom rotating to the left They didn�t impede each other but as the two energies rotated around in different directions there were moments of friction between that energy that produced palpable power

Had the Aether and Nether not been aligned that friction might have destroyed both energy streams As it was it provided a qualitative increase in power for basically no cost to Randidly

Randidly�s burning finger stopped a few inches from the ground allowing the force that he had built up to this point with the Skill to glide forward within his finger supporting it Very quickly the ground was charred and melted creating a small crater at the spot where Randidly had been pointing his finger

Rubbing his chin with his metal hand Randidly studied his finger for any lingering effects from the Nether Afterward he scanned the air where there had previously been a distortion Then he switched tacks and breathed slowly in until his lungs were filled with air That breath he calmly released His second breath was activated in tandem with Eternal Cravings of Wraith the Skill that was the evolved form of Breath of the Spear Phantom

When Randidly breathed he pulled

Once more the Aether and Nether spun opposite each other moving toward the same goal The power source of the Skill was kickstarted by both energies working in tandem And it was clear that the energy of Aether was markedly more prevalent Nether truly was only a few motes of power in the situation Yet even so the combination made it so that the Skill

The surrounding area shuddered as Randidly�s Skill empowered by the fusion of the two energies yanked at the surrounding ambient energy And when that was not enough it began to siphon some away from other nearby sources Rapidly he devoured energy from the surrounding individuals

Randidly was immensely pleased with the magnitude of the result until he looked up and noticed that the fabric of the tent around him was being corroded by the Nether present in his Skill Just as Randidly was beginning to panic at what that might mean for the surrounding area the calm image of Abiodun descended like a divine revelation quickly squashing all the subtle damage that Randidly had done to the surrounding area Contained in that image was also a heavy note of disapproval that had Randidly chuckling wryly

How was he supposed to know that the effect would be so noticeable Experimentation now would save him a lot of trouble later

Still after the experiment Randidly felt much better about the reward that he had received from the Path More than even that reward what he had seen was how the two energies could be used to empower each other and work together Which considering some of the ambiguous messages that Randidly had received from the System in the past was somewhat confusing

Did the Nexus have the ability to use both energies or didn�t it

Still that mechanism gave Randidly quite a few things that he could experiment with when he had free time

That earned another wry chuckle from Randidly When I have free time huh I suppose that depends how long they are going to try and keep me here If I end up staying the full experience I might not have anything better to do than work on Skill Levels

Although Randidly was unwilling to too overtly draw the attention of the Nexus by abandoning his post he also didn�t want four years to pass back on Earth Because honestly another Zone would probably connect to Earth during that period And if another Zone didn�t connect during that time it likely would never happen and Earth would be regulated to Nexus limbo or cut apart to be used as Dungeons for the next Cohort

Either of those relegated ends for the Earth would be difficult for Randidly to fight back against currently He needed the time they earned by proceeding through the Calamities in order to gather enough strength to protect Earth as it became a part of the Nexus

At the same time Randidly wasn�t sure if the Earth without him could pass all the Calamities He had a large influence on several of the key individuals but predicting what sort of effect that would have was difficult Which left him hoping for more large battles against the Nether in which he could earn merits in so his sentence could be reduced

Or to support Lady Iellaya in becoming the Supreme Commander of the frontline and rely on her to get him out relatively quickly Which was at least a prospect that he had control over if seemingly the more difficult of the two

Randidly shook his head Either method was for after he made it through the trial in front of him the looming Nether attack and holding Ileot Swacc�s attention Still he currently possessed quite a bit more PP to spend to power himself up Over 11 000 in fact His current options weren�t as limited as it would seem

Yet as much as Randidly wanted to spend the rest of his PP immediately he still believed that the benefits he would receive would be much greater if he could make the improvements to Yggdrasil before he worked on that The Yggdrasil Paths would be that much more complete if it became a full Skillset first

No rest for the wicked Randidly sighed Just in case he poked his head out of the tent to make sure that there were no orders waiting for him after he had activated his Nether touched Grim Chimera Skills Finding both Salazar and Zauna happily eating Randidly joined them for a short amount of time

Afterward Randidly returned to his tent and sunk once more down to the images within his heart The towering brown and gold bark rose above him like a towering wall The gleaming trail of steadily carved shapes on the bark was behind him Cracking his knuckles Randidly proceeded back to work

Ultimately the more Randidly worked the more he started to run up against an unavoidable truth the creation of the Akashic Record here on Yggdrasil was a lifetime�s worth of work Even though he had the benefit of almost infinite� time within his image world Randidly would never finish carving shapes into the branches of the vast tree Not even addressing the issue of whether he would likely run out of shapes patterns before the end but just that there were simply too much space to fill on the surface of the vast tree

His imagination had grown almost disturbingly powerful Creating this much was child�s play for it

Still Randidly rather easily came up with an answer And even if it wasn�t a perfect one it was one that Randidly knew he had experience enough to work out So despite his earlier thoughts Randidly did end up spending some more PP before he finished his Yggdrasil Path

PP spent on the Living Engraving Path Every 50 points spent earned Randidly 5 Focus and Wisdom

Congratulations You have finished the Living Engraving Path Your touch hasn�t exactly become more powerful but somehow you can see patterns in the shapes you create Propensities and proclivities spin endlessly through your vision as the future unfolds in unpredictable ways before you The spark now at your fingertips is not a sure thing but it exists where there was only nothing before

Do not let that spark die The Path before you grows ever brighter with its light

Congratulations Mana +1000 Mana Regeneration +200

Congratulations Your Skill Mana Engraving has evolved into Brushstroke Record All Skill Levels will be maintained Increased potency of Engravings Increased stability when creating Engravings Levelable Engravings will now have an increased growth rate and Level cap Effect applies to all previously created Engravings as they evolved along with the spark in your fingers

Effect of the spark you have gained has been incorporated into the Unique Skill Touch of the Ghosthound Some of your growth in your strength will be shared with previously created items

Ahem Randidly coughed into his hand as he read the notifications Now this is more like it

Of course Randidly couldn�t create a Levelable Engraving that would totally be the Akashic Record But Randidly could plant seeds with his shapes that would allow the Engravings to grow naturally on their own

With that perhaps his image would be even more perfect than it had been previously

Even from the beginning of the System Randidly had always been good at growing things

Chapter 1164

You wish to bring Lady Iellaya along with you to the Nether Prince Ileot Swacc�s brows furrowed as he considered Randidly�s request

Randidly nodded Yes I owe her quite a lot She�s helped me get my feet under me here at the frontline I think that it wouldn�t be right if I didn�t try to share the benefit of the Nether Prince with her now She is my benefactor

Honestly Randidly�s reasoning for bringing Lady Iellaya was quite a bit different than what he revealed to be Ileot Swacc Partially it was to pay her back but that wasn�t the primary reason that Randidly wanted them both in whatever the Nether Prince was No the reason that Randidly wished for Lady Iellaya to come was that he was swiftly realized that they would need a significant screen to mask what Randidly was doing by creating a whole new Class and Fate for Lady Iellaya

Especially now that the Grim Chimera was so steeped in Nether Hiding that was difficult

In the two days since Randidly had started focusing on incorporating adding the aspect of self growth into the shapes on Yggdrasil�s trunk he had only rarely taken breaks But during those breaks he had often casually used Grim Chimera moves while practicing forgetting that Nether was now in every aspect of that image

It was honestly quite problematic It certainly upped his available power of image but tensions on the frontlines were simply too high for him to produce Nether in any significant capacity right now And the reaction between the two energies when Randidly used a Skill made those notes of Nether into something more significant than what the term notes could contain

The new changes to the Grim Chimera were a double edged sword Because although it made him severely restricted in using the Grim Chimera�s Skills having that image as a focus made it much easier for Randidly to manipulate Nether HIs Nether Ritual abilities shot up by 20 Skill Levels over those two days just because his focus was suddenly through the roof His touch was deft and sure where it had felt like he was grasping in the dark previously

Some part of him wished he did have quite a bit of spare time available so he could thoroughly investigate the situation on Earth

And hell the situation in his Soulskill He had checked in a few times but Azriel emphasized the need for her to familiarize herself with what was going on before she could answer any definitive questions

Still Randidly was rather confident that he could rely on the Grim Chimera�s new discovered affinity very heavily for both condensing his own Fate and for creating Lady Iellaya�s Class But while Randidly could sneak away into the badlands to move his Nether reverberations as he worked on himself Lady Iellaya was a bright star amongst the Commanders

When would she have the chance to go somewhere that reverberations of Nether would be dismissed as nothing dangerous Especially because Randidly wasn�t sure how much time it would take to complete a reshaping of her Class and Fate Even if she could sneak away for a brief time if the Nether forces attacked while Randidly was working it wasn�t like they could stop halfway and pick it up again later

He would literally be laying her soul bare That sort of surgery was unpredictable enough already without interruptions midway

Yet despite Randidly�s worries that Ileot would disagree with him Ileot seemed to take the news in stride Hum Well it isn�t impossible Lord Miln plans to reserve another spot for a young protege of his but having four people go into the Nether Prince won�t diminish its potency that much Still

Ileot gave Randidly a disappointed look You did not choose to bring Vualla I had thought the two of you had grown close And you haven�t inquired at all about her status from me Well I will inform Lord Miln of your decision

Randidly opened his mouth to tell Ileot�s departing back that he and Vualla were close but he forced his jaws to snap shut Vualla�s existence as a weird reflected existence was something that tormented Randidly on a daily basis Yet what could he do Knowing that there was time before the effects arrived alleviated it somewhat but it remained a source of anxiety

There was so much going on that Vualla�s eventual fading was one of Randidly�s lessor concerns Honestly it didn�t make much sense but Randidly felt much more guilty over how little time they had spent together over the last week than Vualla�s eventual fate They spent more time together when fighting against the Nether than when they were training

Yet Randidly did his best to reassure himself that this was just his anxiety Vualla was just as serious about gaining enough strength to defeat the System as he was She threw herself into training with the same wild abandoned

They both sought the impossible Normal methods would not carry them there Normal training wasn�t enough

This was a truth that made them unhappy but they both understood it And that understanding did a lot to bridge the space left between them as they trained in solitude

Still the memory of that dazzling smile that crossed Vualla�s face when she had realized that Randidly was growing an orange tree for her still remained And while the fruit wasn�t technically an orange Randidly had carefully changed it so that it was a sweet and tangy citrus Not exactly orange juice but close enough

Oh Hello Cail

The words drew Randidly�s attention sharply upward because it was clearly Vualla speaking right outside his tent After Ileot greeted her in his piping voice Vualla stormed into Randidly�s tent with a heavy frown In fact she was practically glaring at him as she raised a flask that was filled with his fruit juice

Despite her expression her timing was perfect to calm the ripples across his heart almost immediately Before Vualla could speak Randidly cut in with a sly smile Did you miss me

Bah You know I did Some of Vualla�s determination seemed to fall away but then she shook her head and raised her flask once more But this isn�t about that It�s about this fruit that you gave me I was just spending some time with some family and I finally had the chance to try the juice you made And you know what I gained sixteen Perception and twenty two Control from drinking the juice That is thirty six Stats from a single fruit

Would have been more if you waited longer Randidly nodded at Vualla But I compensated for some of that by forcing energy into it That�s why growing the fruit devoured so much It takes a lot to condense those Stat points

So you knew about this effect Vualla blinked at Randidly Then why aren�t you growing whole orchards of these things You could sell them

Want me to set up a rickety stand along the supply track and sell glances by the nickel Twisting his mouth Randidly shrugged It�s not so easy as that unfortunately Making them exhausts me for several hours for one And also the fruits don�t benefit me nearly as much I have to wait a while for their energy to grow much more potent before it�s worth it Infusing images might help that happen faster but Isn�t working on images and Skill Levels more important that Stats

Vualla seemed to consider that and also having more Stats doesn�t lead as quickly to growth as having better images or more Skill Levels does Because it doesn�t help you achieve Paths If all it would do is help raise up some subordinates Oh Maybe you could start a cult like Lady Iellaya

When Randidly snorted in response Vualla seemed immensely pleased Ha Who knew you really are a support from the sidelines sort of character You can trip Nether Beasts up with roots and then brew me fresh fruit drinks for when I come back gloriously victorious from battles against Nether Gatekeepers

Didn�t we just talk about how exhausting it would be for me to make those fruits full time Randidly rolled his eyes And jesus you have defeated so many Nether Gatekeepers by now it must be almost boring to fight against them

Randidly didn�t miss the split second where Vualla froze and the smile slipped from her face But just as quickly she recovered herself and smiled prettily at him Well even if it is exhausting won�t you do it for me

Nope

Alas My love for citrus goes unfulfilled Vualla brought her hand to her forehead and feigned swooning

Randidly�s smile slowly faded away Studying Vualla he wondered if he should ask why she had reacted so strongly to what he had said

But as if their thoughts were on the same wavelength she lowered her arm and said more seriously but honestly it�s still damn hard to fight them So hard that that I�m worried I�ll lose next time That these victories were a fluke Maybe that�s why I rushed over here when I gained so many Stats at once It�s been a while since there has been much of a change to my Stats And I just thought

That you wanted to see me Randidly smiled cheekily

Vualla threw her hands up in the sky Well obviously that But no you�re right It was that the whole time

Although his heart was pounding Randidly forced his feet to move forward until Vualla was only a short distance away As though this was a rehearsed play Vualla stood completely still letting Randidly approach It was only when Randidly put his trembling fingers on her chin that Vualla moved She looked up at him and then stood up on her tiptoes so their lips met again

It was warm and Randidly didn�t want the moment to end

Yet they eventually parted as they always had to But Randidly did make a mental note that maybe he could condense a couple of fruits for Vualla to try to give her an extra boost Yet another part of Randidly knew that Vualla would probably refuse his fruit next time for the same reason that he hesitated to give her one now

She would be afraid of becoming reliant on those fruits to grow She was afraid of being weak and afraid of becoming strong in the wrong ways

Bah you can only joke when you finally manage to kill a Nether Gatekeeper of your own It�s a bitch Vualla brought her heavy gauntlet down on Randidly�s shoulder

He grinned at her What�s worth having is worth working for Don�t slow down on me now

You either I�m so far ahead of you already It�s quite lonely Then waving over her shoulder Vualla left

Randidly immediately returned to his image world where he began to do further work Already some of the effects of incorporating the aspects of Levelable Engraving were showing It was a small percentage of the whole tree but the more seeds that Randidly planted the more shapes slowly began to weave their way upwards heading toward the apex of the World Tree

The date that Ileot had given Randidly for the opening of the Nether Prince was three days from their conversation so Randidly planned on using the entirety of that time to sharpen his Yggdrasil image After that he could begin the final preparations for condensing a Fate the night before

So during the small breaks of those days Randidly would meditate and use Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to strike at the short Nether patrols that continued to harry the Aether forces He didn�t rush but very smoothly his experience reached 99% of the way to Level 50

Which meant that he could focus more fully on helping Ignition Essence burn through the last tight knot of memories and create more shapes across Yggdrasil for the Akashic

Not that Randidly had known for sure that it would end up this way but it was soon becoming clear that both would finish in time for Randidly to work prior to the invitation to slip into the Nether Prince Which meant that Randidly had a decision to make which of the two foci should be his first priority

Perhaps unsurprisingly Randidly chose Yggdrasil The shapes sprawled across the myriad branches were now spiraling upward through the trunk and mixing together in unpredictable ways meaning that something was building to a climax

Besides Randidly still didn�t fully trust the memories of the hiltless blade So if Randidly could improve his own power by working on Yggdrasil first so much the better

With that in mind Randidly once more brought up his Path screen and prepared to part with a significant chunk of PP

Chapter 1165

For Randidly to achieve the effect that he was looking for he needed one more push from the Path That combined with a very concentrated push from his image should be enough to create the Skillset The trick with these things was momentum and Aether Aether he had in spades so the Path was to build up that momentum

So he brought up the Peerless Engraving Path and pushed all 1000 PP that he needed into it Hopefully this would be enough to provide a qualitative change to his Engraving Skill that would be the start To Randidly�s delight every 10 he would receive a Stat point alternating between Focus and Control Then the notification flashed up in front of him

Congratulations You have finished the Peerless Engraving Path All roads lead to the Pinnacle although each journey is unique in the Path that it takes to get there As you seek a more perfect art with which to draw your message the base truths of the world begin to reveal themselves to you naturally Along your Path you have encountered many signs and landmarks To see them is to see the language with which the grand creator shaped the continents To see them is to find the footsteps of a god

Never stop seeking the apex of meaning That glowing truth will shine even in the Nexus�s eyes

Congratulations Focus +100 Your Skill Brushstroke Record is evolving Synchronicity with other Skills detected Calculating resonance

Randidly�s eyes flashed emerald In his chest the image of the World Tree surged to the fore of his mind with a powerful Now�s the time No need to hold anything back

Deep brown bark A towering trunk that soared upward beyond the limits of the human eye A palpable aura of life that seemed to invigorate the surroundings Thousands of meandering branches stretching outward to form the bones of the awe inspiring canopy that hung above them Emerald leaves by the millions thick and wide casting dancing shadows below as breezes rustled through the auspices of the World Tree

A miracle of images born from Randidly�s earliest moments Of all the images that Randidly possessed this had experienced the most refinements More than anything else this was the grand project that Randidly had dedicated himself to one step at a time

And now the infinite variance of shapes slowly spreading outward devouring the available space across Yggdrasil It created a luminous and potent image

Even though Randidly knew it would attract attention he did not back off pressing his Willpower to its limits to bring Yggdrasil to life in this moment Randidly could feel the humming presence of his image hanging above Lady Iellaya�s camp It would be more surprising if people didn�t react to its presence

His Grim Intuition perked up as he felt both powerful warriors on the Aether side and the Nether forces focus upward to the image Not all of them felt threatened by its presence but he could sense their wariness

No one knew what this was or why it had appeared And some of Randidly�s intense focus seeped out into the wide branches of the World Tree It sensed his determination and responded to it

Extremely high resonance detected Your Skill Brushstroke Record has evolved into Architecture of the Primordial Ways The power in your Engravings has vastly increased Your ability to create Engravings with other mediums has vastly increased The Effect of Skill Levels has increased moderately

Due to the evolution of your Skill a powerful compatibility with your other Skills has been detected Calculating

As Randidly watched he could feel the shapes that were scrawled across the bark of Yggdrasil grow deeper Their light seemed to be suddenly emanating out of a fiery core at the heart of the World Tree Their edges grew sharper their lines more wild In addition the speed with which they accelerated up the trunk grew to be almost too quick to follow

Randidly breathed in and then breathed out Although he hadn�t consciously held anything back previously he pushed even harder now to wring every drop of his effort out into activating his Skills Every rut in the bark could be seen For those in Lady Iellaya�s camp as they looked up in wonder at the massive tree hanging above them the felt the breeze that rustled the leaves on their skin

Although Randidly didn�t mean to do it he felt the Aether in his chest naturally whirling in a maelstrom of power When Randidly�s Willpower wasn�t enough he used raw power to bridge the gap

So much power would not go unnoticed for long The deep golden roots of Yggdrasil dug steadily into the surrounding ground Even if it was just an image changes began to happen across the frontlines It wasn�t because Randidly�s image was necessarily so overwhelming but because it was uniquely suited for this task

The constant visual cues on the frontlines dimmed It happened gradually but when people finally looked away from the World Tree the changes were quite stark Against the looming threat of the Great Rift the World Tree steadied the Aether in the surrounding area It was a firm stake that held down the reality of the surrounding space Almost unwillingly Randidly�s lips parted and revealed his teeth

More and more pressure slid onto his image Which meant he needed more and more Aether to handle it Yet now that the process was started he refused to back down If the world demanded that his who image take on this weight in order to create his Skillset so be it Randidly would not hesitate

Perhaps Lord Miln and Ileot Swacc could use this to witness the edge of his power but Randidly suspected they would miss the point He hoped the image would mask the purity of the Aether that was moving beneath

The branches of Yggdrasil would hold up the sky and the roots would hold fast to the ground And everything in between would be governed by the Architecture of the Primordial Ways It would be described in the Akashic Record that danced in the form of shapes across the vast trunk of the World Tree

Each individual portion of Yggdrasil began to sing a note in the growing symphony of the image The Golden Roots flexed deep in the ground cycling energy through the area The Glittering Leaves rustled easily sending calming ripples through the surrounding area Emerald Sap pumped steadily through the thoroughfares of Yggdrasil�s trunk with such a potent life force that some small plants began to grow in the surrounding badlands The Yyrwood Flesh of the bark was rough and healthy even faced with the small corrosion that leaked downward from the looming Great Rift

Both the disdainful pride of the Deific Mien and the pure wrath of the Cruel Indignation swirled above the World Tree like two playful fish The Reign of the Eidolon Crucible those phantasms that danced across the branches stepped lightly over the ever expending Architecture of the Primordial Ways in an eternal dance of memories and ghosts

All of the surrounding area stilled bit by bit Because everything here was within the Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil

Hahh Randidly released his breath again The pressure continued to build from the outside as his Skill sigils absolutely churned through Aether in order to withstand it Weirdly time seemed to lose meaning There was only the pressure And under that pressure Randidly seemed to have a tiny inkling of a plateau he was facing one akin to what he felt when condensing a true Nether core

Down this road there would be a qualitative change if he could reach it If he could generate enough pressure

But a notification distracted him from this line of thinking

Congratulations Due to the sympathy between the Skills the Pinnacle Skillset Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree has been created The Skills Architecture of the Primordial Ways Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil the Deific Mien of Yggdrasil the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil Reign of the Eidolon Crucible and Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil have all been added to the Skillset The effect of Skill Levels for each of the affected Skills is slightly increased

The power of your related images grows

Randidly held the image for one more second in the flimsy grip of his weakening mind All of the small gradual changes to the visual variation across the frontlines rapidly accelerated as the empowered images were given the chance to flare to live Randidly was positively burning through Aether at this point using it to strengthen the effect of his Skillset as the many Skills slowly snapped together

Most of all Randidly could sense that this wasn�t the limit of these Skills� power And the notification from the System hinted at the same with its rarity of his Skillset

Pinnacle A word that had a very special place in the vocabulary of the Nexus A word that seemed to refer to the absolute

Then Randidly�s clenched breath gushed out from his lips and he collapsed to his knees as the roaring image became too much to maintain The Skill sigils in his chest were humming with the strain of containing the new amount of power that now flowed through them Their effects became fuzzy without a tight grip and then slowly lost that roaring momentum to settle back down to normal

Laughing Randidly allowed himself to fall down on his back and just bask in the satisfaction of successfully merging all of the disparate Skills together Achieving that moment of harmony hadn�t been as difficult as he had feared but it had been exhausting A quick check of Absolute Timing informed him that Randidly still had twelve hours remaining until the agreed upon time for the Nether Prince

Thank god That will give me plenty of time to recover a bit before I spend the rest of the PP in order to upgrade the Skillset

Yet just as Randidly was thinking that he felt a tremor run through his subconscious Very quickly that tremor turned into a vast tiredness that began to encircle the edges of Randidly�s consciousness

seriously Eidolon Crucible Randidly thought furiously as his body accepted the exhaustion quite easily and began to still around him Of all times you choose now

Yet there was little that Randidly could do to fight against it now that it had arrived The world was swallowed up by darkness and Randidly felt himself spirited away very quickly arriving at a small hill below a mountain range Below the hill was a grassland that seemed to stretch forever a sea of waving grass and wildflowers

Randidly�s first reaction to the sudden change was rage but as he looked around that emotion slowly seeped out of him For all that it was an inconvenient timing it was better that it occurred before the Nether Prince There seemed to be a subconscious component involved in the timing because otherwise it would be extremely dangerous Falling so deeply asleep while he wasn�t safe was a quick way to die

And honestly based on his previous time it would only last a few hours The extra mental strength he could gain here would also be useful

Randidly paused in his rationalizations as his gaze landed on a small monolith of stone that was sticking up out of the top of the hill His eyes softened as he slowly walked up to the object and ran his fingers across the words Although he had been told by Naffur about the situation it was another thing entirely to see the gravestone himself Even in image form its simple lettering drew the eye

Is this a warning for me I wonder Randidly said softly But then he shook his head Because he agreed entirely with the sentiment on the gravestone Through his experience in the System Randidly had to learn very quickly how powerful the small connections that people made were Each interaction became karma Each memory became the fabric of an image Endlessly forward endlessly colliding with other lives and traveling in unexpected directions

Endlessly being changed by the smallest of coincidences

Still Randidly grinned wolfishly up at the sky of this false place Clouds began to slowly gather as the spirits of Kharon were transported to stand against Randidly It�s a big deal that this is the first time that you�ve pulled me into your image isn�t it Kharon

The clouds pulled tightly together as a low howl drifted up from the gathering winds Soon they faded from white to grey and then finally to black The spirits of Kharon became a twister that wound itself sinuously downward to the ground below the hill Very quickly the airspeed reached the point that Randidly could feel all of the air around him slowly stirring

If you think this will be enough Randidly said softly You have another thing coming

Chapter 1166

For the first time that Vualla could remember in her adult life she was easily drawn into sleep almost every night There she found herself in the darkness surrounded be half seen shapes drifting through the surrounding blackness They avoided her eyes but sensing them at least reassured Vualla she was not alone here

As always the cold was another constant bosom companion of this place That cold methodically flipped through all of Vualla�s memories of her day taking them moment by moment sucking away all the life and color from them with its insistent touch Fractured moments of Vualla training until sweat dripped down her arms The taste of the juice Randidly made for her and the notification she received after drinking it Visiting Randidly in his tent

The warm feeling of his lips on hers

The cold considered all these many things reducing them to a flimsy shell of what they were They were scrutinized to the point that they lost all their context and just became memories Her thoughts were stripped away and the bare reactions were revealed

Vualla allowed it partially because she found that she had no other choice She couldn�t defend the ambient warmth of her memories from the darkness But that didn�t mean that it was completely damaging to allow this to happen Only the ambient warmth was stripped away from the thoughts Which in most cases was 99% of the warmth

But there were some moments that retained a spark of warmth despite the studious attention of the cold Moments like her kissing Randidly Moments that Vualla treasured because of what they meant

The same steady reduction happened with bad memories too All of the fear and pain that Vualla felt while she was dwelling on her struggle with the Nether Gatekeeper was sucked away by the darkness leaving nothing behind It was an empty moment that she had blown out of proportion by dwelling on it too long To discover that was reassuring

But the fear that Vualla struggled with as she visited Randidly with the juice that fear that she wasn�t growing fast enough to keep up with the rising tide of threats threads of that terrible fear still remained in her chest after the cold had moved on to other memories That was an emotion that had real weight

But knowing the feelings that were arrayed against her was something of a weapon that Vualla could use The darkness did many things but the most important of them was leave Vualla with a clear picture of her priorities Despite feeling completely drained by the end it was refreshing

But tonight of all nights the dream of darkness ended quite differently than it usually did

Because halfway through the steady depletion of her day�s emotions a burning river of warmth began to flow into her

Instantly Vualla recognized the source it was that spot on her back that sometimes burned when she thought about Randidly It was the shape of his hand imprinted upon her back It was a persistent reminder of his support It was a bridge built between them when they were far apart And now it poured warmth down into her as Randidly seemed to burn

At first the darkness responded sluggishly slowly swirling around this source of warmth But then it snapped forward like a viper and began to devour the warmth as soon as it arrived in Vualla�s body It seemed that to its mind this warmth was superfluous There was no value in allowing it into Vualla�s existence

Honestly the whole situation was rather uncomfortable The warmth would touch upon Vualla for only a second before it was greedily devoured She was completely a conduit the point where the chill and the heat met A battleground that the darkness seemed entirely intent upon winning

Yet the heat pouring into Vualla didn�t slacken at all If anything it grew even more monstrous and uncontrolled To the point that Vualla felt a flash of nervousness in her chest This energy where is it all coming from

It suddenly occurred to Vualla that it might be something of a blessing that the darkness was there to devour the warmth or it might have been overwhelming to withstand alone Then without any warning something stirred deep in the darkness around Vualla and she snapped awake with a gasp as those ripples were enough to jolt her subconscious

Wiping the sweat from her brow Vualla calmed her breathing Then she walked to the door of her tent The warmth drew her there leading her gently to her destination

A giant golden tree filled the entire sky above the frontlines It blotted out the vast Great Rift filling the surrounding area with emerald life The whole of it seemed almost too perfect and vibrant to be real Vualla�s eyebrows rose Compared to the river of fire that she had felt flowing into her the ambient energy in the air was even more impressive As Vualla glanced at the ground she could see blades of grass peeking warily up between the worn sandstone ground that had been dead for as long as she had been fighting on the frontlines

You are a miracle worker Vualla shook her head with a small smile As she looked up at the tree she felt an altogether different sort of warmth than the warmth of energy Because there could be only one person who could be responsible for this

The first thing Randidly did when he came to after the creation of the Skillset was check the time Luckily there were still nine hours until the agreed upon meeting time

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 108

Not that Skill Levels will be useful for a while Randidly thought with a shake of his head He had grown spoiled on the bonus from this Soulskill Racking up Skill Levels individually just seemed so incredibly inefficient by comparison

With a groan Randidly sat up and stretched The bones of his neck and shoulders popped pleasantly as he moved his torso through some basic stretches Then he laid back down and sunk into a restful meditation The fact that Randidly had been pulled to a location of Kharon�s choosing wasn�t just a coincidence it was clear that the death of Aldo had a profound effect on the city It was their first real loss The first sign that the Order Ducis wasn�t invulnerable

The city needed to come to terms with what happened Their images had grown powerful on that necessity

So Randidly had held back for a while allowing the images of his people to rail against him He had endured their pain given them the space to grieve Then as Randidly swept outward with his Willpower and obliterated their resistance he delivered the harsh message that these people needed to hear A tragedy A genuine cause for sadness But so what

Has one tragedy broken your resolve

Does your dream of protecting our Earth wither after the first loss

As always Randidly had plundered a small portion of their mental potency in the proceeding The grogginess at the edges of his mind right now was part of that process where the broken and exhausted portions of his own will could be slowly supplemented by the pieces that he had obtained in the Eidolon Crucible A repeated breaking and reforging

Truly a crucible

So Randidly slowly recovered taking his time to restore his mental edge to its peak

With five and a half hours to go until his promised meeting with Lord Miln Randidly slowly came back to himself and let his breath hiss through his teeth Although he still wasn�t exactly strapped for time Randidly was unsure about the difficulty in crafting the Fate that he wanted Which ignored the fact that he hadn�t really gotten to where he wanted with any of his foci

Them being poised to be finished was not the same as them being finished So Randidly hopped to his feet and wasted no further time in turning his attention toward the Paths he intended on finishing

First the biggest swing of all The Growth of Yggdrasil Path costing Randidly 2000 PP netting him 2 Vitality 2 Resistance 2 Intelligence and 2 Free Stat points every 50 PP spent on the Path

Congratulations You have completed the Growth of Yggdrasil III Path Originally Yggdrasil was limited in its growth by the distance you had traveled but you somehow found the great capability to surge forward leaving Yggdrasil in the dust As such the bonuses from accomplishing the Path have grown into a lush fruition

Growth cannot occur without the passage of time just as depth cannot exist without experience No quality can replace tempering You walk on a path at once familiar and strange It will lead you ever upward heading toward the limit of your being It grows along with your spine and reaches upward along with your limbs May you find the Path forward eternally smooth

Congratulations You have gained 200 free stats as a bonus for your own growth +100 to Vitality Endurance and Resistance

Congratulations Your Skills the Deific Mien of Yggdrasil and the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil are beginning to stir as your growth allows them to truly reach their full potential

Congratulations Your Skill Deific Mien of Yggdrasil has evolved into the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis All Skill Levels will be maintained

Congratulations Your Skill Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil has evolved into the Implacable Price of Exodus All Skill Levels will be maintained

Randidly felt the change from finishing the Path flicker across all of his Skills but it was those two that warped beyond recognition in a flash of heat and energy In his chest as the new Inscrutable Mien of Genesis began to stir the vision of a golden apple with an eye drawn across it appeared fully formed before Randidly It was difficult to tell if the eye was open or closed or simply waiting

As for the Implacable Price of Exodus a terrible specter stalked the infinite boughs of the World Tree It was a creature with too many legs sticking out at weird angles and only one mouth one vast enough to swallow all the lights in the sky

All it needed was to be freed in order to destroy the careful order that had allowed the universe to persist for this long

Chapter 1167

For several long seconds those two images were all that Randidly could see The apple hanging fat and ripe disappearing and reappearing somewhere else as leaves rippled and passed in front of it Watching observing passive above everything that occurred below

The specter that was all limbs and the one mouth Throwing its body adroitly from branch to branch Spinning itself with an uncanny grace as it navigated the canopy Disappearing in an altogether more ominous manner as one tried to follow it on its meandering path

Slowly those two images faded and Randidly released a shaking breath Some of the surrounding sensations slowly filtered back that had been previously been blotted out Not because these Skills were more powerful than any Skills Randidly already possessed they weren�t But rather it was because he could already sense the quality of the raw materials of these images There were areas that would need increasing image refinement to fulfill their full potential yet reaching that point would make the images near unstoppable

As Randidly recalled bother of their poignant details he sighed

Rubbing his chin Randidly turned his attention to the 200 free Stats that he had gained as a bonus for preparing his image for this Path With this sort of reward Randidly was extremely glad that he had waited in order to finish As it was Randidly could use those bonus Stats in order to get both Grim Intuition and Vitality above 1000

Randidly first turned his focus upon Vitality as he used his free Stats As he closed his eyes and savored the sensation he seemed to have some instinctual understanding of the regenerative qualities of his body The fission of cells and the flow of energy between them became remarkably clear to his understanding A whole world of natural functioning and recuperation revealed itself His body became an ecosystem that he could reach down and gently guide

It was a whole new toolbox that Randidly hadn�t understood before Ways to reduce stress to produce higher bursts of energy on short notice ways for his body to be utilized more optimally while both fighting and resting Combined with the razor sharp touch that Randidly received when pushing his Control to 1000 it certainly was a formidable advantage That would only grow more dangerous as he grew more experienced with it

After that Randidly spent the free points to increase his Grim Intuition And the result of this qualitative increase in capability was even more ridiculous

Perhaps because it was a higher tiered Stat the process was gradual and excruciating Randidly could only grimace as he felt his eyes nose ears and mouth tingle and buzz until the soft pinpricks became daggers The pain intensified upward until those same pinpricks began to run over the whole of his body

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 153

Randidly laugh burst out of his mouth like a wet cough from the chest of a pneumonia patient It was however a testament to his extended exposure to pain from the hiltless blade�s tenure in his body that Randidly only earned a single Skill Level from the experience Time after time the sensitive membranes of Randidly�s nervous system were eviscerated in order to accomplish whatever improvement was coming

Such is the burden of growing stronger Randidly�s tongue flicked out and brushed across his lips I wonder how close I am to completely shedding the limitations of the human body

It was a grueling fifteen minutes When the sensations finally began to fade Randidly could only release a sigh of relief and try and orient himself with the confusing flood of information that followed the transformation Five minutes later Randidly almost wished that the pain would come back

What he now possessed was something akin to a radar around himself that also gave him information on other people�s radars� Like Randidly could instantly intuit the positions of people in the area surrounding his tent and also in what directions they were focusing their attention In addition Randidly received small little jolts whenever someone thought about him too strongly

Each glance at his tent made Randidly instinctively straighten

Likely it was just due to the fact he had created the vision of Yggdrasil earlier but those jolts were quite overwhelming at the moment This reaction seemed to be triggered more easily the closer individuals were to him but also Randidly could feel from afar that Lord Miln�s mind was almost constantly focused on him Vualla�s too although her intermittent minutes of dwelling on him was a more reassuring feeling

What was perhaps the most disturbing was Ileot Swacc From him Randidly felt absolutely nothing at all And it was only when Randidly concentrated that he could use his Grim Intuition to locate him from afar It was just one more testament to the difference in power between the two of them One more reason to remain cautious about showing his cards before that mysterious man

Luckily some portion of the increased stat was a sorting and coping mechanism that Randidly gradually grew used to using to lessen the load on his mind Otherwise his relatively smaller amount of 768 Intelligence might not be able to cope with so much information flooding in at once There were just too many people nearby

And the memory of the tree is too fresh in their memory Randidly thought grumpily

Thinking about how intense this might get during a battle Randidly could only shake his head speechlessly And then he looked at his four hours and fifty nine minutes until he needed to meet Lord Miln and grimaced

Obviously the last few preparations were going to be rushed but this is starting to get a bit ridiculous Randidly pursed his lips Especially when the whole idea is for me to use that opportunity to create a new Class and Fate for Lady Iellaya Gonna be hard when I�m barely coping with the information my senses are telling me

Still Randidly didn�t panic Instead he gave himself some time to simply experience the new sensations And as he predicted his body slowly began to catch up with his ability to gather information with his improved Grim Intuition It was overwhelming at first but his Stats were a part of him And his Grim Intuition wasn�t so high that it overwhelmed Randidly�s other Stats If it was just this much Randidly could handle it

It left Randidly with the open question of whether such a problem could emerge from someone with completely imbalanced Stats but Randidly ultimately dropped that train of thought and focused on his next decision He both wanted to gobble up some random Paths and to follow the Search for the Akashic Path yet had to pick one to happen first Randidly just hesitated a bit between which was the best choice

Ultimately he decided to follow the linking Path Search the Akashic I first Because Randidly didn�t want to end up in a situation where he started the linking Path and couldn�t finish it because he already poured too much of his PP into random Paths that got him rather useless Skills

The first Search for the Akashic was easy only 200 PP Every 10 PP Randidly earned a free stat which he dumped into Intelligence despite the fact that he was feeling better with coping with the change in Grim Intuition Better safe than sorry

Congratulations You have completed the Search for the Akashic I Path This is a Path taken by many who have sought answers in the universe to consult the Akashic But yours is truly a singular wish You do not wish to find the Akashic so you can ask a question of the Akashic about some grand truth of your life you truly wish to embody the Akashic

Although the slopes on the mountain you now climb will start more gently for this particular endeavor the mountains you will eventually face will likely be even higher Is it a blessing to know that no one answer about your life will alter the arc of your fate Or is it a curse knowing the weight of your past actions will forever cause your pace to curve toward a continuation of the past

Congratulations Although your search has not yet born fruits you have grown stronger for the journey +5 Mana per Level +1 Free Stat per Level

Randidly licked his lips Level up gains from finishing these Paths huh Well there is very likely a Skill waiting at the end of the road but for now this is more than enough Especially because I�ll have no reason to slow down my Leveling once I�ve reached Level 50 and condensed my Fate

But some of Randidly�s optimism got caught in his throat as he saw the next Path available to him

Search for the Akashic II 0/800

Jumping up 600 isn�t so bad I suppose Randidly thought dubiously But still What will the third Path require then

Despite his misgivings Randidly poured the required PP into the Path and earned 40 more free Stats for his trouble

Congratulations You have completed the Search for the Akashic II Path Even as the slopes ahead grow increasingly steep your pace does not slow Your legs are strong and your gait even This is not a Path for the faint of heart a typical individual would be exhausted to death by the end However you are not a typical individual

The Path stretches forward Do not slow accelerate toward the end For if you truly become able to embody the Akashic your existence will truly begin to change

Congratulations While you have not reached the summit of this mountain the journey has strengthened you Health and Stamina +100 +2 Free Stats per Level up

Chapter 1168

More bonuses would be better although with a Level cap of a 100 this particular bonus per Level up would only end up being 104 Stats in total Which was only a small amount for someone like Randidly For most people that was probably a significant amount But part of Randidly�s unique strength was his ability to generate a ridiculous amount of Stat growth

Still every little bit helped

But it was with an extremely bitter expression that Randidly looked at the Search for Akashic III Path and saw that it would require 1750 PP to finish Randidly couldn�t help glancing at his remaining PP 6862

So finishing this Path would take him to a little more than half of his total tithe remaining Of course the IV Path would be even higher And beyond that it seemed entirely likely that the Search for the Akashic would have a V component which would be the one with an actual reward worth having the Skill

Still it wasn�t like any of this was a sure thing Perhaps even this third leg of the Path would end up being the final one Randidly just sincerely doubted it And in situations like this Randidly generally found that his instincts were spot on

Either way he poured the PP into the Path

Congratulations You have completed the Search for the Akashic III Path The ground is becoming rocky and bare Sometimes the Path wanders to the point that you don�t even know for sure whether you are heading in the right direction In the broken mountains of truth there are too many false signs that could be leading you astray But even if you are fooled by some of these you have been able to retrace your steps and continue forward

Determination is your compass Even if it does not end up being your original goal continuing to walk forward will inevitably lead you to a destination

Branching Path Two different opportunities lay in front of you

Randidly scratched his chin It had been quite some time since Randidly had encountered a Path that gave him choices Some of the Earth System Paths provided options but since then each Path had seemed to lead to only one place Perhaps part of that was how much Randidly had focused on learning specific things since his earlier days but perhaps he had just been lucky early with Paths the provided choices

Although these two options Randidly�s mouth twisted as he read the notification that popped up after Almost habitually Randidly began to wring Acri�s shaft in his trembling fingers

Marching along a ridge that rises just above the mist you come to a crossroads With the mountain looming above you will you stubbornly continue to wind your way upward or follow a gentler Path down into the mist

Isn�t there basically no real information provided for the choice Randidly thought sourly Just the modifiers in the sentences Which left Randidly between choosing between stubbornly� or gentle�

And between them it didn�t take a scientist to discover which would likely lead to an easier result Yet Randidly also knew that between stubborn and gentle there was only one choice for himself Only one choice for the man that might be spiting his world�s chances by refusing to allow the System�s influence into his body

You march stubbornly forward even as the path completely disappears Jagged stones beckon you waiting for you to fall off the precipitous edge next to your razor thin Path Calculating

Calculating Randidly frowned

Congratulations Due to your high Stats you have avoided falling down onto the rocks below

Randidly�s hands flexed Acri cooed in pleasure You mean to fucking tell me that there was a PERCENTAGE chance that no matter what choice I made I would have ended up falling on the rocks And what the fuck sort of reward would be waiting for me at the bottom

But if Randidly thought he was mad from that notification the next one did an admirable job of setting Randidly�s chest aflame with a whole new height of rage

Warning Branching Path You may either choose to rest here after the close call at the edge or you may continue on forward as the sky grows dark above you and the light of the moon remains dim Please note that continuing on will require you to provide 250 more PP to the Path

HOW THE HELL WAS THAT A CLOSE CALL Randidly roared at the rather stoic notification that floated in front of his face And now you fucking want me to pay you more PP before I can continue You

As his chest heaved Randidly�s eyes were drawn to the tent flap as his Grim Intuition informed him that Salazar had noticed his outburst and was now trotting steadily over to check what was going on within the tent

Gritting his teeth Randidly tried to keep at least half of his anger out of his voice as he pitched it to carry Now�s not the time Salazar Please continue with your training

Suddenly Randidly discovered some of the downsides of being too perceptive as his subordinates thought they were unobserved outside of the tent Randidly felt Salazar look questioningly over at Zauna Zauna shrugged and her intent with the gesture was easily divined by Randidly�s high Stat That is just the sort of weird captain we have Don�t take it too personally �

And Salazar that snake tongued fucker nodded to Zauna with a commiserating expression on his face like at least the two of them had each other in this storm of uncertainty swirling around them

It took Randidly several minutes to calm down the throbbing vein in his temple Under his forced concentration his heart rate steadily slowed back to normal Because ultimately his anger wasn�t at his cheeky subordinates it was focused entirely on the extremely strange series of events for this Path Once Randidly was a bit calmer he took several seconds to toy with the option that this was a deliberate punishment sent by the overlay System after Randidly had supplanted it within his Alpha Cosmos

But that didn�t seem like a reasonable option Although the overlay System seemed to have been designed with every aspect of the System in mind it wasn�t a substantive thing it just converted the Aether information into understandable notifications Nothing that Randidly had seen so far had shown that it could make such a unilateral decision like that

Plus Randidly had earned this Path before the Soulskill changes had occurred So this was just what the Path was like I suppose I deserve this The term stubbornly had been used for this Path It�s just a little fucked that they are extorting me for another 250 PP

Randidly chose to pay the toll but couldn�t help but grit his teeth when he earned no bonus Stats for the PP that he poured into this portion It was a double whammy of punishment

Congratulations You have completed the special bonus for the Search for the Akashic III Path It is a thankless and difficult Path you walk But perhaps you are one uniquely situated to force your way to the summit As you continue on through the darkening gloom danger lurks on every side Yet none dare approach you Such is your aura and momentum that the terrible things in the dark can do naught but part helplessly before you

Congratulations +20 to all Stats +2 Stat per Level You have unlocked a new Path forward

Despite himself Randidly chuckled darkly as he received the final reward for this portion Then he looked at the Search for the Akashic IV Path and felt a brutal flash of anger to see that it would cost 3000 PP in order to finish Spending all that PP on this Path would leave him with 1800 or so remaining Which was certainly enough to finish some smaller Paths but it would be doubly frustrating if Randidly received a similar amount of rewards and had another Path waiting for him

Yet can I really stop now Randidly wondered The word stubbornly� hung in his mind like a curse Although the benefits he earned might not be the most impressive and honestly seemed designed to piss him off very rarely had he actually been ripped off by Paths It was much more likely that the main rewards were simply delayed Gratification would come eventually it was a matter of perseverance

And although a fire burned in Randidly�s belly he was patient enough to wait for the things that would give him an advantage When he poured PP into the monstrously large 3000 PP Path he earned 4 Free Stats every 100 for a total of 120 These were dumped rather casually into Reaction which started to seem like a limiting factor in the total picture of his Stats

Congratulations You have finished the Search for the Akashic IV Path As one who does not stray from your stated goal your persistence has slowly earned you an increasingly wide perspective The light filtering down from the mountain peaks above you leads you on a dappled trail of possibilities Following that guidance further you travel far but you also stop and examine your surroundings

Truth is present in all things Never hesitate to listen to the air around you It will speak to you its true name in exchange for the decency to pay attention to it

Congratulations +10 Free Stats per Level You have gained the Skill The Book of Names Lvl 1

The Book of Names Based on your experience and knowledge of a person or object you will be able to view their true name

Chapter 1169

The Book of Names seemed like an interesting Skill to possess but it was certainly not the sort of thing that Randidly was talking about when he was wishing for a reward It made sense as a result considering the Path he took to earn it but it seemed like there wouldn�t be many areas where it would be useful Passively gathering information sure that will give Randidly an edge but other than that

Although I was critical of earning PP the old fashioned way it�s how I got to this point And this one literally seems to just grow from me knowing information about them It doesn�t even have any text that shows the effects It just grows as I gather understanding Which I would be doing anyway so being paid PP for my trouble is fine

Such a lackluster award did mean however that Randidly was less than surprised when he saw the next branch of the linking Path had once more hopped up quite a bit Search for the Akashic V 0/5000

Guess I�m not fucking finishing it today Randidly sighed in defeat And in fact Randidly ultimately decided to set aside this Path for now Pumping 1800 PP into it would get him a relevant chunk of the way there but it wasn�t even halfway through the Path Although Randidly would gather enough PP to finish that Path before he received another tithe from his Soulskill taking victories from finishing other small Paths seemed like a much more realistic method of growing

So once more Randidly took his 1800 PP and looked at the list of Paths available to him

Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Order Ducis Font of Guidance Humanity�s Torch 0/500 Bearing of a Teacher Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Chimera�s Grudge I Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Experimenter IV 0/1250 Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Peerage of the Baleful Court I 0/600 Hands of the Artisan 0/ Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame the Burns Memories 0/ Exodus the Terror 0/1000 Genesis the Considered 0/1000

After completing the other Paths Randidly did have two more options than he did previously relating to the evolved forms of Skills in Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree However Randidly didn�t want to spend even more PP working on the Yggdrasil Skillset before he had some time to grow used to the changes so those were set to the side The new images were already plenty powerful what he needed now was practice with them

And Randidly�s reasoning about the Paths relating to the hiltless blade and the Ashes Paths remained the same which allowed Randidly to eliminate quite a few options and find himself choosing between five Paths

The Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Chimera�s Grudge I Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade Peerage of the Baleful Court I 0/600

The Bell of Doom Tolls was an older Path that Randidly believed was related to some of his early images of the Spear Phantom The large chime of a clock the passage of time Likely completing the Path would lead to an attack Skill that he could use as inspiration for the Grim Chimera Which considering that his current Grim Chimera Skills possessed an extra punch due to Nether was only slightly appealing

In addition if Randidly wanted to empower the Grim Chimera Chimera�s Grudge I seemed like a much more straightforward method of doing so It was a much more recently acquired Path and also Randidly could understand very easily how the image of a grudge could become part of the Grim Chimera But again Randidly looked at the fact that it was a linking Path with a slightly bitter expression

Pain Immunity seemed self explanatory although once more Randidly was unwilling to choose a linking Path based upon his earlier experience The degree of PP required for it was quite a bit smaller than the Search for the Akashic Path but how long would that last

The final two Paths that Randidly considered were appealing because they would improve the abilities of his Riders and perhaps also his ability to lead more broadly Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade and Peerage of the Baleful Court both seemed like they possessed a lot of potential Yet the only one of the two that Randidly could see the total length of was also a linking Path It felt like these Paths were a series of traps that had been left for him and despite knowing better Randidly was a helpless fool who wandered back over to them

Sighing Randidly�s finger drifted toward Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade If nothing else this does have the word Leader in its title Hopefully it will let me help with the battle on the frontlines

Although I hope to get out of most of my stay here this looming battle will be difficult Even if Lord Miln seems unnaturally confident I don�t doubt that surviving at my amount of strength will be a struggle And if I can help other people survive

It was an old memory but one that Randidly always came back to The sight of the freshly dug graves along the banks of the Hallat River

For each 10 points Randidly put into it he alternated earning 1 Agility and 1 Wisdom And Randidly was rather pleased to see that it ended up being only a 500 PP Path

Congratulations You have finished the Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade Path Although you walk over the cracked ground of brimstone and ash you will not cease in the pursuit of your personal justice With a sky quaking above you ride forward This is a world where the strong make the law and you are determined to gather enough strength and momentum to provide a modicum of predictability and balance to this land of broken promises

Yet the more you war the more you cannot avoid the identity crisis that lies at the heart of this Path you�ve chosen are you trying to alleviate an apocalypse that occurred long ago or do you proudly bear the name Apocalypse for this imperfect world

Will you tear all this down for your justice

Congratulations Agility and Strength +40 Synchronicity detected Your Skill Flowing Momentum has evolved into Ruinous Drive All Skill Levels will be maintained Followers affected by Ruinous Drive will inflict slightly more damage with all methods of attack and will have a slight chance of ignoring the target�s Resistance Amount of additional damage increases with Skill Level Chance to ignore a percentage of Resistance increases with Skill Level Amount of Resistance ignored increases with Skill Level

It�s nice to finally be right for once Randidly thought with a smile It wasn�t a new Skill and it was an open question whether Nether Beasts had Resistance for the Skill to ignore but it was a much more concrete effect than the momentum that the Skill previously provided Plus it seemed like he could extend this Skill farther than Flowing Momentum which only affected those physically following Randidly

With 1300 or so PP remaining Randidly just accepted the risk of the linking Path and started pouring PP into the Chimera�s Grudge His lips quirked up in annoyance when he learned that it was a 1000 PP Path but Randidly still finished it out It earned him 5 Strength every 100 PP spent

Congratulations You have finished the Chimera�s Grudge I Path The Grim Chimera is a creature that has always been persecuted for its existence It is a life that

Warning Change detected Recalculating

Integrating recent developments

The Grim Chimera is a life that is tainted by Nether As the Grim Chimera has grown to discover this truth you can feel naught but helplessness Despite the obvious danger that they present there is no way to remove the notes of Nether that have found their home in the Grim Chimera�s body So you must continue to walk forward even as every step of yours drives that taint deeper into the core of your being Tread carefully wanderer

Congratulations +20 to all Stats as your body evolves to face adversity You have learned the Skill Nether Infection � Lvl 1

Nether Infection � Nether will unpredictably interfere with your attacks causing vastly increased damage Warning Some entities relating to the System will react violently when they realize that you have a Nether Infection Warning At some point the Nether might attempt to take over your body

You are full of shit Randidly chuckled There was a curious sort of detached brutality as Randidly cracked his knuckles and prepared to do what he knew he was about to do

His first response was to examine the newly created Skill in his chest And certainly one thing that this Skill did was plant a deep seed of a grudge in his heart for a System Because Randidly watched the System try to gather up some of the Nether present in his being bind it together and then use it like a doping agent The Skill was practically a syringe that warped Nether and the hand holding it was the System�s

As Randidly examined the Skill Randidly could see the mechanism it would use to operate unpredictably And he didn�t miss the way that the operation would be recorded by the overlay System Randidly�s first instinct was to rip the Skill out of his chest but he remembered Octavius Shrike�s warning

His second instinct was to head into the Alpha Cosmos where the overlay System was no longer run by the System and rip the damn thing out with prejudice But Randidly wasn�t sure if Azriel would be able to hide what he had done for when he returned to the real world and was exposed to the original overlay

So it was Randidly�s third idea that struck his as the most reasonable And as a nice demonstration of poetic justice

Randidly�s mouth twisted into a vicious grin Do you think you can cage and manipulate me just like you are attempting to do with this Nether Let�s see what your fucked up overlay System thinks about this you fuck

Although his Nether was attuned to his Aether it didn�t need to be that way Randidly pulled deeply from his Nether Wells and gathered some raw Nether into his hands With his Nether Adaption it barely even felt painful to handle it But as Randidly dumped the untreated Nether directly over the raw Aether of the Skill the form of the Skill began to warp and boil

but it did not break To Randidly�s surprise the Skill was surprisingly resilient Although it was clear that this resiliency was only because it instinctively drew on Randidly�s ambient Aether in order to heal through the damage done by the Nether

Snorting Randidly cut off that flow of Aether and gathered even more Nether into a tight orb of destruction between his palms Then he doused this new Skill with Nether until the Nether at its core ruptured outward and melted the surrounding Aether to nothing but that grey putty that Yggdrasil had used to try and make an incubator for Ignition Essence For good measure Randidly poured more Nether over it A notification popped up in front of Randidly

Warning Due to instability amongst Nether one of your Skills has been damaged beyond repair Please see a Village Spirit in order to correct this problem Warning a delay may result in sickness or death as Nether spreads throughout your body

Ha Funny joke Randidly spat on the ground Good riddance you piece of shit

Chapter 1170

Seeing the smoking remnants of the Skill that was clearly another attempt to control him brought Randidly quite a bit of pleasure But he didn�t miss the way that the Path altered itself halfway through to incorporate aspects of his Nether notes something that Randidly hadn�t possessed when he originally gained the Path

Was this a special case then Or had Randidly underestimated the overlay System

Although Randidly still had a little less than 400 PP remaining to be spent he was altogether tired of all of the antics that Paths had tried to spring on him in this round of Soulskill tithe It was something that he would be much more careful about moving forward

Instead Randidly once more checked the time Seeing there was still four and a half hours Randidly looked at his Status screen

Level 49 (99%)

Health(/R per hour) 9738/9738 (4574)

Mana(/R per hour) 9086/9086 (2537)

Stam(/R per min) 6899/6994 (1655)

Vit 1045

End 895

Str 742

Agi 1135

Grim Intuition 1070

Reaction 847

Resistance 972

Willpower 1112

Intelligence 868

Wisdom 645

Control 1201

Focus 759

Skills (Soul Skill) Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 22200

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 209 Heavy Blow Lvl 124 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 121 Fighting Experience (Un) Lvl 165 Block Lvl 77 Calculated Blow Lvl 117 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 87 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 126 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 86 Talon Strike Lvl 90 Counter Lvl 94 Ruinous Drive Lvl 35

LoBW Class Skills Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 27 Sharpness Lvl 145 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 48 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Reach of the Jade Slag Lvl 121 Erode Image Lvl 71 Spriggit�s Tinkering � Lvl 151 Aether Understanding Lvl 133 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 44 Visualization � Lvl 240 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 49 Absolute Timing Lvl 108 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood � Lvl 45 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 127 Lantern of Harsh Truths � Lvl 46 Sigil of an Approaching Fate Lvl 32

Descent of the Grim Chimera Chimeric Avoidance Lvl 222 Cursed Appetite of a Wraith Lvl 264 Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality Lvl 238 Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe Lvl 101 Molten Fang of the Pariah Lvl 199 Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes Lvl 185 The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Lvl 157 All Else Succombs Yet Time Whirls the Earth Lvl 150

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 171 Aether Manipulation Lvl 201 Living Aether � Lvl 154 System Interference Lvl 88 Aether Surgeon Lvl 69

Spells Yggdrasil Soul Seed � Inspiration � Ignition Bolt � Lvl 126 Verdant Nova (Un) Lvl 85 Burning Footsteps Lvl 23 Nether�s Caress Lvl 114 Influence of the Molten Core � Lvl 103 Eruption of the Blazing Leyline Lvl 111 Ignition of the Emerald Essence Lvl 151 Mana Physique (Un) Lvl 19

Crafting Potion Making Lvl 73 Farming Lvl 34 Analyze Lvl 29 Refine Lvl 106 Extract Lvl 92 Brushstroke Record Lvl 245 Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity Lvl 68 Touch of the Ghosthound

Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 178 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 213 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 195 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 240 the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis Lvl 250 the Implacable Price of Exodus Lvl 202 Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Lvl 195 Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Lvl 275

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Pain Resistance Lvl 153 Fire Resistance Lvl 189 Sewing Lvl 11 Digging Lvl 9 Cooking Lvl 101 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 30 Aether Connection Lvl 21 Soul Bond Lvl 135 Chef�s Palette Lvl 36 Nether Modification Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 59 Chosen of Ash Lvl 141 Engineering Savvy � Lvl 154 From Darkness Genesis � Lvl 17 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 178 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos Catalyst of Agony Lvl 38 Nether Sensation Lvl 62 Nether Rituals Lvl 115

Randidly released a deep breath In terms of Stats just from the huge amount of Paths that he finished he had grown quite a bit More than Stats though Randidly had earned an addition 15 Stat points per Level which put his Stat gains per Level to +8 Stats distributed between Vitality Perception Resist Intelligence and Control +35 Free Stats +1 Stat to a Mental Stat +1 to a Physical Defense Stat +1 to a Mental Support Stat +2 Control +36 Health +45 Mana +40 Stamina +3 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration and an additional +4 Agility and +2 Bonus Stats due to Guidance of the Wraith Adder from Shal

Is this strength Randidly asked lightly He looked down at his hands one scarred and metal the other calloused and tanned Beyond that with but a brush of his will Yggdrasil the Grim Chimera and Ignition Essence visions flickered to life in the tent around him Just as quickly Randidly let those go

This had definitely been an attempt by the System to control him But at this point Randidly had so many tools in his arsenal that he dealt it with it almost immediately Without relying on a blunt instrument either

Well maybe a blunt instrument Randidly admitted to himself But one that won�t reveal my involvement

Then his mind turned back to the question of strength Although Randidly had definitely improved his goals were still further forward down this path Based on his reckoning Randidly was still a bit short of being able to rival a Nether Gatekeeper in a one on one duel Perhaps more than a little short

However hopefully that distance would be bridged as Randidly condensed himself a Fate Because the foundations for his power were firmer than ever With this he could finally begin to cash in on all of the preparations he had made

bah Which means I really need to work on these Foci Randidly grimaced and rolled his shoulders to loosen up his back Then he sat down in a meditative position and pulled all of his focus inward With great difficulty he slowly closed down all of the superfluous Grim Intuition sensors so he wouldn�t notice anything that happened in the outside world unless it actually physically damaged him Unless Randidly was bleeding he didn�t want to be disturbed

Somewhat of a risk but Randidly figured that if something managed to pierce Lady Iellaya�s defenses to the point of reaching his tent he would have a problem of an entirely different magnitude

With his focus narrowed Randidly floated to his inner world where the emerald and burnt orange flame of Ignition Essence continued to steadily simmer away at the few remaining memories that Randidly hadn�t yet accepted into himself Of all the foci Randidly believed that the Ignition Essence one would be the most risk to use So he wanted to work on it first and figure out how long it would take

There was a moment of hesitation and then Randidly reached out and touched the memories The terrible ones that waited for the last to reveal themselves They bloomed like a flower before him the petals falling away from the burning bulb and spiraling around him Slowly Randidly became someone else once more

He became Illym the above average child a daughter who possessed half of a soul

He became the brown haired brown eyed sister who looked at her beautiful blonde sister Radiance as she announced that she would be married The other half of her soul who had found love despite the circumstances She met the soon to be husband rough and capable and clearly head over heels in love with Radiance

As everyone was

Hours later Randidly sat in a memory of Illym staring at her own bony knees on a porch swing and wondering whether she had ever been in love She had felt love for her parents for his sister Radiance

There were no memories of being in love Of being loved Of being truly valued for herself

Illym spent some time pouring through her own memories in that memory searching for proof that she had existed had mattered to someone Had lived Had mattered to someone else All she found was the cold and repeated walls of her parent�s home and the moments of excitement when Radiance woke up from her comas

Because her sister mattered more to her life than she did It wasn�t Illym that could bring herself meaning It had always been Radiance the other half of the whole

What followed was the biggest choice of Illym�s life and she made it with all the thought of a blink in the one year time period before her sister Radiance was to be married Illym was going to learn what it was like to live

So she ran away from home telling not a soul about her plans Not even the other half of her own soul Radiance She left a note assuring everyone that she would be back for the wedding and then she was off out in the world to discover herself

Although Illym might only be an above average child compared to Radiance her parents were two of the most powerful individuals in their corner of the Nexus and Illym had learned from them well As long as the problems that the twenty year old Illym encountered weren�t extraordinary she could deal with them So she flitted between the planets experiencing everything that she could

Randidly experienced memories of trying sizzling hot street meat of when Illym wasn�t sure of the meat�s origin He watched her smelling wildflowers Watched her stealing because she had run out of money

There were difficulties aplenty after Illym�s inexperience wasted away her resources Doubly so because of who she was Although Illym and Radiance were parted the truth of their existence didn�t change So like the seasons the shakes came for Illym

But now Illym had no protection to rely on to endure the shakes She could not simply curl up in her wide bed and smother herself in silk sheets Illym was left all on her own and she had to grit her teeth and find the best way she could to hide her weakness However it was only a matter of time until she was discovered

There was an ugly memory with jagged edges where Illym was tortured by three men as they laughed at her inability to control her body They put her in shallow water and watched as she thrashed so uncontrollably that she almost drowned herself time and time again They found it unbelievably funny they couldn�t even stand it

Illym remembered hating for the first time in her life Although it wasn�t the bright living of Radiance she felt an atypical rush of warmth as she looked up at the three men and wished they would die It was an iron sort of desire that she could give herself over to completely She said to them When this is over

The leader of the men shushed her with a finger almost gently while Illym�s body continued to jitter back and forth Love this only ever ends one way Let�s enjoy this fun while we still have it shall we

Illym remembered the cold certainty of the fact that she would die And in the next moment her entire being began screaming that she wanted to live For the first time in her life Illym reached into herself to that strange wound that she had always been afflicted with and told it no She could not afford to allow it to take her today

Illym remembered the warmth of blood running down her hands The first kill was the hardest and then the rest was easy

Chapter 1171

Six months after she ran away from home Illym remembered her surprise at being a relatively well known killer on her current planet People would pay her quite a bit of money either to kill someone or not kill someone Illym somewhat glad to have found something that she was extraordinary at accepted the money

There were sometimes attempts on her life or others paid to do the opposite of what she was doing but that honestly just excited Illym more For a few seconds she would remember the clarity of her desire to live that she had discovered in those shallow puddles of dirty water in the alley And Illym truly had learned well she always won such fights

Her living slowly turned more comfortable

Because she truly was extraordinary at killing Those moments of struggle were her life was pitted against another�s that was the only time she truly felt alive That small fear of death warmed her And even when Illym needed to begin to toy with her food so it would feel interesting it was still enough

All the while Illym grew more capable at struggling against the wound in her soul that would give her the shakes When they would try to come Illym would wrestle the shakes back until they behaved Sometimes they came frequently sometimes a month would pass without them arriving Either way Illym refused to be weak She refused to feel helpless

She had discovered a new Path for herself and wasn�t willing to be forced from it

Illym remembered the day only a month and a half before her sister�s scheduled wedding she stood over the corpse of a child who had witnessed something he shouldn�t and realized that she would not return for Radiance�s wedding She wiped the crimson liquid from her hands on her leather pants Then she returned to the client and reported her success

Even now Illym could remember the way the child�s body had lain contorted but she could not remember a single detail about the face Maybe this was the living that Illym had found but it was a Path stained with blood It was tainted

And there was one person in Illym�s life that she still loved too much to taint Better if they each struggle to find their own happiness apart from each other

As the day of her sister�s wedding approached Illym�s fear mounted Anxiety was a beast that lived in her stomach and sucked away all the moisture so that her lips were constantly dry Despite the resolution not to go she couldn�t ignore the approaching date

Likely her anxiety influenced her will because suddenly every day seemed like a struggle to resist the return of the shakes To the point that the day before her sister�s wedding it was almost overwhelming The shakes seemed to have an imperative to seize her controlling her body toward helplessness Illym remembered fighting them tooth and nail

And winning

The day of Radiance�s wedding passed Illym felt relief and a terrible emptiness The shakes receded until they only seemed like a memory Illym remembered years of living becoming so powerful on that small planet that none dared cross her They were no longer paying her money but fealty

She never felt alive anymore She just felt empty And now that Illym had missed the date of her sister�s wedding there seemed something final in their parting Like they now had a future

Randidly witnessed a memory of Illym staring out the window hoping that Radiance had found the same successes resisting the wounds to their soul that Illym had The sky outside was cloudy

It took her father twelve years to find Illym

She remembered his face It was so much skinner and more lined than she remembered And what he then told her seemed to infect Illym with that same strange sense of aging

The day before Radiance�s wedding they had found her dead in her bed Wasted away to nothing because in the prior six months Radiance had only awakened from her deep sleep for a few scant hours at a time Radiance�s fiance had been devasted crying for days until the body was buried And Illym�s parents hadn�t seen him since

And then her father confessed that he only discovered her by coincidence After the disappearance of Illym and the fact that she didn�t come back for the wedding her parents believed that Illym had died For twelve long years they had mourned both girls

Illym couldn�t breathe She remembered realizing that the affliction she had struggled so hard against the weakness that Illym took such great pleasure in smothering was probably the soul of her sister The echoing return of the shakes she experienced as Illym realized she had slowly strangled Radiance to death refusing to allow weakness into herself

Then there was the memory of her father leaning forward toward Illym and saying in his gravelly tone One of the last things Radiance said was when you see Illym remind her to enjoy life more It�s such a blessing isn�t it �

Illym the terror of that small world began to cry She looked inside for her weakness and found none She only cried harder

The two halves of the soul had finally been made whole Yet she hadn�t even noticed

Illym went back to live with her parents and realized a terrible truth her parents were the same as she was They were powerful but they reached that power by climbing over mountains of corpses It was only ever Radiance who was different It was only ever Radiance that was special

It was Radiance that deserved her happily ever after

The worst part was that her parents didn�t blame Illym They mourned Radiance of course but at least now they had one daughter who was completely healthy and present in their lives They helped her get involved in the Nexus fighting against rebels and against the Nether Without missing a beat Illym picked up on the family business of killing

Like a train that had long been in the station time began to move in their family home

But although her soul was whole Illym�s heart was broken

Perhaps it wouldn�t have been such a shock if she wasn�t so good at killing Her images grew more and more vicious and everyone she met complimented her on her bloodthirst

As she sightlessly reaped the lives that she was ordered to take Illym was drowning in the evil truth about herself she should have been the one to die

Then the final memory Taking her own life with her own twisted Fate the blade that made her bleed just as much as it did her enemies

It was a simple affair Illym called for a short vacation and returned back to her parent�s estate She locked herself in her childhood bedroom and buried her head in silken sheets Then she cried for what felt like an hour

Her hands were trembling as Illym heaved herself to her feet She manifested her Fate and set it on the ground point upward Then she gripped the blade with her hands and slowly lowered herself so the tip cut into her chest right in the middle of the diaphragm

Illym let go and fell forward onto the blade still crying

Randidly opened his eyes A tremor ran through him and a tear traced a slow path down his cheek After licking his lips he spoke to the warmed air of his tent�s interior I�m sorry

The bundle of power and meaning that was the Fate was held together by a thread now tied into a bow And that bow replied to Randidly with words edged in raw grief Even at the end even as I killed her all she did was think of me

Because she loved you just as much as you loved her Randidly replied quietly

The bow seemed to wilt and wither like a vine in winter I know that But this isn�t about how we felt it was always about what was right I was an affliction that eventually killed my sister That is the burden you take upon yourself by accepting this heat Your crimes will haunt you for as long as you live You will carry the knowledge that the world will never reward those who deserve it And no amount of power will allow you to protect the truly beautiful things in this world from the monsters

I think it is a mistake of pride to think that we deserve any of the good things that we�ve received in life Randidly said We earn the future we are heading toward sure but it is a mistake to think that means our crimes damn us The blood on our hands

The blood on our hands means I hope we will be consumed by fire and never re enter the cycle of reincarnation Bear this burden well Randidly Ghosthound The voice of Illym whispered insistently I have warned you You will regret it The pursuit of power will only earn you grief

The bow around the wild power slowly came unwound Heat exploded outward flooding through Randidly�s body The terrible fire that Illym had forged into a blade to fight and kill spread through Randidly searing his other images with its ancient intensity Within a split second Ignition Essence surged to double its normal height and began to devour all that power that was running rampant in Randidly�s body

Luckily his Stats and Skills made it so that his body was not fragile at all He could calmly endure the heat while his image attempted to cope Which was for the best because the entire time Randidly was furiously studying the power and potency that Ignition Essence was devouring for a hidden blade that might injure himself

Yet after going over the dense mass of images several times Randidly could only conclude that the threat he was looking for wasn�t present Illym�s self hatred and guilt were weights that would be worked into Randidly�s images but it appeared that the act of taking her own life had largely satisfied them

The only problem that Randidly could see was how much self harm the images incorporated but he believed it would be largely negated by his ridiculous Stats No matter how much damage the new Ignition Essence would inflict Randidly could recover through it

Randidly focused on the time once more to see that he still had four hours and five minutes remaining Experiencing the hitless blade�s memories had been a relatively quick experience There was still time to prepare

While Ignition Essence continued to digest the energy of the Fate floating in his chest Randidly�s attention turned elsewhere

Yggdrasil now a complete Skillset bearing the legacy of Chulroon and his pursuit of justice for how his world was treated

Ignition Essence bearing the heat and self harm and terrible awareness of the hiltless blade burning cleanly

The Grim Chimera carrying in its chest a terrible grudge and seeds of Nether preparing to have its revenge

The three legs of Randidly�s Fate were slowly coming into readiness Now he just needed to perform the action

Chapter 1172

With three and a half hours until he needed to meet with Lord Miln Randidly slipped away from Lady Iellaya�s camp and arrived at a spot he had prepared ahead of time in the badlands It wasn�t far from the frontlines but it would hopefully mask his location It was enough just to take himself out of the spotlight

Based on some inspiration he had received from Vualla�s effortlessly brilliant Aether Engravings Randidly created a large array around his chosen location that would mute the reverberations of both Aether and Nether Because he didn�t want to attract attention to himself with strange amounts of either energy

Randidly wasn�t quite sure what would occur as he tried to condense a Fate but he definitely didn�t want to be disturbed And he had a hard time believing that whatever phenomenon manifested due to his actions would be normal

With a casual brush of his hand Randidly eliminated the dust inside his small alcove at the center of the array Then he sat down and released a breath First he spent some time making sure each one of his foci was ready

The Grim Chimera its spear and claw spread wide to meet this new challenge holding at its core the growing potential of the Alpha Cosmos That dense mass of energy was perhaps the lightest but it was a developing image Randidly knew that it would someday surpass the others

Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree standing tall and proud Its golden boughs and emerald leaves glimmered and seemed to whisper about universal truths And now spiraling across its trunk the seed of an Akashic Record Possessing the might that Chulroon had left behind in that Dungeon for his successor against the System

Ignition Essence now a brash emerald and orange in equal measure holding all of Illym�s bitterness and sadness But also her brutal efficiency at killing The hitless blade reduced to pure energy ready to fuel the transformation into a Fate

The three images spun slowly in Randidly�s mind as he continued to breathe and wait for his condition to reach its peak Although time was relatively short Randidly didn�t rush to try and start He would much rather be late than mess up his Fate Especially when he began to feel the raw potential from the energies that he wielded

Breathe in breath out Let the tension slip from his shoulders and drain from his arms Slowly Randidly leaned his head back to lean against the stone wall The three images wove together as they danced across his body In flickers and starts they covered him The two tails of the Grim Chimera the constant heat of Ignition Essence the soft noises of Yggdrasil All three were one giant image slowly coming into focus

All were gathering their flavor for an explosion

Faster and faster they flickered in front of Randidly�s vision Once more Grim Intuition was slowly turned down to nothing He didn�t need to manage that information right now He was simply a conduit Everything flowed through him Aether and Nether mixed freely in Randidly�s rich inner ecosystem Within his hands constantly controlling the amounts Nether surged upward so he possessed both energies in equal measure

A Fate is a physical manifestation of the prayer you made with a Class Randidly breathed in and then breathed out A dream made physical A signpost It is not something sought but something earned Both the destination and the journey rolled into a convenient form It is a focus It is a source of power and potential

What is my Fate going to be I wonder My goal my goal is to free the Earth from the cycle of violence and plundering To strike back at the System that exploits whole worlds in its strange need for expansion A revolution a revolution toward freedom

And likely the image of that will be drawn from my thoughts and memories so what what do I think of when I speak of freedom

An easy answer didn�t come to Randidly but he didn�t force it He didn�t need a concrete image for the Fate but it was his own curiosity that drove him to ponder the question as he waited for the interaction between his images to become harmonious If he really wanted an answer there was an easy way to get one he simply had to condense his fate

So Randidly waited allowing the momentum to build in his chest Then all at once Randidly knew it was time to proceed Across the battlefield Randidly spared a bit of his attention and activated Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil A dozen vines ripped out of the ground and ambushed one of the tight grouped Nether raiding parties

They struggled and fought but Randidly had no reason to conserve Mana at the moment And even from here Yggdrasil�s grip was not gentle Hundreds of vines ripped out of the ground toward those unfortunate raiders practically drowning them The final few points of experience arrived

Congratulations You have grown to Level 50 +8 Stats distributed between Vitality Perception Resist Intelligence and Control +35 Free Stats +1 Stat to a Mental Stat +1 to a Physical Defense Stat +1 to a Mental Support Stat +2 Control +36 Health +45 Mana +40 Stamina +3 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration

Even as the notification appeared in front of Randidly his focus was stolen by the changes to the world going on around him As soon as Randidly reached Level 50 his Aether Detection picked up the abrupt creation of a huge apparatus of Aether that spun slowly above him Time seemed to slow down as Randidly looked upward at it and did his best to memorize its contents and shape

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 173

As I thought Randidly�s eyes tightened This is definitely modeled after Nether Rituals Big ones but it isn�t so far beyond what I�ve seen before that I won�t be able to reproduce it

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 174

Even as Randidly�s mind was spinning with the possibilities the heavy apparatus of Aether that likely would create a Fate lowered itself toward Randidly Although he felt a tingle of trepidation he simply allowed it to approach After all seeing the way it would engage with him would be admittedly helpful in understanding the way it worked

Randidly could intuit a lot by looking at the structure but he wasn�t a miracle worker The more information he gathered the better

Some part of him worried it would latch onto him and Randidly would need to burn it away with Nether but the more Randidly looked at the apparatus the more it appeared clear that it was going to use the connection to the System Aether as a fixture point

So Randidly watched silently it slowly descend As it neared the mechanisms activated and the legs of Aether shuffled down to attach to Randidly They thrust forward and pressed toward the substance of Randidly�s Aether

and nothing happened They slipped across the exterior of Randidly�s inner world without finding any purchase There was a pause The huge mass of Aether appeared to be trying to understand in its limited way what had happened It adjusted its positioning and tried again Once more the arms couldn�t find the place where Randidly received Aether from the System

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to 175

Obviously because such a connection didn�t exist And with the tool to condense a Fate closer than ever Randidly didn�t stop studying it for a second

Slowly it was becoming clearer what sort of thing a Fate truly was Because Randidly had always been somewhat confused that such a powerful tool as a Fate could be acquired without much cost Was it really just a natural result of reaching Level 50

Of course not As Randidly�s eyes traced the shifting sigils of the hapless mechanism he could see how it was designed to mortgage the karma and images you�ve built up so far in order to condense something that had the weight of your past accomplishments behind it It was less a prayer and more of an offering

The drawbacks of this were obvious if you abandoned the Path of your Class you would lose everything to the System You would be bound by karma to the point of impotency But honestly Randidly was pretty impressed with how deftly this bit of Aether wove principles of Nether threads of karma and the building components of raw Aether together into a cohesive whole

In a way that Randidly hadn�t really felt since seeing Vualla work her finger casually through the orange dirt of the badlands and draw energy conversion sigils he looked on at the core of the tool to condense a Fate and felt wonder at the mind who invented it

So for a brief moment Randidly offered a short mental bow to this distant stranger Truly there lurked extremely powerful and capable individuals within the hidden depths of the System

But that didn�t mean that Randidly felt any qualms about stealing such a tool for his own uses

Just as Randidly was preparing to push away this unfortunate tool and begin his own work a voice whispered in his ear

You what are you

Randidly froze The delicate balance he had maintained between his images swayed dangerously as his mind frantically tried to understand what the voice could mean And where it came from

Even worse was the horrible sense of being completely seen that Randidly experienced in that elongated moment Grim Intuition was shouting that whatever this being was it was studying him intently It appeared that this apparatus of Aether that gave a Fate was not just a random mechanism but something that someone operated

More than anything else it was the deftness and lack of intrusiveness of this stranger�s frank study that gave Randidly the shivers It didn�t overwhelm him those eyes were just too clever to fool It felt like it could see everything

Then it spoke again the tone light with amusement Interesting When you make it to the Nexus look me up My name is Nathaz Eloise I think our dreams might lead us to the same place

Then the voice the gaze and the tool all disappeared Gritting his teeth and clenching his hands Randidly began to spin his images once more building back up to the momentum that he needed Although the voice was important it hadn�t threatened him which was a nice change from most of his interactions from beings with the Nexus

So Randidly focused on the problem at hand his Fate He was rattled but the detailed nature of the activity meant that a lot of the sense of pressure Randidly felt vanished as the process of condensing a Fate on his own consume him

With an unhealthy fervor Randidly began to weave Aether and Nether together to create the base that he wanted Just like the typical Fate a mortgage on what had come before to create a focus for what would follow An offering A knot of karma he would follow this Path to the end or he would follow none at all

As opposed to a normal Fate there would be three spines for Randidly�s Not a tower but a pyramid

The sense of fear toward what that voice implied was pushed completely down for the moment Instead Randidly turned his attention inward and allowed the energies of his three images to flow freely He could feel their joyous harmony With a deft touch Randidly began to rapidly shape three sets of the Aether to accept the offering and funnel it inward

His initial attempts were rather clumsy but Randidly soon grasped the knack of working Aether in the manner of Nether and rapidly created the mechanisms he would need Then based on some of the principles that Randidly learned from Vualla he created a central point where all of the energy from these offerings would be brought together and combined to form his Fate

An apex where all the energy would gather The top of the pyramid

Then Randidly leaned back and allowed everything to grind into lumbering motion

Chapter 1173

Aether treated as well behaved Nether was woven together in rapid motion as the momentum of the working took over and forced Randidly forward even as his inexperience with this sort of project would usually push him toward cautious But as the pieces of the working began to engage with Randidly�s three foci he had no choice but to hastily erect the connections ahead of them And really he had no other choice but simply relying on instinct

It was like a curtain was ripped aside and Randidly could see out through the window into the truth of the world around him caution would do him no favors here The house that held Randidly�s small window was freefalling through the abyss and the net to save the whole thing was made by the amorphous threads of necessity and desire No matter how carefully Randidly wanted to guide himself forward that was not the sort of moment that this was

This elaborate construction could only be managed with belief And perhaps a little luck

So Randidly believed By mostly imitation and burning determination three portions of the Aether constructs began to slowly spin with more vigor The heavy weight of the three foci that Randidly had prepared began to shiver as Aether constructs dug into them Their energies were slowly drawn upward into the three rotation pillars drawing energy up from the base toward the apex To the spot where Randidly would soon condense a Fate

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 202

More and more energy was funneled up through these three portions so much so that the Aether used to build them shuddered and warped under the strain and friction of the passing energy But Randidly was always there with a gentle touch feeding more Aether into the whole thing so it stayed whole

Sweat dripped down Randidly�s forehead in the real world while his attention was diverted inward The small drips were a delicate distraction as he continually healed the working Especially near the top of the pyramid where the three rivers of energy started to surge and crash around together Randidly needed to constantly use Aether to repair the pieces

This Randidly shivered This is unsustainable If it keeps accelerating

Even as Randidly began to get a handle on managing all of the energy the mechanical pieces to even more furious life More of the little mechanisms began to move The amount of energy that was thrust upward from each of the tripod�s legs tripled Instantly even the legs began to warp at a speed that was alarming even with Randidly�s touch continually mending the moving pieces In addition the apex began to melt away to nothing

There was simply too much ambient energy The power flowing through this Aether construct was too destructive With all the potential of the Alpha Cosmos the almost inert deadliness of Illym and also Chulroon�s long held desire for vengeance

Randidly gritted his teeth It occurred to him now that the shape of the Aether construct provided by the System was likely designed to handle a lot less energy than what Randidly was currently producing Perhaps even more than one third less Not only because he had prepared very specifically but likely a normal person didn�t have as much potent energy present in their existence as either a Fate or an entire world

Perhaps that Nathaz Eloise was there precisely to determine if this was the correct tool but obviously a reading wasn�t possible when it tried to engage with Randidly�s Aether connection to the System

As it was Randidly began to furiously study the way that energy was flowing upward and warping the mechanism of this process Although the Alpha Cosmos� energy was relatively mild the other two burned with power as it flowed upward More and more of Randidly�s Aether was consumed to keep those two legs Whole

A Fate was already someone�s images and karma being mortgaged to condense power Now to slowly unravel that power and feed it back through a mortgaging process

Still the value these would have in this karmic brokering was significant That was why Randidly had gone through the trouble of doing this But it seemed that value was too significant for this normal version of Fate production tool to manage

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 203

So Randidly reached forward and started to make some changes His mind buzzed as complex sigils of Aether were drawn and obliterated as he streamlined what he wanted

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 204

More and more Randidly relied on the insights he had gained from seeing Vualla create energy manipulation sigils to cluster and space out the power along the legs and at the apex They acted as breaks keeping the energy from connecting into an unending flow Too much in one spot too quickly was asking for trouble Still that would only delay the problem

Which meant that it was time for Randidly to pull a solution out of a hat His physical shoulders rose and fell as he filled his lungs and released the breath The moment stretched His three images clustered closely around him becoming a part of the weaving

Grinning at a sudden idea Randidly began to incorporate not only Aether but also Nether in the three funnels Using the space opened up by the warping pieces of Aether Randidly widened the tripod legs that sucked energy upward and added thick cords of Nether through each It didn�t necessary provide cooling� but it certainly functioned as such

Nether and Aether worked in concert to calm down the rampaging energy Even in the harmonized forms the two types of energies were relatively opposed While Vualla�s runes bought him a few scant seconds Randidly rapidly wove Nether to stabilizing the flow of energy upward through all three legs

Which of course only meant that Randidly had to grit his teeth and work doubly hard to weave Aether and Nether together at the apex where those three surging rivers of energies smashed together into a chaotic squall of meaning and images Even as Randidly frantically worked he could feel the horrible reverberations and the bright flashes of light that were occurring in his inner world Perhaps even more disturbing Randidly could slowly feel his Class beginning to stir in sympathy

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 205

Gritting his teeth Randidly�s emerald eyes flashed as he took several very liberal risks with the arrangement of Nether within the apex At this point he had no choice Obviously the core would be the newly condensed Fate so he carefully scrawled out a bubble� of runes that were drawn with Nether Unfortunately Nether was a chaotic material to work with It was not as easily molded as Aether There were variances even while Randidly was drawing the runes

Good enough Randidly muttered as he started hastily clearing out the nodes of Aether that he created to slow down the energy�s journey to the apex The shape of the bubble was present so even as the Nether wiggled strangely away from his desired construction he continued to usher the energy upward Grimacing Randidly removed the last of the roadblocks and allowed the energy and meaning to pour into the waiting bubble

Don�t you dare pop on me now

There was a terrible rumbling but the bubble held Even as an ever brighter burning light began growing in that seething container of Nether Randidly could only rather helplessly return his attention to the three trembling legs and check in on them Aether surged forward from his touch and repaired the deformed bits resulting in them returning to the pristine condition Randidly remembered seeing from the official apparatus Although at this point in a quite modified format

With narrowed eyes Randidly tried his best to ignore the increasingly loud rumbles and focus on the functioning of the legs he didn�t want an oversight like missing the amount of energy the legs could handle to happen again Better to inspect the workings while he had a spare moment and head off a problem before it appeared

Unwilling Randidly glanced up at the bubble It almost looked like a light bulb at the top of a pyramid shapes lamp Although that�s clearly going to be a problem eventually

Yet Randidly pulled his attention back down and began an exacting scrutiny of the legs Each of the many moving pieces of Aether passed through his careful study And honestly it seemed like another problem was rapidly manifesting Or rather a different side of the same oversight was becoming apparent

Because as Randidly studied the legs as they worked he noticed how more and more of the tiny Aether constructions within activated and swiveled down to carve out smaller and smaller bites of energy from the foci that he had prepared Very quickly it became clear that the apparatus was shifting to a finer touch to carve out meaning and energy as time went on

Likely an individual simply wouldn�t have this much energy to spare after the apparatus had worked for this long Yet none of the three pools of energy that Randidly had prepared were even close to two thirds of the way drained

The hiltless blade released a helpless keen of despair Chulroon�s chisel hummed in sympathy Waves of power continued to roll off of the metaphysical representation of the Alpha Cosmos that Randidly had offered up These were nowhere near done

In for a penny in for a pound

Randidly could only growl and engage the Aether directly so that the larger energy extraction portions of the legs once more engaged Huge chunks of energy were siphoned up through the legs beginning tempered and smoothed out then being dumped into the quickly filling sphere at the apex of the pyramid

The light at the top grew to be blinding Randidly could feel the heat of it even with his physical body Too much power was concentrated in that one spot It crashed against other images and influences trying to find the shape that it would finally take Randidly could almost feel its chaotic pursuit

It�s reaching for something Randidly thought in wonder Yet he couldn�t allow himself to be distracted for long

While one part of his mind continued to extract energy another part began to weave an even larger working of Nether around the first It quickly attached and supported the original bubble against the ever rising pressure held within

Randidly�s inner world rumbled once more So jarringly that Randidly�s mental tendrils seized up for a brief second Almost unwillingly Randidly allowed his attention to be dragged sideways to his Class which was now slowly beginning to hum to life For several seconds Randidly stared at the Class thinking hard

He knew that Fates were tied to the Class of an individual Or at least heavily influenced by them A Class was perhaps the spiritual mother of the Fate if images were the father Now to see it move all of the worries that Randidly held about his Class suddenly made themselves apparent

Randidly hadn�t thought about the process too deeply but his brow furrowed as his senses quickly examined his Class A Class that was divided into six sessions with five other interest groups� adding to the original working that he had made There were a lot of dreams tied into Randidly Ghosthound A lot of names for the wishes that were embodied in his Class

Lord of the Baleful Wood

Loyal Benefactor of the Weak

Lighthouse of the Boundless Worlds

Lodestone of the Black Wanting

Lesson for those of Brittle Will

Longing of the Banished Wind

Will each of those influence how the Fate turns out Randidly wondered as he looked at the Class as it slowly began to float forward Although there was space� of a sort in the inner world as most of it was just densely bent Aether shapes that recorded the conduits by which Randidly could produce energy So it was without surprise that Randidly watched his Class ghost up through the pyramid and superimpose itself over the tight ball of Nether that caged the swirling power and meaning The humming soon turned into resonance